Saturday, April 25, 2015

A Retrospect: Hong Kong Ocean Park


Our days were starting to get pretty mundane, and I swear, it's not just severe homesickness kicking in. It's basically work-eat-sleep for us, and although I try to add my own sorry excuse for a workout in between, things are still bordering on, well, boring. I really cant find a nicer word.

The entrance to Ocean Park
We've been wanting to go to Ocean Park for months, but for some reason, there was always something that stopped us from doing so. That week, however, we were resolved to go the moment our schedules permitted. I dont know about them, but I needed to unwind. Badly

 Getting there

Ocean Park is located in Aberdeen, and there are two ways to get there. Three, actually, but a car was not an option for us since, one, we didn't have an access to a car, and, two, even if we did, none of us knew how to drive. So we were left with either taking a cab, which is easier and more convenient, or taking the bus which is cheaper and more challenging. Being us, we took the cheaper and more challenging route. If we took the cab, all we had to do was tell the cabby to drive us to Ocean Park, whereas going for the bus involved taking an MTR to Admiralty Station, then after getting off, we had to look for EXIT B which lead to the bus stop for Ocean Park. There were already plenty of people in line when we got to the bus stop, but we didn't have to wait long because a new bus arrives every 10 minutes.

Bus 629 to Ocean Park


The Park opens at 10 A.M and tickets are available at the entrance for HKD 320(around 1800 in PhP). To save queue time, however, we purchased our tickets at a 7/11 store beforehand. 

Ocean Park is divided into two. 
The Waterfront, where the entrance, the Aquarium and animals are. 

Waterfront
The Great Aquarium
Inside The Great Aquarium
Under the sea
Asian Animals section of the Waterfront

The theme park, where the rides are; located on the other side of the mountain. 

Rainforest section of the theme park  
The Dragon
Thrill Mountain section of the theme park
You can get from A to B by cable car or the Ocean Express. We decided to try both. The cable car offers a relaxing transit with breathtaking view. The Ocean Express is a faster way to travel though, which was perfect for when we were rushing to get back to the Waterfront to catch our bus. The last bus leaves Ocean Park at around 3:45 - 4:00 PM. We were catching our breath by the time we got to the bus station, but we made it!

Cable cars connect the Waterfront to the Theme park
The Ocean Express
Food and, especially, drinks are expensive within the premises, and we kinda wished we brought our own drinks to save some money. 
Panda Cafe. One of the pricey restaurants.
Luckily, there is a McDonald's branch inside and it's quite affordable compared to the other  food stalls and restaurants around, but they're also selling beverages at almost twice their regular price.
Lifesaver!
There were plenty of water rides in the park and chances are, we'd get wet if we try them. But then again, we'd be missing half the fun if we dont! So we jumped into the first water-ride that caught our eyes - without a raincoat, mind you! There were raincoats for sale in the park, but like everything else, they're quite costly, so we risked getting wet. Yeah, we're stingy like that. Haha.

Soaked ourselves in the Rapids
Other water-rides
Some of the rides shook our nerves by the mere sight if them, but we didn't let our nerves stop us from having fun! There were also rides that didnt look scary at all, but we shouldn't have let appearances fool us. I dropped my heart in what I thought was a Disneyland-level roller coaster, and Im not telling you which one! ;)

***ehemmmm
Ocean Park is too big to explore in just a day. Seriously, there's so much to see, so much to do, and a lot of things to experience! It's a great place for sightseeing, learning, exploring, and having a good time. Whether you're 6, 16, or 60, you'll love the place! 

awww <3 reminds me of the Disney movie "UP"
I really wish we could've availed of the 2-day tickets (the 2nd day is at a discounted price) and come back for seconds. Unfortunately, a day is all we got. Time is a luxury we didn't have. But that's okay, because that awesome day with friends was all I needed to break the monotony. :)



<3

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