I woke up this morning to total silence … it was eerily quiet, as if it had snowed in the night. I looked out of my apartment window, and there were no cars at all. Tranquility reined. I wandered out on to the street with camera in hand to see this alien, car-free landscape. I passed a word or two with fellow city dwellers and we almost whispered to each; you could hear a pin drop! Until that moment, I hadn’t realised just how much noise traffic makes.
It was like one of those disaster movies where aliens had dematerialised all the cars and survivors were wandering around dazed! All day, I have had the gentle woosh of bicycles wizzing quietly past my window – a very nice change from diesel bus engines, I can tell you!
If only the aliens would visit everyday …
Unfortunately, as I write this, the aliens have left the planet and the cars are rematerialising …
I ride home from work at one or two in the morning on occasion and sometimes I can go the whole way without meeting a solitary person or car. It's eerily quiet and you feel like you have the city to yourself.
I used to catch a 7:00 AM ferry from Bayswater and then ride up Queen St to the council building, Queen St was quiet and quaintly charming at that time of the morning