What I am doing during coronavirus situation

If you are following me on Instagram or Facebook, then you might know some of the things I am doing now during the coronavirus situation. But I realized that many of you are not on social media or you do not have time to follow every story I upload. Which is why I decided to write this post to keep you updated about my not-so-travel-blogger life now.

Where was I before the coronavirus situation got worse?

I left Southern Vietnam after a month there and flew home to Slovakia on the 21st February 2020 when the situation was still kind of okay in both countries. There were very few infected people at that time outside of China.

I had planned my return flight even before going to Vietnam. But as my flights were via China, the airlines offered me different options. In the end I got better flights for the same price and could get home one day earlier, still leaving Vietnam on the same day. But other than that, I did not have to change my travel plans at all. That was a good thing! 

I got to my home town Snina in Eastern Slovakia, spent some days with family and catching up with online work for a couple of days.

And then I had a couple of presentations (public speaking at travel festivals) in other towns in Slovakia. Once finished, I took 2 trains back home on the 9th March. Perfect timing! Exactly on the 9th March the Slovak government decided to close some places in Slovakia, such as cinemas and theatres. And all public speaking, festivals and group meetings had to be canceled from that night for 2 weeks minimum.

It resulted in canceling one public speaking gig and one yoga class I was supposed to teach in another town in Eastern Slovakia on the 25th and 26th March. But those two things were the only plans I had to cancel due to coronavirus. Well, together with many group and private yoga classes I was supposed to teach in person.

But it did not affect any other of my travel plans.

Why? My intuition was telling me not to plan any trips after Vietnam, get home first and then plan a trip to an exotic destination in April or May. My intuition turned out to be right once again. As usual. And I am glad I listened to it. It saved me a lot of money, and also time and energy I would need to spend to change those plans.

Tourism struggling

As most of my income has been coming from this travel blog for years, you might realize it’s not an easy situation for me.

The same goes for other travel bloggers… We are in this together.

Plus, most of us are stuck somewhere in a apartment/house quarantine. Most probably in a country in lockdown with its borders closed.

We have no idea when we will be able to travel again. Let me tell you, it is heart-breaking! It’s not only our job but also our lifestyle, our passion, our everything… And what about our freedom? Everything we were working on for years is all gone in the blink of an eye. 

It’s not only travel bloggers who have been badly affected by the coronavirus situation. The entire tourism industry and also some other industries are in a similar situation. And many street vendors, small companies, family businesses etc.

It’s so sad to see so many people without income now.

Hopefully the situation improves for all of us as soon as possible.

fruit with cinnamon for lunch while writing

Slovakia in lockdown

When writing this article, it’s been exactly 4 weeks I’ve been stuck in my apartment with my mum self-quarantined. Yes, I’ve been spending 90% of my time inside our apartment since the 10th March 2020. My mum is a kindergarten teacher and all schools have been closed in Slovakia since the 16th March which is why she has been at home with me now all the time for 3 weeks already.

In the past month many changes have been happening here.

The whole Slovakia is in lockdown. I could not travel outside of the country even if I wanted to. Flights are canceled and borders are closed. Unfortunately, hotels in Slovakia had to close their doors, too.

Bye bye traveling! Bye bye wellness, sauna and swimming pools. Bye bye collaborations. Bye bye income.

We are asked to stay at home and leave only to buy groceries.

Going for a walk in the forest or park where there’s no other people is not officially prohibited. However, it’s still recommended to stay at home as much as possible and avoid contact with people we do not share the household together with.

A new law in Slovakia says that each time we go out, we HAVE TO wear a face mask. You won’t be able to get into any store, bank etc. without a face mask.

Unlikely to Asia, it’s very unusual to wear face masks in Europe. People are not used to doing so.

For most of us it’s the first time ever. For me, too.

I’d never worn any face mask when traveling around Asia to avoid smog. And the virus situation had not been that bad in the past when I was still in Asia. So now it’s my first time wearing a face mask as well. I don’t know how you are dealing with it but it’s very unpleasant for me. It’s more difficult to breathe with it on than without it. But I guess it depends on the material it’s made of, too.

Anyway, we have to wear a face mask to protect others.

I am following news once per week, and also following my friends living in other countries (on social media) to get an idea of how it is in different destinations around the world.

But I do not watch news every single day. No way! I want to focus on the positive things instead rather than fear and negativity spread on media.

practicing yoga

What I am doing self-quarantined at home

• I am talking to mum in person. We spend hours discussing different topics.
• I’ve already read 6 books. When I travel, I usually read only ebooks as I tend to carry little material things with me. But now in quarantine I finally found time for reading hard-copy books I’ve had at home for years. Once I’m finished with the hard-copies, I will also start reading ebooks I’ve bought in the past but never had time to read them yet. I love catching up on reading.
• I do video calls with dad and some friends.
• Together with my mum we call my grandmother (mum’s mum) every day.
• I clean up apartment quite often.
• I also spend more time to think and evaluate things, and focus on what’s important.
• I reply to many emails.

• When I feel like it, I am writing new blog posts.
• I recheck many things on my blog, remove broken links and make things look nicer.
• I spend hours thinking about my future and how to improve things.
• I clean out my wardrobe.
• Almost every day I watch many videos and webinars to learn new things. 
• I reread old magazines we’ve had at home.

• I am working on becoming a better version of myself on all levels.
• I practice yoga, do meditation and pranayama every single day. It takes me from 90 to 120 min per day.
• Every single morning I clean my sinuses with jal neti technique.
• I eat only twice a day. I munch on fruit for lunch and then vegetables + legumes + nuts/seeds for dinner. I do 16-hour intermittent fasting every single day now at home. Well, I am drinking only water for 16 to 19 hours per day, while eating only in the remaining hours.

fresh fruit for lunch

• I relax a lot more than usual. I sleep more, too. I enjoy slowing down not having to rush from one place to another every few days.
• I treat myself with a self-massage… I massage my feet and legs, face, arms and head a couple of times per week.
• Once a week I do skin peeling and a hair oil mask, and enjoy a hot salt bath. Anything to pamper myself physically.
• I play gong and learn to play virtual piano which was a gift from my uncle when I returned from Vietnam.
• I do everything I can to emilinate stress: listen to meditation music, laugh a lot, focus on the positive things etc.
• I spend weekends offline, no work, no internet, no mobile phone.
• I also do online detox consultations and private yoga classes.

If you’d like to stay updated and learn more about what I am doing, follow me on Instagram or Facebook.

wearing a face mask outside all the time

TIP: Would you like to know more about my last trip to Vietnam? Check out in this article how much I spent in Southern Vietnam in 4 weeks.

TIP 2: If you like reading, check out my ebooks. I wrote one English ebook about health, focusing on vegan diet and exercise. All the tips found in the ebook can be used both at home and while traveling. Here’s How to be fit (not only) when traveling. Even if this topic does not seem that interesting to you, you can still buy the ebook to support me. Of course, only if you enjoy reading my blog or following my trips and health tips.

TIP 3: If you are from Slovakia or Czech republic, I also wrote 4 Slovak ebooks about health, vegan diet, cheap traveling and my adventures around the world. You can check those ebooks here.

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Posted in Europe, Slovakia, travel Tags: coronavirus