Jaz Reyes Was Telling Travel Stories Before Content Became a Career

There’s a reason Jazmin Reyes-Sotto’s videos look and feel cinematic: her background is in film.

Filmmaking is something she has been passionate about since college, and her short film, Pagnanakaw, even earned recognition in Singapore. Today, Jaz, who has worked as a radio DJ, courtside reporter, TV and events host, continues to pursue her love for storytelling and filmmaking as a content creator.

Travel is a compelling subject for her. “When I want to create things, I always look for a unique angle or unique way to showcase it. With traveling, I don’t necessarily like everything that’s already been blasted. I’d rather find something that I find is very unique and I like to share it.”

Kim Santos

Capturing destinations with cameras is not new to Jaz who, along with her husband Miguel Sotto, was one of the directors of Chasing Flavors, a food show hosted by chef Claude Tayag. “We hit up Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. We talked to all types of chefs, all types of street vendors, and visited all types of markets. That really trained me.”

Jaz loves traveling with her husband, a filmmaker and photographer, and together they’ve explored nearly 30 countries.

“We’re more nature people than city people. We love being surrounded by nature. We don’t hit up the 10 big hot tourist spots right away. We go with the flow. We go to the local markets. We love cooking lessons. Fashion is also quite involved. But that’s like the last thing para hindi mapuno yung maleta ng puro shopping. I think the best pasalubong is being able to get stories.”

While she appreciates the allure of well-known destinations, she’s far more drawn to the quiet thrill of discovery. “I’m out looking for bespoke and unique,” she says. “The normal stuff, it’s not that I’m so against the hype, I get it, I love to see it, but when I find something new or something that hasn’t been talked about, it just lights up something in me. I feel like a child discovering things that way. That’s what I love.”

Connecting with people while traveling is important to Jaz. “I find myself enjoying the most if I can talk to people. I love talking to locals a lot. I think you get the best stories there. I have lasting and really good memories if I am able to converse with the people of that country.”

Kim Santos

For her, posting quickly isn’t the point of travel content creation. It’s being fully present in the moment and actually experiencing the place rather than documenting it in real time. Instead of rushing to upload, she lets the experience settle first, absorbing it, reflecting on what stood out, what felt meaningful, and what story is worth telling. Only after that process does she create and share content, usually when she’s satisfied that it captures not just what she saw, but how it felt to be there.

Like she said in one Instagram post, “Some moments are better lived first and posted later.”

Jaz usually travels twice a month but that might soon change because she’s pregnant. “I’m forced to be in hibernation mode. But first I’ll go to China and then after that, Japan. I’m milking it as much as possible.”

Jaz has a lot of memorable travel stories: seeing double rainbows in Machu Picchu, honeymooning in Mexico, and jet lag that unexpectedly led to magical moments at the Eiffel Tower and the Trevi Fountain. Even more vivid, though, are the experiences that didn’t go as planned, like getting mugged in Cebu and meeting a kind woman who helped her chase the assailant, or having the driver they booked cancel on them in Spain, which forced them to drive themselves instead, an experience that turned into one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip.

For her, it all reinforces the same idea: it’s the unplanned moments that often lead to the best stories, even the difficult or uncomfortable ones. “Be happy when a plan doesn’t go your way. No trip will go 100 percent your way. So we have to think, ‘Okay, where is this inconvenience leading me? What is it teaching me?’ That’s why I like traveling. It’s a different type of education.”

Kim Santos

What are your favorite places to travel to?

I think China has a lot of untapped energy, untapped features, untapped cuisine… and what’s perfect is I can talk to the people there. I really enjoy my time there. I also have really fond memories of Iceland. We went on a road trip with my best friends. We were surrounded by nature and we were greeted on our first night by the Northern Lights. It was like another world. I was shocked by Peru, by South America. It was such an eye-opening experience. It was fun there.

What are your favorite places to travel to in the Philippines?

I love Siargao. Maybe it’s a different story now but when I went, I really fell in love with it. I fell in love with the community. I like Cebu because of the stories I have from there. I want to go to Batanes.

What’s on your travel bucket list?

India. That’s number one on my list. I love the food, I love the culture, I love the architecture. It’s such an old civilization. I find old civilizations so fascinating, the history behind everything and how they are now. Seeing the contrast. That fascinates me. Then, definitely, Africa. Those two I haven’t hit yet. I would also love to come back to Iceland and maybe one day, with family, Patagonia, Alaska.

If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be?

Maybe back in Florence. I really had a wonderful time there. It was slow-paced tourism, plus the art, the fashion, the food. And it’s so near Tuscany where we can also learn how to make pasta. I’ll bike around, go to the market.

Is there a place you’d never go to?

No. I feel like if there’s an opportunity just to see it, take a peek at it, why not? I heard there’s an area in the Amazon where if you step into it, the people kill you. Maybe huwag naman dyan. But as long as there’s a civilization and you’ll come out okay, I’m fine.

Do you prefer a packed or a slow itinerary?

Depends. If it’s your first time, it has to be packed. It also depends where you go. Shopping, I put it at the very end of the day. That’s the last. Priorities would be the sights; there might always be a museum thing or an architectural thing or a visually interesting thing and I wrap around my day around that area. My husband’s top priority is food and my top priority is views and we try to figure out how we can meet in the middle.

Kim Santos

Who’s your favorite travel companion?

My husband. You know how I found out na pwede ko siya maging husband? I have a thing where if I stick too long with someone, for like 24 to 36 hours, I get this sick feeling that I just need to be alone. With him, I never had that feeling. He understands completely what I want to do, what shot I want to get. We’re just left brain, right brain. So definitely my husband.

Are you a good packer?

Amazing. Amazing packer. I pack things for my husband. I know what he’s going to need. I’ve learned to pack lighter and lighter and lighter. I’ve learned to pack outfits that I can reuse or restyle to look like different outfits.

What are your travel essentials?

Number one, a portable bidet, if the country I’m going to doesn’t have bidets. Number two, my own toothpaste and my electric toothbrush. I really love it. I charge it once before I leave for the country and it’s good for a week. I also bring any moisturizer for my body because my skin is only for Philippine weather and Philippine water. Because of the weather and the different pH levels in the water in other countries, I get a skin rash if I don’t moisturize.

Window or aisle seat?

Window.

What’s your most used travel app?

Google Maps. When I would plan an itinerary, I memorize where they are on the map. I enjoy that because I can visualize it better.

What travel tips or secrets would you like to share?

If you’re getting married, use UnionBank Miles+ credit card to pay your suppliers. You can get free tickets using points. You can get more than one business class seat to anywhere you want in the world. I’m not sponsored by them. But that’s what I did. I used my points to be able to fly.

Photography by Kim Santos. Makeup by Miz Raffy Mendiola, assisted by Dom Ocampo. Hair by Cats del Rosario. Art Direction by Sacha Mancera.