People of Roam: Vijay Umpathy, 28, San Francisco
Curious, energetic, full of compassion and insight — Vijay is the kind of guy you want at every campfire.
Vijay is currently Roaming the western hemisphere in search of a place to lay down some roots, for now at least…
Why did Vijay choose Roam, Bali? It wasn’t easy to connect with people while travelling, I was moving around a lot. I wanted to have a explore what it meant to have community abroad that wasn’t all centred around drinking and partying, I wanted to meet likeminded people.
What was your favourite part of your time with Roam?
At Roam, it was easy to have insightful conversations and make meaningful connections — even though I didn’t know anyone in Bali before. Roam has attracted a strong culture of people, mixing work with adventure.
What was your biggest take away?
My time in Bali opened up a new way of how I’d choose to travel for longer periods of time — when I left Roam, I left with life long friends which is really cool and amazing.
What was Vijay working on in Bali? I’m an ex ‘Googler’ (product manager for Google), I left the company looking for a new challenge. I wanted to slow down my pace and spend some time planning my next adventure, without the distractions at home.
Favourite space at Roam? “The kitchen! It was such a cool space and it always brought the community together. I cooked every morning and loved waking up and having breakfast with everyone — that was a big part of feeling at home for me.”
Favourite Bali adventure? I had so many adventures in Bali — Monkey forest, Sekumpul waterfalls, temples, beaches… it was all really awesome. I even got into the habit of doing yoga everyday, I liked that a lot.
Vijay’s words: “Roam is the first time that I kind of bought into an experience, rather than just a roof over my head. It has completely changed my outlook on travel and housing — more spaces should be designed this way.”
