Look at the entire ocean park map and you would notice that the marine world was the largest zone; in fact, it was formerly "two distinct areas: Marine Land and Headlands Rides"! There's this new ride called the Wild Twister; it had not opened when we were there in July last year.
Directions towards the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium but decided to give it a miss as i am less interested in the prehistoric fish said to be heavily protected by China and labelled as a national treasure; just like the Giant Panda.
Shark Mystique appealed to me more and that's strange given my fear of the deep, blue sea! No thanks to Jaws, the classic American thriller that was filmed before i was even borne.
Architecture of an old-school fishing village on stilts (like Tai O Fishing Village at Lantau Island) doesn't gel well with the entrance which was the open mouth of a mammoth shark!
Loving the air-conditioning!
Facing us after we walked past the passage was a large pool; quite similar in size to the North Pole Encounter at the Polar Adventure Zone.
Message about sustainability; easiest way is to have a non-meat diet but to the common laymen like me, seafood and meat produce would continue to drive our appetite so long the pricing is still affordable.
Schooling bannerfish and the teardrop butterfly fish! Honestly, i don't know what marine fishes they were and had to google for marine fish chart to check.
Staff on duty to maintain the pool and feed the fishes. My eyes were drawn to the rundown barn with the oil lamp as it gave the atmosphere of a quiet fishing port.
Sharks in the pool; okay, let me guess what species they are. I think the first one is a bamboo shark whereas the second, larger one, is the leopard shark. Darn, i am wrong. The second one is in fact a zebra shark! Why when it has spotted markings?!
The whale shark is the largest fish in the whole wide world and it can reach a length of more than 14 meters. I was supposed to swim with the whale sharks in Maldives but had to give up the opportunity after falling sick.
Going further down the passage where more sharks greeted us!
Interested to know more about the shark's anatomy? For someone who didn't take advanced biology in school, it would be a challenge for me to know the different parts and i doubt i would even remember them after stepping out of the attraction.
Going deeper; what i like most from the above photo was the picture of the whale shark on the left as it's a life-sized photo for you to get a feel of how big a whale shark truly is!
Sharks here appeared different from the previous section; seemed more ferocious looking although you don't get great white which are not possible to be kept in captivity. Also noticed there were rays swimming in the tank too.
Ragged tooth shark and the saw shark! There were supposed to be over a hundred sharks and rays; spare some time here if you are a shark fan!
Video game that visitors can attempt.
Posters of celebrities who have vowed not to eat shark's fins which remain highly popular among the Chinese. In Singapore, demand has dropped i guess as the weddings i attended in recent years had changed the usual shark's fins soup to fish maw soup.
Back in the great sunshine where we shall continue to have fun at the carnival rides in this section! A pity though that the Ocean Park Tower and The Abyss were both closed for maintenance.
Even The Dragon, a roller coaster with corkscrews and 360° rotations, was not opened. Sigh, i should have taken a better look at the maintenance schedule before deciding the date of visit.
Choosing a ride that would allow us to make use of our fast track pass!
The 27-meter high Ferris Wheel! Can see that Alex was quite shagged out by the heat and walking and doing nothing is what he loves to do at times!
A pod just for the two of us! No need to stare into the faces of strangers and have awkward silence like what we encountered during the cable car ride at Ocean Park.
On our way up!
The Abyss on the left, the Ocean Theatre on the right where you get to catch a performance featuring the lovable dolphins, and the 72-meter high Ocean Park Tower right behind the theatre.
Spot the guy who was doing maintenance at the The Abyss!
Bird's eye view of the surroundings; the wind was strong too and it was darn relaxing; to the point i think i might doze off if i wasn't busy taking picture after picture.
I think this was the highest point of the ride.
With the strong wind, you can feel the pod shaking slightly. Guess many people wouldn't attempt to stand up; i definitely wouldn't given my fear of height.
Aerial view of The Dragon.
Bet the ride would be fun. :(
Crazy Galleon; the viking ride which doesn't interest me generally as i have the tendency to have motion sickness hitting me and then affecting me for a few hours afterwards.
Flying Swing; this would be more manageable than the Crazy Galleon but i recalled the long queue and it's not covered under the fast track pass. This reminded me of the one at Genting Highland outdoor theme park, before it was torn down.
Queues at the McDonald's outlet! Menu as attached for you to compare the pricing; do note that pricing at tourist attractions may be jacked up, as is the case even in Singapore like the fast food outlets at Singapore Zoo.
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Location
For the summary of my seven days' itinerary to Hong Kong (with a day trip to Shenzhen), please click here.
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