Making waves

Most people you meet in Hong Kong will tell you that the Ocean Park has been a significant part of their early years. This feeling appears to span across nearly three generations that have returned with children and grandchildren to revisit and relive memories of their favourite theme park.

And to give its loyalists more reason to keep returning, Ocean Park went in for a major facelift that brought in landscapes and other attractions from different parts of the world. Standing in welcome at the entrance are colourful and mirror-studded sea creatures carved out of stone. On the left, sea otters playfully prance around their trainer. Inside, the underwater kingdom greets you in the form of squid-shaped retail stores, sea jelly toys and ocean-themed mocktails and frappes. And for variety, you have fresh-cream cake baked to resemble a panda's face and some teddy-bear shaped souffl?s.

Rising on the horizon is the park's flagship attraction ? the cobalt-blue, egg-shaped Grand Aquarium with bright-yellow octopus tentacles swirling around it.

The eye-catching structure was part of the HK$55-billion redevelopment plan for Ocean Park.

We are a group of journalists invited by the park for the aquarium's opening. Suzanne Gendron, Director, Zoological Operations and Education at Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, walks us through the Grand Aquarium, even as workers are busy adding final touches for the opening. We peek in at what are called ?Jewel tanks' housing rare marine species such as spider crabs and leafy sea-dragons.

Suddenly, rays of light hit us from above and we glance up to see a worker in a bodysuit ? we were standing right under the Grand Aquarium!

I nearly freeze with fear as the silhouette of a hammerhead shark nears the diver, but within seconds it swims away without as much as a glance at the man tinkering less than two feet away. With light streaming in from above, like the sun penetrating the deep of the ocean, we gape in wonder as hammerheads and sting rays glide peacefully above us.

Passing through the ?Bubble Tunnel', we glance at the aquarium's many prized possessions through little glass windows on both walls of the passage.

After this feast for the eyes, we are more than ready for a feast at the park's fine-dining restaurant, Neptune. We have been promised a ?bigger surprise' and boy! it sure was big. As we walk into Neptune, we are greeted by a 13-metre panoramic acrylic viewing panel, two-storeys high, through which we see no less than 5,000 marine animals.

As I dig into my saut?ed tofu and herbed rice, a scalloped hammerhead shark swims into view with a tiny yellow pilot fish swimming at its snout. The Napoleon fish, an endangered species, stares at us as it passes by, as does the newly arrived manta ray that glides ever so graciously all over the Grand Aquarium. All of them seem to be comfortably settled, without getting into each other's way at their new home, which also happens to be the ninth-largest aquarium in the world.

At every step, Ocean Park carries forward its vision of seamlessly integrating conservation, education and entertainment. Be it the food served at Neptune ? sustainable seafood, or the ?touch pools' where young adults can have their earliest experiences with the underwater kingdom, or the fact that one dollar from the entry fee goes towards conservation and research efforts for marine species.

With some time to kill, I take the Ocean Express, a funicular train that shuttles from the main area to the Summit, where more attractions have been housed.

The ?Sea Jelly Spectacular' here is very popular and I can see why. At the end of a long, dark corridor I enter what can only be described as the most amazingly spectacular underwater dream!

Inside a glass enclosure lining an entire wall are hundreds of fluorescent jellyfish seemingly waltzing in slow motion. The concealed lighting creates surreal effects, making the jellyfish appear to change colour every 20 seconds. On the way out, there are several cylindrical tanks with jellyfish in all shapes and sizes.

Towards evening, we gather around The Lagoon, which is another new addition at the park. The fountains here are colourfully lit using underwater LED bulbs. A chilly breeze comes in from the ocean as we wait for the grand evening show titled ?Symbio!'.

This ?water-theatre' narrates a mythical tale of a Water Dragon and Fire Dragon that could never coexist in peace until they were taught a lesson in being ?symbiotic' by the Earth Goddess.

The show begins with dancing fountains that change myriad colours. The fountains then create a circular screen of water. And on this screen, the Water Dragon appears, greeted by the swirling droplets of the fountain rising like little ballerinas. The Water Dragon spurts water everywhere before diving to the depth of the Lagoon. Next the Fire Dragon shows his fury, spewing fire from the mouth and, voila! the entire Lagoon caught fire, thanks to some amazing pyrotechnics!

The show is accompanied by a dramatic music score created by Peter J. Lehman, who is famous for the soundtracks in movies such as Braveheart and Jerry Maguire .

After a thrilling 10-minute show, we walk out of Ocean Park in the company of people, young and old, smiling in memory of a day at Ocean Park that had succeeded in bringing out the kid in them.

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