Self-isolate. That’s the new way of life these days. In our last COVID-19 update we told you how we fled from India. Our next move was finding a safe place in case of an outbreak, which according to some is just a matter of time. We are happy to say that we found a home to stay safe on Bali  This is how we are planning to keep safe.

Can you imagine roaming free, cycling wherever you want. Doing everything in your own pace with no-one telling you what to do? Sounds like a dream right? Well, we were living it. This pretty much was our life for the last eight months. And then all of a sudden it was over.

#stayhome when you don’t have a home

And that’s okay. We needed to figure out what #stayhome was going to mean for us not having a home. Going back to the Dutch mayhem didn’t appeal to us. We just had to find a place to live in a country where we’d never before. A little scary, but mostly exciting. We knew that Ubud and Canggu where popular places for digital nomads, so these became our two options.

Friends of ours were staying in Ubud, so we went here first. And it was love at first sight. We absolutely fell in love with Ubud and it’s very apparent Balinese culture. The architecture, the traditional music, the smiles and the friendliness of the Balinese. It warmed our hearts.

No Canggu

We visited Canggu too, but we just never got the same vibe there. If high-end co-working spaces with impeccable design are your thing. Or you love to strut in hip beach clubs and drink cocktails after a day of surfing on perfect waves is in your alley, go to Canggu! We think that we just aren’t that hip any more. Are we getting old?!

It also feels wrong to sit in a communal working space in these times. Before we had the ability to prepare our own food, we had to go out to eat. You wouldn’t believe how many dirty looks Sabina got when she was coughing because she choked on a delicious Balinese green pancake. It was definitely time to start practice social distancing.

Our new home

We wanted a place where we’d be happy to be locked down in and from where we’d be able to work on all the amazing stories and footage from the last eight months. And boy did we find it. We found a home to stay safe on Bali. It’s a gorgeous villa with a loving family. We have a swimming pool, a lush tropical garden and super fast internet. We’re surrounded by rice fields yet close (10 mins cycling) to the supermarket and other necessities. We even get housekeeping every other day.

The crisis behind COVID-19

Do we need this luxury? No. Does it do anyone any good? Yes. The pool maintenance guy who just had a baby a few days ago gets to keep this job. The cleaning ladies can continue receiving a pay cheque and so does the gardener.

We see more people getting in extreme financial trouble than people actually getting sick. This causes a lot of stress which can easily result in mental health disorders. This can have a great effect on the physical health too. So we try to choose wisely where we spend our money. Is it going to those who need it?

Spend your money wisely

Another example is the fruits and veggies we get home delivered. The farmers on Bali were preparing for high season, but with the corona crisis restaurants are not buying. A local initiative helps these farmers and buys the produce for fair prices and makes boxes for people to get delivered to their homes. 

I’m sure there are a lot of local initiatives in your area too. Just ask around. We’d love to hear which ones you are inspired by or involved with in the comments!

Stay calm

Also don’t forget to think about mental wellbeing. We found a home to stay safe on Bali where we can practice meditation, exercise (indoors if necessary), try new recipes and allow ourselves to relax without scrolling on social media or reading the news. Instead, check out these awesome video’s we found!

Stay safe, stay sound. If you want to talk, we are here.

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