INQUIRER.NET executive editor Leo Magno accelerates from zero to 160 kph in less than three seconds onboard the tallest Slingshot in the world.
The amusement ride, the tallest such Slingshot at 390 feet, is at the Midway Arcade on International Drive in Orlando, Florida.
INQUIRER.NET multimedia reporter Erika Tapalla tries out the unique spiral escalator at Caesars Palace.
Video taken by Eribelle Tapalla in Las Vegas, Nevada.
By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net
ASK for a P1,000 bill. Browse your old Araling Panlipunan book. Surely, you will see the sketch of the Banaue Rice Terraces. Yet seeing the greens with your own two eyes would mean a guessing game on which is which. You will be surprised to see many terraces in Banaue, Ifugao.
The one sketched in a P1,000 bill is the terraces located in what they call the view deck, near the town proper of Banaue. You would not only have the chance to see the staircase-like mountain, but you may also walk directly into the rice paddies.
The view deck at Banaue View Point can be easily accessed through a short tricycle ride from the town proper.
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 2.3MB each.
“A LOT of hot air!”
That was what I told my friends when they asked me after I got back from attending the 12th International Hot Air Balloon Festival. They were supposed to go with us that morning, but the thought of waking up and being on the road at 3 in the morning was surely a tough one.
The pleasant drive towards Clark Freeport Zone, where the festival is always held, took about an hour from Manila. Officially, this was my third time to attend the balloon festival.
For the uninitiated, the balloon flight always takes place early in the morning or late in the afternoon. This is because in order for a balloon to generate lift, there should be a significant difference in temperature between the ambient air and the air inside the balloon. With hot air being lighter than cold air, the lower temperature early in the morning and late in the afternoon serves to make the balloons more buoyant.
UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added video.
By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
THE HUANG Pu River cuts through Shanghai, dividing it between ultra-modern Pudong and culture-rich Puxi. After a hurried lunch, I took a quick break from the first-day sessions at the Intel Developer Forum, which was at the Shanghai Convention Center in Pudong, located near the river.
Being the lone Filipino journalist, I bumped into a fellow journalist named Kema (editor of CNET Turkey) while grabbing a smoke outside. A first-timer like myself, I tagged along when he said he was crossing to the other side via this tunnel right (Editor’s note: The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel) in front of SCC.
What the heck, I thought, I’ve got a few minutes to kill and a bit of a walk would be a welcome treat because I was feeling the springtime chill.
Not much walking, however, because it was actually a train ride to the other side of the river. The ride cost 40 yuans (or RMB as they call it here).
Anyway, so much for sightseeing, I did expect to see the bottom of the river! It was more like a light show that reminded me a lot of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” “Lightseeing” tunnel then, huh?
Here’s a video I took.
By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
UPDATE: Editor’s note: Corrected blog post.
SHANGHAI, China–Shanghai is full of skyscrapers it’s a pain in the neck — literally.
Which isn’t surprising since it’s touted as China’s modern metropolis. The Orient Pearl Tower sticks out from among the rest because of how it looks. Yes, it’s that one next to Chairman Mao (Editor’s note: Thanks to our readers who noticed the error and pointed out that this is a statue of Chen Yi.) the statue of Chen Yi, who was Shanghai’s first mayor when the People’s Republic of China was founded .
It reminded me a lot of Malaysia’s Petronas Towers because everywhere you go, it’s just a head turn away. It’s actually a TV tower (third largest in Asia) but it stands out from among many skyscrapers because of its rocket-ship look.
The Orient Pearl is just right beside the convention center in Pudong where I’m covering the Intel Developer Forum, so each time I go out I couldn’t help but crane my neck up.
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.
IT was just prior to the Christmas season last year that I took a trip to Shanghai and Beijing with my friends. Although this was my second time to China, it was my first time to visit these cities. We took advantage of Cebu Pacific’s “One Peso” promo fare from Manila to Shanghai. The smooth flight took about three hours, touching down at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai just a few minutes before midnight. The outside temperature was in the range of 7 to 10 degrees Celsius; thank God for the cheap winter jacket I bought at our local “ukay-ukay.”
Being a modern cosmopolitan city with a rich history, Shanghai has become a fusion of Oriental and Western influences. The city is dotted with marvelous skyscrapers, towering infrastructure, and contemporary architecture. Likewise, its old streets boast of neo-colonial buildings, ancient temples, and old traditional houses.
The highlight of our Shanghai tour included: The Bund, the heart of international settlement along the western banks of the Huangpu River; the Oriental TV Tower; the Huangpu River cruise and the sight-seeing tunnel underneath it; People’s Park; jade and silk factories; Yu Yuen Garden; and of course bargain shopping among the “secret shops” of the old districts which my female companions enjoyed so much.
Pigeons in People’s Park
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Performances at Sian Tian Ti
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Shops outside Yu Yuen Garden
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Fishes inside Yu Yuen Garden
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Compared to Shanghai, the capital city of Beijing is a sight of endless wonder. Apart from the rich historical heritage of ancient dynasties, a journey in Beijing is one of visual spectacle as well as a gastronomic experience.
Being higher up in the North, the temperature was of course a lot colder than in Shanghai; and since it was the winter season, most trees looked barren with their leafless branches. Gone were the lush greenery, with very few birds in the sky, and the lakes were frozen. Even with a noontime sun above, you didn’t feel its warmth; sunsets came much earlier as well, setting around 4:30 p.m. local time.
We spent our first day scaling the Juyongguan Pass section of the Great Wall, said to be one of the steepest portions of the Wall. Then there was the Summer Palace where Emperors spent their summer months. The last stop of the day was at the Temple of Heaven where the Ming and Qing Emperors prayed for good harvest.
The Great Wall
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Summer Palace
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
The following day was a walking tour of Tiananmen Square; directly behind it was the Forbidden City. As China will be hosting the Olympic Games this year, a lot of renovations were ongoing inside the former imperial grounds. The site of the Ming Tombs was the final stop. Here, people who are more attuned to their surroundings can experience an eerie feeling.
Tiananmen Square
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
The Forbidden City
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Imperial Wedding House
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Ming Tombs
View in Flash
View in QuickTime
Although I truly enjoyed this trip, I was actually looking forward to having my first snow experience. Alas, it just wasn’t cold enough for one during the time we were there.
VRs taken from December 13-17, 2007. The author can be reached at fung@firefly.ph
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.
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.”
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.
