Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden

On our second day, we headed to Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden. It was quite far from our hotel but we just decided to walk. And even if we felt tired, it's such a good thing because we got to witness the sights in HCMC. Along the road (pictured below), you can see sellers with their products tucked in their motorcycles. You'll see orchids and aquarium fishes and lots of other things! How cool is that?

If my memory serves me right, I've never been to a zoo before. I was actually not a fan but I'm glad we visited the Saigon Zoo. You see, one of the benefits of traveling is that it can lead you to experience things for the first time.

We paid a minimal amount for the entrance fee and when we got inside, boy it was huge! There were so many trees and plants and, of course, animals. You'll feel like you're in a forest or something. 

Majority of the animals there, I've only seen in pictures. So it's really great to see them up close, like these elephants. Although they're big, they seem gentle. I was so happy when I saw them (as evidenced by my pic below). However, I'm not sure if it's just because of old age but some didn't look healthy. I hope they're having enough food daily.

And then there's this monkey with her baby. As you can see, they are not in a cage, instead, they are in a tree where they can freely climb from one branch to another.

Hello to this giraffe!

The rhinoceros looked sleepy but still cute.

There were still so many others, like lion, tiger, urangutan, bear, deers, birds, and my least favorite, reptiles. Aside from the zoo, it has also some lovely parts like fountains, ponds, and botanical garden with so many orchids! Oh I almost forgot, we got to taste the all-natural sugarcane juice (sugarcane + calamansi). It was so good! Perfect for all the walking we've been doing the whole morning.

*all pictures were taken by me, the ones where I was in were taken by Shayne