In general, I’m pretty much in love with my life in Bali. I mean, summer, gorgeous rice field views, yummy food, friendly people – what’s not to love right? However it’s true from time to time that I do wish I could just pop back to the UK for the weekend. It’s the little things I miss the most like crappy junk food and UK TV. Well hallelujah, I have the second one solved. If you know of an Indonesian shop that sells crappy UK junk food, please let me know.
I’ve tried a few different proxy services for accessing UK websites in the past. If you can get sites like the BBC and Netflix to think you’re in the UK then you can freely watch UK TV from the BBC and channel 4 online and you can also get around any pesky site blocking (Indonesian internet service providers like to block sites randomly for no reason). There are quite a few of these proxy services around but they’re not that easy to use (requiring you to fiddle with your internet settings which may or may not break your internet connection) and not always cheap either.
To solve all these problems, let me introduce: TunnelBear!
This is most definitely the easiest service I’ve tried. All you need to do is install a small software program, select your country and turn it on and off as you need. It just works without any fiddling under the hood and it’s cheap too – in fact you can download and use it free for up to 500MB per month and then only $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year for unlimited usage.
I’ve been using my TunnelBear account for all sorts of things. As well as watching tv, it’s handy for any website where you get that annoying message “this service is not yet available in your country” like Spotify and it’s also useful for online shopping when I want to order something in the UK but the website ‘helpfuly’ redirects me to it’s global or Indonesian site. It also helps to keep your personal details safe when you’re using public wifi networks.
Also it’s a super cute app – I mean it’s all bearified! And it has fake wood panelling and everything! Oh there are also versions for Android and iOS so you can use the Netflix and BBC iplayer apps on your phone or tablet.
I’d really recommend this software to any expat or anyone travelling. As it’s free, you’ve got nothing to lose – just download it, install it and turn it on – super easy!
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by TunnelBear but my opinions are my own
How awesome I also use Tunnel bear 🙂
Do you set your tunnel bear settings to ‘Bali’ or to a different country (ie does it recognise Bali?)
Indonesia – I don’t think there’s a different setting for Bali in particular
I’m going to bali in Dec but would still like to use bbc & uk Netflix etc – so do I set tunnel bear to uk or Indonesia ?
Hi Rachel – just read your ‘about you’ section – is your husband Made the private taxi Driver lots of people are saying good things about on Bali travel forums?
Hahaha, well Made means “second child” so about half the people in Bali are called Made :p But yes he is a private driver and lots of people give him rave reviews, so please let me know if you need his services when you visit!
Sorry I didn’t read your question properly before! I’ve not used the program in a while (got a new computer and been too busy to watch tv!) but yes you need to choose the country you want to access sites in so choose UK for bbc iplayer etc
Thanks very much Rachel. Does he have a website I can take a look at please? Looking at hiring a driver for 2 or 3 trips whilst I’m there. Staying in Ubud & Sanur. Thanks, Gill
No website, just the airbnb for our rental house in ubud – https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1104710 if you email me at deletia@gmail.com we can discuss further and I’ll send you his prices.