SIMPLY AMAZING

The Manila Ocean Park is the Philippines’ first state-of-the-art Oceanarium, open water marine habitat located in one complex at the back of the Quirino Grandstand. Word has it that the park will soon expand to include a mall, a row of restaurants and a hotel.The oceanarium is open from 10 AM to 9 PM. Entrance fee is, hold your breath, P400 for adults and P350 for children 4.5 feet and below. Children 2 feet and below are free of charge. A 10% discount is given to Manila residents with valid ID. The standard 20% discount applies to senior citizens. If you'd ask me, better get those payday loans ready, if you plan to go as a group. We almost fainted when we took 8 adults and 3 kids to the park.

There are lots of sights and exciting experiences at the Park. The first part of the oceanarium is called Agos (Flow) which displays freshwater species in an open forest-like backdrop, including a touch pool where visitors can touch the starfish on display. Next, there's the Bahura (The Reef) which showcases different colorful fish usually found in coral reefs including seahorses and an amazingly gigantic crab. Next stop is the Laot (Fishing Ground) which features more varieties of fish in large tanks.

My favorite part is the 25-meter underwater tunnel found at the Buhay na Karagatan (Living Ocean). Here you may catch a glimpse of schools and schools of fish, including sharks and stingrays. Amazing indeed! My son let out his resounding WOW all throughout our tunnel stroll.

After you exit the tunnel, there's the Ang Kalaliman (The Deep) featuring the barracuda and again, lots of stingrays and sharks. A feast for the senses indeed. What I seemed to miss though were sea turtles, shrimps, lobsters, octopus and jellyfish. It wouldn't hurt to have one or two of these, if you'd ask me.

The park also offers a host of other activities for those tired of walking around the oceanarium. There's a Fish Spa available for P150.00 where doctor fish from Turkey will be nipping at your feet’s dead skin. Eeewww. Hehehe. You can also choose to take a glass-bottom boat ride if you want to have a different point of view from the marine life displays. You can also make a stopover at the souvenir shop (which I did, for my default magnet loot), video arcade outlet as well as a children's playground.A string of restaurants are available to the discerning palates of park visitors. There's the Ozeano fusion restaurant by Steve Tamayo which offers a buffet meal for P600 per person. There are also other outlets like Starbucks, Old Chang Kee, Mrs. Fields, Purefoods hotdogs and burgers, and many more all housed under this very interesting atrium.

I'd have to say that the Ocean Park experience is indeed extraordinary. However, extraordinary too, is the noise level inside the park--a medley of people ooohing and aaahing (and yakking) at the sights, the unmistakable sound of oxygen tanks doing their jobs efficiently, and camera flashes snapping away (this, despite the no-camera flash policy). I was surprised to see the park packed on a Monday and a good six months after it opened, at that. I just felt that the noise level would have to be dealt with. After all, the noise takes away any semblance of the peace and tranquility of the simulated ocean scenes.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't mind going a second time to catch another glimpse of those interesting marine species. I wouldn't mind either to catch another view of this Manila Bay sunset. MANILA OCEAN PARK
Behind the Quirino Grandstand
Luneta, Manila, Philippines
Tel: (632) 5677777
Fax: (632) 5672309