"Railway Coffee Village" in Hanoi to Close

Photography is  not a crime ... so sad they are closing this iconic area of Hanoi history/culture. Progress? Sighhhhh

Off topic, but I just want to say how much I dig that

newscaster's Jack Lord, Hawaii FIVE-0 hairdo.

SURF'S UP!

@Aidan in HCMC hilarious

I'll leave it to others to translate the article (link), but the gist is that all current businesses operating as cafés along the Hanoi city rail corridor are to have their licenses revoked within the next three days due to safety concerns.
After that, a permanent solution will be developed.

There is also talk about developing some sort of railway themed special attraction
-@OceanBeach92107

"After that, a permanent solution will be developed."

So, after revoking the licenses of the shopkeepers, some time after that, in the future, soon, a permanent solution will be developed. I do hope the development of that solution is on a faster track (pun intended) than Saigon's subway lines.

But here's an idea. Typical of VN shopkeepers, their encroachment on to the walkways with tables/chairs/plants/whatever has greatly reduced what looks to be at least 3 or 4 meters clearance on each side of the tracks. So, how about clearing all of the walkways and erecting a fence/guardrail with gated crosswalks?

And, a railway themed special attraction? With an admission fee, perhaps?

Well something along the lines of an Asian-style "Perils of Pauline" might, just might, draw a crowd.

Photography is not a crime ... so sad they are closing this iconic area of Hanoi history/culture. Progress? Sighhhhh
-@Friday with Mateo

Seriously?

With "influencers" falling off of buildings & bridges and over cliffs the world over, you can't see where there would be a genuine safety concern when tourists are left to their own self-imposed restrictions?

Combine irresponsible "nomads" doing any kind of "challenge" they can imagine with NO GUARD RAILS of any kind whatsoever:

Someone is simply using long-overdue common sense

Photography is not a crime ... so sad they are closing this iconic area of Hanoi history/culture. Progress? Sighhhhh
-@Friday with Mateo

Seriously?

With "influencers" falling off of buildings & bridges and over cliffs the world over, you can't see where there would be a genuine safety concern when tourists are left to their own self-imposed restrictions?

Combine irresponsible "nomads" doing any kind of "challenge" they can imagine with NO GUARD RAILS of any kind whatsoever:



Someone is simply using long-overdue common sense
-@OceanBeach92107

Agree 100%

@OceanBeach92107

Agree on the common sense issue.

So, as an alternative to evicting all the shopkeepers and erasing a well known tourist attraction in Hanoi, why the heck don't they clear the walkways and erect a fence with gated crosswalks?

The trains already pass through there at a crawl.

@OceanBeach92107
Agree on the common sense issue.
So, as an alternative to evicting all the shopkeepers and erasing a well known tourist attraction in Hanoi, why the heck don't they clear the walkways and erect a fence with gated crosswalks?
The trains already pass through there at a crawl.
-@Aidan in HCMC

What "walkways"?

Any place in the western world you would call those railway right-of-ways, areas to be kept clear all the way to the "backs" of the buildings, where the doors and windows wouldn't exist (or be boarded up, much as was the case with the Berlin wall on the American Sector side).

Whatever the original purpose for allowing construction in that manner (so close to the tracks) it almost certainly didn't include the current retail locations for tourists which have evolved over time.

And imagine one person stumbling or playing chicken with that crawling train.

It still must require a significant distance for a train to go from a crawl to a complete stop.

The trains already pass through there at a crawl.
-@Aidan in HCMC

Could it be that the objective is to allow the trains to move faster?   I used to use an unmanned and ungated crossing on my way to HCM city center that had similar businesses near the tracks.   Even crossing at right angles always gave me the willies.

@colinoscapee Sometimes it is hard to cure "stupid" ... #naturalselection

Well, there's not a whole lot of exciting places for tourists in that town, so something off-beat like this becomes popular.

When the choice is dozing off during a xyclo ride around the Old Quarter or having a coffee and almost getting hit by a train, some people are going to choose the train.

Personally ... and not to sound mean about it ... I would not cry if some of the "vloggers" ... or as I like to call them ... "vidiots" ... got railroaded off the air ... not all ... some are actually well-mannered ... but they are out there running amok ... not everybody wants a camera stuck in their face. One man's opinion.

... not everybody wants a camera stuck in their face. One man's opinion.
-@Friday with Mateo

Not everybody wants an opinion stuck in their face .. 😉

@OceanBeach92107 ... Let the man speak ... let the man speak

Here's a recent article in English with a short video of this "tourist attraction".

To be honest, I can't see what the appeal is.

Foreign tourists disappointed as Hanoi closes famed Train Street

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/for … 12256.html

Here's what some people say:

After Hanoi closed coffee shops along its iconic Train Street and put up barriers to prevent tourists' entry, many foreigners displayed frustration.

Australian tourist Anna Coleman visited the Train Street in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter on Thursday night but could not go in due to the barricades put up by police.

"I felt a bit disappointed. The train street is very interesting. We do not have anything like this at home," Coleman told VnExpress International.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

David Gecewicz from Singapore who visited the Train Street in July also felt sad to hear that coffee shops here would be closed by the end of this weekend.

"It's a cultural landmark and it's one of the key reasons we made Hanoi the first choice in Vietnam," David said.

@OceanBeach92107 Many folks value other people's opinions and enjoy exchange of ideas about different ways of thought ... if we all thought in a linear manner ... the world would be quite boring, me thinks

@Friday with Mateo

Oh, oh, oh... I know about that

...and as if on cue:

(Google Translation)

"Taking photos in the train street cafe, foreign tourists have an accident...Although the train guard pulled the roadblock and the siren, a foreign tourist still slipped through the train barrier area to take pictures in the train street cafe..."

https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su/chup-anh-o-pho-ca-phe-duong-tau-du-khach-nuoc-ngoai-bi-tai-nan-20220918205958482.htm

Of course, the train had to stop to investigate the F*ING STUPIDITY OF THE. IDIOTIC, NARCISSISTIC FOREIGNER!

@OceanBeach92107 Many folks value other people's opinions and enjoy exchange of ideas about different ways of thought ... if we all thought in a linear manner ... the world would be quite boring, me thinks
-@Friday with Mateo

...and yet some people have a way of foisting their opinions on others that is as offensive as a camera in the face.

I should know.

I'm said to be an expert at doing that...

"Can't we all just get along" ... a quote from the late great Rodney King

@Aidan in HCMC Book 'em Danno.

People are strange...

Foreign tourists flock to another section of Hanoi Train Street (with photos and a video)

https://e.vnexpress.net/photo/places/fo … 80348.html

Six months after Hanoi authorities set up barriers at the famous Train Street, foreign tourists are "flocking" to another section of railroad tracks nearby.

It seems like some sort of addiction to the vibrations of the train and the adrenaline rush of being nearly run over and the subsequent near-death experience. Could be an interesting research topic for anthropologists...