JUNK BOAT TRAVELS: Hanoi Friday Nov 28

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Hanoi Friday Nov 28

Friday Nov 28 2025 - Hanoi Vietnam

Previous posts can be found on the right side under BLOG ARCHIVE.

STEPS 13,5000

WEATHER sunny

TOUR DAY 3 on our own

ITALICS TOUR DESCRIPTION

2 additional nights - From November 27 2025 to November 28 2025

Days at leisure. (Breakfasts)

We had a plan today! And I think this was my favourite day in Hanoi.

Leaving the hotel and turning left.

I can't imagine sitting this low to the ground, although you do get better at it.

This looks like a kindergarten room but it is a regular restaurant!

Phùng Hưng Mural Street

Hanoi street art is most prominently found on Phùng Hưng Mural Street, which features large-scale murals depicting the city's history, culture, and daily life on the walls of an elevated railway line. The street runs parallel to the railway viaduct, with one side occupied by French-built houses leaning on the old moat wall of Thang Long Citadel, leaving intact traces of mossy tiled roofs, square chimneys, and attic room doorways that are as small as pigeon cages.

Still largely undiscovered by western tourists, this joint street art project between Vietnam and Korea covers the blank walls between stone railway arches with whimsical murals. Many of them are trompe-l'œil optical illusions, which blur the lines between the painting and reality.

The murals show charming scenes from Hanoi that befuddle the senses and make it difficult to tell where the artwork ends and the actual city begins. Pedestrians delight in photographing each other blending into these trompe-l'œil mural illusions while the train that heads down Hanoi's "train street" rumbles above.

Couples, families, groups, and even pro photographers and models alike partake in the fun. Some pretend to enter a painted door, while others fake plucking fruit from a flat fruit seller’s hanging basket or stage being hit by a realistically painted street car. One mural even has patterned aprons hanging nearby, which anyone can wear to disappear into the artwork.

We took a wrong turn and ended up in this crazy alley, food stalls everywhere while cars and scooters went every which way!

Train St.

There are two visible entrances to the train street, and both are patrolled by the police, with one or two cafe staff wandering around. We were told that unless you know the locals living on that street well, there’s really no way to visit for free.

We found neither of these statements to be true, we simply walked up with no issues. When we had our group tour meeting the next day, the guide mentioned that the street was closed by the government.

Hanoi's famous Train Street (near Phung Hung/Lý Nam Đế) is officially closed to the public for casual entry due to safety concerns, with authorities shutting down cafes along the tracks starting around March 2025 and deploying police to prevent crowds, though some cafes near the ends (like the one on Tran Phu) might still allow patrons in through secret paths or offer limited views, but general access for tourists to wander freely is banned. The Hanoi Tourism Department ordered the closure of tours and businesses along the tracks to protect visitors and ensure railway safety.

We had no issues and never heard about this until after our visit. I will say there were not a lot of tourists.

The train tracks are bordered by perfectly placed cafes serving local favourites like egg coffee and traditional Vietnamese coffee. A couple of times a day the train rips through the area, coming perilously close to the storefronts.

The staircase we simply walked up.

OMG fresh doughnuts!

John's video!

Using Google Translate to get directions.

Bún Chả Hương Liên“Bun Cha Obama” Obama and Bourdain Michelin - we thought we'd visit this landmark, but as we entered and climbed the stairs it just appeared dirty so we left.

More photo shoots.