They say that if you go to Manila, a visit to the Manila Ocean Park is a must. When I first went to Manila, I wasn’t able to do that. Fortunately, when I went back again last week, I purposely marked a schedule for a tour to Philippines’ only oceanarium.
Manila Ocean Park is located behind the historical Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park. My expectations for what’s inside was high — since my mom used to tell me her Hong Kong Ocean Park stories. I imagined a very huge aquarium surrounding me, with all the oceanic wildlife swimming over, above, beside me. But what’s really inside Manila Ocean Park?
It lives up to its name as a park. There are lots of aquariums in different sizes containing fishes from the most ordinary to the most weird — and there are seahorses and tiny turtles too. The place is a bit cramped especially if there are quite a lot of people inside. The long walkway tunnel was also crowded when I went there — but thanks to the great manta rays (with smiling bellies) and the cute faces, I was just satisfied (not up to my expectations though).
