DESTINATION DREAM LIFE

From citygirls to islandgirls

Here we go. Packed and ready, with our dearest Amsterdam aunt Cindy to the airport. Eve flew on Tuesday (with boyfriend Stephen) and Pris tomorrow (boyfriend Arnaud comes later). We always promise ourselves to take as little luggage as possible. Reality: never works. Fail for life. 23 or 30 kg? Uhmm, make it 33 kg plus 100 bags of hand luggage. Our suitcases full of ‘Ole Ole’ souvenirs for our dear friends and family; at least 10 kg of chocolate-covered ginger nuts (which we end up eating a bag of ourselves… fail two), cheese, chocolate, paprika chips, peanut butter, licorice, and so on. Sweating to the check-in desk and always nervously hoping we don't have to open our suitcases to take things out (awkward). But as happy as birds with French fries, because Eve just got her new iPhone 8+ and we both have a new lens for our Fuji X-T10. Read: a gazillion photos during our trips.

Around our departure, we had quite a bit of stress regarding the volcano Mount Agung that could erupt at any moment. But we informed ourselves well and are taking the risk. Can’t live without our island home. Stephen bought masks for all of us, so when the volcano does erupt, we can at least protect ourselves from the ash. And the emergency plan is to get off the island via Java and fly back to the Netherlands. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, we say little prayers every day.

Before we continue, let's rewind to how we started with We Like Bali. Once our dream plan for Bali was made and the tickets booked, we immediately had the idea to do ‘something’. Something creative, something for ourselves. Our then-fave colleague and good friend Dhani brainstormed with us for the idea: We Like was born. A blog to show why Bali is actually so hot and happening, and especially to showcase all the things we like. Simple, personal, and super fun for us to express our creativity. Blogging in 2009 was actually still super unique (just like leaving for Bali, now you probably all know someone who does that). We bought a nice Canon camera together, packed the laptops, and David, Eve's brother, created our very first WordPress blog: we-like.org.

Meanwhile, today we received a Facebook notification with a photo from eight years ago. Baby faces to the max, white skin and thick black hair. Wow, time flies so fast.

 ‘‘We never dared to dream that this would ever become our job.’’

Instagram didn't exist yet (yup, we were in the pre-Instagram era) and Facebook was hardly used by people. We were the only ones personally blogging on the island about what to do in Bali, so we quickly became known as the girls from We Like. From parties and store openings to all the fun new hotspots; we were there. Then came the fun fashion brands and swimwear labels, which we started wearing in photos at beautiful places in Bali and other nearby islands. That's how the ball really started rolling. And here we are. Almost ten years later, we've turned what we love most into our dream job.

A fun side note (because you will often hear the names): we also met both our men in Bali. Stephen is Pris's cousin (so also Indo), and swept Eve off her salty feet when we arrived in Bali. He has been coming to Bali since he was 15 and was working at the Canggu Club that year (yes, so besides being best friends, we also became family, how nice). Pris met Arnaud while surfing, he is half French, half Italian and runs his own takeaway café Bali Bowls in Biarritz. With our men (and our island besties Kim, Yenny, and Mary, who also moved from the Netherlands to Bali almost ten years ago) we always make fun plans for tropical trips and weekend getaways. We never dared to dream that this would ever become our job. From citygirls to islandgirls; we really feel privileged.

Arrived in Bali. Meanwhile, Eve and Stephen have arrived in Bali. We always need to recover from the seventeen-hour journey. By drinking liters of water on the plane and taking a vitamin C pill every two hours (yes, this really works, tip from Tessa from Your Health Coach) and often walking back and forth, we always arrive fit in Bali. Eve is staying the first nights immediately for a collab at The Colony Hotel. A lovely hotel next to our favorite breakfast spot (and shop) Kim Soo in Seminyak. Tomorrow sweating out the jet lag during barre class at the Canggu Studio and seeing Kim and Yenny again during a lunch by the pool.

This weekend we are going to have a blast again, then Pris will also be back on the island. We already have a fun event at the newest vegan hotspot Kynd Community (a must-go if you're in Bali) and we need to make the decision whether to start vlogging again (what do you think?). We will also tell you more about what our days look like here. That we actually never get enough sleep – team no sleep – have a mega addiction to food (always hungry) and how we fill our happy and healthy vegan lifestyle.

See you next week!

Yours tropically,

-x- Pris & Eve