Saigon Zoo & Botanical Garden

[Martin Hash]

Saigon Zoo 5.JPG

I usually give scant attention to the bushes part of a zoo, but sometimes the botany surpasses the animalia, such as at Thao Cam Vien in Vietnam. In fact, I'd snapped a couple dozen pictures of ornamental flowers & topiary before seeing the first animal, and the juxtaposition continued: I drank a cold beer on the grass in front of a pond covered with immense lily-pads, and imagined how I could sculpt elephants out of oleanders bushes at home. The pathways reminded me of my brick driveway at home but lined with colorful & elegant flower arrangements, then I imagined how much work it would take to pick away discolored leaves & buds like the horticulturists at this remarkable “zoo.” It was a veritable garden of animals rather than an animal garden.

Saigon Zoo 1.JPG