Hot Girl Walks Are NOT For Me. This Summer, I’m Taking Indecisive AC Mall Strolls

Every summer, the internet collectively decides it’s time to be that girl again. The girl who wakes up early, fills her Stanley cup, laces up her sneakers, and goes on a Hot Girl Walk—listening to a “healing” podcast, manifesting her dream life, and pretending not to notice she’s sweating through her Align tank.

And look, I tried. For exactly four days.

But here’s the truth: I live in Bombay. It’s 85 degrees (or it feels like that). The heat isn’t just aggressive, it’s disrespectful. My SPF pills, my sunscreen sticks, and my makeup setting spray are all working overtime, and still losing. Five minutes into any “healing” walk, I’ve got thigh sweat, dust allergies, and a general sense of regret.

So I’ve found something better.

It’s called the AC mall stroll, and it’s the soft life version of the hot girl walk.

It’s wandering through Phoenix Palladium at 2:45 pm, not really shopping, just existing. It’s trying the new blush shade at Sephora and walking out without buying anything. It’s standing in the air-conditioned glow of Muji and feeling calm for the first time all week. It’s getting a mini iced coffee from a kiosk you’ve never heard of.

It’s a walk... but with vibes.

The Real Mental Health Walk

Is it exercise? Technically, yes. I’m moving. I’m getting steps in. But I’m also emotionally regulating. I’m not counting calories—I’m counting how many times I’ve circled the Zara sale rack without buying anything.

There’s a kind of meditation in it. You walk past the linen pants you don’t need. You smell three different perfumes. You feel better. You forget what you came for. You sit for five minutes on a bench outside Lush. You people-watch. You get mildly influenced. You walk more.

You don’t spiral.

You Can Romanticise This Too

If hot girl walks are about becoming her, mall strolls are about remembering that you’re already her—you just need to be in 22-degree air-conditioning to realise it.

I wear SPF 50, lip gloss, gold hoops, and walk with a tote bag filled with absolutely nothing I need. Sometimes I buy a face mist I’ll never use. Sometimes I just buy popcorn. Sometimes I try on a ridiculous outfit just to remind myself I’m alive.

It’s not lazy. It’s luxurious.

Not Anti-Walk. Just Pro-Walk-In-Comfort

This isn’t about cancelling your morning walks. It’s about offering an alternative to those of us who love movement but don’t enjoy heat stroke. Those of us who are overstimulated and need a low-stakes, no-sunlight, mildly materialistic serotonin hit.

So no, I will not be chasing wellness on burning footpaths this summer.
I’ll be aimlessly wandering through the mall, in search of nothing, and finding everything.

Because this May, the only thing I’m manifesting is central cooling.