My wife met me at the passenger’s arrival area of NAIA Terminal 1. The place was so crowded and humid. We hired a private taxi to bring us to Pinoy Pamilya Club Hotel in Pasay. I booked a premium room through the internet for three days for P1,650 per night with complimentary plated breakfast for two. The room was good enough and painted walls comforted us after a very tiring travel.
Location: Manila, Philippines
Where I Stayed: Pinoy Pamilya Club Hotel
Buddies: Friends (2)
Day One. Every time my foot touches down in Manila, I always visited Mall of Asia. At this time, we watched the movie,”The Avengers”, in 3D. The best place for a coffee break was still at Starbucks and tried milk fish “sisig” for dinner in Bangus Restaurant.
Day Two. Visited Manila Ocean Park. We headed to the park and bought park attraction tickets for three. We met our grade school friend whose staying in Taguig. She will be our tour guide in Ocean Park. We chose Penguin Delight B package worth P900 per head. The package includes entrance in Oceanarium, Sea Lion Show, All Star Bird Show, Trails to Antarctica, Jellies Exhibit, and the Musical Fountain Show.
The Oceanarium was the first attraction we entered. We passed through a scanner just like in the airport for security check. A bottled water was not allowed, so our friend forcefully drunk her water before entering. This attraction was a big aquarium with so many big and small fishes. We were like under the sea, seeing colorful and different variety of fishes, sharks and stingrays.
After 30 minutes, we went out for the next attraction was the Trails to Antarctica. I met here the eight cute penguins walking and diving in the small pool. We tried the slide in the hardened ice with a tube and helmets. There is no snow in the Philippines! I enjoyed the ride though it only took a second. We then entered a snowing room, “A Snow Village” where the temperature was maintained up to negative 20 degrees. The staffs gave us coats to resist the cold and stayed there for 15 minutes. We stayed longer if compared to other local tourists who only stayed few minutes.
We then visited the Jellies Exhibit and amazed on how the jellies look like when reflected with colorful beam of light. Amazing!
We then went in the amphitheater for Sea Lion Show which started at 3pm. I saw already such show when I was in Subic, Zambales so I was not anymore surprise on sea lions tricks and abilities. After 30 minutes, the show ended and we went inside the building for snacks. We waited for the Birds Show which will start at 4:30pm. We tried the five minutes 4D shows twice and was shaken dreadfully. We never forgot the Volcanic Eruption show causing my wife threw up her recently taken snack in the comfort room after the ride.
At 4:30H, we witnessed the Birds Show that for me has common tricks. I will enjoy this much when I’m a first timer. The highlight of this show was finding the lost yellow snake which was only at our back. I appreciated the people behind the training of those animals. We left the place and back to our hotel after the Birds Show since the Musical Fountain Show will start at 7pm. We decided to have dinner in our hotel.
Before 7pm, We already occupied the middle highest seat of the amphitheater. It was the best spot to see the entire colorful fountain show. I was very excited to see this kind of show for the first time. The musical show was composed of a rising water fountain, a funny acting characters, and an environmental message. It’s so funny watching the characters (the fat chef struggling to catch the two lobsters and fishes for meals).
In the middle of the show, I felt cold water touches my neck. It might be because of the fountain drops. But it was not…it was a heavy rain! The show still continued and some audiences went out. The strong wind brought the rain water across the seats making the audience all in standing ovation. It was really fun! The staffs started to distribute rain coats! I saluted that they are prepared for such unpredictable event. The theater flooded with water and everyone are wet. My shoes are wet too! I enjoyed the rain better than the fountain show! At the last minute of the show, only few people were left. We waved our hands saying good bye to the funny show characters and we were the audience who stepped out last from the theater.
It was so difficult to find a taxi on this area during night. I wondering if I booked the park’s owned, H2O Hotel, how could I go out anytime at night? Since the waiting area outside was flooded, taxi fare negotiations were expensive. So, we managed to walk up to Roxas Boulevard and rode a public PUV to Baclaran.
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