Floating bookstore docks at South Harbor

There are books that tell of great sea journeys, but this ship comes from a different direction - it has thousands of stories to tell through books that have sailed the world over.

The oldest operational passenger ship and biggest floating bookshop in the world, the MV Doulos is in the country for the fifth time and after almost six years.

The ocean-going ship, built in 1914 or two years after the historic Titanic, is docked at Manila South Harbor and would be open to the public starting today until Jan. 22.

Doulos carries over 6,000 different titles, which range from Christian literature, science, medicine, management, hobby and cookery books, at affordable prices aboard. Most books are in English, with a smaller selection in Filipino. It also has an international crew of 350 volunteers from over 50 countries.

Hyeok Seon Kwon, project coordinator of the Philippine stopover of Doulos, said the visit of the famous floating bookshop is in line with its mission "as an international ambassador of goodwill and understanding, bringing knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world."

The ship is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. during Sunday and Monday.

Visitors would be charged with a P10 entrance fee. But children under 16 will gain free entry, but accompanied by parents or guardians.

After Manila, Doulos is set to sail to Cebu, where it will stay from Jan. 26 to Feb. 19, and finally to Batangas from Feb. 22 to March 5. For this stopover in the Philippines, the ship first arrived in Bacolod before it moved to Manila.

The floating bookshop has been on tour around Asia in the past seven months. After the Philippines, it will sail to Taiwan before it moves to Japan and Korea.

Doulos is owned by a German non-profit, charity organization called "Good Books for All." Its crewmembers — mostly young people — are all volunteers who are giving two years of their lives to be part of the ship’s journey.

The crewmembers had also undergone job training on cross-cultural living, striving to learn from different backgrounds, languages and cultures.

Over 18 million people in over 500 ports in more than 100 countries have come on board the floating ship.

The officers and crew of the ship said they would like to thank Philippine authorities for helping organize their Philippine stopover.