Lzatskie's World: My promise

As promised here are some details I can share with you regarding the Manila Ocean Park.

The Manila Ocean Park is a marine themed park that will bring together in one place a mall, an Oceanarium, open water marine habitats, restaurants and a hotel. It located at the back of the Quirino Grandstand, where the former Boardwalk stood. On the main entrance, you can find the line for the ticket to the Oceanarium, which costs 400 for adults and 350 for kids.

The main attraction of the park is the Oceanarium that features a wide variety of marine animals like fishes, sharks and invertebrates. The Oceanarium is divided into six areas : Agos (Flow), Bahura (Reef), Laot (Fishing Ground), Buhay na Karagatan (The Living Ocean), Ang Kalaliman (The Deep), Pagi (Overhang Tank of Sting Ray) and the Pating (Shark) Tank.

The first part of the tour is in Agos, where one can see the natural flow of water from land to sea. The first fish to greet you is the giant Arapaima, which is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. It is only found in the Amazon River Basin of South America.

Next, you enter Bahura, where you can watch the fascinating animals of our coral reefs like the colorful Boxfish ( Takba or Kaban-kaban), Porcupinefish (Buteteng Laot), Lipstick Tang Labahita/ Indangan/ Isdang Ilong), Flashlight fish, Reef Stonefish, Ribbon Eel, Snowflake/Starry Moray Eel ( Igat / Payangitan), Butterflyfish (Paru-parong dagat), and many more.

Flashlight fish have luminous organs called photophores beneath the eyes. The light is generated by bioluminescent bacteria that live special pouches (this is similar to the glow produced by fireflies).Reef Stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. It has thirteen stout spines in the dorsal fin which can inject highly toxic venom. They are extremely camouflaged, looking like an encrusted rock or lump of coral.

I got this information from the name plates in each tank. You can really learn a lot if you take time to read. That is why the Oceanarium is a great learning experience for children (and not -so-young ones). You can also learn by listening to the audio narration or asking the guides, who are scattered around to answer inquiries from guests.

Then there's the Laot, where you get to see the fishes in the deeper waters of the sea. You can’t use much of your camera here because the area is dark and flashing is prohibited as it scares the fishes. At the center is an overhead round projector or LCD that shows different marine presentations. Underneath it are sofas, where you can rest for a while.

The most exciting place is the Living Ocean, where you can experience underwater life through a 25 meter-long tunnel that showcases different kinds of marine animals. Here, you can learn how each animal interacts with one another. During our visit, we witnessed a diver feeding the fishes.

Next is the Kalaliman, where different kinds of schooling fish are shown like the barracuda.

You can see after Kalaliman the overhang tank of the sting ray, where you can view their eyes and mouths and some holes, which I do not know what they are called, but is shaped like a smile; it would appear the sting ray is always smiling down on you.

The Last Tank exhibits the sharks. They are still small sharks, averaging only five feet long so they are cute, not intimidating.

This is the end of the Oceanarium, so you can retrace your steps back to Agos and begin the journey again. As for us, we haven't noticed that we have already consumed two hours just watching these sea creatures and we realize we were hungry so we were ready to hit the exit. Once you exit, you are not allowed re-entry.

On the second floor, you can find the fish spa, where you can soak your feet underwater and allow small fishes to nibble, swim and collide on it. You can avail it for an additional fee. You can also view the sharks here because their tank is extended up. Beside the sharks’ tank is the fish feeding area, where you can volunteer to feed the sting ray.

In their map, it says there is a boating ride entrance, but we didn't venture in that part so I'm not sure if the boating facility is already open.

There's a restaurant, Ozeano, just before the main exit, where you can eat for 250 per head. That would include your chosen two main courses from the four they prepared, a dessert, a soup, and maybe rice and appetizer. That still does not include your drinks. :) As for us, we ate at a restaurant on the front of the park, Ocean Park Bistro, which we later discovered was such a bad idea (more of it on my review) , but we didn't have much choice then.

Before you can finally exit, you can stop by the souvenir shop, where you can choose from many novelty items to bring home as a memento or as a gift or pasalubong.

It was still a hot, hot afternoon when we went home bringing with us the memory of the beautiful underwater sights we just witnessed and the wonderful feeling of togetherness.