Trip to the Zoo and the Sky Tower

Today we took a trip to the Saigon Zoo with the boys. My mother went with us. Several people have been concerned about her and the fact that she has not shown up in the blog posts since she fell. She is doing fine, but she definitely hurt something in her knee or leg. She has been staying around the hotel alot to give it a chance to get better. Today she made the trip with us, but she has to move at her own pace which is a little slower and with a limp. I think she's fine, but she probably will need a few weeks to completely recover.

The boys really enjoyed the zoo and there were alot of interesting animals. The zoo is found inside of the Saigon Botanical Gardens and it is really a beautiful area. Once again J.R. and James had to pose for pictures. They are really a big hit, especially with the teenage girls. It is beginning to grate on J.R. a little bit, so I told him today that if he was a little older he would be excited about all that girl attention. He replied that he just wasn't that old yet.

After we left the zoo, my mother went back to the hotel and we went to the Bitexco Financial Tower in downtown Saigon. The tower is the tallest building in Saigon and it has a Skydeck area on the 49th floor for tourists to view the city. The boys really enjoyed the trip and the view was awesome. The building has a very interesting shape and about three quarters of the way up it has a huge circular deck that sticks out from the building. I thought this was the area we were going to look out from, but it is actually a helicopter landing pad. The viewing area is behind glass and there are several pairs of binoculars that are mounted for viewing. It really gives you a good view of the size of the city. It is huge, and it seems to stretch on as far as the eye can see.

We ate supper on the rooftop restaurant at the Rex Hotel. The Rex was famous during the Vietnam War because of the American troops and war correspondents who stayed there. Daily press briefings were given at the hotel by the military. Soldiers and journalists frequented the rooftop area to get away from the uncertainty of the streets of Saigon. Tonight the Fordham's paid a visit, but not to escape the war.

It's hard to believe how much this city has changed in the 35 years since the war has ended.  The people's perception of us as a country is very positive. We passed the US Embassy on the way to the zoo today. The entire compound is heavily fortified and Vietnamese soldiers stand guard outside the walls on the sidewalks with AK-47's. Hundreds of Vietnamese people line the streets in this area waiting to get inside to apply for student visa's or travel visa's I guess. I'm not really sure why all of them are there, but the last time we came the area was the same. American citizens can walk right into the place and bypass all the lines simply by showing their passports. Last time we were here we had to go there for some paperwork. The armed soldiers on the outside really set an uneasy tone. I guess it is a constant reminder that no matter how nice and welcoming the people are, this is not America.