I realized two things last weekend.

1)  Manila Ocean Park didn’t meet my expectations.  At 400pesos, I find it expensive.
2)  The free Ipod Nano from BDO was too good to be true.  It’s free with a big IF.

For me, they’re not worth it… yet.

Manila Ocean Park

The Manila Ocean Park had a soft opening last March 1.  I have no plans of going until my churchmates planned to visit the place.  So I joined the company together with my sister.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of people.  It took us one hour before reaching the entrance to buy our tickets.  Waiting in line wasn’t a problem since we have company.  The chitchats made the waiting bearable.  There were really plenty of people of all ages who came to see the features of the place.

The facilities were ok.  The lobby was huge but doesnt look complete yet.  Airconditioning was superb.  Despite the big number of people inside the place, it was still comfortable.  Guards and guides were everywhere and were able to manage the crowd well.  There are touch screen panel that you can view to navigate what’s inside the Ocean Park.

Although the whole building is not complete yet, the Oceanarium is ready for the public and it contains a big collection of fishes.  But it wasn’t big enough for me.  Maybe I was expecting too much.  There were plenty of fishes.  I’m sure the kids will enjoy watchin them.  They would always flock at the clown fish display and shout “There’s Nemo”.  What disappoints me is that most of the fishes were still small.  The sharks were small.  The tunnel was a bit short.  And we had to make a quick tour since there are plenty of people and you have to move forward to avoid the crowd.

For starters, it was good enough.  It’s something to look forward to.  But the 400 pesos fee is too much.  I dont think it’s worth that much.  If you are planning to go there, I suggest that you postpone it for a year until the other facilities are open, like the boating and the scuba area.  Or try to get a discount.

For pictures from our trip, click here.  The place really looks inviting.

Additional info…

Is it comparable to the Underwater World at Sentosa in Singapore?  I say, its close enough and a good alternative.  No need to go to other contries to see this kind of attraction.  Here is a quick comparison.

• Manila Ocean Park seems to have more species of fishes than in Sentosa.  Im not sure but I find it more colorful.
• Fishes here are smaller.  Especially the sharks.  I want to see them ferocious.  But the ones displayed are rather cute.  What I love in Sentosa are the big sharks passing above you at the tunnel.
• The fishes are with dead or fake corals.  Doesn’t look very attractive.  I think they have a reason.  Manila Ocean Park is for the conservation of endangered species.  for this reason, I heard that dolphins and dugong are not in their plans yet.
• The big aquarium with schools of fishes was a great sight.  I don’t remember seeing them at Sentosa.
• There is no converyor or the moving floor (whatever you call that!) at Manila Ocean Park.  You have to walk through the tunnel.  The tunnel here looked a bit low and small too.
• They say that the 25m tunnel here is the longest in Asia.  It didn’t fell like it.  I find it shorter than the one in Sentosa.  Maybe because we have to move fast across the tunnel that’s why it felt short.

So wait for a year for the facilites to be complete and the fishes to grow bigger.  It will be much better by that time.

Update 03-18-08

I visited Manila Ocean Park for the second time.  My niece arrived in Manila.  It was her first time and I decided to bring her to the Ocean Park instead of Star City.  She said that its a nice place but its “bitin”.

Free 4G Ipod Nano

I was excited when I saw the ad.  Get a BDO Gold Mastercard and get a FREE Apple Ipod Nano 4Gb.  Wow.  I immediately asked for details.  It sounded simple.  Be qualifed by meeting the requirements for the card, fill up the forms, make a 3,000Php initial charge and get the Ipod for free.

So I got the form and read on the details.  Here’s the catch.

You can get the Ipod Nano IF you keep the card for 3 years and meet the yearly spending requirement of 300,000Php.   If in case you don’t meet the yearly spending requirement you have to pay the annual fee of 2, 400Php.  And if you don’t meet the spending requirement and did not pay the annual fee, you have to pay for the Ipod, which will be automatically charged to your credit card.

In short, it’s not totally free.  It’s like buying the Ipod at a discount or in installment basis.  Not bad actually.  In fact, there are some benefits to it than just buying the Ipod straight from the stores.  But I am not after the discount, or the installment.  What I wanted was to make it really free.  How am I supposed to meet the 300,000 yearly spending requirement?  Duh.

Too bad.  I’m trying hard to be techie and rich.