They are undoubtedly huge, thus eye-catching. When they flap their sides, you can see they can be graceful under water.  Their tails are long. And the moment their eyes pop out, you can just see some gentleness in them despite stories of how dangerous they are — a fact is they have killed people.

Back then, I have no appreciation for Stingrays or locally known as Pagi.  A day in the Manila Ocean Park however changed such an opinion.  I was simply amazed at these sea giants.  We were told it can weigh as much as 790 lbs and size up to 6.5 ft.  One of the highlights at the oceanarium is the Over Hang Tank at the “Pagi” zone.

Another scary marine animal you can find there is sharks. Stingrays and sharks are cousins.  A specific zone called “Pating” features the different variety of the shark family.  Other zones include Agos, Bahura, Laot, Buhay na Karagatan, and Kalaliman.

The journey starts with the Agos zone that has a rainforest theme.  It features an artificial waterfalls and you can see some crocodiles here.  Next zone is Bahura, which displays artificial corals.  Take note that use of real coral reefs is prohibited by the law.  Thus, most of the corals found in the oceanarium are artificial except that of the aquarium housing clownfish.

After Bahura is Laot.  Big fishes are the attractions at this zone.  Then the Buhay na Karagatan, which I love the most out of all the zones. It is a 25-meter tunnel and 220 degree curved walls.  Standing here with your picture taken seems like you are in a different world — a “sea world” it could be.  The tunnel resembles other oceanariums such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

Fifth zone is the Kalaliman and you can see here some sea animals, which can only be found at the deepest Philippine waters.  Next zone is the Pagi and the journey ends with the Pating section.

After exploring the big aquarium, you still have other activities to do at the second floor.  Choose your next stop — a restaurant, souvenir shop, fish spa or glass bottom boat ride.  The fish spa is wonderful treat.  How it works?  Well doctor fish will take off the dead skin cells of your feet.  It cost P120 per person while the glass bottom boat ride is P150 per person. Nice thing about the boat ride is you would have the chance to ask the staff questions.  In addition, you would get to see the actual size of the fishes.

The Manila Ocean Park is located at the back of the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park.  This has become one of attractions in the Philippine Capital as it houses about 300 species of fish and 90 percent of these are taken from the Philippine sea, particularly in Palawan. A staff there shared that the water is 12 feet deep and the glasses four inches thick.  The water is sourced from the Manila Bay itself, but filtered through four stages.  They also have a quarantine area for sick fishes.  The entrance fee is P400 for adults and P350 for kids.  They offer a package rate at P500 – this included the popular fish spa and glass bottom boat ride.