We keep on gravitating back to this chaotic, crazy little corner of Hanoi.
We are determined to see the flippin train come through if it’s the last thing we do!
So we grab our beverages, plonk ourselves down and wait . . .
While we wait we enjoy some people watching, cafe owners serve customers, families eat on the tracks and life carries on around us.
And then . . . joy of joys, as the dusk closes in, we hear it first . . . an ominous rumble followed by cafe owners hustling us away from the tracks.
And finally!!!! It arrives . . . thundering past at very close quarters! Terrifyingly close!! Apologies for the rather bad language but heck it was a bit hairy!!
We’re heading to one of Hanoi’s most unusual and hair raising tourist spots now – train street!
Trains rumble right through this narrow residential street and you can stand and watch.
Well you used to be able to – it has now been closed for health and safety reasons due to the number of selfie seeking tourists – so once again we managed to tick something off our list before it shut!
The train street is located between Le Duan and Kham Tien street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
The exact lane the train passes along is called Ngo 224 Le Duan.
Either side of the tracks are tiny cafes and eateries, as well as little houses.
Located in Hanoi’s Old Quarter the trains pass through just inches away from buildings and people’s homes.
Colourful artwork adorns the crumbling walls and chairs and tables are perched precariously close to the train tracks.
When the trains are due to pass by the cafe owners move their tables and usher people a safe distance away (however you’re still so close that you could reach out and touch the train – if you wanted to lose an arm . .)
Train street was built in 1902 during French colonial rule.
The train usually passes every day at 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm as it makes its way from Hue to Long Bien train station.
The whole neighborhood is only about 500 meters long and there are lots of households that have lived there for many generations.
The trains DO NOT SLOW down and when you actually see one coming, and feel it whipping past your face, it is quite terrifying but also exhilarating!
While waiting for the metal beast to appear you can take your pick from one of the many cafes lining the track.
They serve anything from beer and soft drinks to a peculiar Vietnamese speciality – egg coffee!
We’ll return again later in our trip to actually see a train trundling along the track . . .
