Rare Hoan Kiem Turtle Sighted During Tết 2011

The Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) began with a beautiful surprise. Today we saw the elusive Hoan Kiem Turtle surface and swim a dozen feet away from the shore. "This is gonna be one lucky year" I said. "Yes, yes it going to be a good year" replied a lady in the crowd "The turtle surfaces on special occasions". It seems that the turtle was last sighted during 1000 years of Hanoi celebrations last year.

The legend of the Hoan Kiem Turtle fascinated me ever since I arrived in Vietnam, I would walk around the Hoan Kiem lake hoping to catch a glimpse of this beautiful creature. And now finally I saw it during the auspicious time of Tết.

Wishing you all happy new year "chuc mong nam moi 2011"

Click picture for full size image