{Saigon Sights} Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens

Rob and the girls on the Saigon Zoo train

In the heart of Saigon is the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, lauded by tourism guides as a place to escape the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

Indeed, this is a place to get away from the constant stream of traffic, an open space with grass and tall trees providing relief from the heat and an opportunity to walk around without fear of being hit by a motorbike (although you do have to watch out for the zoo train!) but unfortunately, in my humble opinion, that's where the attraction ends.

Currently, as with so many attractions we have visited in this country, the site is in a state of partial renovation making huge chunks of the zoo a complete eyesore.

Location, relocation!

Top that off with the tiny, smelly habitats housing all manner of animals from around the globe, many of which would force a tear from the most hardened of tourists, and this place is somewhere you'll likely regret entering!

From crocodile enclosures with floating soda cans and chip packets casually discarded by visitors, concrete enclosures with sad looking lions and tigers, and a tiny, filthy hippo waterhole with floating scum (the hippo was submerged the entire time so we're not sure if it was alive!), if this was a zoo in Australia the RSPCA would have had it shut down!

Add to that the behaviour of the many locals who tease the animals and toss them food in plastic wrappers, this is a place that would make most tourists outraged.

The saving grace is the fact that, despite the concrete barren enclosures, the animals look like they are well fed.

Here are some pictures I took of the most disturbing enclosures at the zoo - decide for yourself if I'm exaggerating!

The sad, shackled elephant

The white tigers

The hippo waterhole - is it alive or dead?

Playing devil's advocate, I can see that this place would be attractive to locals who want an escape from the city. As we walked around we saw many families sprawled on the grass with picnics, enjoying their definition of serenity.

As a westerner, the only advantage of walking through the gates is the hope that the paltry amount you hand over as an entrance fee may go some way to improving the livelihood of the animals housed here.

Entrance fees: 12,000 VND per adult and 6,000 VND per child - that's 36,000 VND for a family of four - less than US$2!

Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens - No. 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem, District 1