Urban Adventures: Manila Ocean Park (07.24.10)

We are now nearing to the very last restaurant we still haven't visited at the Little Tokyo area. Today was Urameshi-ya's turn which is disappointingly opened only at 5pm onwards. So 'Saturdate' would be different that instead of a lunch-movie, it would then be reversed and the idea doesn't sound appealing to me. So I suggested a visit to Manila Ocean Park, some place we both still haven't been to.

Originally, today's meetup was at 9am. No one made it so instead of my pre-planned suggestion of a very long walk to the Park somewhere from U.N., we got to having a taxi instead. What do you know, no traffic! Yey!

When we got out of the cab, I thought I saw birds flying at the corner of my eye. Yes birds! White ones. Just like those you see in movies when characters get to the park then birds from nowhere suddenly flies out and then the background music begins. None of us will have any dialogues, just series of laughing and running and pointing somewhere and taking pictures and eating cotton candy. We won't even need to pay for tickets nor actually see some animals. But that was just me in my so-called dreams. No one gets to have video montage in real life. And we don't need fillers like what movies usually have.

Since we have gone too early we decided to have breakfast first. We tried searching for anywhere decent to eat until we saw Pancake House. We didn't even bat an eyelash and went in. A few moments later we are out of the now almost full restaurant and realized a mistake.

Ticketing at the park doesn't have a line but instead a queue with numbers, like those in telcom services.

So that is why there are people sitting here all along. We thought they were just simply there resting or something.

And the number we have is quite far. Like 10 numbers far from the current customer. And whenever you get a service number that high you ought to develop a wrinkle first before they get to you. And it's annoying because it will take forever to wait for the number before you until you are called but when it's your turn, you are done in less than a minute. I wonder what the previous customer have been doing. And it's always like that, ALL THE TIME. Restrooms, bills, name it. The customer before you gets an hour of treatment of the same thing as yours. And now here in Ocean Park another queue. And the waiting area is already filling with families and annoying kids and girls who looked more like going to a party and their dads who kept on standing on the cashier area like they don't need a chair to sit on and the prams of babies who can't even recognize the difference between a bottle and their mom's chest yet. Why do they bring them here anyway? And those...oh that's our number at the screen just now. Erase that.

NO FLASH. That is one of the park rules that is so simple and easy to understand. Obviously they are not talking about the hero because it won't make sense. But like what me and family experienced back in the National Museum, we are now in the pool of shameless Flash-photography cephalopods who are either stupid, illiterate or stupid and illiterate. Either way they are all annoying. If I could only discreetly shove them to the sleepy Philippine crocodiles or even have their fingers nipped by the bamboo sharks I would. Not only would it cause a good show, the animals would have an early Christmas buffet. Imagine the good I would be able to do to both our and their (fish) community?

Now let's see some fishes. Wow those fishes. They are so huge. Some are even larger than me and they are just river fishes. It's one thing you see them in NGC and Discovery but at a level that they are just a glass away? Oh man. I am so not going to any huge body of river. There are also those cute little fishes but does not deserve the same omg reaction. I could see much more on petshops. Even the displays aren't as beautiful as I have hoped. They do have a few clownfishes which I think someone should suggest to have thier name changed to Nemo because this is probably the only open ocean aquatic creature kids know other than sharks.

And then we got to their overrated tunnel. It was so compact you can feel everyone's breathing. I know it isn't the tank overhead but I suddenly feel claustrophobic and sweaty at that. And where does those foreigners come from? I haven't seen them all day and here they are, mouth agape. Were they here all day? But how come? It's boring now that almost everyone is already here. And the manta ray have circled us for so many times already I thought I heard before from a local tv that you are lucky if the ray ever does. Liar. The only time it got exciting was when a guy and two other divers went into the tank. Everyone was paying attention to this particular guy not in awe, but their expectation that either he gets a. eaten by the shark or b. stung by the manta. Neither happened so the audience suddenly thinned and he just became a bratty lucky bastard to afford such treat.

After the tunnel are the sharks and the rays. A huge viewing tank for different types of sharks where most are just sleepy or probably dead, and overhead were the rays flat on the glass panes. They looked funny really. Much like round things with small smiley faces.

Second floor is where they have the fish spa, the boat ride and the end of the shark tank. None exciting. Not even the fishy smell which is the first time at the entire park. And there at the right is Ozeano, marking our stop. Wait. Stop? You mean it's all over?! Wait, I haven't seen an octopus! Or a jellyfish! Were are they? How can you have a park without them? They are beautiful and colorful and stingy and sucky and wait, how about a whale? Whoa?!! I thought this is even huger than what they have in Singapore?! Refuuuuuunnnnndddd!!!!