Keep those legs tucked in

The streets of Hanoi are absolute carnage. Traffic lights are just a recommendation. Driving on the correct side of the road is optional. Scooters stick to the road – but only if there isn’t traffic. Its chaos. Thing is, like I’ve experienced in the past, when everyone just expects chaos – it actually kinda works. Nobody ever gets cross or upset, they just find a way to keep on scootin’.

Our next experience of Hanoi was a little different. Probably not one for any health and safety officials.

It’s a piece of train line that runs tightly between rows of houses just south of Hanoi train station. The city has become famous for its cafes along this stretch. It’s a unique view because the train passes within 1.5m of the doors of these houses. Seems like the perfect place to stick a plastic chair and have a cup of coffee right?

Well yes, as it turns out. This stretch is a instagram influencer smash hit – the view of a train coming down this bit of track is really quite famous. We arrived nice and early for a quiet experience, and our (absolutely wonderful) cafe owner really showed off her social media props and photography skills with us…

You really don’t want to stick your legs out when this is coming past.

The coffee was also stunning. The place was called ‘The House Coffee’ in case you happen to go there. Amusingly, when we ordered our Egg/Coconut coffees and crossiants, we were a little bit puzzled when she legged it northbound up the tracks away from us. Turns out she’d run out of croissants and ran to the shops to get us some more in time for the train to pass through. An amusing and wonderful experience.

Accidentally made an M&S advert with the egg coffee: