More People than Fish

Oceanarium
Originally uploaded by catblox

Shoving, pushing, hundreds of people crowding into a small entrance - it's not an MRT rush hour scenario, but a Manila Ocean Park holiday madness. But I'm not one to complain since I got there on a free ride ^^

It would be nice to go there again, but on a non-holiday so there would be more time to look around and appreciate the marine life on display because it was amazing. The fishes and corals were so pretty, colorful and very much alive! Corals are not at all white. They're white only when they're dead.

With hundreds of people pouring in and millions of pesos in holiday ticket sales, I hope the Ocean Park management are taking steps to more actively preserve our marine resources. There's an area near the ocenarium's exit that has displays on how to save marine life - a great idea! The owners can even take it a step further though. Maybe make another huge aquarium that looks currently like the underwater of Manila Bay and put it beside one of the aquariums brimming with life, with nothing but glass separating them. This will make the contrast more evident, graphic and poignant. And then for no fee at all, arrange for a 30 minute trip to Manila Bay and have guests pick up garbage. I heard something on the news that Greenpeace had done that before. So maybe the two of them can strike up a deal?

After the Oceanarium trip, we queued for the Musical Fountain Show, but there was no queue at all! Sardines in a can have much better space than us as the whole crowd squeezed through the entrance. The management should do something about that. Put some ropes or something to guide the queue, even hire a bouncer. It was horrible.

The show was short, just 30 minutes, but very entertaining. I could do without seeing the starfish-costumed performances again though. I heard comments like " Starfishes again?" all around when the starfishes entered for their 3rd performance. By the 5th performance, people were groaning.

All in all, the P500 spent for the Oceanarium and the Musical Fountain Show was worth it. But I wouldn't pay higher than that, well at least not on a holiday.