Manila Ocean Park

It was a good news last year to hear about the construction of an ocean park in Manila. Most countries in Asia already have this kind of attraction. Hong Kong has Ocean Park, Jakarta has Seaworld and I guess they also have it in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and China for sure.

So with so much excitement we toured Manila Ocean Park. And here are my observations:

1. The park is half finished--- but the work in progress is for a hotel and restaurant. The aquariums are all set.
2. Too little space--- it has at least 4 sections and, with all the aquariums cramped, this place will always be crowded.
3. The 350 (kids) to 450 (adult) is not worth it. You can finish the tour in 1:30 minutes. Theres is nothing much spectacular specially for visitors who have seen HK Ocean Park or even the Seaworld in Jakarta. It may still be worth the price for kids who will see such species for the first time.
4. The surrounding restaurants are expensive. For tourists on a budget they need to drive away from that area to get some reasonably priced restaurants.

Here are some snap shots:

I am a bit frustrated since this could have been a major attraction for the city of Manila. The location is perfectly at the shore of Manila Bay and very accessible--- there could be no better place for this. This was the best chance to build something in Manila that stands out-- no one will invest to build same kind of theme park in larger scale.