Ocean's Thirteen... the Subic jinx

Someone up there must really have it in for me.

Every time I drive up to Subic, something interesting happens.

More specifically, every time I drive to Ocean Adventure Park in Subic, something interesting happens to me.

Ocean Adventure just happens to be the only open-water marine park in all of SouthEast Asia. It features dolphin shows, a sea-lion act, diving shows, etcetera. And it lies just a dozen kilometers or so away from Subic Freeport.

The first time I passed through the area, simply to scope the place out, I was driving a Hyundai Getz test unit... a diesel one... and that car had a host of issues... bad diesel... wobbly engine mounts, tires worn almost bald.

The second time I went, on a lark with some friends, my Ford Lynx developed third-gear pop-out. Sure, it had been grinding third gear for the previous 60,000 kilometers, but I think the dozens of full-bore third-gear downshifts on the highway as we cycled between 80 and 225 km/h had something to do with it. And we never got to go inside... we simply went down to Meat Plus at the Freeport for breakfast.

Third time's the charm. This time, I joined a package tour, and spent the trip there in restful bliss on a nice, big bus. Left with my wife and kid at five in the morning, and had a wonderful time. Sure, we were herded like cattle between shows, and packed like sardines at the venues, but it was fun. Enough fun to drain my digital camera's batteries at the end of the day.


Oh... who lives in a pineapple under the sea?


Relaxing trip!


Coincidentally, the Mini club were doing a Baguio run at the same time. Nice.


The diving act was rather nice...


Batman decides to escape the heat with a quick dip...


Lots of superheroes at the park. here's Superman taking a bath...


One serious advantage of an open-water park over a place like SeaWorld is that tricks like this are easier to pull off given the extra space. Both this and the previous trick were performed by a Pilot whale.


Many of these dolphins were saved from fishing nets.


That was a looooong day trip.

What was I saying again? Oh, yeah... third time's the charm. The bus had developed a knocking sound on the way to Ocean Adventure Park. They "fixed" it at the Subic Freeport, a few kilometers away. On the way home, the knocking came back... and the bus dropped its propeller shaft just a hundred meters short of the Subic-Tipo toll road.

Ouch.


Fixed?


Apparently not.

Turns out the knocking sound was a worn linkage, which they attenpted to repair by welding more material onto the ends of the rods. Now, obviously... or at least obvious to anyone who's shorn a drive-axle while drag-racing... that's not going to work. At least not very long. And yup, the repair lasted all of twenty kilometers.



The back-up shuttle picked us up at the new Total gas station (conveniently located right beside the exit... in the middle of nowhere) at nearly nine in the evening. We got home at around midnight.


Whatinheck is a Daewoo Classia?


Terrible location for a station... thank goodness it was there.

I suppose next time I go to Ocean Adventure, I'll suffer an engine-blowout? Gotta make sure it's not my car we're using next time, then.

For those who aren't absolutely jinxed, though, I'd recommend the trip if you're in the Subic area. It's an interesting way to spend a day.