"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore. Dream. Discover."~ Mark Twain

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Ocean Park Hongkong

     After securing our baggage in our guesthouse and exchanging our money, we are ready to start our Hong Kong trip. From our guesthouse, we took the MTR at Tsim Sha Tsui Station and went down at Admiralty Station (cost us 7.9hkd from our Octopus Cards). We then boarded City bus 629 going to Ocean Park (OC = 10.60hkd).

 Arrived at Ocean Park around 12 noon ^_^

     The bus took about 20 minutes before we reached Ocean Park (OP). Entrance to the park costs 250hkd each, but we bought ours for 220hkd at our guesthouse (we badly need to budget our money.. hehe!).

Ocean Park Tickets :)

Opening Hours of Ocean Park

     Since it was Wednesday when we went to OP, we still have until 7:30pm to enjoy the whole place. That's seven and a half hours for us! Not bad.. :) Let the cam whoring begin.. :D

 Welcome to Ocean Park

Essential part of the trip = Maps and Guides :)

     Ocean Park is divided into 2 different parts, The Lowland and The Summit. And since we still have 7 hours left, we decided to divide that time to enjoy both.

Planning is important! ^_^

     We were amazed at how big Ocean Park is, so we decided to explore the Lowland first. The Lowland mostly caters to kids. Some of the attractions at Whiskers Harbour are SkyStar (the big hot air balloon), the Giant Panda adventures, the Sea Life Carousel and a lot more kiddie rides.

In front of the Aqua City Lagoon

 Growling Tiger 

     We were happy to see a replica of a hot air balloon since we were not able to ride one at the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Pampanga last February so we grabbed the opportunity to have a picture inside.
 
Inside the hot air balloon ^_^

     We then headed to the Water Front Plaza where Amazing Asian Animals is located. It's our first time to see a giant panda. (they are so adorable!) :)

With pictures of pandas :)

     We had to wait for a few minutes to see the panda -- it was hiding! We dashed toward the railing to take a good photo of it before it goes back into hiding.

PANDAAA! ^_^

     We then transferred to Goldfish Treasures, where we saw different kinds of gold fish. It's also where we had the chance to write our names in a lantern-shaped board.

     On our way to Whiskers Harbour, we saw a clown whose smile and energy was infectious! She was joined by another funny clown wearing a big ball-like costume. Sooo cute!
 
Wacky faces! =p

     We then proceeded to the Whiskers Harbour where we had our first ride for our Ocean Park experience, the Toto the Loco ride, a mini train for kids and adults alike. =)

     Whiskers Harbour rides include a Merry-go-round, Balloon Up-up-and-away, and the Frog Hopper to name a few.

Whiskers Harbour Signboard

Aren't their benches cute?

     We waited until 2pm to watch the Sea Lion Fun Time Show. Too bad the show was mostly in Cantonese so we decided to head to the next attraction.

The sea lion show

Talking Tree on our way out of 
the Whiskers Harbour

     Before heading to the Summit, we first went to the Grand Aquarium. It is like Manila Ocean Park but bigger and more grandiose! There was a lot of sea creatures to observe and be amazed at like the glowing plankton, the leaf sea dragon, the luminous milk fish and the giant starfish which we got to touch. :)

Entrance to the Grand Aquarium

Leaf Sea Dragon

     It is now time to go to The Summit and the only way to go there is via the Cable Cars (our first HK cable car ride!). The view from the car was cool! We got to see the whole park and people of all ages enjoying themselves.

Inside the cable car

View of the Lowland from our cable car

     The Headland features rides that mostly cater to adults like the Crazy Galleon (like the Anchor's Away), The Abyss (a free fall ride), The Dragon (a roller coaster), etc. But since we were starving, we were not able to ride. We just ordered from McDonald's. Their burger was 17hkd! No fries! No drinks! No rice meals! :/


 The Abyss
 
 The Dragon

     After eating, we then rode the Ocean Park Tower (yes! our second ride! haha!) where we saw the whole park and other parts of the HK island.

Ocean Park Tower

    Our Ocean Park experience would not be complete without trying the grilled squid (25hkd apiece). It was gummy, salty, yummy and nakaka-adik!

A must try!

     The cable car will close at 6:30pm, so we decided to go.. not before taking more pictures! Haha! :)


Cable Car station at The Summit

     Our Ocean Park experience was the perfect start to our Hong Kong adventure! The weather was just right, ideal for strolling around. We will surely come back to try the rides and to see Jelly Spectacular!

 Satisfied customers ^_^

Ocean Park
 Aberdeen, Hongkong
Operating Hours: 10am - 7:30pm (Mondays - Saturdays)
9:30am - 7:30pm (Sundays and Public Hoildays)
http://www.oceanpark.com.hk

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