Manila Ocean Park

Our visit here is my first taste of summer getaway this year. It was just a day tour but I enjoyed it so much with Jaimie and Jelly! Tulog na tulog yung dalawa sa kotse on our way home. Hahaha! It was actually my treat for them because they made it to be on top of their class this school year once again. They both bagged medals as honor students and as a surprise reward, I took them to Manila Ocean Park. Weeee! Galing galing! I’m one proud Tita! J

Going There

Manila Ocean Park is located at the back of Quirino Grandstand along Roxas Boulevard in the bright city of Manila. Since we are coming from Cavite area (South of Manila), I referred to an online map with SM Mall of Asia as my starting point. By the way, we travelled by car. For more direction assistance whether you are travelling by car or by bus, I found this site very useful: Directions, Routes, maps, Shortcuts in Metro Manila (http://www.metromaniladirections.com/). The map on the website of Manila Ocean Park (www.manilaoceanpark.com) also helped me memorize the route going to the park. Grrrr. Unfortunately, I turned right too soon at Star City so I had to turn around at Buendia back to Macapagal Ave until we reached CCP Complex again. After a few kilometers, we reached US Embassy and then the Quirino Grandstand at the left. There is a little chance you will get lost at this point after turning left at the traffic lights because you’ll immediately see the Manila Ocean park signs.

Parking

At the end of the road, you’ll see a paid parking area, which could be your option when the main parking inside the park is already full. Turn right to go to the main gate of the park. Don’t forget to get your parking ticket because you don’t want to pay extra when you exit. Parking fee is P25.00 for the whole day (flat rate).

Buying Tickets

The ticket booth is located at the entrance of the main building beside H2O hotel. There are attendants who could help you decide on the perfect packages for you and your group or whether there are great promos available on that day, so do not hesitate to ask them what’s best for you. Read ahead and you’ll find the available shows/areas you could visit and enjoy!

For our visit, I picked the Ultimate Experience for P800.00 each. The promo runs until April 15, 2012.

The Sea Lion Show

That's the two smart sea lions with their two trainors and two new friends.

This large open stadium is located across the ticket booth. Thirty minutes before the show starts, guests may enter the area and find their seats. The moment we entered the show area, Jaimie blurted right away: “Tita, you should have told me to bring swimsuits!”. It’s because the park allows guests to swim at the pool inside the show stadium. This kiddo was totally drooling to swim! When the show is about to start, swimmers are asked to get out of the pool and join other guests to watch the performance. The show, for the most part, displays the intelligence and charisma of the sea lions. And they incorporate educational message against water pollution. I loooove to see then clap their fins ^_^, wave to the audience and look shy! Hahaha! Artista ang lola mo! Although there are instances where the male sea lion did not follow instructions from his master, but the female was so into her performance!

The show is scheduled 3 times within the day: 11:00AM, 2:00PM and 4:30PM

The Oceanarium

Right after the Sea Lion Show, we headed straight to The Oceanarium, where most guests go because the next available show is after 3 hours pa. This area showcases different marine animals in large tanks of sea water lighted with beautiful colors. Flash photography is strictly prohibited in this area so turn this off on your camera flash settings to avoid scaring the marine animals ^_^

At the shark area

Jaimie and Jelly while enjoying the fishes

At the dome

At the shark area.

Camera flash is prohibited in this area so we have to maximize
the light source at the back :-)

The Penguin Encounter (The Antartica)

This is not included on our chosen package but if you want to see live penguins, you need pay an extra P300.00 for the Penguins exhibit. Who doesn’t want to know why penguins wear tuxedo!? ;-) Hahaha!

Eating ice cream at Antartica??? Hahaha!

The Fish Spa

The doctor fishes are always in! Fish spa is definitely an exciting activity here but I think ten minutes for each session is sooooo bitin! They are also called the nibble fishes, which nibbles the dead skin leaving the healthy skin to grow with teeny tiny sensation but without pain.


According the Manila Ocean Park site, admissions are the following:

Php 120 per head
2 ft & below free of charge

Monday & Tuesday
10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Last selling of tickets: 6:30 pm

Wednesday to Friday
10:00 am - 8:30 pm
Last selling of tickets: 8:00 pm

Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday:
9:00 am - 8:30 pm
last selling of tickets: 8:00 pm

The Souvenir Shops

Manila Ocean Park also has interesting shops and offers pasalubong sales for their guests. There are a lot of stuffs to choose from especially for balikbayans and foreigners. There is also a BPI automatic teller machine(ATM) which I find very convenient especially for those who run out of cash.

Restaurants

There numbers of restaurants and food kiosks inside so you'll never get hungry just prepare for the pricey food!!! So i suggest that you bring enough water and snacks so you don't have to spend too much. It is located after the souvenir shop.

Jellies

One of the areas that we enjoyed is the Jellies room. There are several illuminated tanks of jellies inside perfect for the dancing lights. Don’t forget to get your pictures taken at the largest tank like we did ^_^

I created a mosaic showing our favorite Jellies shots!

The Musical Fountain Show

The show that I enjoyed the most is the Musical Fountain Show at 7:00PM- 7:30PM daily. There is only one show for the day so make sure you’ll be at the stadium at around 6:30PM. The red-colored seats area in the middle is the most perfect place to watch the show.

The amazing Fountain Musical Show!

H2O Hotel

They also have a hotel and spa named H2O. So if you feel like having overnight with your friends and families, this a perfect summer getaway for you!

We spent 6 hours to enjoy our ultimate experience package and headed straight to Yellow Cab in Macapagal Ave for our late dinner J All in all, it was fun… except for the pricey tickets! ^_^v

For more information, please visit Manila Ocean Park website:

http://www.manilaoceanpark.com/

The Hunger Games

Now that I have watched the movie, I became very motivated to read the book!

I had movie date with Marc last week at SM Mall of Asia and I almost ruined the night just because I got hungry. ^_^v After we bought our all-rime favorite Gong-Cha Wintermelon Milk Tea, the smell of the crepes called me so I went straight to the next store and ordered ultimate beef crepe. Perfecto! Sarap!  That was why we were five minutes late for the last full show. When we arrived, the balcony was almost full so we decided to sit at the orchestra. Aside from the guy who was having a phone call conversation with his client behind us – I think he is an insurance agent – and Marc’s complains (from time to time ha-ha!) that he was not able to watch the first five minutes because we were late… I find the story very interesting and entertaining. Oh, please let me add the shaky camera. Parang view ng langaw yung nakikita ko, pa ese-ese yung camera kahit na nag uusap lang ng matiwasay yung dalang bida. Tsk tsk.

The movie is very viewer-sensitive in terms of the attacking-fighting part. They were presented in a manner that no extreme blood swarming all over the scene but instead, when a boy or a girl is being attacked, the final sight would be the dead body lying on the ground after the fight scene – nothing extremely brutal.

I also adore how women empowerment is discussed in the book. The protagonist's motivation to fight for herself, for her family and for her district came from her brokenness which, for me, makes the story more heart-felt. I cried at times. One was when Katniss volunteered to replace her younger sister during the selection of "tributes" and the other was was when Rue, the little girl from District 11, was killed by a bow. I couldn’t think of any actress that could play the role of Katniss beside Jennifer Lawrence. Later I discovered that Jennifer also played the role of Mystic in Xmen series. Cool! I am looking forward to the next episode of “The Hunger Games’ trilogy. I would say I liked it better than the “Twilight” series. J

Before we went home, we had midnight snack at Starbucks MOA. The Ultimate Grilled Cheese is awesome! May bago na kaming uulit ulitin J

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

Blackbeard’s Seafood Island Restaurant, Mall of Asia

Wakeboard on the wall

A view of the sea (Manila Bay), surf board hanging on the wall, boat-like design of the ceiling, waiters wearing nice hula shirts are just some of the things will catch your eyes in this restaurant and could make you feel you are on the beach.  

One thing I love about this place is that even if you are on a budget, you can still eat like you have three stomachs or until your neck gets numb and can’t feel your toes anymore. Hahaha! Watch out diet-conscious people out there… this is not a good place for you! ^_^v

Actually, it was our pre-valentine date when we had our first visit on this place. We were actually looking for a place to chill out and try out something new. We walked our way to San Miguel bay area at the north west side of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, just in time for Marc’s photowalk, while their large posters caught our attention. Nothing discourages us about seafood, basta seafood go na go kami! Marc and I feasted Palawan Shores from a wide range of boodle feast selections on their menu. They have two serving choices for their boodle feasts: good 3-4 persons & 5-6 persons. Well, you can only make the most out of their servings if you are on a group. They also have single orders on their menu if you don't feel like feasting about seafood. 

Palawan Shores

For more of their menus and contact numbers, you may visit http://www.munchpunch.com/2949/blackbeards-seafood-island-market-market/menu

Blackbeard's Seafood Island Mall of Asia (MOA)

Bldg. G SPACE 15 & 16, North Lighthouse
SM by the Bay, Seaside Blvd. 
SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City
+639273118213

It was a fun experience! We did not use plates and ate on banana leaf. If you order any boodle feast menu, the food will come in on a pre-arranged table top together with the banana leaf and the food, ready to be served on top your table. Do not forget to ask for a basin of water with lemon so that if you feel like using your hand in doing the crabs or clams, you are ready to roll!

Dapitan's Pride

We loved our first visit so much that we did not hesitate to have our dinner again there for the second time. We momentarily forgot about “trying something new”.. sa susunod na lang. Hehehe. That time, we ordered Dapitan’s Pride. We were happy and satisfied customers that night.

For the third time, I took my family here with me to celebrate Tatay’s 72^nd birthday last March 25. It was a perfect place for us because besides being seafood addicts, we are all extremist boodle feasters in the family! Another plus is that they serve fresh buco, which I really really love!

We ordered Tali Beach and Chang China Chow!

Here's my niece enjoying her Fresh Buko

Tatay's birthday... He was opening crabs for us :-)

Paalala po pala, if you go on a Sunday, please bring with you an extra patience to wait for your food to be served completely because Sunday’s are family day and people go on this place in large groups. Your order may take about 30-40 minutes. ^_^v 

Visa and MasterCards are accepted. 

Other photo credits are from http://ph.openrice.com.