Batgung

Imagine it's been ten years since you've left Hong Kong.

What sound, as soon as you heard it, would make you think of Hong Kong?

Mahjong? Whether it's the swish of tiles being shuffled, or a the heated clack of a game in progress, mahjong sounds are a dead give-away.

Trams would also do it for me. I used to live near the Whitty Street tram depot, close to a couple of tight turns in the tram tracks. As far as I know a tram's wheels don't steer, so trams are simply forced, complaining, to make the turn. And complain they do. As the wheels grind around the bend they make a kind of stuck-pig squeal that you don't forget.

Then there's the ding-ding of the tram's bell, especially if combined with a few toots on the horn.

Doot. And you've just paid with your Octopus card. Would you still remember that noise after 10 years, or would it be lost among all the other electronic beeps that punctuate modern life?

Pigs! The tram story reminds me - When I lived near the tram depot, the Kennedy Town abbatoir was still in use. Lorries full of pigs would pass by, with the pigs squealing their hearts out - I think they knew where they were going. So add 'lorry of squealing pigs' to the list.

Central on a Sunday. As the domestic helpers gather to share food & gossip, the sound of their voices has a very distinctive sound. It reminds me of a spot in the UK on winter afternoons, where thousands of starlings gathered to roost. They'd be swirling in flocks and chattering to each other before settling to sleep. I wonder if it will work the other way too, with the birds' chatter making me feel homesick for HK?

Cantonese. Hmm, this is a rich one, including:

• Cantonese itself, as it's not the most melodious of languages. How would you describe the sound of a good market argument? Like dropping a trayful of metal dishes perhaps?
• Common phrases. Even if you've never been to Cantonese classes, there are surely a few stock phrases you'd recognise. As a baseline let's take the sum total of my mum's Cantonese vocabulary after visiting for 4-6 weeks each year for over ten years:
   - m'goi
   - jo san
   - kung hei fat choi (you can guess what time of year she visits!)
  And maybe:
   - sik jaw faan mei-a?
   - doot-doot doot-doot ching siu sum che moon!
• Cantonese opera. Surely putting a language to music should make it sound better? Nope. For best recognition in ten years time, you'd want it played over tinny speakers on a $10 hand-held radio, as favoured by senior hikers throughout the territory.
• Waai? The universal greeting when answering the phone.

Puffing and panting. I don't know why, but when a local child makes a small exertion, eg running up a gentle slope, it has to be accompanied by an exaggerated puffing and panting. Not something I've noticed with children in other countries, so I'd say that would work as a reminder.

There's an older version of this when we get into the whiny 'deh' sounds that some young women are prone to make. However that's as much an attitude as a sound, so I'm not sure if the sound alone could spark instant recognition. Probably best to leave that off the list.

How about you? What are the sounds of Hong Kong you'll remember?

Regards, MrB