Ho Con Rua/Turtle Lake

View Photos (6) Image © 2000 Robert Reid

Good news for future visitors to Vietnam! Last year, out-going Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet announced that entrance fees for museums, theaters, trade fairs and "other historic sites" would become "universal" meaning that the eternal travelers' complaint of paying up to 1000% face value of local residents' ticket prices, for something like a zoo, is at least partly over. (And there's been more talk of actually equalizing all prices in Vietnam, including tiered air and train fares.) It's anyone's guess, however, when these new balanced fees will actually go into effect.

Until then, there are, of course, some nice places to see that don't cost a dong for anyone...such as Ho Chi Minh City's often-overlooked landmark, Ho Con Rua (Turtle Lake, a fountain really), a rare relaxing area located just two blocks north of the so-called Notre Dame Cathedral (actually Our Lady's Basilica) in District One.

Built twenty-five years ago on a traffic circle where Vo Van Tan, Tran Cao Van and Pham Ngoc Thach Streets intersect, Ho Con Rua is an ideal spot to pause a bit and snap a photo or two, perhaps during a stroll between sights like the Ben Thanh Market or Unification Palace and the War Crimes Museum (recently renamed the War Remnants Museum).

It's easily spotted. You'll see Ho Con Rua's towering concrete lotus flower, at least partly, from a few blocks away. As you get closer, the peaceful scene comes into view: guarding acacia trees encircling the off-and-on fountains spraying murky green water; curving sidewalks elevated just above the surface, and steps leading up to a mini-observation deck - which some people seem to mistake for a public restroom (no need to go to the top). Across the street, quiet little cafes serve fresh coconut and coffees, and at night, sellers of dried-squid and balloons set up their pushcarts along the circle. Last October I was there to watch the Southeast Asia Games (held in Jakarta) on televisions set up on the sidewalks. Hundreds of Vietnamese were glued to the sets, cheering loudly as their soccer team played Thailand in the semi-finals.

All that, but where's the turtle? Well, I wanted to know where our reptile friend had gone, as the spot has become somewhat of a city symbol for me. (I spent my first night in Vietnam at a Can Tho University-branch dorm across the street.) The first Vietnamese people I asked said either "boom" or "blown up" with dramatic hand gestures. The tranquil and turtle-less scene we see today wasn't always that way.

Originally the spot was called Soldiers' Park or the French Soldiers' Memorial, a collection of bronze statues erected by French colonists in the early part of the century. South Vietnamese President Dieu tore it down in 1963, one of his last actions before he and his brother were assassinated.

His successor Thieu used the site to build Ho Con Rua, at the suggestion of fortunetellers. The mystics had told him that the "dragon" of South Vietnam rested in Saigon, its "head" conveniently at Thieu's home, the Presidential (now Unification) Palace, and its "tail" here. A monument could conceal and protect the spirit of the south, it seemed, so 300,000 wartime dollars were shelled out for the four-year project (1970-1974), including a concrete turtle for "wisdom." Of course, it didn't really work as Thieu would've liked.

Not long after Saigon's fall in April 1975, a group of "national" minorities apparently blew the turtle to bits, hoping to revive the dragon's fiery tail--and the south. It didn't. What it did do was kill a few passersby, get the guilty party arrested, and inspire a novel and movie in the early '80s. (The pedestal for the turtle is still standing.)

Twenty-two years after the explosion, not much has changed in the area. Vietnam seems content to let Ho Con Rua be, without a new name, a new turtle, nor any special significance for the sight. I'm glad. Frankly, the Vietnamese I spoke to didn't really seem to care about it too much either. A friend who works in the area told me, "It's just a nice sight. There are more interesting places in Ho Chi Minh City to talk about."

That may be so. But, for me, it's a highlight. And I can't think of a better place to take a time-out from the city's frantic pace and watch the world go by relatively quietly.

If you visit Ho Con Rua, there's a newsstand across the street on the southern side selling a few publications in English. (Note the bikes with full snake cages often congregated in front of it.) If you're looking for something more substantial than coffee, Pho Hanoi (on Vo Van Tan Street) is nearby. The small outdoor place has its own fountain, a 70s retro tape, good northern-style beef noodle soup and my favorite cup of coffee in town.

Published on 5/1/98