National treasure chokes on pollution

Online Travel Vietnam: When I first came to Viet Nam in February of 1992, my staff in Thailand had told me the weather was the same as Bangkok. So, silly me, I only wore a lightweight golf shirt. The immigration and customs agents marvelled at "how strong I was" and somehow managed to overlook my blue lips and chattering teeth.

 

Arriving in my Ha Noi office, the staff took me out to buy a winter coat, via xich lo, with an obligatory tour around Hoan Kiem Lake.

At that time, the trees were full of coloured lights in celebration of Tet and it was eerily quiet. There were only four or five cars and only around 20 motorbikes. Most people travelled by xich lo, bicycle or walking.

Coming from the lunacy of Bangkok, I felt like I had stepped backwards in time to one of the truly relaxing and harmonious places on earth.

On my second day, I walked around the lake during lunch and was drawn to a crowd of people who were gestering towards the middle of the lake and crying with excitement.

The turtle was up.

Since then, I have seen the turtles many times, but it still gives me a thrill each time. This is a creature who, as legend has it, helped a king. It has also lived through the Ha Noi bombings during the war, has seen generations of people coming to visit and experienced first-hand the transformation of Viet Nam from a sleepy little country into a raging economic tiger.

Sadly, not all progress is good.

Whereas people 20 years ago had respect for their elders and the environment, nowadays people seem to treat the entire country as their personal trash can. Especially, Hoan Kiem Lake.

What was once a pristine and relaxing environment has become severely polluted. The lake is now an unnatural shade of green and has all sorts of rubbish floating around. It seems to me that the turtles surface more frequently now simply because they cannot breathe anymore.

With the expansion of restaurants and growing number of people, it seems to be filled with more trash and filth than ever.

If the turtles are truly one of Viet Nam's "national treasures", then people need to stop taking them for granted, otherwise, they will not be there for your grandchildren to see.

It's ironic that these magnificient creatures have lived through wars, but have been hurt more by the people who claim to adore them.

The Government is now cleaning the lake and bringing the turtles in for medical treatment. They're also getting more fish to eat than ever before. This must be a real treat for them.

When you look at the face of the oldest turtle (whom I nicknamed "Rafe" which is short for his species designation) you can see a lot of wisdom there. This is the face of someone who has seen it all.

Unless the Government imposes very heavy fines for littering and polluting the lake, he might not be able to delight our children and grandchildren in the future.

As usual, the future is up to us. 

Source: VNS