After getting breakfast up at the club level we did a bit of exploring around the hotel. We saw the pool up on the top of the hotel. We soon realized that it was going to be a hot one, so we headed off to the zoo. We walked from the Sofitel, it was not a long walk, but crossing the streets were something else. Even when we had the green walkies sign, it was a leap of faith. as the cars and scooters never stopped coming. Leslie held on to my arm and we just started walking at a steady moderate pace. We did have to slow down for a few scooters that did not want to stop for us. We had three or four of these crossings and they did not get any easier. The zoo was a small affair but we had fun walking around. We got much more entertainment from the masses of folks dressed in traditional garb taking pictures of themselves and of their friends. It is a tradition to take these pictures around the lunar new year. It was nice to see both males and females paying homage to this tradition. The sheer variety of colors and designs of the dresses and jackets made it a delight to walk amongst them.
A set of calligraphy brushes outside the club
Once again the club level pays for it self
Some aqua bikes
The pool is up on the roof
Heading off for our walk to the zoo
The gate to the park
So many flowers all throughout the city
The young adults all decked out in traditional clothes
With their toes squeezed into impossibly small shoes
This museum is our next visit
Not sure what goes on inside this place but the building is nice
Sssssss snake time
A whole herd of topiary's
The traditional dresses are worn for pictures that are taken at the start of the new year
Both the women and the men are out in force
The beetles!
The butterfly house was quite small
No shortage of peacocks
In the aviary
We could hardly move around there were so many folks getting their pictures taken
Squawk!
You can see the line of women waiting for a chance to get a picture at this ;location
Some flamingoes have more color than the others
A ruddy shelduck
We heard an announcement in Vietnamese but basically ignored it. Soon we understood that the announcement was telling everyone that the aviary was closing and that we had to leave. The picture seekers were not happy
A tree festooned with new year ornaments
Monkeys live in these connected cages
A huge flower befitting the cannonball tree. The nuts of this tree are the size of cannonballs
Some fancy goats
Love the hair
This little kitten was up on a wall
A French style pavilion
That is a serious dewlap on the iguana
The black swan!
It was not easy getting onto this walkway / bridge
But we made it past the gauntlet of photo seekers
Lifebird #1 for today, a painted stork
Lifebird #2 a Gray Headed Swamphen
Lifebird #3 A Lesser Adjutant
Yikes a brontosaurus
Freshly hatched and tasty
Orchids all around
2025 is the year of the snake, the lunar new year is almost here
A decidedly European gentleman JB Louis Pierre, founder of the Saigon Zoo and a noted French Botanist
Not one but two trains
A blast of color
Shiny silken lanterns
A fairy castle for animals
Masked Guinea fowl
Three against one
Little deer
Fuzzy horns
Another cat in the zoo
Clouded leopard
It has been 2 years and 231 days since we began our Migration
