Inside the mind of a woman

I was thinking of what to do for my youngest son’s birthday celebration when I saw an ad for Ocean Adventure on TV a few weeks ago. My son squealed "Dolphins! Dolphins!" and I knew our trip was set at that instant.

I didn’t know anyone who had been there so I turned to my best friend, the Internet, and did my best to find out more about what the place had to offer. Although the place had their own website, and  I found quite a few blogs who have written about their experience, I couldn’t get an overall picture about what I need to prepare, what I need to do, and what exactly I would see when I get there.

What the heck, let’s just drive there, I tell my husband. And drive we did. Thinking that the new highway will cut our trip by more than half, we decided to head out later than we usually do when going on out of town trips. Unfortunately, that was a bad decision as we encountered heavy traffic on the way to SCTEX.

So we got there just before 1PM and found out that the dolphin friends show was about to start and the next one was scheduled for 430PM. What??! I then recalled how some of the blogs mentioned something about calling ahead to determine the schedule for the day. I just had to sigh and frown in frustration.

We still entered the park and moved to watch the dolphin friends show. Because we were late, that meant we had to watch from the sidelines under the heat of the summer sun at 1PM. The bleachers were packed and they were no longer letting anyone enter. Regardless of the lousy position, I managed to take a few shots of the show.

It was fun watching the show and watching my kids point and scream each time the dolphins did their tricks. I was only too glad when the show ended and I could sit down. 

When the crowd dispersed, I asked what now? No one in our group knew. The small piece of paper that contained the day’s schedule said the next event was a diving show. But where? Again, nobody knew. Following the sound of what seemed to be a crowd of people, we came to another viewing area with a small pool in the center. The pool was too small in my opinion but apparently it was deep enough for these professional drivers.

Now this show I like. Even if I sat under the sun trying hard not to sweat too much, I was totally entertained by the antics of these professional divers. More than once I screamed and squealed as they jumped and rolled, or turned, or spread their legs while dropping into the pool below. The divers actually performed a short skit before the dives which fooled quite a few people in the audience.

The next event was the sea lion show and we made sure we were at the viewing area ahead of show time but I guess everyone else had the same idea as we were the last people to be let in and was allowed to squeeze in at the center aisle. We actually had the perfect seats (although extremely uncomfortable) because we were front and center and saw all the fun that was happening on stage.

One thing I was concerned about was the state of the sea lions. I am not an activist and will not pretend I don’t like zoos and animal parks but I do feel a bit bad watching the sea lion crawl along the wet cement and perform for us. It looked totally unnatural to me. Oh well, I just hope they are really well taken cared of.

The next stop for us was the indoor aquarium. It was setup similar to Manila Ocean Park where you had to enter a dark enclosed area filled with several aquariums where you can see different colored and different sized fish. And similar to my experience at Ocean Park, there were not a few but several annoyingly ignorant (if not utterly stupid) people who totally disregarded the very clear instructions – "No tapping on the glass" and "No flash photography allowed". What is worse is that the adults were the ones asking their kids to pose in front of the glass cases so that they can take photos. And because it was dark, of course they had to use the camera flash. Duh!

I think the park has quite a bit to improve in terms of operations but it is still a great place to visit especially if its for your kids. At the end of the day, seeing the smiles of my sons were worth the stress my hubby and I went through for the whole trip. To minimize your stress, here are some things you need to consider when planning to go to Ocean Adventure.

• Plan to leave early so that you arrive at the park when it opens at 9AM. Since the show schedules change everyday (or every week), arriving early will ensure you get a big chance of enjoying an organized experience.
• Eat a heavy meal before you get to the park. Food is not allowed inside the park and the prices inside their cafe is out of this world especially since their cafe is more like a school canteen. Go figure.
• Bring bottled water. This is the only thing allowed inside the park and because you will be under the sun most of the time, its best to have something to drink.
• Ocean Adventure is located deep within Subic Bay Freeport Zone. It is nowhere near the main gate or even the Central Business District. It is located at the West Ilanin Forest on the way to Morong Gate. Unfortunately, I have to recommend that you take your car or rent one. If that is not possible, there are Taxi cabs provided by SBMA that are familiar enough with the area that they will be able to take you there. If you need detailed directions, check out the park’s website.
• Last tip: Enjoy!

Guest Information:
Park Hours – 9AM to 6PM daily
Admission Prices – Adult, Php450.00; Children below 12 and Senior Citizens, Php370.00

Contact Info:
(SUBIC) – 63-47-2529000
(MANILA) – 63-2-7063344
Email – info [at] oceanadventure [dot] com [dot] ph
Mailing address – Ocean Adventure, Camayan Wharf West Ilanin Forest Subic Bay Freeport Zone 2222 Philippines
** More pictures here.