I think I might be turning into a train nerd...

Hanoi, Day 57

We had a good sleep for our first night in Hanoi. R's still feeling a bit crap with his bug thing but after all these years he finally took my advice on using 'nose plugs' for his dripping nose and guess what? He admitted I was right and that they actually worked, and he was able to sleep - hallelujah! I mean I know they are not the prettiest of things and trust me, he needs a bit of work in that area as I couldn't initally get to sleep for laughing at the sight of his two fat white hankie caterpillars stuffed up his nostrils - at least my nostril plugs are always fairly discreet looking...

Whilst our room is a bit basic and R is complaining that his feet stick out of the bed (which they do unless he tries to sleep diagonally - height matters yet again in Asia!), we were on the otherhand very pleasantly surprised with the choice of buffet breakfast which was really good, so that set us up for the day ahead.

Our hotel is located in the French Quarter, which is an affluent neighborhood in the ancient city area and is famous for its elegant Colonial buildings, some of which have been transformed into museums and government offices. This area is also very close to the pretty Hoan Kiem Lake.

As is often the case, we didn't have any particular plans on where we wanted to go and on our first day anywhere we usually like to just walk around the area and get our bearings and a feel for the location. So that is exactly what we did. We first made our way to the Hoan Kiem Lake which is very pretty.

Now, something that I think I have mentioned previously is that there is some sort of tradition or normal practice for people (mostly young girls but also boys and older ladies too) to dress up and get their photos taken, often by professional photographers carrying all the camera and lighting gear. The girls also have their bags for their clothes, make-up and props, etc.

Well, the lake area was swarming with people doing this, and whilst it is quite charming, it also gets a little bit annoying after the novelty wears off, and when there are so, so many people posing and taking lots and lots and lots of photos. I mean it's not just a few and then they move on, they are there for quite some time and when its lots of people doing the same thing, it can get a little frustrating because you are trying to pass them and don't want to interupt the photo or you are waiting to get a quick snap of any area yourself but they are hogging the space. I don't quite understand it, but it is very much a 'thing' here in Vietnam.

From the lake, we veer off to one of the side streets to check out some buildings and a possible mall (it was a high end mall, so we didn't bother going inside) and we just continued meandering through various streets admiring some of the older french style buildings.

The traffic is still quite chaotic and busy in Hanoi, but there are at least more pedestrian crossing areas than there were in Ho Chi Minh City. Of course, you still have to remember that the traffic lights do not mean you have right of way, as scooters and cars will still cross these areas when the 'green man' is showing, but I guess they should be looking out for you a little more when the light is in your favour....

That said, we are much more confident when crossing the road now and in holding up our hand and hoping that the traffic sees and slows to let us cross....so far so good :)

We view the Hanoi Opera House (opened 1911) from across the street, but mainly because we didn't see any easy way to cross to it just for the sake of taking a few external photos. However it did look rather lovely and we can't help but admire the mustard / tangerine type of colour that many of the buildings have around the city.

Then we come across a nice little park area which is across from a Buddhist temple. This allows is to have a little rest and a drink as we check on where we are on Google maps.

Then, before we know it, we have arrived at the St. Joseph Cathedral, the 'Grand Cathedral of Hanoi'. This is a late 19th-century Gothic Revival (Neo-Gothic style) church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. The cathedral is named after Joseph, the patron saint of Vietnam.

Construction of the Cathedral began in 1884, with an architectural style resembling the Notre Dame de Paris. The church was one of the first structures built by the colonial government of French Indochina when it opened in December, 1886 and is the oldest church in Hanoi.

Mass is celebrated in the cathedral several times during the day. For the Sunday Mass at 6:00 PM, large crowds spill out into the streets. Prayers and hymns are broadcast to the plaza outside; Catholics who are unable to enter the cathedral congregate in the street and listen to hymns.

The Cathedral is open from 08.00-11.00 and 14.00-17.00 but we arrived around lunchtime, so we could only take some photos from outside and we knew we would revisit it another time before we leave.

We wandered around some more, and we came upon "Train Street". This is quite a famous tourist attraction as it is a residential and working area that has trains passing right through it, and you can sit close to the railway tracks as the train passes you by. We did not know when the trains were due but by this time we where needing a little coffee break, so we took seat in one of the many little cafes along this stretch of railway and not long after we had our drinks (coconut coffee for me and mango smoothie for R), things started to change and we realised that a train was due to come through.

Firstly the road was barried off to the vehicle traffic on both sides of the street by railway personnel and then all the cafe owners started to move their customer tables and chairs to behind a painted yellow line on the ground and they were telling people to get off the track as the train was coming.

We both absolutely LOVED this experience! It was just so, so cool and amazing to see and I think my favourite photo has to be of the cafe owner that served us running back to her cafe as the train was approaching. The whole experience was just fab!!

And if anyone is interested, here is the video that R took:

After that, we decided it was time to start making our way back to the hotel, so that R could get some rest as we'd done quite a bit of walking by this time.

Later in the evening after we'd both had some time to relax and recharge, we headed out to get some dinner. We found a really nice little restaurant and I had a chicken noodle soup and R had a noodle and chicken stir fry dish - both were excellent!

Then it was back to the hotel, shower and bed. That was our first exciting full day in Hanoi and it was very good. I can't quite remember the actual route we took today (as we just walk all around the various streets ), but the map below gives a rough idea of some of the key areas we covered.

Hanoi, Vietnam

15 January 2025