Hoan Kiem Lake Park - Legendary Lake of the Returned Sword @ Hanoi in Vietnam

Known as the City of Lakes, the biggest one in Hanoi is known as Ho Tay whereas the most famous one had to be Hoan Kiem Lake at the Old Quarter.

Literally just a hundred meters from Bonsella Hotel, where we stayed for seven days, I visited the park almost every day, primarily because the hotel had no gym facility and my exercise quota had to be met with a jog around the perimeter of Hoan Kiem Lake.

With wide pavements, a jog one round surrounding the lake was about 1.5 kilometers and I usually would go for at least two rounds to meet my minimum target. 

So what about this lake that made it so well known? It had to do with a legend that goes back a few centuries ago, in the 1400s, concerning one of Hanoi's most famous figure; Emperor Lê Lợi. So a bit history first. 

Vietnam wasn't recognized as a country by China during the imperial period until it managed to defeat the army during the Ming Dynasty, under the leadership of Lê Lợi. It was said that there was a magic sword that helped him to defeat the stronger, bigger army. 

After his victory, Emperor Lê Lợi was relaxing at Lục Thủy Lake (previous name of Hoan Kiem Lake) one day when a gigantic golden turtle appeared and asked for the return of the magic sword, which was dutifully returned by the emperor. To honor the occasion, he renamed the lake Hoan Kiem, meaning "returning the sword".

I am all for legends but the fact is that the lake was just 600 meters long, 200 meters wide and a mere 2 meters deep. And you are telling me that giant turtles live in it?! 

Fact is, there were indeed giant turtles residing in the lakes! Known to be a species related to the "rare Yangtze giant softshell turtle", you can actually find taxidermized specimens of them at the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngọc Sơn Temple), located on an island within Hoan Kiem Lake, accessible via the red Thê Húc bridge.

Strongly recommended to visit the century-old Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngọc Sơn Temple), which I would cover in detail on day seven of my Hanoi trip. 

Icon of Hoan Kiem Lake is actually not the temple though. Many of you who have researched on travelling to Hanoi would have come across some pictures, symbols, paintings of the above structure. 

Known aptly as the Turtle Tower, the tiny islet it stood on isn't accessible to the general public. Historically used as a fishing site, a tower, different from the current one, was built in the 1400s for the emperor. 

A temple was said to be built between the 17th and 18th century even though it was removed before the French colonized the city. The current three-floor tower was eventually commissioned by the French, to honor Emperor Le Loi, and built between years 1886 and 1887. 

I am intrigued by the abandoned tower. Standing abandoned in the middle of the lake, at certain angles, the tower appeared to be just a facade similar to the Ruins of Saint Paul's at Macau. 

Pity there's no way for commoner like me to check it out. From some zoomed in pictures, I noticed a stairs leading to the upper floors. Draped in natural concrete, with no doors and windows, it must have felt so lonely, although birds would occasionally call upon it. Turtles were also known to sun themselves in that area, without being disturbed by nosy humans.

Obviously, I took a ton of pictures. They were taken across the seven days I was in Hanoi and there were some slight color differences given the timing and the weather. It was cool in the first few days, with temperature going up to almost 30 degrees celcius in the last few days.

I just noticed from the above photo that there appeared to be an altar on the second floor. Means likely there is a caretaker, maybe from park maintenance.

As it was spring when we visited, the flowers were blooming, bringing colors to what would have foggy in Hanoi almost throughout our visit. My dad would have loved it here. 

Trees were not flowering except for this one overlooking the Turtle Tower and it was extremely popular with locals and foreigners. 

People were even picking up the flower petals. 

Not sure of their purpose though. 

Hm... I don't think these are lalang. 

Photographs taken in the mornings; as you can see, many dancing aunties who would take the opportunity to exercise. I can only say the music can be quite loud.

You may check out the two videos to gauge.

Curious foreigners (non-Asians); not for Singaporeans like me as we do see such scenes in Singapore although the persons exercising might not be decked out in such traditional attire.

Plenty of pet dogs! 

Generally not leashed.

Hoa Phong Tower; built over 200 years ago, it was said to be the entrance of a temple that no longer existed. To read more, click here. 

A statue of Emperor Lê Lợi (also known as Le Thai To). Compared to the diminutive one at King Le Thai To Monument, this was a lot bigger! 

Clock that seemed to have broken down.

Cafe around the lake for those who would like to soak in the views of Hoan Kiem Lake. It would have been nice to sip a cup of hot Vietnamese coffee when the temperature is in its low 20s degrees celcuius.

For dining closer to the lake, you may consider the restaurant in the building on the left of the above photograph. I didn't bother as the reviews didn't seem to be fantastic.

Alternatively, there would also be street hawkers that you can patronize. They would usually come out in the later part of the day and on weekends when the pedestrian streets are closed. 

If there are turtles in the lake, there must be an ecosystem and I did notice fishes in the murky water. And with fishes mean some people would feed them, which kind of make the water more polluted. At the very least though, the water surface wasn't littered with rubbish like plastic bags, water bottles etc. 

Complimentary drinking water! I think such devices should be a standard for any parks; plain water would be healthier than sugared drinks anyway.

Public toilets! 

Important for people like me.

Turtle tower in the evening.

Random photographs taken throughout the week. As mentioned previously, I went all crazy at Hoan Kiem Lake when it comes to photo-taking and it would be such a waste if I just kept them in my hard disk.

Noticed anything from the above picture. Deflated helium balloons! Click here to read why they should honestly be banned. I would obviously support such bans! 

Want to know how close Bonsella Hotel is to Hoan Kiem Lake. Just check out the arrow which showed the Bon Sky Bar; the rooftop bar of Bonsella Hotel.

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Address

P. Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hàng Trống, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam