Manila Ocean Park

*Warning: This post is picture-heavy!

It's not my first time here, but I still always enjoy myself whenever I visit. (*^^*) This time, though, I was visiting with my cousin Lai, and out student, Mori-san.

This is just a random photo of the activity center... XD

This day, we were going to see about 5 attractions. We first went inside the Oceanarium.

Mori-san... What are you doing? o3o

Pretty! I've always loved this but I've never been able to take the "perfect" picture of it. ><

Used flash. Sorry, Mr. Alligator. Or is this a croc? I'm not really sure.

They are larger than they seem! XD

The Oceanarium always fascinates me! No matter how many times I go, I still feel happy and snap pictures like there's no tomorrow. Here's a fraction of what I actually shot!!!

They are too serious, aren't they?

Here, fishy, fishy, fishy! Saltwater fish are beautifully colorful! <3

Please don't disturb him. He's currently suffering due to a recent breakup.

Lai and Mori-san. We arrived early at the park so it was almost empty. We ran to the tunnel right away as it has always been difficult to snap a picture here without anyone else on the scene! XD

A school of fish above my head. I must be a mermaid.

This fish never moves... Except its eyes, that is. ; 3 ; Creepy as you-know-what!

An eel. Yeah. No silly caption for this one. XD

Can YOU see the fish among the corals?! I bet not!

Fish should never take drugs.

Do you know what this is? This... This is a shark baby. And yes, it's alive. o_o This was the first time I noticed this display! Probably because there weren't too many people. XD

I want to get an aquarium like this for my future-home. <3

Err... OOTD? Haha. XD I don't know what's happening to my face here. XD

A shark. Obviously.

The Oceanarium ends with the shark display. I wish there were bigger sharks! However, my student who works in an aquarium in Japan told me that sharks like the Great White have to swim forever to be able to live. So, it's impossible for them to stay inside a little tank like this. ><

Very, VERY, cute sweets spotted at the souvenir shop!

Mori-san dreams of becoming a jeepney driver one day. Hahaha.

Next stop, the Jellies exhibit! I also love this area. I think I love all the areas, actually, except for the Talking Penguin Show (the name was something like that). XD

These beautiful creatures can kill you. Oh yes.

My ultimate favorite display in this area!!! <3

It was the first time for me to visit the "Birds of Prey" exhibit and I loved it!!! Up-close interaction with these birds are precious. <3

Majestic!

"What are you looking at, human?!"

Mori-san is begging this bird for a photo.

I think I make a cute bird too? Haha. XD

It's lucky that my cat of a cousin wasn't preyed on today.

Mori-san, still unable to convince the bird for a photo, bribes with a mere feather.

The bird was like, "I have a lot of those!"

*I refer to it as "the bird" because I'm not exactly sure what bird it is. >_< Sorry!

The next area we visited was the Mirror Maze (it was something like this). I'm sorry for being so uninformative today. Haha. XD I took our group shot out of all the shots the attraction crew so graciously took for us! <3 Thank youuu. <3

How many of me do you see?

The next attraction is the Trick Art museum. It was also my first time here~! <3 So much fun! BUT I was so tired after. Also felt like I mopped the floor with my clothes after I was done. Why, you ask? Well, see for yourself. Hahaha.

We actually pushed him off.

Afterwards, we had a serious discussion about whose fault it was. Lai wasn't so concerned.

I don't think Mori-san thought I was heavy. His head could carry me effortlessly.

Lai was a bit heavy though! Hahaha. XD

But, Mori-san is Superman.

There were SO MANY pictures we took! SOOOOO MANY. But I can only show you a few. :( So, I think you must visit the Trick Art Museum yourself!

The final attraction we visited was Trails to Antarctica. The highlight of this attraction is being able to feed the penguins--where you have to pay an extra 500 pesos (including about 30 shots burned on a CD). :|

But, you know, I've never seen a penguin this close soooo....

I was a bit disappointed coming back to this part of Trails to Antarctica. The "snow" used to actually be white and there weren't any anti-slip mats that made the place look so messy. :| Yes, it's for safety but it really beats the purpose of having a white winter wonderland all tropic residents want to experience. This area needs to be refreshed.

We took more than a couple of shots here but my camera lens was starting to get foggy. So even this one, one of the first pictures I took, was blurred. XD

And oh, the temperature inside is -15 degrees celcius, according to one staff. We lasted maybe 5 minutes inside. They will let you borrow some sort of coat when going inside but we didn't want to wear them because we know (based on previous experience) that they smell funky.

And about 5 hours later, it's time to leave! There are other attractions that we didn't see but I was pretty satisfied with what we did. :P