24 Sept 2012 ~ Hoan Kiem Lake

Listening to:  Patti Smith ~ Give Me Shelter (Twelve)


I realized I have been remiss in sharing all of my Vietnam experiences. Shame on me.

Since I haven't been traveling lately, let's get back to that.

I will start with Hanoi and the Hoan Kiem Lake.

The lake is named after an incident said to have occurred during the 15th century. Following a momentous victory against an army of invading Ming Chinese, Le Loi (Le Thai To, reigned 1428-33) was sailing on the lake when a golden turtle appeared appeared from the depths to take back the charmed sword with which he had secured the victory.

Le Thai To's sword assures the Vietnamese of divine intervention in times of national crisis.

Here is a beautiful monument to Le Thai To across the street from the lake.

And a golden turtle statue.

On a small island in the southern part of the lake there is a modest and somewhat dilapidated tower (The Tortoise Tower, Thap Rua), which commemorates the event.