Manila Ocean Park - A place to see marine life

We planned to go out yesterday (December 25th), but we got a little lazy, so we decided to just celebrate the holidays today, Sunday.

Here's where our feet took us: The Manila Ocean Park - a giant aquarium which is a great way to meet and see marine creatures up close and personal. The ticket that we bought was for an extremely good deal. It allowed us to go to three of the main attractions of the Ocean Park, the Oceanarium, the Jellies and the Marine Life Show. Oh, we also got an extra ticket to check out the habitat of the sea lions! A great holiday weekend indeed!

Our first stop was at the Oceanarium. We found different tanks for the different types of fish housed in that particular area. What caught my attention was this: (click on image for larger photos)

A beautiful white fish which only had one eye. I wasn't able to ask anyone about the fish's condition, but from what I saw, they don't treat it differently from the "normal" ones.

Another cute creature that caught my eyes was this:

A smiling shark! Who would've thought that a shark smiles? Isn't it absolutely adorable?

Then we were off to the Jellies! The ocean park administrators decided to call them the dancing fairies of the sea and I think I know why.

They looked so graceful while they float all around their respective tanks. I can't imagine how something so beautiful can also be so dangerous. I wouldn't want any of those tentacles on my skin.

Our next destination was the habitat of the sea lions. While walking along the lower area of their home, we were treated to a marvelous view. We saw them swimming up close and they even had the time to interact and entertain those who stood close to their tank.

Before proceeding to the show, we saw one of the sea lions trying to catch the audiences' attention. While the cute sea lion did this, the other one got angry and decided to boss the poor performer around. It was funny! And when we read the information about these cute mammals, we found out that one of the sea lions was actually possessive of its trainers to the point that she bosses the others away from the trainers! I think she showed the audience that she can really be bossy.

For our final destination, we watched the sea lions perform their educational tricks.

I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the trainer, but I do remember the name of the sea lion. He's Vincent, the only male sea lion in the Ocean Park.

The performance of these creatures were funny and entertaining, but at the same time, the trainers educated the audience about the plight of these intelligent sea creatures. It was a great eye opener for those who were there.

And before I forget, I decided to not process these photos in any way, except to crop it a little, resize it for web use and add the watermark.



The last two photos are my entries for STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA SUNDAY



The colors and sharpness of the photos are straight out of the camera.

A fun filled day, celebrating the holidays with my hubby, happiness every minute.

Should you visit the Philippines and would love to go to a place that says fun, dining and shopping under one roof, visit the Manila Ocean Park. Hotel H2O is already open and the attractions are open all year round. Aside from the above mentioned attractions, you may also want to try the Fish Spa or the Aquanaut Experience. If you want more information about this wonderful place, please visit Manila Ocean Park's Website.

     

      

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Wandering Over to Mango Tree Bistro

A friend of mine told me to visit this Thai restaurant located in Trinoma Mall, Quezon City. After a month or so of pursuasion, I was finally able to set my foot in the restaurant.



The food was superb. I loved every single bite of the chicken in green curry that I had. But what I loved the most was their Thai Ice Tea.



It was so different from the one that I had from another Thai restaurant. This one quenched my thirst without me gagging on bits of shaved ice.

My friend asked me about my opinion, the only thing that I really had to say to him was that the lighting of the restaurant made it hard for me to take photos. (A joke of course. The lighting gave my ice tea a dramatic feel to it.)

After the wonderful late lunch - early dinner combo, hubby and I decided to walk around Trinoma and here are a couple of shots that I took:



The mall's ground floor had so many water fountains around it and it lent a great ambiance to the mall. Even if its location is very near a major thouroughfare, the waters and trees surrounding it muffled the noise from outside and gave a quiet/romantic feel to the whole place.



Through out the mall one would see a lot of ballerinas made of lights, the reason for it was that there was a ballet concert being held at one of the areas of the mall. I got to see some parts of it and I was looking in awe at the graceful dancers on stage. The concert was for free, by the way.

And before going home we passed by the top deck of the mall



It looked so mysterious because there were smoke machines located in the ponds on the deck. I would have loved to stay longer, but the Christmas rush just got to me and hubby, so we decided to go home after we rested our feet and savored the food from the restaurant.

Another happy day to be kept in our memories.

         

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Fireworks, Floats and Food

December 5th, Hubby and I went again to the Mall of Asia. The reason, we wanted to look for good places to eat in and to watch Harry Potter 7.

Walking around the area, we chanced upon a small restaurant named Jatujak which serves Thai food. We decided to give it a try and we were not disappointed.

The Crispy Pork with Cilantro Garnish became our instant favorite.

After lunch, we reserved our seats for the movie and while waiting for the screening time, we watched the sunset and got mesmerized again by the beauty before our eyes.

Aside from this wonderful sight, we were also lucky that there was a float parade and a fireworks display show happening before the screening time. Fate had been kind to us and that day became one of our happiest memories that we can put into our treasure chest of happy times.

It was a magical day indeed.

     

   

SOOC - Sunset lit Silhouette

Yesterday hubby and I went out to watch a movie. Even if the primary goal for going out was not to take photos, I still brought my camera with me and this is what I captured.

I fell in love with the texture of the clouds, the calm looking waters and the sunset, casting a nice shadow and silhouette. I can't ask for anything more, the beauty was just breathtaking.

My entry for

SOOC - Straight out of the Camera Sunday

SM Mall of Asia - Car Show 2009

This blog is only about a year old and I have yet to blog about all my previous wanderings within the Metro.

Last year, some of my photography buddies and I went to the Mall of Asia to look at the cars in the car show.

I got there quite early, so while waiting for them to arrive, I decided to go around and take some photos.

And after snapping a photo of the back area of the mall, I proceeded to go to the Bay Area and walk around.

After my buddies and I met up, we decided to have lunch first and afterwards, we went to the car show at the parking area of the mall. It rained, but it didn't stop us from taking photos of the cars.

And what car show would be complete without the lovely ladies?

After a day of walking and snapping the shutter, we decided to go home when the rain started to pour a little harder.

I had a great day and I'm looking forward to attending more car shows in the future.

           

SM Mall of Asia - One Year Ago

Christmas is in the air here in the Philippines and I would like to share with you guys this early celebration that my friends and I attended last year.

We watched the different choirs as they sang Christmas Carols before the fireworks show. And all I can say is that their voices were heavenly. I do hope to watch the fireworks show again this year.

December Cosplay Shoot at SM Megamall

Cosplay has been in the Phillipines for a number of years now. Last December, I was able to attend one of the biggest events for coplayers.

Hubby and I enjoyed watching these younger ones play dress up, but instead of dolls, they dress up themselves.

My favorite cosplayers

    

 

 

They played their parts really well. Instead of relying solely on the costumes that they were wearing, their faces conveyed more of the character they played.

It's really fascinating to see these youngsters enjoy themselves and make new friends.





Hosted by Cecily and Lolli