soundscape

the word "soundscape" was coined by composer R. Murray Schafer to identify sounds that "describe a place, a sonic identity, a sonic memory, but always a sound that is pertinent to a place" (Wagstaff, G. 2000).

http://sounds.bl.uk/Browse.aspx?category=Environment&collection=Soundscapes&browseby=Browse+by+type+of+sound&choice=Acoustic+Ecology

tokyo -- "irrashaimase"

trekking in nepal -- "nemaste. mitai."

hong kong -- the clicking of mahjong tiles

patagonia -- wind blowing

antigua, guatemala -- firecrackers popping

airports -- that infernal loop about baggage being watched all the time