Hong Kong: Ocean Park

After hearing from us mentioning how fun can Ocean Park Hong Kong be, Jiejie was ecstatic to step down form the bus and see Whiskers, the mascot, in front of her.

Kids at Ocean Square.

Games
It was a hot summer day. But it didn't melt the excitement of Ian and Jiejie. Kids are kids, just can't resist the fun that created by any amusement park. They immersed themselves in various kind of Merry-go-round, a trip of Balloon Up-up-and-away, Bouncer House, Frog-hopper, and some skill games. They giggled from ear to ear, wiggled from one end to another.

Whiskers Harbour seems having most games that suitable our kids.

First hop ever for her [photo courtesy of Fong]

Animals
Comparatively, Amazing Asian Animals became less interested to them. Visiting Gait Panda Habitat was eye-opening for the girls. Little Bomber first ever meeting with huge panda bear and beautiful goldfishes. She was extremely happy to roam around the Goldfish Treasures. I bet those goldfishes love to see her too.

[sorry, forgot this is An An or Jia Jia]

"Don't you be naughty and make your mama angry!"

I personally marvel into The Grand Aquarium in the Aqua City, meeting all kinds of sea creatures eye-to-eye by walking through a 13m wide acrylic tunnel. It was awesome, and honestly, it is spacious and much comfortable strolling and watching the sea creatures than in UnderWater World in Sentosa :p.

Ray fish came and said hello:).

But... Jiejie was horrified by the blow hole upon our arrival. It is the power of ocean, so called, welcoming the visitors. Needless to say, timid her hesitated to walk through the darkest depth of the ocean floor. We kept giving her cuddles and pats and at last, she stood and watched fishes swam in front of her. Little Bomber, on the other hand, was "ohhh" and "ahhh" all the way and wanted to "poke" the glass so much. I think she wanted interaction with the fishes beyond the glass.

As usual, she took some time to overcome her fear.

We didn't cover all the attractions in the Park. It is a huge park, obviously. Too much activities for a big group like us. Ian wanted to take a ride on to the helium balloon badly, but time didn't permit us to do so. We didn't step into the Adventure Land and Headland Rides, as our kids are too young for a try.

Beautiful air balloon that we missed to take a ride up.

Shuttles
87 hectares of lands separated by a mountain into two areas: The Summit and The Waterfront. It took us almost 5 hours to enjoy the fun in (half of) The Waterfront before we headed to The Summit for Ocean Theatre (3.30pm show) via the Ocean Express. It was like a submersible train, offering a vivid experience that simulates a journey through the ocean's depths. It was a quick ride compare to cable car.

Probably due to the scorching heat, none of us mentioned about trying the world's second longest outdoor escalator. 

The panoramic view of The Waterfront.

Live Show
This is the highlight of our visit: "Sea Dream!" in the Ocean Theatre. It is a aquatic adventure with touching narration (in English, Cantonese and Mandarin), featuring dolphins and sea lions in an inspirational story about the importance of marine conservation. 

Unbelievable packed with audiences when we arrived at 3pm

It shocked me when I saw such a huge spectator gallery. It shocked me more when I saw it was fully occupied upon our arrival. 

Little Bomber was tucked and napped in the carrier.

The stunning performance by the dolphins, sea lions and the trainers not only conveyed the conversation between a grandpa and his grandchild, sending the message on peaceful co-existence of humans and animals. It is also showcased the effort and passion behind the marine conservation. I was truly moved.

I wasn't realise the whole intention of Ocean Park until I saw this show. It was like a bang to my head that the whole park is not just a amusement park but carrying a very serious mission to operate as observatories, education department and wildlife funds for projects.

You mustn't miss the live show in the Ocean Theatre if you are in Ocean Park. 

After "Sea Dream!" ended, we headed to the cable car station. The wait for the cable car was insane! Thank goodness we had some tidbits for the kids to munch. 

Hazy aerial view from cable car.

Yet, we enjoyed the breeze from South China Sea via ten minutes cable car ride from The Summit back to The Waterfront. It was almost 5pm by the time we returned to Ocean Square and took a bus back to Admiralty MTR station, which caused us stuck in traffic jam badly.

Question always asked, why bother to bring kid for travel.
Well, the smile on her face tells why.

Little Bomber who had enough nap and was finally allowed to roam at the Ocean Square, while daddy went on to find bus to the nearest MRT Station. 

It can tell that we had uncountable joy, unforgettable fun and unavoidable tanned skin.