Located within the centre of Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake (‘Lake of the Returned Sword) is thought to be the heart of the city. Once a marshy lagoon, it owes it’s identify and its fame to a robust legend, a close parallel to an episode in the UK’s Arthurian mythology. 

When Vietnam was occupied by forces of the Chinese language Ming in the 15th century, Le Loi, a resistance leader, netted a powerful sword while fishing on the Lake. The ability of the sword led Le Loi to victory and the expulsion of the Chinese. Later, as Emperor Le Thai To, he rowed out on the lake once extra to return the sword from whence it got here in gratitude for his success. A sudden clap of thunder hires the air, whereupon a golden ‘tortoise’ emerged from water to take the sword from his hand and return it to the depths. 

Like the Knights of the Round Table, the legend says that the turtles might be on hand to help in times of national peril.

The tortoise is likely one of the four sacred creatures within the animist traditions of Vietnam. Its spiritual ‘job description’ is to promote wisdom and learning and to preserve the stability of the realm (hence, its widespread use to support steal -stone tablets carrying inscriptions concerning proclamations, achievements and similar information worthy of preservation). 

The ‘tortoises’ of Hoan Kiem Lake are actually uncommon Asian mushy-shelled freshwater giant turtles (the phrase ‘rua’ in Vietnamese covers each species). An unknown number still inhabit the murky water -sometimes a head pops up, a robust omen of good luck for anybody fortunate to witness the event.

The latest known sighting was when a turtle crawled onto the tiny island on which stands the Tortoise Pagoda that's the inspiration for Hanoi’s ‘brand’.  

This occurred through the early part of 2004 when prolonged dry weather had lowered the water level. The incident prompted a major rescue operation by the authorities involving removing a few of the collected muck from the bottom and pumping in unpolluted water drawn from specially drilled boreholes. 

A preserved example of a large turtle might be seen within the Ngoc Son Temple, a lovely constructing on a small island within the north-east corner of the lake. Reached by a brightly painted crimson wooden bridge, the temple is devoted to General Tran Hung Dao, one of Vietnam’s great heroes, though it is no longer used for worship. The temple is open from 07.30 to 18.00 day by day - there's a small entrance fee. 

A stroll round the lake at any time of the day is all the time of interest - previous men smoking bamboo pipes while playing Chinese chess or mah-jong, younger lovers, students searching for foreigners to talk to in order to observe their language abilities and a number of different actions of various degrees of legality. 

Nonetheless, it's within the very early morning when Hoan Kiem Lake is at its best from a customer’s level of view. Most mature and elderly Vietnamese people are devotees of health regimes. As daybreak breaks, they emerge of their 1000's to find pleasant places for callisthenics, jogging, and tai chi and so on. Many converge on Hoan Kiem Lake’s engaging gardens and paths. 

Throughout the highway to the east is Hanoi’s primary put up office (‘buu dien’) and the us-style Hanoi Folk’s Committee building, the equal of Metropolis Hall within the US. On the other side of the lake, the shops within the western side of the street are some of the costliest in Hanoi.  

In the direction of the southern end of the lake, look for ‘Fanny’s’ wonderful ice cream parlor and luxuriate in a feast of locally made ice creams and sorbets from a bewildering array of flavors together with oddities equivalent to durian and tea tree. ‘Social den’ (black chocolate) twinned with ‘dua’ (coconut) is superb!