I had the scariest Halloween at Hong Kong Ocean Park

MANILA, Philippines - For most Pinoys, Hong Kong is always a fun place to visit, what with its assorted sightseeing, dining, and shopping thrills. But, believe it or not, Hong Kong can also be a “scary” place to visit — especially as it gets into the spirit of Halloween and marks its largest all-day-and-night advance Halloween celebration (but more on the frightful details a bit later so don’t let your guard down now) on the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong Ocean Park.

A one-hour-and-45-minute flight from Manila via AirAsia with AirAsia communications officer Mark Andrew T. del Rosario took our group of mediamen to Hong Kong to experience its fun — and funeral — attractions. Serving as our home for four days was L’hotel Island South, the first Hong Kong Geopark Hotel that’s committed to nature conservation. This jibes perfectly with our event sponsor, Ocean Park Hong Kong, which is home to a marine mammal park, an oceanarium, an animal theme park, and an amusement park. 

Keep an eye out for the Ocean Theater Show, where you’ll see up close (and rather personal) fascinating water creatures, such as dolphins and sea lions. Garbed to the hilt in our wet suits, chest waders, and undergarments, we had a close encounter with Lisa the seal and had the chance to feed, hug, and touch her.

The Ocean Theatre likewise makes waves with its spectacular shows that underscore the need to protect our oceans and marine animals.

Now for the fun, I mean funeral, part of our Ocean Park journey to the underworld. We sat at the edge of our seats as Ocean Park chairman Leo Kung welcomed scores of guests. “Since 2001, Ocean Park’s Halloween celebration has been our signature event, making it a talk-of-the-town occasion that draws visitors from around the world every year,” he said.

A spectacular way to travel from the waterfront to the summit is by train and cable car. Unless you’re afraid of heights, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the entire park, the sea, and the surrounding area from your cable car. And while taking in the panoramic scenery below, you can shake off your fear of heights and have selfies with our family and friends.

With Ocean Park representaive Kay Lee as our tour guide, we were among the first to try the features of the Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2015 with ghoulish relish.

H15 by Yahoo Hong Kong: How would you like to go on a solo journey to the underworld, where a corpse bearer escorts you to your own funeral, adorned with your own portrait and complete with 3D surround sound effects by Meyer Sound? A word of warning: Not for the faint of heart, this attraction is restricted to persons, aged 16 and above, capable of withstanding extreme fear. Advance registration is required.

Having survived your own death, up next is the Blue Girl Beer Presents: The Walking Dead: Survival, which brings to life some horrific scenes from Fox Channel’s popular TV drama The Walking Dead.

What’s Halloween without Trick or Treat? At this fest that’s a feast for the senses, guests can experience the longest outdoor walk-through trick or treat as they get candies, chocolate biscuits, and surprise gifts after completing mission after mission from the pumpkin elves. And so you never forget this scariest night of all in your whole life, you can put your best comic face forward for a photo with the comic Frankenstein, vampires, and mummies, which you can take home and maybe put on your night table.

Speaking of treats, devilish delights await guests throughout the Halloween Fest, ongoing until Nov. 1. To please and appease the Hungry Ghost, Ocean Park’s creative culinary team has prepared haunting — and daunting — menus featuring the most unnerving Chinese ghost legends. Appearing on your menu is Doraemon, the lovable robotic cat from the Japanese manga series, with his friends, in Halloween costume to boot.

Hungry guests will be delighted to try the underworld dishes at the Hungry Ghost Mansion. For starters, there’s coconut- flavored jelly on a bed of smoked chicken salad with Australian prawn cocktail. Be forewarned that this dish is made of “human brain” jelly and blueberry “eyeballs.” Still unafraid? You can then move on to the lemongrass tomato soup with cut-finger cookies. For your entree, dig your own grave with a bowl of sustainable seafood fried rice with conpoy sauce, which is made with a biscuit gravestone, parsley grave grass, and spells written in tomato sauce. For the finale of this deadly meal, you will have osmanthus jelly with a bloody white chocolate palm.  

What’s brewing at Cafe Ocean? For the Halloween Fest, Cafe Ocean transforms into the Hungry Ghost Mansion set against a traditional Chinese yu lan opera. As you step in, you can enjoy shadow puppetries by special friends from the underworld. After a photo with one of the ghoulish divas (ghouls will be ghouls), you can then dive into the wholesome, er gruesome, menu at your table. Friendly advice: Enjoy your last meal before plunging your way into the darkness.

According to Gavin Lam, Ocean Park’s senior retail operations manager, “Ocean Park Halloween Fest is one of the most anticipated events for Hong Kongers with the highest Facebook check-in rate.” He adds, “That is why, this year, we are introducing a wide range of light-up accessories, hoping our guests can show off their Halloween spirit. We have been bringing new elements to our retail products and developing new ideas based on different haunted attractions. We hope our guests can go home with happy Halloween memories!”

On our last night before flying home, we had dinner with Tom Mehrmann, chief executive of Ocean Park, who told us that a vast majority of guests coming to Ocean Park were from Mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Korea.

Ocean Park’s Halloween was probably the most chilling but most thrilling experience I’ve ever had.

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AirAsia operates flights from Terminal 3 between Manila and Hong Kong every Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. For reservations visit www.airasia.com or call +632 722-2742.

For more details on the Ocean Park Halloween Fest, visit halloween.oceanpark.com.hk.Photos by FELIX SUERTE