In-Betweens: Taiwan Photo Diary

I haven't updated this blog in a while since I haven't been spending much time at home. But I'm squeezing this moment to make myself a cup of coffee and write before I proceed to the day's itinerary.

I recently just came back from a month-long trip, following a biker's journey across Luzon, filming for 30 days straight. When I got back in Manila, home is still home. I had to hibernate for a day or 2, and then it's back to the hustle. For the past days we've been shooting, having to go through a tough 3 am call time.

The world of film and television is very demanding - filled with sleepless nights, caffeine-powered shoots and missed holidays. These, however, are a small price to pay for the fulfillment that we get from practicing our craft and seeing the world, almost always with fresh eyes. After all, nothing is too difficult when you love what you do.

I'm incredibly grateful for a lot of things lately, so I've decided to dedicate this post to my colleagues and do a bit of a throwback/ Taiwan photo diary if you may call it, to early this year. Can you believe that we're already halfway?

I'm always excited to get to know a place, as if it's a person I've heard of so many times and am now actually meeting in person. On our first encounter, I loved Taiwan immediately . I loved its energy- animated, colorful, pulsating. I loved how we practically didn't know where to go, but anywhere we went was beautiful. 

Even the side streets. 

We went to Fisherman's Wharf and crossed the Lover's Bridge...

Played at Leofoo Amusement Park since we're practically just big kids pretending to work... or at least that's how it feels.

Explored Shilin Market...

Ate our way through the streets until we found a small beer place and stayed there for hours. 

This is the trip where none of us was allowed to work. And this agreement was sealed with many toasts.

Always, when I travel, I allot some time to walk alone. I've never been good with directions so I always tend to get lost- which leads me to quite some interesting things.

Taiwan used to be a colony of Japan so you can somehow still see the influence in their culture, cuisine, and fashion. It's graphic and expressive. It might also be because very few speak English. But one thing I learned from traveling is that you don't need to speak the same language in order to relate and understand each other. 

Each of us in our group is a traveler. We travel for inspiration, food, rest, new perspective. When we don't have shoots, we would immediately plan a trip to somewhere. We'd rave about each other's stories when we get back. Some of us go home tanner, some of us come back with souvenirs and food to share, so we could also have a taste of the place they've been to. But every year, we make sure to go as a group and reward ourselves for the hard work.

I recognize that to be able to travel this way is a privilege. If a genie were to ask me for wishes (hopefully more than 3), aside from poverty alleviation, world peace, gender equality, more budget for education, justice for families of desaparesidos, proper land allocation, legalization of marijuana, and love, I'd wish for everyone to be able to travel widely in their own way. Because travel opens up minds and it makes one more hopeful and trusting of people, despite what the media shows. 

I always check where I am now and where I am headed. I don't know what it looks like on the other end, but at this point in my life, I'm really blessed to go on this journey with these people. They're now a part of my ever-growing notion of family. 

I'm writing this in the middle of the year, in between work and rest- because sometimes, I no longer know the difference between the  two. We are in transition, ever moving. Currently, I don't know where I'm going, but somehow, I feel that I'm far from where I came from. I have yet a long way to go, but all I know is that from where I stand, I am perfectly happy :)