There is a park in Ho Chi Minh City that is different from other parks.

It is a place where people can drink coffee, chat with one another and hear birds singing.

That is because people bring their birds there, in their cages.

For many of the caged birds, a visit to the park means getting some sunshine.

By Ngọc Diệp

A coffee shop in HCM City’s Tao Đàn Park has become a popular place for people who like to listen to and admire beautiful songbirds.

The small coffee shop, which is informally known as the Bird Café, is located on Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street in District 1.

From 6am to 9am, the café is a meeting place for people to bring their beloved birds.

On the weekend, visitors can see the outdoor café crowded with many motorbikes and birdcages perched on their backs, with the chirping of birds drowning out the sounds of traffic.

The bird lovers show off their pet birds, share their knowledge about breeding birds, and enjoy the morning with a cup of Vietnamese tea or coffee.

The birdcages hang on hooks from the trees, looking like branches made of metal cages.

Visitors often sit around for a few hours enjoying a cup of coffee or tea.

Nguyễn Thị Lượng, from District 5, visits the park in the early morning to rest, have a drink, and chat with friends, while listening to the birds singing under the morning sunshine.

“The singing of the birds makes me feel really relaxed and comfortable,” she says.

Keeping pet birds is a popular hobby in the city, but it is a time-consuming one as the owners must feed and train the birds.

Most of the visitors are middle-aged men, but students, woman and foreigners also come to the park.

Phạm Hữu Luân, a bird lover from District 3, has been going to the park for 20 years. He says there are at least 30 bird lovers who come each day, and in recent years, nearly 100 people have been visiting, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

”It’s good for the birds’ health if they stay out under the sunshine in the morning hours,” he says.

Some of the birds at the park are canaries, nightingales and tailorbirds.

The park, with its peaceful atmosphere from the songs of birds, provides a welcome respite for people to begin a new day or relax at the weekend. — VNS

GLOSSARY

On the weekend, visitors can see the outdoor café crowded with many motorbikes and birdcages perched on their backs, with the chirping of birds drowning out the sounds of traffic.

Perched means sitting on something, especially when talking about a bird.

Chirping means making little singing sounds. They are usually also high pitched.

Keeping pet birds is a popular hobby in the city, but it is a time-consuming one as the owners must feed and train the birds.

A hobby is something you in your leisure time do that interests you.

Something that is time-consuming takes up a lot of time.

Most of the visitors are middle-aged men, but students, woman and foreigners also come to the park.

People who are middle-aged are halfway through their lives.

The park, with its peaceful atmosphere from the songs of birds, provides a welcome respite for people to begin a new day or relax at the weekend.

A respite is a short period of rest from something that is difficult and unpleasant.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

1. Something people use to keep themselves busy in their leisure time.
2. The number of years that Phạm Hữu Luân has been visiting the park.
3. The two days at the end of a week, when many people relax.
4. The time in the morning that the bird café opens.
5. A type of bird that one may see at the park.

ANSWERS:

© Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2017

1. Hobby; 2. Twenty; 3. Weekend; 4. Six; 5. Canary.