This morning we decided to get up and make a trip to the Saigon Zoo. The zoo is located on the edge of the Saigon river. It's in a really shaded and beautiful park area. The zoo itself has some interesting animals, but many of them are in pretty bad conditions. The grounds are well kept though and there was a huge crowd while we were there. One of the things that amazed me most was that many of the grassy areas were trimmed by hand by staff at the zoo. I mean just a pair of over sized scissors. Then they gather the clippings up and carry them off in a basket.
The zoo was full of all kinds of animals, but I found the hippopotamus to be the most fascinating. Those things are huge. The one in this picture is a good 10 feet long and probably 3-4 thousand pounds. I don't think I've ever seen one out of the water. There mouths are full of teeth as well. It was really neat to see one like this.
There were also several other animals. Bears, deer, crocodiles, snakes, and monkeys.
The central area of the zoo had a stage and there were various acts like little girls twirling fire, juggling, and other stunts.
There was a small amusement park inside as well. One of the neatest things I saw were miniature cyclos for kids to ride other kids on around a little track.
They also had several elephants which interestingly enough can be found wild in the central highlands region of Vietnam. Here's a wild one now that has scooped baby Jett up and is about to carry him away!
After the zoo trip we walked down to the Diamond Plaza. It is a huge office building with a mall on the first three floors. The fourth floor has a Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, pool hall, and bowling alley. The US Consulate also has office space here and we will go here for our INS interview next week. We have to get past this interview so we can go up to Hanoi and file at the Dept. of State for Jett's visa.We went on into the Pizza Hut and shared another pizza.
We are all in the hotel napping now. Tomorrow is Sunday and then hopefully we will get this show back on the road Monday. I'm really ready to make some progress.One last shot of baby Jett for everyone.
J.R. and James: Be good for Me-Ma. We love you and miss you very much. Hope to see you again soon. Love, Momma and Daddy.
Chad: I just thought I'd show you a picture of the Bohannon's Builders Supply in Saigon. I knew ya'll were looking to diversify, I just didn't know how much. That motorcycle with the bed on the front is their delivery vehicle and I have seen them haul as much as you could get on a pickup truck and that is no lie!
