When Mark was still here in the Philippines, whenever we're together on Sundays, we make sure to spend time with the Lord and hear Sunday mass.

But being in a Muslim country and having only Fridays as their day of rest, Mark admittedly has not been able to do his Sunday obligations in Abu Dhabi as often as when he was still back home.


So I was very glad when Mark did what he had to do on the first Sunday after he came home. :)

We went back to the hotel after our lunch to rest a little and prepare for our dinner cruise. But I guess luck was just not on our side that time because for the 2nd time, our dinner cruise got cancelled. And yes, it was still due to the bad weather. :(

The cruise was definitely out of our itinerary, so we just decided to stay at the hotel and make use of its facilities. :) Mark came prepared with some downloaded movies in his laptop and so that was what we did to kill time. At around 6pm, we decided to hit the in-house gym. We were pigging out since day 1, so we thought of shedding off some pounds. :p


The gym is located at the second floor of the hotel. It is open from 6am-10pm and guests may work out here for free. According to my fitness expert boyfriend, the gym still lacks some machines but at least it has the basic equipment and machines for cardio exercises and muscle toning.

After our lunch, we headed to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for our Manila Bay dinner cruise. We were all set, complete with our dinner clothes, just to be notified that the cruise schedules for the day were all cancelled due to the bad weather. The rain has actually stopped but the waters aren't calm and so they had to cancel the cruises. :(

Though a bit disappointed, we still didn't want the cancelled cruise to ruin our long weekend so we thought of an alternative thing to do for the night. We went to Robinsons Place Manila to search for a place for dinner. After a few scouring, we decided to try out Ajisen Ramen.

The staff greeted us in Japanese and ushered us to our seats. After going through the menu, Mark and I both decided to have their house specialty for dinner, no other than ramen! Hehe :p

I was eying for the Ajisen Ramen, but since Mark already chose that, I just went for the Seafood Ramen. We also got one order of the Enoki Maki.

Their ramen all have the same imported Japanese ingredients in their soup and noodles, each one just differs with the main ingredient that come with it. According to the menu, their ramen has Ajisen oil which enhances the taste of their white pork broth, Okinawa natural seasalt, Ajisen powder which gives their ramen its unique flavor, and finally, the ramen noodles which are made out of 100% whole wheat which is cooked to an al-dente texture.

Ajisen Ramen - Php 235.00

The Ajisen Ramen has pork barbecue, leeks, boiled egg, cabbage, and fungus. The Seafood Ramen has assorted seafood (shrimps, crab sticks, fish balls), fungus, and cabbage.

After our lunch at Pan de Amerikana in Katipunan, we went to Manila to book for a hotel. We didn't have any reservations and so we just searched over the net for hotels while we were having lunch.

We were supposed to book a hotel at BGC in Taguig but since a Manila Bay dinner cruise was also included in our itinerary, we thought that it would be practical to just stay in Manila since there are a lot of hotels there anyway.

After surfing through different hotel websites, Mark and I finally agreed to stay at the Lotus Garden Hotel in Manila.


We were greeted by the hotel guard as we alighted the cab and he ushered us to the reception.  The receptionist that accommodated us was all-smiles as she answered all our queries and handed us the leaflet with room rates.

After our breakfast at Pan de Amerikana, we headed next to the Gateway mall for lunch and then went straight to SM Mall of Asia. We don't usually frequent SM MOA since it's very far from both Mark's and my place, and so seeing the theme park at MOA along the Manila bay was a first time for us. :)

Mark and I were excited to try the MOA Eye as we have heard lots of raves about this new attraction at MOA. We can already see this big Ferris Wheel while we were approaching the theme park area.

MOA Eye

We were a bit early for the MOA Eye which starts its operation hours at 4pm, so we decided to walk around the theme park. We saw the Zipline on our way and Mark insisted that we try it out. I've never tried a zipline and I don't think I ever will since I'm afraid of heights. And the thought of having to fall off from the harness really adds up to my fear. But Mark was insistent so I had no choice. The staff also assured that their harness and cables are safe. I was already screaming as we were being harnessed more so when we took off! Good thing I didn't look scared at all and was still able to smile in front of the camera. :p

We're flying! :p

MOA Zipline Rates:

Php 150 per person for a one way ride
additional Php 100 for one photo souvenir with frame

We saw that the MOA Eye was already moving so we headed there next. Here are a few photos while we're on our way. Although the MOA Eye didn't seem to be so inviting during daytime, I was still amazed by the huge ferris wheel. I've seen other MOA Eye pictures and it looks a lot gorgeous at night when it is all lit up.



The MOA Eye is by far the biggest Ferris Wheel in the Philippines. It has 36 air-conditioned gondolas, 6 of which are VIP. Each gondola can accommodate up to 6 persons. Each person can ride the MOA Eye for Php 150.00, and this is for one complete revolution which is roughly a 10-minute ride. The VIP gondolas cost Php 200.00 per person and may also be rented for special arrangements like dinner dates. :)


I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures because the slightest movement causes the gondola to swing. Haha!

A view from the MOA Eye

While Mark was comfortably sitting and enjoying the view, I was nagging at him telling him not to move as I get scared every time the gondola swings haha! Notice how I can't let go of the railings? :p

But I must say that my MOA Eye ride was a lot less scarier than EK's Wheel of Fate. I think the ride was kind of smooth maybe because of the enclosed gondolas. Just imagine how scary it would be with the heavy cool wind blowing if the gondolas weren't enclosed!

Aside from the Zipline and MOA Eye, the theme park also houses different rides which most kids will enjoy. There were also a lot of food stalls and a nice park which you can roam around with on board this motion activated scooter. :p

Motion Activated Scooter - Php 120.00 for a 15-minute ride

         

Date of visit: January 3, 2012

Was down with headache and fever but still managed to enjoy my special day by having a fun adventure with Mark at the Manila Ocean Park.

We arrived at the Manila Ocean Park around half past 11AM and went straight to the tickets section. We availed of the Ultimate Experience (Php1120) plus the Trails to Antarctica (Penguin Exhibit-Php300) at a discounted price of Php900 instead of Php1420. The Ultimate Experience included the following attractions: Oceanarium, Jellies, Fish Spa, Marine Life Show (Sea Lion Show), and Musical Fountain Show. Aside from the Oceanarium, Manila Ocean Park still doesn't have these new attractions when Mark and I first went here in 2008, and so we were both very excited with this adventure.

Ultimate Experience and Trails to Antarctica for only Php 900.00 :D

The Marine Life and Musical Fountain shows have schedules while the rest of the attractions may be visited anytime during the park's operating hours. We didn't make it to the 11AM schedule of the Marine Life show so we opted for the 2PM show.

It was already lunch time so we headed to Gerry's Grill for lunch. I had their Pork Sisig while Mark went for their Grilled Chicken.


We chose to be seated outside the restaurant. Mark and I both enjoyed our lunch which we thought was made more delectable with the cool sea breeze and this great view. :)


After lunch, we roamed around the area and did some picture taking to kill time.

We were lucky to have a decent photo of us together, courtesy of Manong guard :p

Marine Life Show (Sea Lion Show)
We then headed to the stadium to get ready for the Marine Life show. Here's a photo of us (I mean, our shoes) while waiting for the sea lions to come out. :p

pink shoes ^_^

Everyone was cheering when the sea lions came out. They were just so adorable! So cute and very intelligent!

Clapping her flippers

Shy sea lion

Sticking out her tongue :p

Dancing sea lion

After the show, we had the chance to have some close encounters with the sea lions. For Php500, Mark and I were able to have our photos taken with the sea lion. The photo package includes 6 poses with the sea lion with unlimited shots (well the number of shots really depends on the photographer, Mark and I actually had a total of 20shots :p) and a soft copy of all the shots in a CD.

Mark and I had 2 poses each with the sea lion..

Birthday kiss from a sea lion :-*

Kiss!

Flipper shake :)

Flipper shake :)

and another 2 poses of us together with the sea lion.


Jellies, Dancing Sea Fairies
The next scheduled show, the Musical Fountain show, was still at 7PM, so we had all the time and liberty to explore the park's other attractions. And so we decided to check out some jellyfish. A wall with an illustration of the life cycle of a jellyfish was what welcomed us as we walked inside.


But as we entered, I started to feel a little disappointed (or maybe I was just expecting too much?). There were only 2 small rooms, 1 with a few aquariums,


and another with a few tanks which were just made to look like they were many because of the mirrors as walls of the room.


But I must say that I loved the changing lights and its effects on the jellyfish. I get so excited each time the lights change to pink! :D


Trails to Antarctica
We headed next to the Trails to Antarctica and took some photos along the way. :)


This one's another new attraction, which again was another disappointment. :| Mark and I both haven't seen penguins and were very much excited with this attraction, but were just disappointed when we saw only a few and little penguins. The bigger penguins were just not real.


We entered a room with snow and were expecting some close encounters with the penguins, but there were none. We just took some photos but went out after a few minutes. We would have wanted to stay longer, but we just can't take the coldness even with our thick coats on, since I was just wearing a dress and Mark was just wearing shorts. :p


Oceanarium
We were still feeling cold so we decided to head straight to the Oceanarium for a warmer temperature. :) Nothing much has changed in the Oceanarium but we were still amazed with all the underwater creatures that we saw.

Fish Spa

After the long walk inside the Oceanarium, our feet got a little tired. A perfect time for Fish Spa! Mark and I both enjoyed this 30-minute fish spa. I am a ticklish type so I was giggling and trying to hold my scream each time the fish nibbles on my foot.

Doctor fish nibbling on the dead skins of our feet :p

These little fishes are called doctor fish. They gently nibble away the dead skin on the feet, leaving the healthy skin to grow. Their nibbles are not painful at all, though you'll also experience a little tingling sensation.

Musical Fountain Show
We then headed to the last destination of our adventure, the Musical Fountain show. Some pictures on our way back to the stadium...


Mark and I both enjoyed this one. The display of fire, music, laser lights, and animated marine characters projected on the water screen were just so awesome!


They also have these marine creature mascots who do skits about how to take care of the marine life.


A perfect way to end a fun adventure! We also still have yet to try Manila Ocean Park's Aquanaut Voyage and Glass Bottome Boat Ride. Will definitely get back and try them soon! ^_^

More photos HERE :)

MANILA OCEAN PARK
www.manilaoceanpark.com