Big Fish. Small Fish.

Today, my friends and I went to Manila Ocean Park, just behind the Quirino Grandstand, to see what the buzz was all about.

Okay. A little disclaimer here -- I'm not a fan of fishes; or any kind of marine life, for that matter. I don't mind seeing them from afar, but when it comes to interacting with them, well, I'd rather go somewhere else. However, I guess curiosity got the best of me this time. How can I let something like this pass, when I know that this is like a milestone for the Philippines. Finally, we're beginning to have the things that Singapore has. Haha.

So anyway. An adult ticket costs Php400, and a ticket for the kids cost Php350. No student discounts whatsoever (I was counting on this, even though technically, I'm not a student anymore. Hahahaha. They won't know anyway, right?) I think they had a senior citizen discount, but I didn't really pay attention to that.

The whole place is divided into 7 areas: Agos, Bahura, Laot, Buhay ng Karagatan, Ang Kalaliman, Overhang Tank and Pating. Well, from what I understood, Laot had all the freshwater fishes, including this gigantic fish, the Giant Arapaima, that welcomed us and shocked me by its sheer size. Bahura was where all the cute little reef fishes were. You know, the kind that you put in aquariums and stuff. Buhay ang Karagatan was where the bigger fishes were, and you can see them through this tunnel, just like what they have in Sentosa.

Ang Kalaliman had the big fishes that you see deep underwater, the Overhang Tank is where you can see the Pagi swimming above you, and the Pating is where (duh) the sharks are.

Perhaps the thing that I liked most about the whole thing are their labels. They have interactive labels which have trivia about the fishes, which were very eyecatching. I just didn't have much time to read them, because of the sheer bulk of people who were there with us (on a Wednesday! The horror! I wonder how crowded it gets on weekends.)

All in all, I enjoyed it. I may not be a fan of fishes, but this was a great experience. A lot of things need more work, though. Construction is still going on and I think, the area, especially the Laot and Bahura parts, are not equipped to cater to a LOT of people. People crowd around the tanks, and you don't really get to see the fishes with everyone taking pictures of everything. Maybe it would be better to go back after the hype has died down, and when the construction has finally finished.