Day 68 - Last Run in Hanoi & The Chaos of Train Street

Got up a bit earlier this morning. It was our last full day in Hanoi, and I really wanted to get at least one run in before we left. I lay in bed for a bit while the kids were already up and floating around, then dragged myself out, laced up, and headed downstairs around 7:30am.

Straight away, Hanoi reminded me who’s boss.

The roads were already absolutely pumping. It took a while to even find somewhere runnable, and once I did, it was chaos. I managed 5.5km, but it was more like a trail run than a street run. Footpaths here are basically optional suggestions. They’re broken, uneven, and constantly occupied by parked scooters, moving scooters, cars, food carts, people, bikes, dogs, and the occasional construction pile.

You’re dodging everything. Scooters on the footpath. Cars on the footpath. People stepping sideways without looking. Bikes on the road. Bikes on the footpath. Scooters everywhere.

Hanoi has around 8 million residents, and it’s estimated there are over 6 million motorbikes in the city. At peak times, it feels like all of them are out at once. The run was stop–start, zig-zagging, and broken, but I got it done.

Back at the accommodation, Kia still wasn’t feeling great. The sickness seems to have shifted from head cold territory into more of a stomach bug now, which isn’t ideal, especially with a big travel day coming up.

The plan for the morning was to head out to one of the cafés along Hanoi Train Street. We got ourselves sorted and made sure we arrived early enough to get a decent spot. That part worked.

The kids were immediately hungry and thirsty, so food and drinks were ordered. I went for a salted coffee and a beef bánh mì, we grabbed a croissant, Maddie got a steamed bun, and Kia didn’t get anything. She just wasn’t feeling it.

The salted coffee… honestly, it tasted like drinking cups of seawater. Way too much salt. I really tried to power through it, but it was making me feel sick, so I bailed and grabbed a beer instead. The bánh mì was good, but even that was pretty salty.

We got there around quarter to eleven, and the train wasn’t due until 11:52, so there was a fair bit of waiting. The kids and I wandered up and down the tracks, checking out the different cafés, when a couple from the Philippines sat down next to us and we got chatting.

They’ve done a heap of travel. The husband has a goal of visiting 60 countries before his 60th birthday. They’re currently sitting at around 34–36 countries and he’s turning 51 next week, so they’re well on track. They’re already planning Spain, parts of Europe, the ‘stans, and more. The highlight of all their travels, they said, was walking with lions in South Africa. She showed us videos. Pretty unreal.

Eventually, the train came rumbling down the track.

And when I say close, I mean close.

The cafés here are set up inches from the active railway line. When the train passes, staff pull stools and tables in, people press themselves back against the walls, and the train slides through with barely any clearance. It felt like it was going to clip my knees. You could reach out and touch it. People were waving from the carriages, cameras were everywhere, and the whole street buzzed as it rolled through.

The kids absolutely loved it. They didn’t really want to come in the first place, but once the train arrived, it was all worth it.

After that, Kia was done. She wasn’t feeling well at all and just wanted out, so we asked for the bill and booked a Grab. I went to pay for our stuff and the price seemed extremely high. I queried the young guy behind the counter and sure enough the bill was over 100,000vnd more than it should have been. They fixed it up and we got on our way.

The pickup point for the Grab was awkward, and the driver came down a side street instead. I ran over, waved him down and he waved me in. I jumped into the front seat while the kids were right behind me.

Except… there were still two passengers in the back.

The kids flung the doors open ready to jump in, the people in the back hadn’t paid yet and were planning to go around the corner, people outside were yelling at the driver to move, and everything stalled. Eventually the passengers paid, we got in, and took off without the driver needing to loop around again.

The car absolutely stank like smoke. Everyone hated it. We couldn’t wait to get out.

Back at the accommodation, it was straight into pack-down mode. Kia went straight to lie down, and I started sorting bags, working through mine first, then the kids’. We ducked out later to grab dinner, left the kids watching TV while Kia rested, and brought food back.

The rest of the day was really about getting everything ready for tomorrow. Early start, airport run, and a massive travel day ahead. Kia felt crook pretty much all day before taking something to help settle her stomach, so fingers crossed whatever’s been hanging around is gone and she gets a decent night’s sleep.

Being on a long flight while sick would be brutal.

We’re setting alarms around 4–4:30am, taxi at 5:30am, so tonight was about making tomorrow morning as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Big day coming. Hopefully a better one for Kia.