The echo of street life

In modern life, silence might be golden, but some of the sounds of the city are diamonds. Many Vietnamese and foreigners in Ho Chi Minh City claim that one of the things they miss the most when they leave this city is the sound of street life.
And nothing typifies that sound more than the cries of street vendors, who are an integral part of life in Vietnam and HCM City in particular. Most city residents would be sorry to say goodbye to their sticky rice, custard and noodle soup stalls.
"[When I am back in Australia] I miss the cries of my favourite soya-cake stall vendor, who uses her sweet voice to draw in the customers," said Nguyen Thi My Hao, a Vietnamese woman from Sydney, Australia. She said she loves the vendor’s singing as much as her tofu.
Hao, 46, moved from HCM City to live with her husband in Sydney when she was 26. "During my holidays in my native city, I often buy from street vendors just to listen to their voices."
"I want to remember the days when I was young and still went to school in Binh Chanh District. My mother earned money to support us by selling pudding on the streets."
Most street vendors in HCM City come from the central provinces, having made the journey with hopes of earning a better income to support their family at home.
At central markets such as Ben Thanh and Ba Chieu, hundreds of vendors gather early every morning to put fresh fruit, sweet soups, pudding and bread in their baskets or three-wheel carts before going to all corners of the city.
"Shouting is an important part of our business. We have sing song cries and we wouldn’t attract the same number of customers if we just stood there quietly," said Le Van Chau, 24, who sells hot bread around Binh Thanh District.
Another peddler, Phan Ut Thi, 27, a native of Quang Nam province, came to the city three years ago to sell noodle soup. He said that you can see vendors everywhere in the city, but each of them has a special song.
To attract the attention of customers, two of Thi’s younger brothers walk around streets and alleys making noise by hitting two bamboo sticks together.
Late at night, vendors return to their low price lodging houses, mostly located in rural districts. To economise, they share single rooms with up to ten others. Being far from their native villages, they’re happy to live together and support one another.