There is something to be said about going to a large aquarium: it effectively shoves in your face the reality that there is an entirely different universe under the water that you never knew existed. No, not even if you read about them in books or see them immortalized on celluloid and rendered on film. You realize how there are sooooo many species in this world, and Homo sapiens is ONLY ONE of them. I find that quite humbling.
The Busan Aquarium or, to be more precise, the Sea Life Busan Aquarium (renamed just this July 2014) is located right in Haeundae Beach. So after the relaxing time we spent on the Beach, all it took was a short walk off the sand, and we’re right there.
The state-of-the-art facility of the Busan Aquarium is housed underground and it has three levels – B1, B2, and B3. There are about 40 exhibits, and around 35,000 marine animal species.
Needless to say, this post was difficult for me to formulate, for the simple reason that there were so many photos, and it was difficult to pick which ones to get rid of while still retaining those that will help this entry make sense. Haha!
At the time, the entrance fees to the Busan Aquarium were 24,000KRW (~PhP1,000.00 or ~USD23.00) and 18,000KRW (PhP750.00 or ~USD16.00) for ages 3 to 12.
Welcome to the Aquarium, even the floors seem to say.
The Busan Aquarium has numerous tanks, aside from the Main Tank, which is in an acrylic enclosure. Off the top of my head, some of the tanks included the “Sea Dragon Tank”, “Jellyfish Tank”, “Deadly Poisonous Fish Tank”, “Jeju Tank”, “Tropical Fish Tank”, and “7m Coral Tank”.
When you enter, you will immediately find yourself in the 1st underground level.
I thought this was funny: “jackass penguins“. Apparently, this is another name for the African Penguin. 🙂 Yes, they have their own tank. There was even a small statue on the side which, when you sidle up real close, will make penguin noises, startling the bejesus out of you.
And these otters are utterly fast to get a decent pic. They are, literally, a blur. 🙂
This is the part where I looked around and checked if Gollum is anywhere nearby, slapping a fish against a rock and singing his Rock and pool song. This Rock Pool attraction allows visitors to touch the shells and other marine animals right there. I tried some and they were surprisingly soft (and some were just plain icky to the touch).
From here you will see the top of the main tank. It’s that one behind me. It contains 3 MILLION liters of water.
And yes, those are sharks.
There was even an area where visitors can rent a glass-bottomed boat and be able to see below.
There was also an Aqua Cinema, which we didn’t check out. The first underground level also had a souvenir shop.
On the second underground level are more tanks.
This guy looks like he’s stuck on the rock. We even waited for a few minutes to see if it can get itself out, but it didn’t move. And then we moved on to the next tank. When we turned back, he’s swimming freely. What a tease.
Deep in the ocean is… the Giant Spider Crab. Two Giant Spider Crabs, to be exact. I was so fascinated by them. So… mecha, don’t you think? Haha!
Now I finally have a name for these. They are called “Dancer Hydromedusa”. Their tentacles attached to bell-shaped bodies add to their appearance of being dancers.
And this is the Jellyfish Tank.
The “Dangerous Fish in the Ocean” tank is what I’d like to call the “solitary confinement” area. That is because they are encased on the wall, with only small round windows provided for viewing.
The pic below, from top, clockwise:
– name of the tank
– STONE FISH – a carnivorous ray-finned fish with venomous spines, camouflaged as a rock. It is the MOST VENOMOUS fish in the world.
– FIRE GOBY – these are naturally shy and timid fish, but they are also voracious carnivores. I don’t know why this was in there.
– CONVICT BLENNY – the stripes are probably largely how it got its name.
– FRINGED BLENNY – they refuse to get out of where they were burrowed.
– LIONFISH – It uses its large fins to corner and trap its prey. Its spines contain venom, and it has lightning-fast reflexes that allows it to swallow its prey WHOLE.
And won’t you take a look at these Garden Eels!
Ok, the octopus was just icky, especially how it stuck to the glass. ARGH.
And here’s another eel. The Brutal Moray Eel. It’s so…. long. I couldn’t honestly see where it ended.
There was also a special area dedicated to fish species in the Philippine Sea.
No, we didn’t see any bangus (milkfish).
And who else thinks this Sea Horse tank is cute??
So this is the lower part of the Main Tank. There’s a theater-like area, complete with seats. People sit there and just watch what goes on inside the tank. It was near closing time when we were there, so there was no crowd. So we decided to forego sitting on the benches and actually went on the “stage”. Haha!
On the 3rd underground level is the 80-meter underwater tunnel. This is touted as the Nation’s Longest Underwater Tunnel. It gives one the impression of being on the seabed/seafloor.
And, of course, an aquarium would not be complete without Nemo.
There was also a special corner dedicated to the Giant Hammerhead Shark. There was a preserved Hammerhead Shark, even.
All in all, this gave me a whole new respect for the ocean and how vast and deep it is. Now I regret not having checked out the aquarium facilities in other places I have visited before.
* Photo credits: Peach and I.
