Christina Tan

One of the world’s most influential Travel Influencer, an award-winning travel photographer and a frequent flyer, Christina Tan of @sassychris1 is keeping grounded despite the current conditions. Read more for her tips and tricks to keep busy at home and how to cope with the travel bug.

Q: With this challenging situation when we are expected to stay at home, how are you surviving being self-quarantined?
A: To be honest, I have been enjoying my time in self-quarantine. My profession requires me to travel for at least 200 days a year, and I’m using this time to relax and truly enjoy my time at home. Before this all happened, I was travelling a lot, even in January and February. So, this is a good break and gives me time to reconnect with family and my closest friends. As long as I have access to good Wi-Fi, I am okay with being stuck at home.

Q: As someone who loves to travel, do you already have a plan to go somewhere when this is all over?
A: I have planned quite a few visits actually. I was supposed to be in Greece in the spring, but with the situation right now I decided to postpone it until everything is back to normal. I love Greece because of its landscape and people, and I have some good Greek friends too. But this time, I’ll try to visit the smaller islands and really explore the area.

Next is probably Italy, as there are still a few places I haven’t been to, such as Puglia and Sardinia. The beautiful coastline of Italy keeps me going back for more, and I have definitely missed the food!

Q: How do you cope with not being able to travel?
A: I go through and edit my old travel photos. That, at least, gives me some happiness by reminiscing on the good memories. I have also been doing some spring cleaning around the house, which has been keeping me busy. With the free time, I have picked up an old hobby, which is doing make up by watching YouTube tutorials. I’m planning to enhance my photo editing skills through some tutorials as well.

Q: Do you have any tips that you can share to stay healthy in this situation?
A: Maybe to not over do it. Start with something simple that you can do at home. For me personally, I try to control what goes into my body by drinking warm water, eating more vegetables and avoiding fried foods. Light exercise, such as stretching or yoga, is also a good way to keep the body healthy. And I always listen to music that keeps me happy, because I truly believe happiness plays a part in staying healthy.