Birthday Bash: Manila Ocean Park

Malou: What do you want for your birthday? A shirt? An espadrille?

PDT: A day at the Manila Ocean Park!

Feb 9, my natal day. Malou and I met at LRT-Roosevelt Station at 9 am. We took the train ride and got off at the United Nations Station. From there, we got three options on how to get to Manila Ocean Park (MOP). First is to take a taxi, that's the easiest way. Second is to ride a jeepney and get off near the Quirino Grandstand. MOP is right behind the Grandstand. The third option is to take a walk through the Rizal Park. MOP opens at 10 am every day. So we decided to take the third option. This, I think, is the best way to get to the Ocean park since you can also get to enjoy the Rizal Park.

At the Rizal Park

Here's some of what you'll see as you walk through the Park

The Modern Kalesa

Rizal Monument

After a few minutes of leisure walking, we finally arrived at the Manila Ocean Park.

We bought the Ultimate Experience Package. The package includes entrance to the Oceanarium, the Jelly Fish, Fish Spa, Sea Lion Show, Penguin Exhibit and the Musical Fountain Show. Visit this link for promos and packages.

The Oceanarium

Next stop is The Fish Spa

You'll discover the fish story at the Fish Spa. The story goes that one day a shepherd, after tending to his flock, went to a river to rest and to dip his feet into the water. When he put his feet into the water, he felt something tickling his feet and saw that there were small fishes nibbling at his feet. After a while he felt relaxed and discovered that the wound at his foot was somehow healed. He told others about this discovery. And we experienced it!

Our next destination is the Dancing Jelly Fish, and on our way, we passed through The Trails To Antartica.

Okay, they don't have jeepneys in the Antartica. The last pic does not belong to the Trails. Malou fancied it and wants to have a picture taken with her on it. This jeepney is near the Makan Makan where we would later on take our lunch, a very, very late, late lunch.

The Dancing Jelly Fish

When Malou and I entered the dancing jelly fish, we thought, what's so special about it? When we look at them, they look ordinary except for the fact that they're plenty here. Okay, they don't really dance. And if you stare at them they don't look like dancing. But with the music in the background, and you really listen to it while looking at the jellies, it's amazing. They are really dancing. Immerse yourself with the music and the jellies, you'll really enjoy it.

The Sea Lion Show

We watched the 2pm show. The show featured two sea lions who will exhibit their ability as fantastic seekers and good balancers They are also fast swimmers. They will salute you, wave at you and clap too. They will also show you their dance routine. The show will last for 30 minutes.

After the show, Malou and I decided that it's time for lunch and to take a rest too. We agreed to eat at Makan Makan that serves Asian cuisine. The place is simple and is non-intimidating. We ordered their Dimsum Platter (this is the best!). And since it's my birthday, there should be pancit (for long life). We ordered Cha Hae Mee (a stir fried shrimp noodles with pancit bihon). A single order is good for two to three persons. I like the place, their food but not the people who work there. They lack in the service aspect. When we had our lunch and rested, we made our way for the Penguin Exhibit,

Penguin Exhibit

The Penguin Exhibit is located at the Trails to Antartica. You can stay inside for as long as you like. You can have a close encounter with the penguins by feeding them. This costs 250 pesos per head with a 4R picture as souvenir. They also have a slide inside that you'll enjoy just like the one in Star City. They also have a Snow Village in there.

The next attraction to see is the Musical Fountain Show. The show starts at 7pm every night except when the weather is bad. Since we still have a few hours to wait before the show, we spent the time talking and talking and talking. We also got a view of the sunset at the Manila Bay.

The Finale: The Musical Fountain Show

The experience is the best. I got one word for it - Wow! And for closing a birthday celebration, it's grandeur (haha!) I lost track of how long it lasted, I think it was for an hour. There was never a downside on the show. It's all up and up with a kaboom like their pyrotechnic display. You will truly enjoy it and laugh at the funny skit they have.

Let's all wave to let the bad things out and let the good things in. Let's wave to let love in.