By: Karen Santiago
Every year, whenever we celebrate our national church anniversary at the Luneta Grandstand, I see billboards and promotional posters of the Manila Ocean Park (just near Luneta Park). I used to ask myself, “ano bang meron sa Manila Ocean Park?” One Sunday morning after attending our local church worship service, my friend Lovely and I went to search for the answer.
We took a taxi ride from Ortigas to the park. Upon arrival, I felt the scorching heat of the sun penetrating through my skin, but who cares? Thanks to my ever reliable sunblock and to my soaring excitement.
Since it was a Sunday, and a holiday, I expected to see a big crowd of locals and foreigners, both young and old, who, like me, were ready for some oceanic adventure. I was right.
We did not have an idea which attractions are a must see. We took a look at the list of “attraction promo packages”—somewhat like a combo meal in a fast food chain—wherein you’ll just pay for a certain amount for several attractions, which is more OK as compared to purchasing a separate ticket for each one. We took the Ultimate Experience package, composed of: Sea Lion Show, Jellies, Oceanarium, Musical Fountain Show, and the Fish Spa, all for Php 800.00. If you will purchase tickets for these attractions one by one, you’ll spend Php 1,120.00. Talk about savings.
Other packages include:
Moonlight adventure – this is for those who want to stay at the park from late afternoon to evening;
Sun Up Saver – for those who want to enjoy the park all day without wearing out their wallets; and
Marine Life encounter – for those who love the ocean and everything in it!
We did not want to spend much on food inside the park, so we had our lunch at the mall before going to the Ocean Park. We even bought a few pizza slices to be ready in the instance that hunger would strike.
Let me share to you guys what happened to our Ultimate Ocean Park Experience (I suggest you guys to go to these attractions in order of sequence to maximize your stay):
Sea lion show
Our first stop. I was thrilled to see the five sea lions, namely: Icis, Ira, Sandra, Isabel, Yeni and Vincent; swimming here and there like there’s no tomorrow. These South American sea lions never fail to amaze the crowd with their intelligent antics and witty moves. Aside from this, they have a special message to their human friends about preventing water pollution and marine habitat destruction.
Jellies
They are coined as “The Dancing Sea Fairies”. Accompanied by awesome lights, amazing musical and multimedia effects, be wowed by these creatures of various sizes and species as they flutter elegantly before your sight. The jellyfish’s delicate and unique body structure added up to the wonderful sight. This is one of my favorite attractions.
Oceanarium
For me this is the Park’s highlighted attraction. Oceanarium is a sanctuary that showcases over 5,000 species of the sea’s wonderful creatures. As we went around, all we could hear was the ohhhhh’s, ahhhh’s and wowwww’s of fellow sight-seers amazed by these creatures. The Oceanarium boasts of Asia’s largest underwater viewing tunnel (at 25 meters). With this, people will see how sea beings interact with each other.
The Musical Fountain show
We went to watch this show at 6:30pm. The Musical fountain show is one of the first of its kind in the Philippines. This enthralling combination of water fountain, fireworks, laser lights, music and multimedia effects amazed the audience. Not to mention the dancing starfishes, angel fishes, and the running chef and lobster. Can’t relate? See it for yourself. (By the way, there’s a possibility for you to get wet during the show. The park attendants provide raincoats for those seated on front. If you don’t want to get wet I suggest you take the back seats.)
Fish Spa
Whenever I think about fish spa, I smile. Get tickled and cleansed by the “doctor fishes” in ten minutes as they gently nibble away your feet’s dead skin cells. I’ve got nothing to say on my foot spa experience except for this....”hihihihi!”
Other must-see’s
Aside from the marine attractions, there’s a swimming pool, mall, hotel, spa, souvenir shop and restaurants situated inside the park, so for sure everyone’s happy!
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With the park’s closing time, our adventure ended. I’m not a water person, but this experience made me appreciate God’s wonderful creations. Indeed no man in this galaxy can make a “bonggang” masterpiece such as this.
If you want to witness the whole of the sea and ocean without going to the beach, this is your destination. The Manila Ocean Park—one of Asia’s best.
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The Jesus is Lord (JIL) Church’s Sunday worship service in Manila has the following schedule:
JIL PUP
Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Gym
Sta Mesa, Manila
1st Service: 9:00am - 11:00am
2nd Service: 5:00pm - 7:30pm
JIL Malate Manila
1832 San Marcelino St., Malate, Manila
1st service: 7:30am - 9:30am
2nd service: 10:30am - 12:30nn