Back here in Singapore, we had a lot of loose ends that needed tieing up. Alvin had emails going back and forth, pulling together everything he could with meeting after meeting.

TransAsia Airways confirmed our tickets, and as the departure date drew nearer, I had to start getting packed.

And like most girls, the first question that popped into my mind was, "What am I going to wear?!"

I headed over to Femme X in Cineleisure and picked out various outfits for my trip in Taiwan. Some for riding, some for relaxing, some for filming and all for looking super chic at any point of time, just in case some hot Taiwanese dude tries to pick me up.

"And, just in case some hot Taiwanese dude really tried to pick me up, I would need to take a photo to remember him by, wouldn't I?"

Thankfully, armed with the Canon Powershot S110, I'd be able to snap a quick, clear shot of the man, and even print out a copy for him on-the-spot using their compact Selphy photo printer!

"And... what if this hot guy wanted to stay in contact and add me on Facebook?"

Guess I'll be needing my computer to do that, but I wasn't intending to lug a heavy laptop around everywhere! Acer's Iconia W511, their latest light-weight, transformer tablet should do the job just right!

The conversations went on in my head for quite a while, and I shall not bore you with the endless questions I was asking myself.

Instead, you should tune in to Ep Zero: The Beginning. Don't forget to Subscribe! xoxoxoxx

Just as sand fell through the hourglass, and our 'due date' was getting closer and closer, potential sponsors started to get back to us! Finally, it was all coming together.

Now that we've got things rolling, it was time to make the snowball bigger. As the sh*t got real, so did our work, and now it was time to firm up the nitty-gritties and come up with a concrete plan.

...

I tried. But I couldn't do it alone!

Searching online for information was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Which activities should I consider, which should I skip? How far exactly is ZhongXiao Road from ZhongShan Road? Wait a minute, why is there a ZhongXiao Road in nearly every district? I'm CONFUSED. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although the kind people from Qiito and Taiwan Tourism Bureau gave me some tips on where I could drop by, there was still the logistical aspect of it all.

1. How far away is it from my start point?
2. What is the distance in km? How long will I take?
3. Which route should I take to get there?
4. Is there accomodation in the area?
5. Do we need to get permission to film there?
6. Are there any interesting stop points along the way that could be featured in the programme?

All in all, this was alot of left-brained work, and I was crumbling under pressure. We needed a solid itinerary that was not only was realistically achievable, but also interesting for viewers.

Considering the fact that the scooter couldn't go up the highway, it would take about double the time for me to arrive at the destination than it would take the crew (who were travelling by van).

After about a month of hair-pulling, intensive internet surfing, and researching of other people's itineraries, it was apparent that I needed help. I was asking practically EVERY PERSON I KNEW, and the person you are going to be introduced to in the paragraph was God-sent.

Kaixiang, Creative Director of 8 Pixels Productions, and also a friend of mine, happened to be travelling to Taiwan at about the same time that we were intending to shoot there. On top of that, being half Taiwanese, he was well-equipped with the knowledge of the place and thus, the PERFECT person to help me. After about an hour of begging and idea-sharing, he agreed!

RESEARCHER/PRODUCER, CHECKED!

I handed over what I had with my current itinerary, which consisted of pages and pages of things I wanted to do, things I thought the audience wanted to see me do, and popular things that our sponsors suggested I should do.

It was now on to Kaixiang to filter it out, put it on a timeline, and contact the relevant people to let them know we're going to film there. He sure had his work cut out for him, and he set off to Taiwan about two weeks in advance to get started.

Sometime last year in July, I booked my tickets to Taiwan, and made plans to circle the island in 10 days. I searched online for scooter rentals, and tips on what kind of weather was to be expected in the month of October. I had purchased budget airline tickets that cost me nothing more than $300. My aim was to spend as little money as possible to have as much as fun as possible in 10 days.

Realistically speaking, though the standard of living there is very reasonable for a visitor from Singapore, 10 days is nowhere near enough to truly experience a country like Taiwan. I wanted to soak in an outdoor hot spring, go surfing, get on a hot-air balloon, go whale-watching, climb a mountain, there were so so many things I wanted to do.

So, I head over, with hotel bookings only for the first 3 days, a verbal scooter rental agreement with an angmoh (which seemed rather dodgy considering the fact that he was completely uncontactable when I arrived) and a backpack full of excitement.

And yes, things started to go wrong from there.

Bad planning and big empty spaces on an intinerary is usually not good news.

All in all, it was an incredibly fun trip, with a lot of bad luck, and I felt completely unfulfilled when I came back. Why unfulfilled? Well, I intended to circle the entire island, but only managed to make my way to Taichung. There was SO MUCH of Taiwan left for me to see! I HAD TO GO BACK. I HAD TO CIRCLE TAIWAN ON A SCOOTER. For every naysayer, cynic, killjoy and pessimist, I'll have you know that yes, a scooter CAN go long-distance. And as much as you don't want to believe it, it isn't about the bike. It's about the rider.

And thus began my mission to make this project happen. For one, I wanted to document my travel, to make something that will help me never forget this adventure. Secondly, I wanted to share it with everyone. So, I found an old friend, Sam, who is also the director, and brought this idea up to him.

At that point of time, I was bringing the idea up to many people. But ideas being ideas, and people being people, no one quite took my proposals seriously.

Sam, however, jumped at it with so much enthusiasm that I, myself, was surprised. He believed this could work, and was willing to give me his fullest support. So I took off, my heart renewed, and a hope that this project was possibly one step closer to reality.

Director, check. Film crew, check.

Now, I needed someone to help me with getting the word of this project out, and get the support this project required. There was no one else I would've turned to but Alvin, now the executive producer of Heels2Wheels. He had worked closely with me on various projects, and was equipped with a wide network, experience and most of all, belief in whatever little talent I had.

He, too, agreed to help me out, and together, with our forces united, we had a team.

Executive producer, check.

So, all the prep work started. We began by writing in to various companies, of which we had no reply. Then, I decided, if the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. Armed with the kickass presentation that Alvin had prepared, we headed down to potential sponsors' offices, and asked for just a few minutes of their time. If this blogpost were a video, at this point of time, you will see the montage of hand shaking, door knocking, door slamming in faces, and fast, pacy music.

The past week has been a struggle for me. While I've been juggling the excitement and anticipation for Heels2Wheels, I've also been fighting off this terrible flu virus. Before I fell sick, I was running from show to shoot, and shoot to show. On my hands, I had three new projects on top of my regular work; good news and bad news. Good news is, these projects are all really fun. Bad news? Outdoor shoots. Though I took measures to ensure I stay in tip-top condition, some things, I have to say, are beyond our control. Sunlight, mosquitoes, rain, mosquitoes, bad weather, mosquitoes, just to name a few. Oh, and did I mention mosquitoes?

Anyways, my skin started breaking out, I got sunburnt (thanks goodness just a little), and of course, contributed to the WorldWide Blood Bank for mosquitoes. On top of that, my throat started hurting, and my eyes kept watering up and itching for reasons unknown to me, and my nose needed a leash.

I was SICK.

And this really worried me. HOW AM I GOING TO RIDE AROUND TAIWAN ON A SCOOTER IF I AM SNEEZING ALL THE WAY?!?!

This post, then, is a tip for myself, and everyone of you out there, on How To Stay Holiday Healthy! 

BEFORE YOUR HOLIDAY

Load up on Vitamins.
Take your Vitamin Cs, your As, Bs, Ds, Fs, and Gs because your body needs that extra help to keep those viruses at bay.

Consider other options.
If you feel yourself getting a little sick, use natural remedies like Echinacea, Turmeric, Manuka Honey, etc. Don't start hitting those drugs yet. The reason why I say this, is because I feel that (and this is entirely personal opinion) medication like paracetamol suppresses your symptoms. You may feel like you're immediately better, and end up straining your body even more because you don't feel the sickness kick in. So even though your body needs the rest, it's not getting any, and you may end up feeling even worse by the time your holiday is here.

Get enough sleep.
Can't say this any more. Sleep is important. Sleep more.

Stay hydrated.
Can't say this any more either. Drink the water, drink the water, drink the water.

Get your necessary jabs.
Though it isn't exactly necessary, it'll be good to get your vaccines. Lucky for us living in Singapore, the schools have taken care of most of that. Some other jabs you can consider taking is the Hep A vaccine. Hep A is contagious and prevalent in certain countries. Well, better to be safe than sorry!

DURING YOUR HOLIDAY

Avoid insect bites.
This can happen even in sunny Singapore, and we all know the diseases we can get from a simple mosquito bite. Dengue fever, malaria... Let's not go into details about the other insects and what their bites can do. Thus, remember to spray on the repellant like there's no tomorrow! You can also consider using mosquito patches, which I've found has been rather effective. Though I'm not sure they keep other insects away.

Best insect repellants I've found so far:

• Heavy Duty Gel that can be purchased from any store in the Army Market at Beach Road. Just say "auntie, I want to buy the insect repellant".
  
• NON Sweet-smelling repellants. The sweet smell sometimes keeps moquitoes away, but attracts other insects. Therefore, forget about smelling good.
  
• A friend who's really good at swatting flies.
  
  

Beware of "Travellers Diahorrea".
This is common sense. Be careful of what you eat. Food poisoning is caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. Foods most likely to cause this condition are those that have not been thoroughly heated or that have been left out at room temperature.

Obviously, you can reduce your risk of getting sick by following good food and water hygiene practices.

If you DO get it though, drink regularly to avoid dehydration. Isotonic drinks also help alot by replacing what your body is losing when you have the runs.

You should also bring along some Pochai Pills, just in case. They work Wonders.

Block the sun!
But don't spend your entire holiday trying to hide under shadows of buildings, trees, traffic lights, and your travel buddies. Put on some sensible sunblock, and go ahead and have your fun!

What is "sensible sunblock"? Well, not many know this, but no sunblock is capable of blocking off the rays 100%, and the numbers behind the three letters SPF... well, it's doesn't quite work the way you think it does. Therefore, there is no reason to go for the HIGHEST SPF without considering the other factors. To keep it simple, generally, 

• Find a sunblock that is labeled "broad spectrum," which means that it protects from both the sun's UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays cause wrinkling and aging of the skin, while UVB rays cause sunburn, but both UVA and UVB cause skin cancer. It is best to be protected from both, however, many sunblocks only protect against UVB rays.
• Consider choosing a sunblock that contains zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. These ingredients are able to reflect UV rays so that they are not absorbed by your skin. They have been shown to be safe and effective ingredients in preventing negative effects of the sun.
• Re-apply REGULARLY. When you are in the sun, you are likely to sweat. When you sweat, you are likely to wipe off the sweat. When you wipe off the sweat, you are likely to be wiping off your sunblock as well. Therefore, re-applying regularly will ensure that you're well covered.
  
  

It's been said that SPFs don't get any more effective when higher than SPF 50. So SPF150??? hm.

Remember to get your fruit in.
When on holiday we sometimes get so carried away with having fun that we forget about ourselves. Dehydration and heat stroke are the most common threats in hot weather since the body loses salts and essential minerals through sweat. Cold weather may cause dehyration as well because people generally don't feel thirsty when cold. They then forego drinking and may end up dehydrated. While water may quench the thirst, it does not give you instant energy nor does it replace the lost minerals. Fruit is made up of about 80% water, thus, not only gives respite to your parched throats, but also serves as a rich source of vitamins and minerals.

Moral of the story: When at a hotel buffet breakfast, ATTACK THE FRUIT BAR!

Well, seems like that's pretty much all I can think of for now. Here's wishing you a happy vacation, wherever you're intending on going!

As for me? Back to itinerary planning... ... ... ...

This is the OMG moment. We are less than a week away from departing to what could very likely be the BIGGEST ADVENTURE of our professional careers (and for me, the biggest adventure of MY LIFE) and there are just too many things that are coming at us with a vengeance.

Things like itinerary changes, logo changes, sticker making and general tieing up of loose ends is really driving me nuts. And I'm trying so hard not to stress out because I don't want to risk falling SICK before I leave! As it is, I'm already recovering from a serious bout of flu. Thank goodness I was vigilant in taking the appropriate measures and am already feeling much better. I just hope I don't get a *choichoichoi* R-E-L-A-P-S-E.

Worse thing is, I haven't even started packing and I haven't got 2hrs anywhere on my schedule to do this.

God help me. Please.

Yes, Alvin said it. We are extremely grateful for all the kind people who have stopped to listen and lent a hand of support in all ways big and small. Even those of you who have liked the posts, and shared in the excitement of it all, I want you to know, that that one THUMBS UP is really one I treasure. (Yes... a treasure chest full of thumbs...)

Soon, we will be taking off and our posts may become shorter, BUT there will always be our instagram and twitter feed, and of course, the Facebook updates as well. So, please do look out for it. Continue liking, continue sharing, and most importantly, continue the conversation. We want to know where you want to go, what you want to see, so please tell us!

In the meantime, here's a video on one of the first things I had to get in preparation of the trip...

Taiwan is such a beautiful country with so much to explore. During early stages of this project, whenever I researched on places we could visit, I was constantly amazed by how much there is to do there, and how much that island contains. One could watch endless programs about Taiwan, and they'd all be talking about different things!

Most certainly, Singaporeans being Singaporeans, so many of my friends that have been there rave about the food. And the shopping. But then again, we always rave about food and shopping at ANY place. I'm sure there's more. Thus, together with our Taiwanese born-and-bred writer and researcher Kai Chang (or Kai Xiang, as we know him), we've come up with the awesomest list of things to do, places to see, and steps we could take to uncover the true meaning of the word, FORMOSA!