He spent one month doing absolutely 'nothing'. Indian entrepreneur recalls the Bali routine that didn’t feel like a vacation”

A vacation is usually associated with stepping away from routines and taking a break from everyday responsibilities. But sometimes, a slower routine can become so effortless that it barely feels like a holiday at all. Saran Shanmugam, an Indian entrepreneur working in North Carolina, recently recalled spending two months travelling around Bali. While one month was dedicated to exploring villages, the next became an unexpectedly structured period of beachside living.

Two months in Bali, two very different experiences

Taking to X, Shanmugam recalled how his Bali trip unfolded years ago. He spent the first month travelling around the island and exploring its villages. The second month was completely different. Instead of moving from one place to another, he stayed put and spent the entire month simply living by the beach.

What followed was a remarkably consistent daily routine that combined exercise, food, relaxation, massages and leisurely evenings.

His Bali routine

Shanmugam’s mornings began with a 45-minute walk along the beach, followed by group yoga by the sea. He noted that participants could simply tip the yoga master. Breakfast was mostly healthy, after which he would head out for a $7 massage. A scooter ride around town was another part of his day before he settled down for lunch by the beach.

His afternoon was not exactly inactive either. He would fit in a one-hour gym workout, followed by healthy snacks and another massage.

From beachside drinks to late-night gelato

The routine continued into the evening with a couple of drinks by the beach before dinner. After eating, Shanmugam would take another walk at night. His day would then end with one of the more leisurely rituals of the trip: getting a gelato, sitting on the steps outside the shops and slowly eating it while people-watching.

Eventually, he would return to his hotel and go to sleep. Then the same schedule would begin again the next morning.

‘It was hard to call that a vacation’

Despite spending his days on a tropical island, Shanmugam said the experience felt unusual because of how little urgency there was in his routine. He described repeating the same schedule “every single day” and admitted that it was difficult to even call the experience a vacation.

For him, the month of staying in one place was so detached from the pace of ordinary life that it felt as though “life had been put on pause”. Unlike a conventional holiday packed with sightseeing and constant movement, his Bali experience revolved around doing much the same things each day, from beach walks and yoga to massages, workouts, meals and slow evenings by the sea.