Alor Setar bus station, Malaysia

"There are many different private bus companies operating in Malaysia, each offering slightly different routes, destinations, comfort and price. Competition between these companies is high and the right sales technique can be what makes the difference in ensuring the bus parts with no empty seats.

"In Alor Setar bus station, in order to attract customers, ticket sellers from each of the bus companies announce the destinations at the top of their voices, singing and rhyming the names of cities. Each seller has their own particular style which they use to try to cut through the other noise. I found it a fascinating selling technique, and stealthily recorded a few minutes of the ambiance before I had to catch my bus."

Recorded by Colin Hunter. 

Part of the Until We Travel project to map and reimagine the sounds of transport and travel in a pre-pandemic and pandemic world. See the whole project at https://www.citiesandmemory.com/travel.