My $416 worth of Thought

Dear my friends

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I am writing to tell you and your folks about a memorable experience I had recently on a trip to Ocean Park. Yesterday, my mother and I (not having anything in particular to do for an ecumenic holiday), decided to experience a reminiscent ride at Hong Kong Ocean Park because she often stays at home for her favorite TV programmes and I have been having a reminiscence at Ocean Park. I have ever been to there in 1998.

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In my mind, Ocean Park is a nice day out for a family in Hong Kong. It is small enough to enjoy in a day without feeling rushed, but big enough that you don't feel ripped off or get stuck repeating rides to try and prolong that theme park feeling. The important thing is that the rides itself usually are not as crowded as Disney.
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- In the main entrance, most of the guests were there on prepaid tour groups so my mother and I left paying regular admission did not face long lines.

- One price buys you unlimited rides like in most similar places, you will earn newfangled, divertive and exciting feelings, of course, it is not "Kinder Egg".

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In cost terms, we paid each HK$208 for admission fee (it was $118 in 1998), so the title of this article was named as "My $416 worth of thought". In traffic terms, from Diamond Hill Bus Station we got there for about HK$10.6 in 72 minutes via the Number 671. Perhaps you want your folks to get more comfortable, A taxi from Central will cost about HK$70 through the Aberdeen Tunnel right to the front gate.

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Giant Panda Habitat:
Beyond the main entrance, we came upon the Hong Kong Jockey Giant Panda Habitat, it is a home for two lovely pandas, Anan the male, and Jiajia the female. Next to Anan and Jiajia, two pandas were separately homed to two individual compartments, A TV set in the visitor Zone capturing the motions of giant pandas when they keep themselves in caves. I could not recall the names of another two pandas (they are very famous as well) who were next to the lovely pandas after I left from the habitat, but it was not important as all tourists including my mother enjoyed there only watching them eat, play and sleep. (表演食竹, 玩耍 同 "訓教",......係表演食竹! 唔係食粥 you know!)

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Cable Cars:

One of the best parts of Ocean Park was the cable cars because the windows were open and we could get a great view of the suburban side of Hong Kong. The cable cars took us on a very pleasant ten minute ride over two mountains, but a thing all vistors including my mother had to do; all vistors had to enter a moving cable car, of course it was creeping by and a small step up......My mother could do it! (How about your mother?, How about your folks? How about you? How about your wife? How about your sister?)

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Aboard the car it was weirdly quiet (few places in Hong Kong were as quiet; worth the price of admission). Two sides of the car are glass, and two are barred openings. I don't think your kids can fall out, but do watch as they can easily throw things out. The ride was high but not scary, and the views out over the sea were absolutely breathtaking and unavailable anywhere else in Hong Kong.

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Jelly-Fishes:

Getting off the cable car, we went on our next stop--"Learning about Jelly-Fish", my mother and I waited more than 20 minutes at the entrance for looking at the Jelly-Fishes. Truly, they were so freak, colourful and beautiful.

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Shark Aquarium:

Maybe we did not time it right, we could not see divers feeding and playing with sharks, but did see many people there taking photos for sharks, they are named Black Tip Reef Shark, Pygmy Swell Shark... and also Great White Shark..etc. I believe that those sharks are nowhere to be found in Hong Kong.

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(<-- Look! I saw a Great White Shark was swimming leisurely in the expansive shark aquarium)
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Atoll Reef:

Atoll Reef is shaped like a three or four storied elliptical fishbowl. In the atoll reef, we viewed a variety of fishes through 6cm (about 2.4 inches glass windows). Atoll Reef is divided into the shadow and the deep levels each exhibiting its characteristic aquatic life. We could see Sharks, tropical fishes, sea turtles and many kinds of maritime animals . Apart from fishes, some corals and cays were exhibited as well.
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Ocean Theater:

The last stop we went to the Ocean Theater, it is the most famous and popular spot in the whole Ocean Park. The show was in an open-air theater in which dolphins and sea lions staged a wonderful performance in a huge pond. A bit bummed we could not see the killer whale in the show, the acting time was cut short because of the killer whale (nicknamed as Hoi Wai) was dead a several years ago....My friend said.

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Before the show, the park arranged a warm up mariachi band, my mother said "something you didn't see all that often in Hong Kong" like this band. Your life is incomplete until you see a band of non-Chinese speaking musicians, all members of the band tried and got a stadium full of Chinese to sing along on a sprited version of "La Bamba".... They sang something lyrics like ....La...La....La...Bamba, ......La...La.....Bamba.. The song was funny and made all vistors laughing.

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Photo Sharing:
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All in all, the rides were great and its usually not as crowded as Disney. The animal shows were well done and there were no tiring lines and endless waiting. A great way to get away from the craziness of the city. Truly, it can beat the heck out of the sugary artificiality of that other Mouse-driven Hong Kong theme park.

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Ken Ngan