Comments on: Vanishing Silence: How Does Travel Noise Impact Our Well-Being?

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:11:20 +0000

Excellent post! I’m very sad to say out here in Okinawa where secluded and sacred places that give a sense of slipping back hundreds of years in time are still harshly interrupted by the constant air traffic of both runways.
But despite this, I do remember a startling sense of peace when I found myself on a mountain during a fresh snow fall. The way sound was muffled by the freshly falling snow was enchanting and I could have sworn I was listening to the sound of each snow flake joining the sea of white below….
Thank you for this! I hope I can find one of these places throughout my travels!

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By: Carolyn Hopper

Carolyn Hopper — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:21:48 +0000

I believe that places where we can go to get away from all man made noise is extremely important to all parts of our health – mental , physical, psychological -
every fiber of our being. Any one who finds man made/machine noises more restful – well that just is all about education.
I do what I can every day to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining and protecting places where we can go to get away from man made noise.

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By: BAbblinGirl

BAbblinGirl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:35:44 +0000

What an interesting read. I seek out silence everywhere I go. I live in the city, and for a number of years, lived in an apt facing a very busy road. I finally decided to move because the drone of cars driving, was literally, making me feel insane. There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of nature, or the lack of anything, either animal, nature, or man made machines. I am a strong believer in the necessity of silence. Experiencing silence, is part of bringing balance to your life.

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By: Marc Latham

Marc Latham — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:26:29 +0000

Definitely nice to have some peace and quiet now and again…or most of the time.

I noticed that aircraft were conspicuous by their absence on my last two travels to Cuba and Nepal.

You can usually get away from it all even in the busy UK, as long as you’ve got the will to make it to the countryside.

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By: Katja | Driving Like a Maniac

Katja | Driving Like a Maniac — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:03:19 +0000

One man’s ambient noise is another man’s screaming din. To a town-dweller, what you call ’silence’ (‘rustling of animals, and nature sprouting’) is very far from restful. I was brought up in the Westcountry of England, but moved to London in my late teens, where I have lived ever since. In my London garden, I find birdsong far more jarring than low-level traffic noise: it’s *unexpected* noise that is disturbing, rather than anything else.

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By: TimR

TimR — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:06:09 +0000

Silence is indeed hard to find. I remember camping at a remote lake once, looking for solitude, only to have the wind rattle through the pine trees all night long, sounding like a train. Not exactly what I was looking for. And remote, rural villages without electricity? They still have roosters that start crowing at each other at 4am and don’t stop ’til the sun’s up. And then there’s the jays and mourning doves that sound quaint at first, but after the hundredth call, it becomes noise to me. Death Valley’s pretty quiet though. Maybe too quiet…

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By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:06:11 +0000

Great article! When travelling, I desire to have some silence. There’s only one place I’ve visited in the last several years where I was blessed to have true silence.

And no, I’m not telling….;-)

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By: Deedy

Deedy — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:19:44 +0000

“We should do everything to protect our silence, the good silence that you can only find in nature. It’s a beautiful silence that speaks to our soul; like the beauty of a forrest of trees, the twirling of leaves as they hit the ground in the fall and tiny animals rustling in the woods and birds singing back and forth to each other. This is the best therapy.”

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By: Hal Amen

Hal Amen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:25:23 +0000

Very interesting. I’m now trying to come up with a place I’ve been that was truly silent…and drawing a blank!

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By: David Page

David Page — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Nice one, Christine. Scary to think it might go away entirely. One question: the idea that there are fewer than 12 places left makes it sound like there’s a specific list somewhere… any idea where those places are? Or, now that I think about it, is that maybe better left secret? A code of silence to protect the silence…

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