Manila Ocean Park

Visit Manila Ocean Park- check! Manila Ocean Park has been in my summer 2017 bucket list. I've visited the park once 9 years ago (ang tagal na! hahaha!) and I really want to go back although I'm in my 20's already. I mean, I should be going on different tours suited for my age but I want to experience again the fun that only this park can satisfy the inner child in me. I brought with me my college gala buddies when I went here so imagine how twice the fun was during that day! Let me share with you our experiences at the park. See captions below :)

My friends and I were supposed to avail the Sea Breeze package with 11 attractions valued at 760 pesos but since we already went there why not try all the attractions that we can, right? We decided to avail the Marine Voyage package with 15 attractions valued at 995 pesos each.  

First stop- Oceanarium. This is one of my favorite attraction in the park since it is the biggest and has the most species to offer. It houses almost 14,000 indigenous marine creatures from the Philippines and Southeast Asia. We went on a jungle trek first where we saw a lot of aquariums with huge different fishes! I was fascinated with how everything looked because of course, it was my first time to see fishes as big and as long as the length of a 1 and a half baseball bat in my whole life. Haha!   

After the trek we headed to the Lost Atlantis where we encountered a dark room full of lit up aquariums that houses more exotic marine creatures. The life underwater is truly colorful and rich with a lot of different marine treasures that only few can appreciate. After the Lost Atlantis is the main attraction of the Oceanarium which is the walkaway tunnel that houses even more spectacular sea creatures swimming overhead. My favorite shots were taken there. Thanks Paulo! :)

How about a little silhouette photo op at this overlooking window. Panahon na para mag emote at mag drama! Hahaha!

Next to Oceanarium is the All Star Bird show. The show started at 1:15 to be exact. I thought it was boring at first because I'm not really a fan of birds and I find nothing special on them. But when the show started and the different kind of birds started to come out and fly, I was amazed! The amazing tricks and cute stunts of different kinds were impressive. I can't help but just clap like a kid during the entire show. Some of the birds that performed during that day were macaws (those two colorful birds that were shown above), mollucan cockatoos, and an eagle. There were other birds during the show but I already forgot what kind of birds they are. 

The trainers asked for a guest who's willing to be part of the show and here comes the attentive guy who didn't had second thoughts and walked down straight in front. Willing din sya ibigay yung 500 pesos nya e. Nabigla ako! HAHAHA! He was holding here the mollucan cockatoo which was said to be the money bird. Ang cute lang e- nung cockatoo, hindi nung may hawak. Hahaha joke lang!

After the show we went to the Birds of Prey Kingdom to see the birds up close. There were lots of Brahminy kites flying and just perching in the hanging bridge! We were able to take selfies with them and see them up close just as what we really want to. :) 

Creepy crawlies was one of the attractions that I'm looking forward to see. I thought there was a show and an encounter like that of the bird show but there wasn't any. I thought I would be able to see a live python and hold it again. Anyway, what's inside this attraction are the commonly ignored creatures that we used to hate like the insects, frogs, spiders, worms- anything crawling, you name it! I never thought they would be able to preserve even the smallest creatures. How amazing is that! :)

Another attraction that we went to was the Jellies Exhibit. I thought jellyfishes have the same appearance until I realized they were a whole lot different from each other. HAHA! There's this other room where these jellyfishes are in aquariums that were lit up in the dark and surrounded by huge mirrors. I like the idea of putting these mirrors because  it appeared as if there were lots of it in the room. The tour was accompanied with music too which made it appeared like the jellyfishes were dancing. I can count this one as a romantic place! :) 

The main reason why I really want to visit Manila Ocean Park is because of the Sea Lion Show. I don't know why it suddenly popped out my mind that I want to watch a live sea lion show (this is me being random) but I passingly put it in my summer bucket list not knowing that I'll be ticking it off before my summer ends! Imagine how fulfilled I was! Haha! Anyway, here goes the story... 

We watched the show scheduled at 3 pm. There were 2 sea lions from South America that were both specially trained to bring a fantastic show, entertain and highlight their special skills. They were both adorable!!! I was on a gigil mode while watching these two perform their cute tricks and stunts.

Even before we went to Ocean Park I already have this mind set that I'll be having my pictures taken with the sea lion like I'll not leave the place without having my pictures taken with it. HAHA! When we were already about to watch the show I learned that the only way to have my pictures taken was either I volunteer when they ask for a guest to participate or I pay 500 bucks for a single picture. There were a lot of guests watching and it's quite impossible to be noticed there because many people wants to volunteer. But still, I really have a strong feeling that the trainers will pick me to join the show. And so when I raised my hand together with the other audience, one trainer who happened to passed by me went back and picked me to be the volunteer. I knew it! I knew it was going to be me! :) Thank you Kuya! Nabasa mo siguro mga iniisip ko. Haha! 

Taaaanaaann!!! There it is! I got a free kiss from this cutie! I thought it was just a kiss on the cheeks but the trainer said the sea lion wants a kiss on the lips! Mygod! I don't know what will happen but I just went with the flow-- made a face to face and eye to eye contact with the sea lion. His eyes were getting bigger and bigger as our face get closer and I found it quite creepy already. It also started to smell fishy and by that time I want to back out already! HAHAHA But, still, given the opportunity and being the "lucky one" I pushed it and yes, a sea lion is my first kiss! Hahaha! Okay, no one can take that already from me. I was able to enjoy the whole experience- got kissed on the lips and cheeks, shook hands and had some wacky pictures taken with a sea lion. It's something I would always remember because of course, it's one of the highlight of my summer 2017! :)  

We also went on a Sharks and Rays encounter. I was able to touch stingrays for the first time. They were big and slimyyyy! 

Before we head on to see the penguins we first went on a Penguin Talk show. We were expecting a live penguin talking (HAHAHA, although I know that this is impossible!) but what greeted us when we went inside is a dark room with a big screen that looks like exactly a movie place. We were disappointed at first because the kind of entertainment they gave us was a talking cartoon penguin. But, as the show continues, we were actually being entertained and we enjoyed it a lot. It was an interactive show! We laughed, we danced, we partied a little inside that tiny room. Hahaha! We have to admit that it's our favorite part of the whole tour. Hahaha! 

Trails to Antarctica. First expectation was that it was cold inside but we were disappointed that it wasn't. Bakit kase malamig sa entrance? Haha! Anyway, this place has 2 attractions. First is the aquarium that  has several penguins and second is the Christmas Village. Seeing penguins in Manila is still surreal. I learned that there were 13 baby penguins hatched already in Manila Ocean Park.  

So here goes the Christmas Village. The last time I went here, it was literally freezing like you have to wear a winter jacket to survive 20 minutes inside the room. I had big expectations in this Christmas Village like they improved the designs, the temperature is higher and the room offers activities. But then, we were so disappointed with what greeted us. The space was still small, the decorations didn't even improved plus instead of the place being cold, it's actually warm! Okay, I don't want to state my rants here anymore. Buti na lang talaga I enjoyed my friends' company. Haha! They always make my boring and disappointing days funny and bright.   

Last but definitely not the least was the Fish Spa experience. It was my first time and I enjoyed it. The fishes don't bite, they just tickle! Haha :)
We weren't able to watch the Symphony of the Lights show due to change of plans. :( I was looking forward to it already but things just happened and I cannot do something about it. We weren't also able to visit The Bird House and The Barn Yard due to lack of time. Anyway, there's still next time, hopefully.  

All in all, I really enjoyed the whole day. It's one experience that I would always remember and would keep on looking back. :)

xoxo,