Hong Kong Trip: Ocean Park

September 06, 2010
Hong Kong Trip Day 5: Ocean Park

This was our second to the last day in Hong Kong and we planned on going to Ocean Park for it. We already bought tickets ahead through Ate Yolly the other day. It was convenient for us because we didn’t have to wait in line or scout through other booths in order to get an entrance pass. What’s also nice is that we got a discount since we purchased it from her.

clownfishes

Woke up and then headed to the Marketplace by Jasons in iSQUARE (a mall near our hostel) in order to buy some snacks which already served as our breakfast for the day. I bought a sandwich and some cranberry juice and ate along the way.

juice and sandwich (13 HKD)

We took the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Admiralty and rode a bus (629 route) that went directly to Ocean Park. It took us some time to locate the bus since we didn’t know which side we had to take. After a couple of questions from the people nearby, we were able to settle in. I think the ride took about 45 minutes so I still had some time to rest and take a nap. I was tired from the activities we did the previous day in Hong Kong Disneyland.

bus terminal and 629 bus

We arrived at Ocean Park and one of their staff took my camera and told us to pose. I was surprised by how intrusive the staff was of our space but he said that he only wanted to take our picture using my camera. He also took a picture using his camera and gave us tickets to claim it at the booth near the entrance.

When we got to the booth, another staff offered us key chains with our pictures on it. We were amazed at how fast the processing of the key chain and pictures were. But we didn’t bother asking for the price because we knew how theme parks are when it comes to prices of their souvenir items.

Ocean Park!

We were already inside and we tried to find something fun to do so we rode some theme park rides. This really made my day cause I’m a big fan of carnival rides. Flying coaster, dragon, mine train (which I rode twice!) and the Eagle. These are only a few that Ocean Park offers.

like EK’s Flying Fiesta, riding the rollercoaster

Mine Train at Ocean Park – I went in twice!

I was the only one inside this Eagle ride.

It was a weekday (Monday) that’s why I was glad that there weren’t a lot of people around. Although there were still plenty, the queue for the rides was not long which was convenient.

aquarium fishes

corals and fishes

We checked out indoor aquariums which gave us a boost because of the air-conditioning inside. Cindy, Logan and I were all glad to get some cool air to retreat from the heat outside. We saw fishes of all types that I got lost and didn’t bother figuring out which fish has which name.

The sea jellies were really wonderful and I liked the play of lights which changed their color in different sequences.

beautiful, not sure if they’re deadly

jellies in colors

We got out of the indoor aquarium and hopped on a couple of rides again. Afterwards, we headed to the Ocean Theater in order to catch their dolphin show.

It was really hot and I was sweating all over. Along with over a hundred more people, we still watched the seals and dolphins entertaining us.

seals and dolphins at the crowded Ocean Theater

We dropped by a Mcdonalds shop and bought something to eat. Cindy and Logan bought some chicken meals while I got a double sundae with strawberry and mango syrup.

Mcdonalds in Ocean Park, Hong Kong

After a few talks we rode the escalator – I forgot where it took us. The Ocean Park Escalator, I later found out, is the second longest outdoor escalator in the world which stretches over 225 m.

One note to remind yourself when you go to Ocean Park in Hong Kong is to bring WATER! It was so tiring because we didn’t expect Ocean Park to be huge – way bigger than Disneyland. We walked and got lost despite using their maps and had to walk again.

look at the sweat, bring a shirt!

Another thing to bring in Ocean Park is an extra shirt! Stupid me forgot to bring one even when I brought my backpack with me. Bummer. A nice, comfortable, cotton, white shirt would do.

view from the top

We rode the Oceanpark Tower wherein we saw views on the different sides of the island. At 72 meters above the ground, the viewing room rotated and we realized that the construction going on is still something to look forward to. They still have a lot in store for their guests which makes me wonder how the park will look like when everything is finished.

We hopped on their cable car on our descent back to the main entrance as we were about to head home. I didn’t know the cable car ride was really scary and exciting at the same time.

cable car in Ocean Park – Logan, holding on to dear life.

Logan was holding on tight to the pole inside the cable car because of fear of heights. It was a long 10-15 minute ride too. We planned on riding the cable car in Ngong Ping where we could also walk with the giant buddha – this is one destination that we missed. We didn’t bother because this ride already satisfied our curiosity.

games and balloon ride

We were almost done when we dropped by the Giant Panda Adventure to see the panda bear named ‘An-An’ – We were born on the same year, hehe. An-an looked tired and it seemed that he already wanted to get to his cage as it was already late.

panda

We headed back to the bus that would take us to Admiralty as we were going to Victoria Peak next.
Check out the website of Ocean Park Hong Kong for more information: http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/home/

Expenses:
230 HKD – Ocean Park Ticket (each person)

Food: 13 HKD – Sandwich and Juice for Breakfast
20 HKD – Mcdonalds Double Sundae

Transportation: 50 HKD – Octopus Card Reload for MTR

* 1 Hong Kong Dollar at 6 Philippine Pesos

Check out my blog posts about my Cebu to Hongkong trip here:

• Hong Kong Trip: From Cebu to Hongkong
• Hongkong Trip: Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok Computer Center
• Hong Kong Trip: World Trade Center & Times Square in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai
• Hong Kong Trip: City Gate Outlets and Disneyland
• Hong Kong Trip: Ocean Park
• Hong Kong Trip: Victoria Peak
• HongKong to Cebu
• Modern Toilet Restaurant in Mongkok
• Tips and Things to Know about Hong Kong
• Total Budget Expense of our Hong Kong Macau Trips