Day 14: HCMC is hot!

Sunday morning and the heathens were off to the zoo for a day of sunshine and frolics. Having been told by the reception desk that it would take an hour and a half at least, clearly we were mad to walk, but mad dogs and Englishman etc. We set out fairly late in the morning, but it was a nice leisurely stroll up to the botanic gardens and the zoo. As usual we managed to make finding the entrance difficult. We have a theory now that if there are four potential entrances, it will always be the fourth that is open, or the fourth side of the building will be where the magic entry door exists. It's happened at most places we've visited where there is no clear map or guidance in the guide book and the zoo was the same as usual.

Having finally found the entrance, it was only 50p each entry fee and at that price it is clear why so many of the Vietnamese had treated themselves to a family day out. There were so many groups, either families or schools or young people, all scattered about the grounds, either walking or looking at the animals or having a picnic. We had a great time. There aren't many animals, and some of them looked a little sad, such as the elephants, but then we saw the two white tigers and that was the highlight of the entire visit. We've never seen any in other zoo's and they were really well-kept and very playful with each other.

The only other animal exhibit worth mentioning was the lesser-spotted white Europeans - i.e. me and himself. Wherever we went in the park we were the subject of fascination and it was a little disconcerting. It occurred to me that perhaps the families who were at the zoo on a Sunday did jobs unconnected to tourism so we were a novelty. Many parents encouraged their children to come over and speak to us, just to practise their english, and it isn't an isolated experience. Everywhere we've been in Vietnam there are young people keen to practise who will start random conversation just to have an opportunity. They are so keen and so very friendly that it is always worth giving them a chance, and the smiles you get in return are a real delight. Occasionally we've been caught out by opportunist sellers as a result, but they are in the minority.

"Here is the lesser-spotted white European in his natural habitat. His mate has disappeared for the moment and he is happy by himself taking a drink. Note the unusual facial expression. Clearly this is a creature in great distress, so we shall leave him be and head to see the other animals instead..."

Once we'd finished at the zoo, we wandered into the museum on the same site. It is a separate fee and not really much to write about, but at least we upped the culture rating for the day. Well... apart from the fact that all I could think about was finding a loo, an ice-cream and a sit down in that order, and then once all were satisfied I wanted to leave. There was an interesting gallery with Champa statues in it taken from My Son, the ruins we saw in Hoi An, so at least that completed the My Son story for us. It always seems a shame that you have to go on a treasure hunt to see all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of a country's history, but it is saving them for the future I guess.

After the zoo, I made one of my not-so-bright suggestions about going to see a "nearby pagoda". Turns out it wasn't quite so close and when temperatures are in the upper 30's it pays to do your research more thoroughly... still, having committed to finding the Jade Emperor pagoda, find it we did. We wandered with only a vague map from the guide book until (after going round all four sides of the block) we finally found the "Turtle Pagoda" as it is locally known. Whilst it was very pretty, it didn't have much going for it that we hadn't seen in other pagodas except one thing - turtles. The name gives it away really, but you have to see the number of turtles to understand why. Outside the pagoda sat a little old lady selling terrapins and goldfish, and when we walked into the pagoda, in the courtyard inside, we saw that both of these can be released as offerings to the gods. On the back of the turtle shells were written prayers in white pen, and then these were let go into the turtle pond, which has an enormous number of the animals in it, some of which were really big and old.

We then wandered off back to the hotel for a much needed shower and clean-up before heading out for dinner, but before we reached the hotel I spotted a much-welcome detour - Fanny's ice-cream shop. JP had told me about it from the guidebook (our bible on all things) and it was worth it, expensive or not. We each had an ice-cream sundae and then headed back to the hotel much revived. In true Japanese tourist-style, I had my photo taken a the counter with the obligatory v-sign. We have no idea why they do it, but every time we see Japanese tourists, they are usually making a v-sign in front of whichever site they are photographing.


Dinner was a bizarre affair as we headed to a veggie place around the corner, it felt like we were eating in someone's garage á la the pop-up restaurants I keep reading about back home. It was down an alleyway and there was no decoration in it, merely whitewash walls and concrete floors, with a few fans and some trestle tables and chairs added. It is run by Cao Dai followers - reading about this group put me in mind of a cross between scientology and some extreme political group, but the people running the restaurant were lovely. Cao Dai promotes respect for all living things like buddhism, hence the veggie menu.