Train street is situated between Le Duan and Kham Tien street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It takes around 30 minutes to walk from Hoan Kiem lake. I recommend putting Ngo 224 Le Duan, the name of the street, into google maps and letting that guide you.
Clothes are hurriedly unpegged from the clotheslines spanning the width of the street, children are ushered indoors and mopeds are wheeled to the relative safety of doorways. In just a matter two minutes, this Hanoi neighbourhood goes from a bustling hive of activity to an eerie ghost town. All shops are closed without warning and the residents disappear.
Tall, narrow buildings claustrophobically tower over either side of the path while below, people live out their lives on their doorsteps. Fragrant aromas emanate from pots of broth cooking in porches, mixing with the smog, exhaust and odours of street food to create a bouquet so uniquely Vietnamese. Women wash their laundry in basins propped against the rails before hanging it along the width of the street to dry and men with oil soaked hands tend to their mopeds. I even saw one man with a bowl of soapy water shaving his head while sat between the sleepers. If you get past the idea of the two steel lines that stretch down its centre, this is really just a Hanoi street like any other, only rather than dodging a constant barrage of motorcycles, you have the twice-daily train to contend with.