Hoan Kiem Lake

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One evening after work, I went for a walk round Hoan Kiem Lake, which roughly translates as Lake of the Returned (or Restored) Sword. There seems to be a few versions of the story, but the basic premise is that a King, Le Loi, who ruled Vietnam some 600 years ago, obtained a magic sword from either the Lady of the Lake or The Golden Turtle of the Lake (depending on which version you hear), which used to be called Luc Thuy (Green Water) Lake. Le Loi then used the magic sword to defeat the Chinese. Ten years of fighting for Vietnamese independence later; peace arrived in Vietnam, the King went out on the Lake in a dragon-shaped boat for some R&R with friends.

Suddenly a giant turtle appeared at the side of the boat, and told the King the sword had done its' job and must be returned to the Turtle God, With those words, the sword lifted out of Le Loi's scabbard and flew through the air to the turtle who then submerged into the Lake carrying the sword, neither of them were ever seen again. To this day, Hanoians believe the turtle and sword reside somewhere in the murky depths of the Lake.

It is a great spot for walking and people-watching. There's a nice path following the lake and it is bordered by gardens and benches.

Apparently there are still small turtles or terrapins living in the Lake. There is also one extremely rare Rafetus swinhoei turtle living there, one of only 4 or 5 left in the wild.

On the north side is a lovely red bridge, the Huc Bridge, a famous landmark in Hanoi. It links the edge of the lake to a small island, Jade Island which houses a Temple and a display of a Giant Turtle that came out of the lake sometime toward the end of the 19th Century. The Turtle is rather impressively sized and seems happy enough inside the glass box!

Out in the middle of the Lake is Turtle Tower, built to commemorate the restoration of the sword to the Lake.

A good walk round the lake was followed by stopping at Legends Microbrewery, on the north side of the lake. It has lovely views overlooking the area and the beer there is very drinkable! It's a fun place to go to relax. I had a few beers whole watching street scenes below.

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