Sounds Outside Our Windows

Because Bandung weather is mild and we have no AC, our windows stay open all the time. Unlike at home where we have AC and don’t hear much of what goes on outside, here we hear a variety of sounds through our open windows.

Beneath and behind our bedroom is a steep hill so we are often awakened by motor scooters trying to make it up the hill outside our bedroom window. There are at least two who leave as early as 4 a.m.

 

We wake to the smell of smoke from burning trash each morning. Roosters live below us and they do their thing - not just early in the morning but all throughout the day. Cockfighting is carried on pretty much on a weekly basis. We hear kids talking and laughing as they walk up and down the hill behind our apartment. They get excited if they see Ronnie and yell out “Mista!”

It pretty much still rains a part of every day or night so heavy rain is another sound we've become accustomed to. Because of the hard plastic material that covers the patios here, its volume is magnified. So when it rains, we either have to turn the TV up really loud or turn it off altogether.

Below our balcony and off to the left is the Secapa military practice range. We often hear the cadence of drums early in the morning, along with the soldiers firing their guns in target practice. Though this can go on for hours, it doesn’t unnerve me like it did early on.

Though we have missed our birds from home, we have still enjoyed birdsong because Indonesia is home to many wild birds and their songs drift through our windows every day. One song that we especially enjoy is that of the sirit cunguing. The Indonesians are very fearful of this bird, believing that if they hear it someone they know is going to die. They are very superstitious. Ferry told me  last week they will not cut wood from a bamboo forest because they believe it is inhabited by ghosts!

Another sound we live with comes from the cicaks (lizards) inside the apartment on a daily basis. Cicadas are in full symphony now that rainy season is finally approaching its end. The church we attend is open on one side and the preacher has to compete with the cicadas as he delivers his message.

Unfortunately, there has been construction the entire time we’ve lived here with an apartment finally finished out below us (they hammered out the entire concrete stairway) and another unit built where the courtyard used to be. So hammers and power saws are a regular part of each day, and they are really loud!!

 

For me, the most unpleasant sounds to get used to are the prayer calls. These blare over loud speakers (5 X's day) from minarets atop mosques throughout the city. It is an eerie sound when they all start going at the same time. Often a child's voice is heard. The sound of the prayer calls cannot be escaped except with ear plugs (night) or turning up the t.v. really loud (day).

As a side note (not related to sounds) the "mystery mess" on our front porch every morning has been solved! It was not a devil (as our driver thought) or a monkey (as our cleaning lady thought) or even a dog (as I thought). Rather it was a fruit eating bat. The problem was easily solved by leaving the porch light on at night.

Hopefully this gives you some idea of the sounds outside our windows in Bandung, Indonesia.