The oldest zoo in Ho Chi Minh City turns romantic and poetic in the photo set of Thao Phuong and her Korean boyfriend.

Nguyen Thao Phuong (born 1998) and her boyfriend Choi Sangyong (born 1991) met each other while Phuong lived in Korea. The couple moved back to Vietnam in 2019. On holidays or weekends, they often travel together around Vietnam. (Photo: Zing News)

Recently, during a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, they took photos at the Zoo and Botanical Garden and posted them on social networks. The post attracts nearly 9,000 likes and hundreds of comments and shares. Many people were surprised by the new photo angles of the Zoo and Botanical Garden. (Photo: Zing News)

This is Sangyong's first visit to a zoo in Vietnam. He said: “When I was a child, I used to go to a zoo in Korea, but it was so long ago, too long to remember anything. It turns out that this is the first time I went to the zoo as an adult. It was even more interesting as the zoo is not in my homeland”. (Photo: Zing News)

Thao Phuong used to come to Thu Le Park in Hanoi and learned about the Zoo and Botanical Garden before doing the photoshoot. “I was surprised to find the zoo so clean. It also has so many trees, therefore, although HCMC's weather is hot and sunny, the air here is still cool”, she added. (Photo: Zing News)

The couple said they were surprised to see that the zoo even had flamingos and peacocks, which were rather rare in other zoos. In this photo, they inserted the word "sarang", which means love. (Photo: Zing News)

One of the couple's most memorable moments when taking the photo shoot is the failed photo with an elephant. “At first, there were a lot of visitors coming to see elephants, so I couldn't take the photo. Just when the visitors moved to see other animals, we tried to pose as soon as possible, yet the elephant left. We laughed loud that time”, Thao Phuong said.

Sharing her photography experience, Phuong said that light and pastel colors clothes would best suit the park's scenery. In addition to shooting with animals, she suggested taking photos at flower gardens, cactus gardens, lakeside ... “Just pose naturally, for example, walking together, smiling, looking towards the animal or looking far away, then you will have a lot of good photos, ”Phuong said.

The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, established in 1865, is Vietnam's largest zoo and botanical garden. Located on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1, T.P. in Ho Chi Minh City, it is home to over a hundred species of mammals, reptiles, and birds, as well as many rare orchids and ornamental plants.

Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens open from 7:30 to 17:30 every day. Admission ticket for adults is 60,000 VND (2,6 USD), children (from 1m - 1m3) are 40,000 VND (1,7 USD).

Valerie Mai