Manila Ocean Park series

That's it folks. I hope you enjoyed this mini series of Manila Ocean Park! There's so much beauty out there, and however you feel about zoos or aquariums, I do hope we all never lose sight of that fact. Have a great Sunday!

Waterworld

I wouldn't mind having an aquarium like this at home. Looking at fish is so therapeutic. Alas I only have a mini aquarium, with a goldfish named Henry. I plan to move him to a bigger home with more fish friends.

Some kids get terrified when they see fish, especially sharks and stingrays, up close. Not this cute kid right here!

Grandaddy

Here is a lionfish. According to my ehem, research, the lionfish is one of the most venomous fish in the entire world. While their long dorsal fins are venomous, they are not really life-threatening to humans, although being stung by one can be extremely painful and may cause headaches, vomiting and breathing difficulties.

There's something so... grandfatherly about them, no? Their sad eyes and droopy jaws. They look ancient, like a creature from another time.

Manila Ocean Park series part 2

Buhay na Karagatan means the "living seas." Below are some of the creatures you'll find in the park.

A sea slug of some sort, methinks. I didn't catch the name! Can anyone tell me what this is?

A spotted stingray. Yes, I am just making up the names as I go along.

Clownfish. This one I'm pretty sure I got the name right. It's also otherwise known as "Nemo!"

Tomorrow, my favorite creature!

Smile!

I guess that's how it is when you are cute. You don't know which camera to look at and smile first.

See more Ruby Tuesday posts here!

Jump!

I like how the mall's developers take time to beautify not just the inside of their malls, but the outside as well. Here's a lovely water fountain right outside of Glorietta, near the parking lots.

Speaking of water, Manila was recently struck by Typhoon Basyang. Strong winds and rain battered the whole city yesterday, downing power lines, felling trees and damaging property. Right now, our neighborhood still does not have electricity, 18 hours after the blackout (which explains why I wasn't able to post yesterday and why I'm posting this particularl entry furtively in our office har har). Please keep Manila in your prayers folks.

Mushroom

I don't know who made the mushroom-like art installations in this garden in front of Glorietta, a popular mall here in Manila, but I like them. I like the weaving and it's something different to look at while you're waiting for your turn to park. Tomorrow I'll post another installation, this time of a sea creature.

A walk in the park

And so this is it for my I-can't-believe-I-discovered-this-park-just-now series. By the way, the park's name is the Washington Sycip Park, named after a tycoon here in the Philippines. I go jogging at the field right across it sometimes. It's a pretty park too, but not as pretty as this one. Maybe I'll feature it some time, who knows.

Say hello to my little friend

One of the park's residents

A Christmas tree... of some sort

Or at least that's what they said it was. Right in the middle of this park is this odd art installation, which looks a bit out of place, but hey, no one's complaining.

To be continued tomorrow...

Into the Woods

The gateway to the park

So as I said yesterday, this week will be pretty much about my latest discovery in the city: a park just 10 minutes away from my office. It's been there all this time and I didn't even think of dropping by! Tsk tsk. I'm such a stranger to my city!

There used to be ducks here, I heard, but maybe they got too frisky so the park management decided to transfer them somewhere else.

To be continued...

Fire trees

Right in the middle of the busy, noisy Central Business District is a park, which I don't, for the life of me, know why I discovered just now. I've always known it was there. I was just too busy to stop by, I suppose. You could sit there and forget you're in the middle of the urban jungle. So for the next few days you might be seeing more pictures of this lovely, welcome oasis from the city.

A final reminder

... of summer. We're seeing the last days of summer season here, thankfully! Goodbye intense heat, hello rainy season!

Garden

I know I've posted the Ayala Triangle Gardens before, but indulge me once again. It's just a treat to have a place where one can find solace in the middle of the busy Makati Central Business District. This shot was taken during Harana and Tea, a mini concert featuring traditional Filipino love songs. (May I just say, we have beautiful, beautiful love Filipino love songs). The concert was open to the public, so some people actually stopped down, sat on the grass and enjoyed the music, all for free. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures of the group who sang during this particular concert but thankfully there will be others like it in the future.