Life in Bali with Sabrina Dessi

This chat with magical content creator, travel diary extraordinaire Sabrina Dessi from @sbri_diaries is a sweet and lovely reflection of her time currently spent in Bali and prior to that being the Ice Cream making superstar. We find out what led her to Bali and her passions in life as she explores the island and captures pretty little vintage moments… 

How long have you been based in Bali? 

It’s been 2 years now. We moved from Singapore to Bali in January 2020. When the news of the pandemic first started we were living in Singapore, and we had to decide quickly where to go. We chose Bali; where we use to live years ago (it’s a long story). 

Your origin is Sardinia, how did you find your way to Bali? And what travel had you done previous to being based in Bali? 

Ok, let’s start this long story ahah… I actually lived for six years in London where I worked as an Ice Cream Chef (and before that, I did this for six years in Italy) I loved that job so much, and I won some international prizes, so it was going pretty well! But it was a job that needed stability, and we wanted to travel and explore. So we decided to quit our jobs, sell everything and travel Asia for one year with a backpack and small luggage. During this trip, we fell in love with Bali. After a brief spell in London and Singapore where I studied photography, we decided to follow our hearts and started our life in Bali.  

Your page features the most stunning vintage snippets. Were you always into videography or was photography the beginning of your journey? 

Photography is my passion. I studied art at university and learnt that there is no limit to expressing yourself, it’s always evolving and I’m always experimenting. I tried to give life to my posts some years ago, then it evolved into a very short reel story.

Where’s your favourite place to visit in Bali?

Uluwatu! There is the perfect combination between beautiful beaches, romantic restaurants, and stunning sunset cliff viewpoints.

Where’s your favourite place to eat in Bali? 

This is a difficult question. There are so many amazing restaurants in Bali! It’s hard to choose… Maybe Mason in Canggu for dinner and Cafe Coach for breakfast, but so many others are opening this month, so I'm ready to test them out.

The first place you will travel to when travel opens back up? Italy, my home. I haven't seen my family for two years now. So Italy first, but then I have a very loooong list: Istanbul, Spain, France, Australia, Mexico...

Do you have any other side projects that you're working on? 

I would like to start my Jewellery brand, maybe it is something that is not so far away ;)

You have 122k followers on Instagram, how do you go managing this? What would you say is the biggest pro and con to having a big following? Do you share your personal life on this platform or like to keep that to yourself? 

The community has actually expanded recently since reels started in Indonesia!! I’m so happy to have a new tool to use to create. Instagram is not a platform where I share everything about my life, but it is my little creative diary. It is where I share little pieces of life.  

What’s your favourite thing to do in your free time? 

Photography. I love to stay on the other side of the camera more than anything else. And travel! I used to travel a lot, but now after two years of not travelling, I almost forgot that feeling. 

How long does it take you to produce a piece of content for IG?

It depends. A reel can take some hours. But the right photo can take the same! But behind that is the concepts, photoshoot brief, location, props, sometimes travelling and taking a day off and the final editing of course!  

Your favourite Daughters of India piece and why? 

Kyra midi dress in Cumin. It has everything I like in a dress, the colour (yellow is my fav), the midi model is so comfy but feminine at the same time. I love it! 

By Erin Pyers