Hong Kong - Ocean Park

The boys, ready for a day of fun at Ocean Park!

Wednesday, April 18

Thankfully, the weather improved on Wednesday, and while it was still cloudy, it was not raining, for which we were grateful. For our last day in Hong Kong, we decided to trek over to Ocean Park, which is a very large amusement park on the south side of Hong Kong Island. It took us about a half hour to get there by taxi, which was the most direct way to go. We arrived around 10:30 in the morning, and we were pleased to find the park relatively empty. As the name would indicate, the park has an ocean theme, as it sits on the edge of the island. Given Hong Kong’s hilly terrain and the amount of space needed to create such a large scale park, however, the park is actually divided into two parts: The Waterfront, and The Summit, separated by a substantial mountainous peak, and connected by a hanging cable car lift, taking passengers over the mountain, as well as a funicular train passing through a long tunnel. The Waterfront side is home to the Grand Aquarium, as well as other exotic animal exhibits, kiddie rides, theaters, and of course a plethora of gift shops and food kiosks. The Summit was home to the more exciting and thrill-seeker roller coasters and other rides, as well as a few larger theaters, and the world’s second longest outdoor escalator.

Giant Panda, this one is either An An or Jia Jia.

We began our visit checking out the first panda exhibit, knows as Giant Panda Adventure, and I managed to get some great shots of two of Ocean Park’s giant pandas, An An and Jia Jia, with my paparazzi zoom lens. After passing through, we moved on to the Grand Aquarium, where we glimpsed thousands of colorful ocean creatures: colorful fish, graceful rays, stealthy sharks, spiky spider crabs, and much more.

Aquarium scene

 We had checked the daily schedule and noticed that a sea lion show was due to begin at noon, so we made our way over to the theater and Ewan really enjoyed watching the adorable pinnipeds perform their amusing antics and do all kinds of tricks. 

Sea lion blowing bubbles

Fun time on the train!

Once the show was over, we indulged Ewan in a couple of kiddie rides and games before deciding to check out what was on the other side of the park. As I mentioned before, there were two ways to cross to The Summit side of the park: the Ocean Express Train, and the cable car arial lift. The boys of course were keen to ride in another cable car. I was a little woozy on the ride to Ngong Ping, a couple days before, but I figured it was silly to be afraid, and we may as well take the opportunity to enjoy some incredible views. We waited in line for about ten minutes before boarding a much smaller car than the Ngong Ping line. The Ocean Park cable car had a capacity for six, whereas Ngong Ping had a capacity for 10 seated, plus potentially another 7 standing. We were happy that we were given a pod all to ourselves, and even happier that the windows could open, with vertical bars preventing the unthinkable, but just wide enough to stick a camera lens through, enabling photos without an annoying reflection from the glass. 

Another cable car ride at dizzying heights!

We were treated to some amazing views of the park and Deep Water Bay, however, I will admit, I was just a little freaked out and sick to my stomach at times! Since these cars were smaller and lighter, I felt that they wobbled more, and were more rickety than the cars at Ngong Ping AND the worst part is: they stopped at times in mid-air, for up to a minute or more, which may not seem like much, but when you are dangling on a little wire, hundreds of feet above the ground, it is just a little bit nerve racking! I endured the ten-minute, nearly mile-long journey, and was most happy to set my feet on terra firma! 

Dancing dolphins!

Once at the summit we grabbed a quick bite to eat then headed to Ocean Theater to catch another show called “Sea Dreams.” We arrived just as the show was starting, and we were a bit surprised at the scale of this theater--it was a HUGE amphitheater surrounding a massive pool and stage at the bottom. Since we got there a bit late, we were only able to find seats way off to the side, so we didn’t have the best view, but we still were able to enjoy the show, as dolphins glided through the water like torpedoes, then bursting into the air, flipping, twirling, somersaulting and generally just dazzling the audience. After the show we decided to head back to The Waterfront, as most of the attractions on The Summit were not so Ewan friendly, the area was way more crowded, and we knew that our time was limited as his batteries were really wearing down. I put in my vote for taking the funicular train to return to The Waterfront, as opposed to the cable car, and luckily they both agreed. There was no wait for the train, and the brief ride took us back to the Waterfront, where we entered the Amazing Asian Animals exhibit.  There, we were surprised to find a second pair of adorable pandas: Le Le and Ying Ying. 

This is either Le Le or Ying Ying

 The exhibits were designed as such that the pandas were not completely enclosed behind glass, and once again, I made good use of my zoom lens! Next, we wandered out through an incredible “Goldfish Treasures,” which is pavilion a pavilion housing some of the most beautiful, strange, and rarest varieties of goldfish in the world. 

Weird and wonderful goldfish.

 After a trip to the gift shop where we purchased our own little stuffed version of Le Le, the panda to take home with us, we decided that we were done with Ocean Park for the day.  Ewan took a long, late nap that evening, and since we had such a fun and busy day, we opted to not venture out that evening, and just grabbed a bite at the nearby Pret a Manger (one of our favorite chain bakeries when we go to London) in the mall. We couldn’t believe how fast our time in Hong Kong had passed, and we were sad to leave , as there was so much we didn’t yet get to see! We were, however excited to move on to Singapore!