Photo Diary: a day in Pingxi

Pingxi is a small town in the mountains about a two-hour train ride outside of Taipei. Often overlooked by tourists for it's more popular neighbors Jiufen and Shifen.

When I visited on a weekday afternoon, almost all the shops and restaurants were closed. It reminded of me a ghost town. But I vastly preferred Pingxi over it's crowded and cheesy neighbors. It had a quiet calm and a derelict loneliness about it that made me instantly fall in love. I tried to capture those feelings with a few photos taken in the afternoon sun of autumn.

Photo Diary: Best of Jiufen

Jiufen is a popular tourist town about one hour outside Taipei. It is crowded every day year round but it particularly unbearable on weekends and holidays. I traveled there with my in-laws on a weekday afternoon. Apart form the stunning views of the mountains and ocean, as well as the iconic Amei teahouse, the corridor with shops and food is unsurprisingly generic. Most of these photos are not from the covered walkway, which could exist in Miyajima or Causeway Bay as easy as it could be in Jiufen.

Photo Diary: Best of Taipei

I have been to Taipei so many times and done so many "best of" albums, it seems silly to do one more. Still, there are images that keep being uncovered in this city, so another attempt feels justified.

Admittedly, most of these photos were taken by my partner. I was too busy complaining about being pregnant in 100-degree humidity, I let him have the camera. Having grown up in this city, he has a different perspective than I do, and I am fascinated by what he chooses to photograph. 

Photo Diary: Best of Porto, Portugal

Porto is such a gorgeous city practically every view demands to be photographed. I spent six days in this city, which was plenty to time to see many sides of it. I must say I love it more than the capital Lisbon. Something is so charming about this northern town.