Making Tracks in Hanoi: The famous train road of Vietnam
Most roads in Vietnam are famous for being crazy and chaotic. With motorbikes. However, you may have scrolled across Alley 224 Le Duan in Hanoi which is famous for a whole new level of crazy...
Yes, that is a train track surrounded by houses.
Hanoi train street has become its own tourist attraction and must-Insta spot. Running down a narrow street in a built up residential area its truly a unique sight. This isn't just the for show or the remains of old train lines from before the houses were built though. This track still functions as a main route and ginormous trains barge their way down daily. We looked around on the internet for train times and headed down a little before so we could snap some pictures.
We put the address into maps and just wondered around a small portion of track where the houses towered higher either side and the street was narrower as this was so visually wonderful.
The most bizarre part of this Hanoi infrastructure is how it fits in with the daily lives of the locals. They truly live on these train tracks from sitting on the rails with a drink to sorting out their washing or completing other daily tasks. They have fully incorporated it as part of the street and take full advantage. Growing up in England watching those old THINK television adverts with the hedgehogs made us cautious to not stand in the middle of the road, never mind the train tracks. That was embedded as a big no-no after my first viewing of The Railway Children so seeing children play and people live their lives right here just feels like a whole other world.
I snapped a local lady going about her daily work which you can see she keeps on the other side of the track from her house. Usually I love vibrancy and colour to project from my travel pictures but I especially loved this one in simple black and white.
After exploring a little bit we were getting extremely hot as the temperatures were soaring in Hanoi that day so we went to a nearby cafe from frozen smoothies. Whilst sipping away we could hear a distant roar and it was at that moment we remembered Vietnamese transport never runs to exact times and we had missed the train. At least it wasn't a train we actually wanted to catch and hey, that's another excuse to go back!
Love, Rachael x
Yes, that is a train track surrounded by houses.
Hanoi train street has become its own tourist attraction and must-Insta spot. Running down a narrow street in a built up residential area its truly a unique sight. This isn't just the for show or the remains of old train lines from before the houses were built though. This track still functions as a main route and ginormous trains barge their way down daily. We looked around on the internet for train times and headed down a little before so we could snap some pictures.
We put the address into maps and just wondered around a small portion of track where the houses towered higher either side and the street was narrower as this was so visually wonderful.
The most bizarre part of this Hanoi infrastructure is how it fits in with the daily lives of the locals. They truly live on these train tracks from sitting on the rails with a drink to sorting out their washing or completing other daily tasks. They have fully incorporated it as part of the street and take full advantage. Growing up in England watching those old THINK television adverts with the hedgehogs made us cautious to not stand in the middle of the road, never mind the train tracks. That was embedded as a big no-no after my first viewing of The Railway Children so seeing children play and people live their lives right here just feels like a whole other world.
I snapped a local lady going about her daily work which you can see she keeps on the other side of the track from her house. Usually I love vibrancy and colour to project from my travel pictures but I especially loved this one in simple black and white.
After exploring a little bit we were getting extremely hot as the temperatures were soaring in Hanoi that day so we went to a nearby cafe from frozen smoothies. Whilst sipping away we could hear a distant roar and it was at that moment we remembered Vietnamese transport never runs to exact times and we had missed the train. At least it wasn't a train we actually wanted to catch and hey, that's another excuse to go back!
Where to find Hanoi Train Street?
Alley 224 Le Duan, Kham Thien, Hanoi.The best time to visit?
I have no idea! My best advise is to stick around as long as you can. Maybe grab some ice water and snacks and put your feet up as the locals do until you start to hear the rumble then jump out the way and enjoy.Love, Rachael x
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