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| - I've never been to an aquarium before, so Ripley's just blew my mind. I've been wanting to come here ever since this place was still under construction, so imagine my happiness when my friend gave me tickets here for my birthday. I was hesitant about coming here before because it's really expensive, but it was definitely worth it.
In short, I loved everything. The underwater flowers, the swaying plants, the starfish, the jellyfish, the manta rays (which I was too scared to touch since I jerked my hand back just touching shrimps), and the sharks. Everything was so picturesque and beautiful I had to consciously remind myself that everything was real and not from stock photos on the internet.
The order of the exhibits made a lot of sense as it slowly eases you into ocean knowledge and prepares you in anticipation for the cooler exhibits of sharks and bigger sea creatures. The aquarium is huge and the exhibits are all amazing, so you can expect to spend a large chunk of your day here.
What struck me about this place is that they really know how to use lighting. The lighting was perfect and used in a way that the exhibits seemed almost magical. Most of the exhibits had minimal lighting except for the ones used to light up the actual tanks. So you are for the large part walking through semi-darkness towards glowing objects of interest. The ambiance is great here; very chill, quite romantic, and modern. The day I went there were some children present, but it was quiet and relaxing, which allowed me to further enjoy my experience.
The lighting in there makes the exhibits breathtakingly gorgeous but is horrible for selfies. Believe me, I tried, to no success whatsoever. Taking pictures of the exhibits and fish is completely fine, I got a lot of great pictures (especially of hilarious-looking fish), but pictures of yourself probably won't work out well unless you are in the entrance area where there is natural lighting. Don't forget to bring a camera though, because there are so many photo-worthy exhibits here you don't want to miss out on.
To conclude, I was extremely impressed by Ripley's Aquarium. If I had the chance to come here again in the future, even if none of the exhibits change, I would come back for sure but with a better quality camera. My words of advice? Come, you definitely won't regret it.
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