Dolphin (and Seal) Show @ Ocean Theatre

After arriving at The Summit via cable car, we decided to watch "Sea Dreams" at the Ocean Theatre. It's a dolphin and seal show with a conservation message, but really, the focus was definitely on the talented marine mammals' amazing feats.

It was so much fun to see the dolphins do somersaults in the air and defy gravity in time with music. I've always liked this kind of show since I was a little kid. I'm happy that I still get giddy at the sight of these special animals like in the old days.

The seals were no slouches either, as they charmed us with their overall cuteness and various tricks. The trainers also picked out people to interact with the animals, which made it more fun for everyone.

We enjoyed every second of the show and wished it was longer, but I guess the dolphins and seals needed a break too to get ready and entertain the audience after us.

Spectacular Cable Car Ride @ Ocean Park

Our panda gazing done, we lined up to ride the cable car to reach The Summit where all the rides are located. Since I’m traveling with our Mama who’s no spring chicken, and my sister who has asthma, I decided not to ride any of the roller coasters (as if I’m that brave, haha!).

The cable car is still a “ride” though so we did not feel too bad about missing out on all the other rides the park offers. The view from the cable car going up the Nam Lang Shan Mountain was a feast for the eyes. The unparalleled view of Hong Kong Island and the South China Sea was spectacular.

You should not miss this when you’re here, it’s truly wonderful. We took a gazillion pictures from the cable car, it seems. I truly didn’t mind that I missed rides on The Abyss and The Dragon.

Panda Gazing @ Giant Panda Adventure

"I'm cuddly and I know it..."

I just love giant pandas! My fascination with them started when I got hooked on “Shirt Tales” when I was a kid. I had lots of fun with Pammy Panda’s adventures on that cartoon show and was heartbroken when it was cancelled. I even had a beloved dog named "Panda", how's that for devotion?

So when I found myself unexpectedly at the Ocean Park, dropping by the Giant Panda Adventure at the Amazing Asian Animals exhibit was a priority. I told my sister that I can accept not doing anything else in our afternoon there, as long as I get to spend time with the pandas.

To the giant pandas we went… they were the absolute cutest! Le Le and Ying Ying were just too cuddly and at their playful best, it seemed. Splashing and gamboling around their air conditioned enclosure, even playing around with a bucket, making people go “awww!” at their antics.

 I swear, everything a panda does is adorable. I was so happy to finally see them up close. It was definitely worth the price of admission. By the way, the Giant Panda Adventure also houses the red panda (part bear, part raccoon) which whizzed by me so fast I only got a picture of its butt, haha!

Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Ocean Park Hong Kong is one of the world’s most popular amusement/marine mammal parks and it was a thrill to visit its attractions. It was not on our original itinerary though. We were traveling with our mother (who’s in her early 70’s) and were cautious about tiring her out by doing too much on this trip, so we didn’t have anything scheduled upon our arrival.

 Luckily, we shared a coach with other Pinoy tourists who were headed to Ocean Park from the airport and Mama was a bit peeved that we thought she could not keep up with us. So my sister Maris quickly bought tickets (Yay, my birthday present!) from our tour guide and after checking in at the Silka Seaview hotel in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, we headed straight to Aberdeen.

This park is really huge so it’s important to grab a free map at the entrance to figure out where to go. Since it was 2pm and we haven’t had lunch yet, we bought some spaghetti and drinks from a food kiosk and it was surprisingly, pretty good.

Our hunger problems solved, we started taking in the sights and wandered into Aqua City where the souvenir shops are located. My sis had to buy a shirt because she didn’t change at the hotel and was feeling overheated and sweaty.

 Predictably, that’s not the only thing we ended up buying. We just had to buy cute panda stuffed toys, refrigerator magnets and key chains galore  and dear mama had to be talked out of buying shark hats and the like so we just tried everything on instead!

So after all the eating and buying and walking around, this self-proclaimed “panda groupie” went to the pandas first… be ready for cuteness overflow on the next post.

Ocean Park

Aberdeen, Hong Kong

opening hours: 10:00am - 7:00pm
general admission price: $280 (adult), $140 (child)