Revisiting Childhood Moments at Timeless Attractions In Manila

“Mommy, we really had a great time! Can we visit there again? PLEASE…” Those were the words of my kids when they arrived home after strolling at the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden with their cousins accompanied by their uncle and grandmother. They just can’t contain the fun they had there that it was such a never-ending story of how they spent their day.

Kids…just when you thought you have given them everything that will make them happy, they just can’t seem to have enough of those happiness that if given the chance, they wanted to do it all over again. I was also like that when I was a kid, I remember. (^O^)

“Okay.” That was all I could say to make them satisfied, and so I need to fulfill that promise. Incidentally, my husband was also planning to take the children to the park for a jogging, so I told him about the kids’ wish for another trip to the zoo for which he gladly agreed. The Manila Zoo is approximately four kilometers to the famed Rizal Park, also known as “Luneta”, one of the timeless attractions in the City of Manila. This is a great place for kids’ learning tour, a bit of nostalgia and lots of jogging activity. Perfect! The children will get to have their wish granted and the kid in me will also get to visit a place that I enjoyed before there was megamall and ocean park.

We arrived at Rizal Park close to seven o’clock in the morning with lots of people already having their jogging and exercise activity, still as busy but not too crowded as before. I made a brief visit by the sea wall of Manila Bay just to see how much it has changed. I saw that this part of Rizal Park nearby the Quirino Grandstand already gave way to commercialism. The long stretch of the sea wall has now been reduced to maybe less than twenty meters. I was surprised that many people including children still swim there despite all the garbage around and even if it was declared by local health authorities that it is unsafe to swim in Manila Bay. I hope that people who swim there will be made aware that swimming is great for the health only if without the garbage. After the jogging, we had breakfast at a nearby fast food restaurant then head straight to Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden.

The entrance fee is only PHP 40 for adults and PHP 20 for children. A very small price to pay for all the animals that the children will see inside the zoo.

There is also the playground inside where children can have fun swinging and sliding to their hearts' content.

Boating fun for everyone! The boat rent is PHP60 for 30 minutes, maximum of up to five people can be accommodated with two paddles provided for each boat. A good way to flex those muscles.





Kinder Zoo for the kids, a paid picture taking session with the animals, and there is wall climbing too.





Horse back riding for PHP60 for only one round.

The message says: (1) Always keep the zoo clean. Throw your garbage in the garbage bins. (2) Respect the habitat of the animals. Do not throw your garbage inside their cages. I hope that visitors will take the message seriously.

Take a moment to see the reptile house inside the tunnel.

More animals...



botanical garden in this part of the busy Manila...



There are more to see inside the zoo considering that it was only for PHP40.00 entrance fee. I bet the ticket price is not even enough for one tiger's meal. Sometimes I wonder, do these animals better off in captivity than in the wilderness? I think there is not much option for them. Let us just start to be more caring for them.