Hoan Kleim lake is the center of Hanoi and Hoan Kleim district which takes its name after the lake is where many of the tourist spots of my interest were located. Our carefully selected hotel “The Oriental Jade Hotel” was just a few steps away from the lake and thus afforded us many opportunities to explore the lake and its surroundings. Read my post Choosing the Right Hotel – Hanoi .

As the legend goes, King Le Loi ( 15th century Vietnam) whilst boating in the lake was asked by the Golden Turtle( manifestation of God) to return the magic sword. This sword was given to him to defeat the then ruling Chinese Ming Dynasty. Le Loi returned the sword and renamed the lake (then known as Emerald lake) Hoan Kleim or “Lake of the Returned Sword ! As lakes go Hoan Kleim lake is small in size (about 30 acres) and is straddled by the Old Quarter and parts of the French Quarter. The walking area starts from near the UNIQLO flagship store along the lake till the entrance of the Ngoc Son temple. The wide boulevard (walking street as it is called ) is closed to traffic on the weekends and offers the city a green lung getaway from the crowded old quarter for the citizens and tourist alike. From a busy road with bustling traffic the street transforms into one big fair. Street vendors, food stalls, music shows, even busking and of course souvenir shopping are some of the activities one can enjoy on the lake and spend a pleasant happy evening.

Just off the boulevard are narrow lanes with the choicest of Vietnamese food and coffee shops. But there was a down side for me . The stools were barely a few inches off the ground and I would need help to get back on my feet. On one of our evening walks we came across a Vietnamese Vegetarian restaurant ( Not withstanding the beef stew on the bill board ) where the benches were higher than the normal. We stopped by for the vegetarian version of Pho, ( fuh not fo as i was educated) the traditional Vietnamese dish. Pho is a broth enriched with the choicest of vegetables for the vegetarian and meats or sea food for the meat eaters. This and some fried rice garnished with more fresh vegetables made for a very delectable meal. I must admit that I have never eaten so many veggies in my life as I did in Vietnam and once again I dispelled the notion that vegetarians find it hard to go by when traveling outside of the country India. And for the next few days it was a walk along the street and dinner by the lake. We were spoilt for choice from street food to fine dining. And if you don’t feel like walking take a rickshaw or an electric car ride around the lake. Not much to do so just enjoy the fresh air and absorb the surroundings and watch the people go by.

Another must see place on the lake is the Ngoc Son temple on an island right in the middle of the lake. Cross over the vermillion coloured Huc bridge and enter the 19th century temple erected to commemorate Tran Hung Dao, a great Vietnamese military commander and also to the gods of prosperity. Here I learnt the distinction between a temple where historical figures are honoured and a pagoda which is a place of Buddhist worship . We walked across the bridge and gave the temple and the statues a miss in favour of some street shows and souvenir shopping ,

Yet another structure with a story is the Turtle tower on the Southern corner of the lake. Stands out prominently and was built in the late 19th century with the “permission” of the French Authorities by a Vietnamese citizen who wanted to bury his father in the tower. Sounds odd but that is the story! A miniature Statue of Liberty adorned the top of this structure for many years much against the wishes of the locals till it was pulled down by the Vietnamese after the French left the country .This tower is neither accessible by a bridge or boat and it adds to the intrigue of Hoan Kleim lake and is visible from all the roads around.

We wound up our stay in Hanoi with a water puppetry show at the Lotus Water puppet theatre, one of the two main theaters on the lake side. The other is the Thang Long puppet show on the other end of the walking street. Water puppetry is an ancient Vietnamese art form showcasing their culture and traditions. The origin of these shows can be traced to the paddy fields filled with water. The show of approx one hour priced at 150,000 VND is set in a pool of water and the artistes display a high degree of skill in puppetry while depicting the vignettes of the Vietnamese life in a seemingly comic and humorous way. Walking back to the hotel we stopped by at the UNIQLO flagship store in the iconic Hanoi Tourist Building to pick up up some woolens for our forthcoming trip to the Northern Highlands