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March 10, 2012

Jellies: Dancing Sea Fairies - Manila Ocean Park Series


When seeing pictures of the Manila Ocean Park, you will always notice that people always visit this place and include it in their itinerary. One reason is that it is one of the cheapest attractions in Manila Ocean Park.
For only Php 150, you will get the enter this place and view the different kinds of jelly fishes. Yes, they have tanks featuring species that you and your kids will surely love viewing. 
But it's not like there's a lot of amazing stunts you can see. Their "dancing" is more like a slow waltz rather than hiphop dancing, for example. That may be one reason why they put up lights on the tanks. The changing colors will make your visit more "magical" as these jellies will wow you with their serene floating.
They seem to have two sections - first are the tanks and second would be like a disco hall where these jellies dance around their tanks. Of course, both sections still have the changing lights that awe visitors.
The center is mostly made up of empty boxes that might have been remnants of other tanks but now are just staying there with no aesthetic use at all. Make sure to say your excuses when you want to pose because most people are just posing to take their pictures without looking at the grandeur and form of these creatures. Neither are they reading the names of each jelly type. Of course, being homeschoolers, we have to stop and read each to be able to explain to David what these were.
For parents, please take note to always hold your kid(s). They will easily get lost in a very dark place like this. Chances are that they will run to a tank that catches their attention and you, busy ogling at these fairies, might lose their hold for a nanosec. It would be a havoc shouting and looking for them in this dark area. 
Below are some info that you would want to note when visiting the place.
ADMISSION:
  • Php 150 per head
  • Free for children 2ft and below

SCHEDULE:
  • Monday to Friday
    • 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
    • Last selling of tickets at 6:15 PM
  • Weekends and Public Holidays
    • 9:00 AM to 7:00PM
    • Last selling of tickets at 6:00 PM








March 7, 2012

Hotel H2O at Manila Ocean Park Rates, Reviews, and Pics

After transferring and travelling from Jupiter Suites at Makati, Dabby's most awaited part of the trip finally arrived - an overnight stay at H2O Hotel. We drove around and finally the driver learned that Hotel H2O is actually inside Manila Ocean Park. Of course, we did not know that too given that it's our first time traveling together in Manila as a family. 

Steps to Ocean Park
So we finally arrived. But we used the wrong entrance going to H2O Hotel. We could have used the lobby located at the rightmost of the entrance (below the steps). If we did, we could not have gone through the hassle of dragging our bags to the (real) entrance.

There it is. Left sign says H2O. Right is Oceanarium.


When we arrived, the front desk ladies guided us to the elevator for Hotel H2O. The right most part is a glass partition where you can see lots of people going around the Oceanarium. Just like a hotel inside a huge mall!

Booking Online

You can book online in advance at http://www.hotelh2o.com/. They give discounts if you book in advance. I love the convenience of being able to book online. Some things I encountered when booking online:
  • Their confirmation email takes days to arrive. I still had to send messages on Twitter and Facebook to get them to contact me regarding my booking. -1.
  • They will debit the charges from your card three days prior to your reservation date. So if you are using a debit card like me, make sure you have enough funds.
  • You can tell them that you are checking in earlier. I was able to tell them that we want an early checkin and they gave us 12PM.


Quick info about the place

Here below are some helpful information about the place. Note that rates below can actually be discounted if you book in advance.

Accommodation Name: Hotel H2O
Address: Luneta, Manila, Philippines (Behind the Quirino Grandstand)
Contact NumbersT: +63 2 238 6100. F: +63 2 238 6188.
Landmarks: Qurino Grandstand, Manila Ocean Park
Room Rates:
  • Park View 9,700.00
  • Park Supreme 10,200.00
  • Bay View 11,200.00
  • Aqua Room 11,500.00
  • Aqua Classic 12,700.00
  • Aqua Supreme 13,200.00
  • Club Bay 15,400.00
  • Club Aqua 15,900.00
  • Deluxe Suite 19,900.00
  • Premiere Suite 29,900.00
  • Executive Suite 39,900.00
Map of Hotel H2O


View Hotel H2O in a larger map


Checking In

We already told the staff that we will be checking in early at 12PM. Got ushered to the checkin/front desk by their staff.

Concierge is super helpful. 

Elevator. They have 2, I think.

We arrived and confirmed our booking. There were already lots of guests lining up to check in/out. And sadly, our room was not ready yet.

Guests checking in/out


Also got to ask if they are selling tickets to Ocean Park and of course, they are. Bought the Ultimate Experience tickets at Php 900 each. It includes almost everything in Ocean Park.

View of the Oceanarium.
Pika2 nose2 mode

The Club Bay Room

This is the Club Bay room that we booked. Room description: Queen bed, 34 sqm, Bay view, HSIA LCD Cable TV, Minibar, Jacuzzi Tub, Rain-shower. Pretty fancy but we wanted to make it a fun experience for the kiddo! Protip: Yes, kids love tubs.

The super secure door.
In the duration of our stay, this door has been knocked on a lot! Maybe next time, we should put up the Do Not Disturb sign.

The lobby for the Club Bay Rooms

The Club H2O Lounge
Above is their Club H2O Lounge. Nice place to hangout and meet people. They have a live band at night.

Work desk
So we finally got to check the room and its amenities. Dabby was super stoked with the Jacuzzi tub that it was the next thing on the to-do: prepare the tub.

Jacuzzi tub

No need to caption?

Yeah, this is where you poo and pee. See through!

The rainshower

The queen sized bed



 

The LCD TV



Viola! Manila Bay!

Awww

The minibar. Everything is complimentary. 

Omg freebies! It's complete!


Stuff on the work desk. Includes menu for Makan-makan
There's a menu for Makanmakan and since we were already famished with the transfer and the wait for check in, we decided to order and have it delivered to our room. Yum!

Lunchtime!
During our overnight stay, we spent most of the time touring Ocean Park instead of savoring the place. Would I come back to this place? Yes! We're all looking forward to come back! But this time, we won't spend most of our hours outside.

Next up: Manila Ocean Park!


March 6, 2012

To and From Hotels: Road Travel with Globe Tattoo Super Stick and Google Maps

Some context: We stayed in Makati for two days for the DigitalFilipino E-commerce Summit 2012. Those were certainly a crazy couple of days. We arrived in the afternoon of 23rd from Mactan and arrived at NAIA, looked for a white, metered taxi, and checked in at Jupiter Suites

The whole afternoon was then spent at SM Mall of Asia where we met with Ryan Parreno. Together, we visited the Science Discovery Center

Feb 24th was spent at the summit but I was able to meet up with my boys. We visited Greenbelt really quick to have dinner at Krazy Garlic (where the prizes are crazy!).

Feb 25th was probably the busiest day of our trip as we did a lot of stuff. The day started off with a hearty meal at Jupiter Suites and we checked out of the place after two days of staying. 

Breakfast. Bacon is love!
After the meal, we set out to get ready for a whole day of fun. This was the best time to test out the pocket wifi that I just received. How handy is it? How useful is it when traveling? All I can say is that, if your gadget is not subscribed to 3G, the best bet is to use a pocket wifi and access the net using a shared personal wifi zone that can be used by up to 5 devices.

Checking out of Jupiter Suites.

So off we went to a new location before we left Manila: To Hotel H2O and Manila Ocean Park. 

What I love most of travelling to other places with my family is being able to experience how it is living in another place. We got to see a glimpse of life in the big city while on the road, in this case.

The day before that, I got my Globe Tattoo Super Stick (Huawei E5) and was able to set it up. I found the device very much helpful when we traveled from Jupiter to H2O. I was able to connect my iPhone (on prepaid sim. Not 3G.) to the pocket wifi and became the official guide of manong driver with the help of Google Maps.

Guiding manong driver via Google Maps to Hotel H2O

While traveling of course, I was able to update my Facebook and Twitter. Took pictures of the buildings in Manila. I imagined I can actually cope living in a busy metropolitan area but not living in spaces like these. I don't know, but it seems that you can barely see plants in your place if you live here.

Buildings

Better looking buildings

Along the way, I was guiding manong driver and gave him directions. He was asking for the major roads to follow. With the fact that I am not from Manila, it could have been very challenging and inconvenient for us. But all thanks to the pocket wifi from Globe Tattoo Super Stick and with the help of Google Maps. It was a breeze! So much convenience. A must-have for travelers.

What I wasn't able to predict in this trip though was how CROWDED the Manila Ocean Park was during Saturdays. We just picked the wrong day to be in the place. There are lots of tours going on and everything was so crowded! There was a long line outside. You can't imagine how many more are inside the place and much more queues inside. But since we were already here, of course, we had to make the most out of the trip.

At Ocean Park at last?

Some construction going on

And finally, we arrived at H2O. We were dropped in from of Manila Ocean Park itself in all it's busyness and grandeur. If the driver was familiar, we could have used the lobby for guests but we used this pass inside the structure itself. Something to note for the next visit: Use the lobby! 



Hotel H2O post coming up next!





March 4, 2012

An Afternoon at SM Mall of Asia Seaside Boulevard

If there was one place we have visited in Manila that we want to go back and visit often, it would be the SM Mall of Asia. It's one mall that could not par the others that we have visited so far.



 

How to Get There?
This is straight from their website --
You can get to MOA via taxi, bus or jeepney. If you get confused or lost, mention the word 'MOA' or 'Mall Of Asia' and most drivers will understand where you want to go.
From the Airport - We suggest a taxi. Estimated time of arrival is 15 to 30 minutes *.
Any Manila Hotel - Most Manila hotels have special shuttle services going to MOA.
From Makati Central Business District -
  • By Taxi - ETA from Makati is 30 minutes to an hour *
  • By Bus - Hop on any bus heading South on Edsa displaying 'MOA' or 'Mall of Asia' and you will get there within an hour to an hour and a half*.
  • By MRT

Which Places do I Visit?

When put out the question on my Twitter and Facebook on which places to visit, I got two suggestions: SM MoA and Greenbelt. We chose to visit MoA for the reason that, of course, we want Dabby to have fun. And we heard MoA has lots of those. 


I wish I saw this one before we visited but it looks like we got to where we wanted to be. Here is their MOA Store Locator and map. Pick where you want to go depending on what you want to do. 


In our case, we wanted to go to the Science Discovery Center. But while waiting for Ryan, we visited the Seaside Boulevard.



At Seaside Boulevard

This Ferris Wheel is what you can see (very prominent at the boulevard). It looks so beautiful and we were thinking it's a very romantic location. Couples may have had special moments here. :D

Ferris wheel

A pic at the obvious Moa sign
Yey! Fountain!

Let's share since you can't reach the pedal yet.


There are lots of activities and fun rides for kids and adults at the boulevard. There are enumerable things that you can do with kids. 


We went from one end to this boulevard to look for cool things to do. You can just choose to stroll around and just sit at the benches, watch other people.

For those who have kids, you can't just stroll the whole visit since there are lots of fun things to do.

As for us, we just decided to leave David to choose where he wanted to go.

David was very much eager to get inside these balls when he saw kids inside these. And yes, he decided to try it out too. We paid Php60 for just 10mins on this thing. He was really brave enough to go through all the hassle.



Adding air inside the ball


Then after 2mins inside, he decided it wasn't for him.
We immediately had to bring him outside since he was already shouting 'enough'. He said that he was scared that he can't stand up inside the ball. For those who have 5 year old kiddies and below, better brief them properly or not let them play the ball. They might be too young for it.

So next, it was Daddy and son bonding time. They rode this cycle for Php 80.




Inside the Mall

After our activities, we just strolled inside the huge mall. The ice skating rink caught our attention. Nope, we did not try it since we have no idea how to skate.



So then, we meet up with Ryan and visited the Science Discovery Center next. :)