The Sinulog e-guidebook is free for download and loaded with lots of information

It was a little past 3PM in the afternoon and I was hurrying up for my meeting with the editors Max and Marlen Limpag, husband and wife of mycebu.ph, who are also my friends in running, to check on their latest project with Smart. Meeting place, the Heritage of Cebu monument in Parian, Cebu City.

The Parian District was once the enclave of rich Filipino Chinese during the Spanish colonial period and, while the area has lost its luster in the present times, there are still notable heritage structures worthy of preservation and visit.

Its a free ebook for tablets and smartphones

But I wasn’t here for a tour. Instead, I was to witness a demo by the duo on the latest heritage tourism development, with Cebu City as their laboratory. It is both promising and relevant to today’s digital tourist armed with the latest gadgets and how technology can help enrich the experience.

MyCebu.ph together with Smart bring this three pronged project to fruition: first, a downloadable and free Sinulog e-guide (download here, review here) that visitors can download for reading in the Ipad, Android tablet, Kindle and capable smartphones. This is in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Ayala Center and the Sinulog Foundation.

It will be available at the Mactan International Airport, select hotels, Ayala Center, Sinulog Foundation office and online via MyCebu.ph. Visitors can either download it at the website or scan a QR code at a designated area. Internet connection is needed.

QR codes can be scanned and information on a particular Cebu heritage structure or monument is instantly available

The husband-wife team of Max and Marlen Limpag

Second, tourism information deliveryon key heritage sites and monuments via quick response or QR code scanning.

At the Heritage of Cebu monument, there’s a short info about the structure plus a QR code. Scanning the latter will fetch additional and more up to date information via internet.

This one is promising. Soon, videos, archival photos, and audio will be added to make the experience better. Other than that, the additional info will carry social media links to update like Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook.

Lastly, a Guide to Cebu 2012 will be made available during the Sinulog. This is another downloadable and free ebook that visitors can get. As this is focused solely on Cebu, expect it to be exhaustive in terms of what to do, where to go, eat and shop while vacationing in the island.

This surely is an important step in Cebu tourism. Asked why these digital books and latest technology?

Most travelers nowadays bring along tablets, e-readers or smartphones. An electronic guidebook would be very useful to them because they no longer need to carry around heavy books. Our guidebook is an extensive resource that you can take with you wherever you go.

The project showcases journalism that takes full advantage of new technology to deliver information to people. With this, people are able to read on their phone or tablet about historic events right at where these happened

- Marlen Limpag, MyCebu.ph editor

If you’re in Cebu during the Sinulog, don’t forget to get your copy of the Sinulog eguidebook and visit the Parian district where you can try these digital advancements in tourism.

Airphil Express and Star Cruises invited us bloggers for a familiarization cruise tour from Singapore to Malaysia aboard the latter’s Super Star Virgo, a full service cruise ship. It was a lot different experience, another different way of traveling. And it was good.

Star Cruises is known for its huge fleet and holiday cruise travel around the world and for this AirPhil Express AdvenTour, Filipinos can taste holiday cruise in Singapore and Malaysia aboard one of its vessels, the Superstar Virgo via AirPhil Express.

Airphil Express partners with Star Cruises to provide a double adventure to Singapore and Malaysia on-board SuperStar Virgo. Enjoy 4 days and 3 nights of sightseeing and shopping in 2 of Asia’s best cities! Experience the wonderful sights on top of the Singapore Flyer and be amazed at the majestic Petronas Towers in Malaysia.

Book now before the promo ends to get a taste of holiday cruising in two of Southeast Asia’s interesting countries. For more details, do check out AirPhil Express website.

Blog and Soul Sessions resumes this Saturday, July 2 at the Meralco Case Room of the Asian Institute of Management. This session is about words and pictures: Yahoo!Philippines Editor Erwin Oliva will discuss writing and blogging, while multi-awarded blogger and photographer Estan Cabigas shares some tips for taking spectacular travel photos.

Ang Langyaw as new Jewelmer Pearl Ambassador

Ahem, at least, we have something in common.

Jewelmer specializes in the golden south sea pearls, the Philippines’s national gem which only thrives in the most pristine of waters to come up with the trademark golden sheen. Being a pearl ambassador doesn’t mean an endorser of these gems but beyond that, as environmental advocates and champions for the environment.

We have visited Jewelmer’s pearl farm in northern Palawan with Flower Island as our base, and has been witness to how these beautiful gems thrive and the great difficulty in getting these beautiful pearls. Having pristine waters is not enough. Getting the community to take care of their natural ecosystem to have a more sustainable and environmentally sound practices is another. And Jewelmer has not only achieved that through its corporate social responsibility programs but the core of its mission, its business will only be possible with a deeply ingrained respect, awareness and action for environmental protection.

And the company is getting serious with its business of protecting the environment by getting more people involved. In last night’s event, 15 June 2011 at the Manila Ocean Park, a new website was unveiled.

ProjectSevenThousand.Org:

Seven thousand pledges for a better tomorrow. Environmental stewardship is the responsibility of all, and the actions we take – or fail to take – will decisively impact the future of our oceans and forests.

Let’s do our part in helping the planet through three simple steps: pledge an act for the environment, commit to do it, and invite friends and family to do the same.

Ang Langyaw as featured in Cebu Daily News. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

In the 17 March 2011 (today) issue of the Cebu Daily News, under BLISS, I was one of three bloggers featured including Daphne Osena. Click on the image at the left or read through the article as I have submitted it.

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ESTAN CABIGAS
langyaw.com
simbahan.net
salagubang.net
estancabigas.com
fitandrun.info
aninag.org
estanli.net/blog

In three words, your blog is about what?
Makes me tick

Dayjob
Freelance photographer, blogger and traveler

1. What is the best part of your job, as a blogger?
I get to express my views (estanli.net/blog), what I think of a particular place, food or feeling (langyaw.com). I can show my artistic side through images as well as concerns through documentary images (estancabigas.com). I get to feature talented Filipino documentary photographers (aninag.org). Showcase the beautiful but endangered religious heritage architecture that we have (simbahan.net) and the rich beetle fauna the Philippines harbor (salagubang.net). Feature runners and runs too (fitandrun.info).

2. How did you start? When?
I really can’t remember why I started but it was September 21st, 2004 when my first ever blog post went live.

3. Have you ever been published in print?
Yes. I have been principal photographer of two coffeetable books on Philippine heritage church architecture. Contributed for local and international magazines like BLUPRINT for architecture, National Geographic (editor’s pick), Geo (Germany), a portrait book published in Vienna where I was invited to contribute and many others. You might want to check these two links: estancabigas.com and langyaw.com.

4. Six blogs, does that ever get hairy? How do you maintain them?
Well, I do admit that sometimes its a bit of a challenge to maintain and update these blogs all at the same time. Some are well updated as others.

5. What’s your blog traffic like?
It’s quite varied. Some of my blogs have higher traffic than the others.

6. Do you think a background on journalism, broadcasting helps?
I think bloggers would benefit on having a background on journalism. The main problem with bloggers is that most doesn’t have the critical thinking compared with journalists. There is a lack of attribution, where needed, photos are grabbed and posted without credit or paragraphs copied and pasted without linking to the original source. Where it involves conflict/issues, its sometimes one sided.

7. For bloggers who are just starting out, what other advice would you have for them in terms of building traffic and trying to make a name in a very saturated blogosphere?
They need to be themselves, have their own voice and not do what is popular. People read bloggers because they are curious on what that blogger has to offer or the information that blogger is giving is important to them or just want to know more of the person. They also need to network, link up with other bloggers, learn SEO basics, and most important of all, continue to build relevant and meaningful content.

8. Pretend that the Internet has been destroyed overnight. What would you do the next day?
Have a good cup of coffee and have a a slice of blueberry cheesecake.

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