Category: Our Story

Here comes 2025/6 winter season in Siwa

TIME TO FLY SOUTH

We have had a great summer here at Somewhere Different in Blackpool. Camping in the Lake District, some tasty dinners and great company from all over the world. Alex, who runs Blackpool, is here for the winter, and we are open 365 24/7 in the UK – but the desert is cooling, and it’s time to fly south and get open in Siwa Oasis. 

We land end of September and the new Siwan team meets in Cairo on 26th beofre heading down to Siwa for some deep cleaning and a lick of paint before opening the doors on October 5th to you, our nomadic guests. 

JOIN US IN CAIRO?

If your schedule allows, why don’t you join us in Cairo for a day at the pyramids and some supply shopping before we all head down to Siwa together? The internet will not be live when we arrive, and the summer dust will still be on the kitchen table. Give us a day or two and the villa will come alive and you can crack on and work smart in the week and explore somewhere different at the weekends 🙂

 

WE ARE OPEN ALL WINTER

If you’re interested, please get in touch; the best way to reach me is through my personal WhatsApp. +44 and then 756 246 6016. If you can’t join end of September, we will be open all the way through the winter to next May. See you in Siwa 🙂 

Coliving now open in Egypt 2023

WE ARE OPEN IN SIWA FROM 15TH JAN 2023

Somewhere Different Siwa is now open for 2023. Go to bookings and select from the Sunday 15th of Jan to check availability as it’s all blocked off before then. Coworking and coliving in the Berber town of Siwa in the Western Desert of Egypt is now  possible. 

Our internet connection is good

We fully tested the internet connection last year and had a stable 37 Mbs for months. We did have a few power cuts. It’s Egypt, you will get this everywhere. What you won’t get everywhere in Egypt is the following.

An Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) is being installed. That means when you are on a zoom call and the power goes, the internet will keep running and not cut you off your call. It keeps the network up and running long enough for us to fire up the generator to power the network for as many hours as needed if/when the power is down.

CHECK EGYPT AVAILABILITY

Ubiquiti Wifi network

We will also have a new Ubiquiti network being installed providing strong wifi & CCTV throughout the villa, the roof terrace and all coworking areas. I installed one in Somewhere Different Blackpool 3 years ago; it’s had 100% uptime so going for the same setup in Egypt. So yeah – good reliable internet out in the desert for your coworking/coliving trip to Egypt is now an option.

From January 15th 2023 you can book to stay up to three months with us. Working smart in the week, exploring Somewhere Different at the weekends. To see prices and availability check the Egypt Booking section. To see what our coworking / coliving offering in Siwa looks like, see the Siwa Gallery section.

PCR test for the UK – no longer required

PCR NO LONGER REQUIRED

From 04:00 GMT on Friday 7th 0f Jan 2022, fully vaccinated travellers coming to England will no longer have to take a test before they travel.

That means no worry about paying for your flight and booking into Somewhere Different and then not being able to to show up. 

Full details from the BBC are here.

NO QUARANTINE IN UK

When you arrive, you do not have to quarantine in Somewhere Different. You can go out on the beach, super market etc. 

You do have to take a lateral flow test and as long as you are negative, that’s it. You are done and can focus on your work and exploring. 

BOOK NOW

10 Reasons Why Blackpool is the Place to be this Winter

Are you looking for a place to spend the winter with that Christmas feeling without it being too cold? The place that  is easily reachable, has a lot of entertainment, has an ice skating rink, Christmas market and all that without breaking the bank? Then you should come to Blackpool. Why Blackpool you say? This is why:

And a one more extra reason why:

Private rooms at Somewhere Different start from just £300 a month!

Captain Corona has left the building

It's over in the UK.

It’s been a few weeks now, but the novelty of going out to a packed bar, theatre, football ground, people dancing, no masks, no 2m etc, all having fun and no one reporting the daily deaths from corona anymore, as it’s single figures.

It’s finally over for good in the UK.

We are open as normal. The town, the beaches, shops, trains etc, all open and running smoothly. The conversation has moved to Afghanistan and the premier league. There is just one little part that still reminds us Corna is still lurking in the background.

UK quartine rules

As if 23rd of August 2021, getting to the Uk is still cheaper than normal, £28 one way to get here, 448 flights a week now. That’s just to Manchester which is 1hr 15 mins away on a direct train from the airport to Blackpool town centre.

That’s because no one is going aboard this year for holidays due to the uncertainty of quartine and PCR tests. As you are a Digital Nomad, it’s just you not the whole family to get swabbed. You still need to have a positive test to get on a plane to come here. Once here, you glide through passport control, have a test kit sent to Somewhere Different in advance and that’s it. Everything else is normal. You don’t have to quartine when arriving if you are double jabbed and not coming from a red zone country. You just do the test and send it off and you are done.

Come work from Blackpool

When you are ready to move on from where you are currently working, check us out and how easy it is now to get to, and move around in the UK post corona.

See what availability we have here over the next few months. We are getting booked up but there are still some places in September when we have hug firework displays on the beach every weekend.

Digital Nomad Christmas: Where to work from this winter?

5 coworking/coliving ideas for Christmas 2020

Let’s face it, 2020 was not the best. If you are a digital nomad and looking to not spend Christmas this year on your own, again… now is the time to make plans on where you want to be working from in December and avoid the Captain Corona blues.

BACK HOME

If it’s an option, Mum will be double pleased to see you this year. Depending on where you are, flights are cheaper this festive season than normal. That’s if they keep running. A quick check on Skyscanner and you can fly from London to New York in December for £134 one way.

Not bad

But once you need to be back at work and Mum is asking if you are finally coming home for good, you need to get back out there and… quarantine and… who knows what the rules will be in January 2021. Hopefully not as bad now

UBUD - BALI

Um, nope. The Uk foreign office website explains unless you are;

Foreign nationals with limited (KITAS) and permanent stay (KITAP) permits for foreign nationals with diplomatic visa and working visa holders of diplomatic stay permits and business stay permits those working on medical and food assistance transportation (air, sea, or land) crew foreign nationals working on national strategic projects.

Only talking with people in a Facebook Digital Nomad Bali group, they say you can use a b211 visa to get in. 

You have no chance of getting in on the old. “ I am on a tourist visa and on holiday honest, not working”. It simply will not cut it these days.

CHIANGMAI - THAILAND

Nope, again, same… just slightly different rules. You can only travel to Thailand if you tick one the really hard to boxes below.

If you are on a diplomatic or consular mission, belong to an International Organisation, are a government representative performing duties in Thailand, or have permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This includes families.

If you hold a work permit or have already been granted permission from the Thai government to work in Thailand or have the Certificate of Residence and a valid re-entry permit. This includes families.

If you are the spouse, child or parent of a Thai national.

If you are seeking medical treatment in Thailand (except treatment for COVID-19), or are caring for someone seeking medical treatment in Thailand.

If you are an international student or the parent/guardian of an international student.

Some Digital Nomads mentioned that the 60-day Thailand visa is back on as from 15th of Nov. 

Digital Nomad on a one-month tourist visa, is um – not on the list.

MEDELLIN - COLUMBIA

The official line is this:

Entry to Colombia by air is permitted. All arrivals are subject to mandatory entry requirements:
For air travel into Colombia, a negative PCR test result is no longer required by the Colombian authorities.
Between 24 hours and 1 hour before departure, you must fill out the ‘Check-Mig’ form, available on the Migración Colombia website. You will receive a confirmation email that you will need to present upon arrival in Colombia.
Regulations are subject to change at short notice and you should check with your travel provider before your journey.
Colombia’s land and sea borders will remain closed until 1 December 2020. Internal travel within Colombia is permitted.

Sweet

As long as you plan to arrive and leave by plane, all seems fine….

It’s the same for American citizens travelling to Columbia too as from Nov 5th, there is no need for a negative test taken 96 hours before flying now. It’s all looking good.

Ah hang on. Accept if you are from the UK the rules say:

From 5 November to 2 December 2020, travelling away from home, including internationally, is restricted from England except in limited circumstances such as for work or for education. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You must follow all the rules that apply to you.

Its catch 22, if you are currently in England it’s illegal to go abroad on holiday. As you know, working as a Digital Nomad if you say you are working when landing in a new country, they will ask you for your work permit, employer details etc. You never say that right… you say you’re a tourist, ah… I am not allowed to travel as a tourist, round and round.

BLACKPOOL - ENGLAND

England opens up again on December 2nd if all goes well. Once lockdown is over you should be able to travel again. If however you are here in the UK and don’t want to deal with possible LockDown extensions / cancelled flights and delayed Skype calls with your clients – what are your options in England this Christmas?

How about this?

Somewhere Different is now open in the North of England. From Dec 2nd we can accept working Digital Nomads and you can say for the whole month. That means mince pies and stuffed turkey on Dec 25th with like-minded nomads.

We are the first Digital Nomad House in the UK and the Location Independent workers who are currently staying with us are planning the big day’s menu. Brazilians main Christmas meal is on Christmas Eve. Italians have lasagne on the day. All that and turkey? We will see. What’s your input for the big day? Can you cook a mean dish and like the thought of being part of a Nomad family 5 minutes from the beach for the festive season with 1,000 Mbps connection for the call with Mum?

If you do… let us know as we only have 3 places left at the dinner table.

Where ever you spend Christmas working this year, remember this – next year for sure will be better 🙂

Coworking models needed in Egypt this November

Up for some desert shoots and hot springs?

Somewhere Different is a coworking / coliving space in the Sahara Desert in Egypt. Duncan who runs it is a professional photographer and is looking for some models to help him capture the spirit of staying at Somewhere Different Siwa. 

Are you between 25 & 40? Good looking and know how to hold a smile for the camera? We need up to ten people to come and stay – Somewhere Different in Siwa Egypt for a week long photo shoot. 

In return you get a months free coliving accommodation . All pictures taken of you, you can use for your own online publicity or to just show your mum where you are, its up to you.

You get to stay in luxury coliving accommodation in the oasis town of Siwa in the Western Desert of Egypt. Hot springs, the biggest dunes in the Sahara and super fast internet. Not to mention the chance to hang out with other like minded working nomads.

We have just opened and as you know – its hard to pitch a story without the story. So end of November / beginning of December, we want you to come along and experience Siwa Oasis for a whole month. We have a jeep for the desert and hot springs to hang out in at night. Yes as you can see I don’t have good pics of the hot springs, hence the call for models to come and make those pictures happen.

Ideally we find 4 guys and 4 girls to keep the balance in the shots. 

What do you say? “I am too busy, I need to work” no problem, we are a coworking space after all. I don’t expect you to give me all of your day, just a few hours now and again when the light is right. The rest of the month you can hammer our internet connection or hang out with the locals in a donkey taxi and cruise around the oasis.

It’s simple, you can get to Christmas and people will asking you ” What did you do in November?” and you will have to think. 

Or…

You can tell them how you got free accommodation and became a model for the week way out in the depths of the Sahara Desert. 

The fun thing will be is they wont believe you until they see the amazing set of pictures you then show them. 

So what do you say? I say if you want to do something different at Somewhere Different – you get in touch with us and get that Christmas dinner story in the bag.

Any questions leave in the commenst below and I will answer you as soon as posible.

CONTACT US NOW & BOOK YOUR SPACE

A few people have asked ” What are the the qualifications to be involved?” There are none really but ideally are you are a digital nomad, so you will be working in the day online, you look like our target market so foreigners, 25 to 40 and you do not look like an Ax murder ( joking). It is not a catwalk, just need really fun good looking people who are willing to be photographed and videoed and speaking to the camera in English.

What do you get? You get free accommodation, some rooms are private, some shared and there is a 4 bed dorm so not all will get their own room. You get your accommodation and use of the WiFi for working and that’s it. Living costs in Siwa are super low and I will not be charging any one for when we go out in the jeep to the desert, hot springs etc.

When is it? We meet in Cairo on the 18th Nov and travel down on the 20th taking pics at the pyramids and markets before we leave. You can travel down on your own any time until mid December. Once in Siwa you can stay for a month where we will go out to the desert every weekend and set up several different shoots, sunsets, swimming in the salt lakes and so on.

Traditional Wedding in Maramures

When your neighbour gets married

My neighbor got married at the weekend. It’s great to see that some things have not changed in Breb; it’s a matter of time and it will all be different, but for now – life, and weddings, go on like they always did. Except for Johns shoes…. and the girls, they are definitely different 🙂

Make hay whilst the sun shines

Summer is here and every one is out making hay.

The Romaniain Invasion of 2014

A week is a long time in politics they say. It can be a life time in the world of newspapers.

A about a week ago I was leaving Bucharest for good and my phone rings

“ Hi, from the Mail on Sunday, can you cover the story about the Romanian invasion in 2014 for us?”
“Sure”
A few days later the Sun and the Daily Mail. They all want the same thing. In 2004 the Poles were allowed to come to the UK without a work permit. Tony Blairs press office said there would be “A maximum of around 17,000 would come over the next few years.”We all know he liked a bit of spin, but 1 million is quite a lot more.
Now ten years later its the turn of the Romanians and the Bulgarians. You can see the worry. The UK government has covered it’s arse and said there maybe up to 450,000 coming to the UK in the next few years.
If your English trying to get a job, what are you going to think? “WTF?”
And I can see their point. Hence the running around I have done to recruitment agencies and transport company’s this week getting quotes from the owners on the increase in numbers of people they think will go to the UK. Only… most of them didn’t even know about the new rule. This is Romania after all, we don’t plan a YEAR ahead, come on.
Most people when interviewed and told about the 450,000 figure seemed quite surprised and said something along the lines of “ Your too late, they have already gone”. The editor of Click, the paper I used to work for here said “ Duncan, this is impossible, we don’t have half a million young people”
But every one has been helpful and allowed is to take pictures and tell the story etc but have not been too happy at the way they have been portrayed in the UK press. Begging gypsy children being the first image that springs to mind.
I can see their point…. I am a photographer covering Romania for the international press, but I also run a tourist business here. So I was rather relieved and amused with the Romanian response to it, with “We don’t want to come to Britain, but you should come here. 50% of our women look like Kate. The other half, like her sister.”
I see both sides, and they are both true… I love my country and I love Romania. So good to see both sides coming together in the end with humor 🙂

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