By Fung Yu, Contributor
INQUIRER.net

Author’s note: This article uses Apple’s QuickTime and Adobe Flash in providing an immersive experience by means of virtual reality technology. QuickTime and/or Flash are required to view the 360-degree VRs. Average VR size is 2MB each.

DOULOS (from the Greek word meaning “servant”), the “floating library,” visited the Philippines for two months — initially for the annual dry dock maintenance in the port of Batangas, then in Manila and Subic Bay for the onboard book fair and other community activities.

Built in 1914, just two years after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the M/V Doulos is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.

I caught up with the Doulos on a fine Saturday as she was docked at the port of Subic Bay; having missed her in Manila last December, this could very well be my very last chance to tour the ship. The first thing you notice when you step aboard is her friendly crew; a smile at every turn, a greeting in every corner. With a crew composed of various nationalities, bringing to the fore social and cultural diversity, it is indeed a heartwarming sight to see them working toward a common purpose.

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SURE, here in the Philippines, you almost always order San Miguel Beer (I know I do), but sometimes you might want to try something new.

Well, INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter has checked out this place that serves 100 different types of beer. Check out the video Erika took of head waitress Rosalie Porqueza giving her a tour of Beers Paradise, which is located on Polaris Street corner Durban Street in Makati City.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net

ATTENTION overseas Filipinos, going to the Philippines is now just a click away. If you are tired of the usual long lines and slow processing of your application just to visit your loved ones here, the good news is that the Department of Tourism (DoT) has launched a new Travel Mall service on its Experience Philippines site that targets Filipinos in North America.

The Travel Mall is an interactive mall that will allow Filipinos in North America to shop virtually, book tickets, and even reserve hotel rooms to make their visit here more convenient. The DoT also lets people easily access all of the 7, 107 islands of the country through its partnership with accredited travel agencies in North America.

The Travel Mall and the whole Experience Philippines site is part of the marketing strategy employed by the DoT for North America as it shifts from traditional to online media. According to Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano: “Traditional media doesn’t work as much as it used to… this generation uses the Web for entertainment, for education, and for work. The platform for us had to be the Web… and three years ago we decided that at least 90 percent of our resources, 90 percent of our energy, will be using this platform to reach out to our target market.”

Online Videos by Veoh.com

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CHECK out this video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Lawrence Casiraya, who interviewed Mang Eddie and Mang Nestor near the Guadalupe Bridge along Edsa in Makati City as they tried to catch some fish to eat or sell.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net

AS we approached the Seattle-Tacoma airport, one of the flight crew members announced that the temperature outside was negative 1 degree Celsius. In short, it’s freezing. Thus started our little adventure in Washington, where Redmond is.

I’m here to cover a Microsoft event along with fellow tech journalist Melvin Calimag of the Manila Bulletin. We had to bring the thickest jackets that we could get (not to mention the layer of clothing that we already had on). According to some locals, it snowed the night that we got in. So the streets, roads, and even sidewalks are slippery. You have to walk carefully when you cross the street here.

We’re staying in Kirkland, just a few minutes away from Redmond, where Microsoft’s main headquarters is located. After going through  immigration, we had a bit of trouble locating our airport transfer. Apparently, we missed seeing a little sign held by Paul, our driver, who is an Indian who now lives in Seattle. Paul drives a”high-end” Lincoln car which he offers for rent to visitors and business executives (I assume mostly from Microsoft ). By the time we got into the hotel, we were told that we had to wait until noon to be checked in. Then we met a young American named Stephen at the Heathman Hotel. Stephen was apparently born in the Philippines and has lived there for about 15 years. He now works in the hotel, and has been staying in the US for three years. His eyes lighted up when he heard us talking in Filipino. He blurted out, “Kamusta.” A conversation ensued, which lasted for a while. I’m sure he misses the Philippines.

With just a few hours of sleep (blame the on-demand movie on the plane), and jet lag, I’m barely awake, trying to recall in a warm and cozy coffee shop the first time I crossed the Pacific Ocean.

THIS is probably one of the most unusual tourist spots — the Salar de Uyuni, a 40, 000-year-old lake in Bolivia that has dried up and created the world’s largest salt flats.

Check out the Reuters video clip.

CHECK out this iVDO clip that INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter took of the Disney in the Stars nightly fireworks display at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

HERE are more clips of INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Erika Tapalla’s Shanghai odyssey. Hope you’ll enjoy them.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Online Videos by Veoh.com

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