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This lake lies just south of the Old Quarter district. It is also called the Lake of the Restored Sword.
When a king and his army in the 1400's successfully drove out yet another round of foreign invaders (usually
from Mongolia or China), legend says he was asked by a giant golden turtle in the lake to return the sword to the
gods. The turtle took the sword to the bottom where he supposedly still guards it today for the sake of peace.
There is a lot of people-watching to be done around this lake. We spent time here on each day of our trip
soaking it all in.
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| The French built this building on a tiny island in the lake. It's now a tourist symbol of Hanoi. |
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| Water puppetry next to the lake. Art form that originated in northern Vietnam in the 10th century. |
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| Old friends. |
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| Crossing the street you have to walk slowly and steadily and trust no one will hit you. |
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| She was a ham and master little saleswoman. We happily bought most of our souvenirs from her. |
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| This fancier hotel was across the lake from our place. We got massages here - $6 for 90 minutes. |
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| Little charmer. |
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| You squeeze this fruit in the middle and a white jelly-like egg comes out. Tastes like a pear. |
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| Can you imagine all that they may have seen in their lifetimes? |
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| We bought some great art in a few of the many galleries close to the lake. |
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