Leisure talk: Train whistle

I don't know if it's a train from the North or a train from the South, but I imagine, sometimes it's a burst of joy or maybe it's some deep sadness from the stories at the train station.

Those early morning or late nights when I had trouble sleeping, I not only heard the train whistle but also heard the cough of an old man from the house opposite from my neighbor... The small, peaceful neighborhood and those gentle moments lasted for more than 25 years until the day I left. Sometimes, when I think about the old neighborhood, I pass by and am surprised that it is now a bustling street full of shops. A few families who sold their houses and moved away like me also have houses left, not opening any shops, looking lost in a bustling space during the time of tourism development. I wonder if anyone else has had sleepless nights listening to the train whistle like I did in the past?

When I first arrived in Saigon, in the Phu Nhuan area near the railway tracks, I not only heard the train whistle but also the loud banging sound every time the train passed by. The train whistle was long but bustling for a safe departure or arrival.

The train whistles and the rumbles on the railway have made my life faster, more hurried, and sometimes I feel like I haven't heard the train whistles of the early mornings in Nha Trang for so long.

Then I moved to District 7 (old name). The apartment I lived in overlooked the city's "lifeline" river, with large, sturdy ships and barges carrying goods to domestic and international destinations. The train whistles were now replaced by the whistles of ships that did not follow any rules because ships came and went all day. Hearing the ship whistles on sleepless nights or early mornings waiting for the morning, I missed the train whistles stopping at Nha Trang station on the North-South railway.

My house in Nha Trang is now about 5 kilometers away from the city center, I can no longer hear the train whistle in the morning like I used to; but there are afternoons sitting on the porch where the train whistle still echoes in the distance when the train passes through Phu Vinh. The train whistle in the afternoon at that time does not carry a nostalgic, thoughtful tone or a philosophy of farewell and reunion, but rather a bustling nuance of a long, distant departure.

There were afternoons when I wandered along the railway tracks, waiting for the train to pass, sometimes I waited forever... And there were times when I arrived just as the train passed. I missed an opportunity to take beautiful pictures in the afternoon sun. It was a very emotional feeling when thinking about the trains leaving or arriving at Nha Trang.

There were also days when I waited for a long time on the railway tracks. I was so happy to take a beautiful picture of a train passing by in the peaceful sunset.

The joy is real when you catch the moment of a train just leaving the city!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-dam-tieng-coi-tau-185251011153831759.htm