Travel Stories
For The National Abu Dhabi on Barcelona
Ah Barcelona! If you are an architecture or design or sports buff, or a foodie, this is the city to go to. Travelling with kids: When shopping abroad is a holiday July 24, 2014 Updated: [...]
For British Airways magazine on Hyderabad
Andhra Thali, bangles, palaces, shopping. Things to do in this syncretic city.
For The National Abu Dhabi on Bangkok
My Dad talks about this incident to this day. Tuk-tuk tricks and Bangkok bartering Shoba Narayan May 29, 2014 Updated: May 29, 2014 11:47:00 It begins innocently enough. We’re in Bangkok and my 12-year-old wants [...]
For The National Abu Dhabi on Hyderabad
Travelling with kids: History is more fun with new friends Shoba Narayan May 22, 2014 Updated: May 22, 2014 15:57:00 My husband asks as we disembark the plane: “Did you know that the Nizam didn’t [...]
For The National Abu Dhabi on Summer holidays
As someone who loves swanky hotels, that last bit is going to be hard to follow. Maybe later on that one. Opinion Comment When did travelling overseas stop being an adventure? Shoba Narayan March 25, [...]
FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
Copa Del Ray It's the eve of the Indian election results and all my friends are doing a variety of things to keep themselves distracted from this nailbiting finish. I decided to sort through my [...]
For Silkroad Cathay Pacific on Dance
For Silk Road. May 2014 issue KA0514_p058-061_Bengalura dance
For The National Abu Dhabi on Japan
I just got slammed for generalizing but here I go again. This was written before the feedback though. As an amateur cultural anthropologist, I find the differences and similarities between cultures fascinating. Japan is one of my favorites.
For The National Abu Dhabi on Oman Shopping
About incense, frankincense, perfumes, dishdashas and things to buy in Oman
Latest Articles
Poem: Primordial Snout: in Marrow Magazine
This poem was published in Marrow Magazine, Issue 16 on June 6, 2025.
Hindustan Times: Cricket, Garbage, Karaga
Is Bangalore the worst municipality in the country? Living in this city, it certainly feels like it. There is so much to be angry about in Bangalore these days. Cricket fans have died in a stampede and still the state government is passing the buck, scapegoating officers so that they can escape blame.
Wisdom Circle: Soul Tribe
A soul-tribe is a close-knit group of people who truly understand and support you beyond superficial connections. In today’s digital age, cultivating these authentic relationships is essential for emotional well-being and personal growth.
Hindustan Times: Kannada language
Let me just come out and say it: Kannada-dalli maathadi. Which is like saying, Hindi mein baath kijiye. Or Tamizh-pesu. I have chosen these three languages for a reason. This week, actor Kamal Haasan offered up a third instance of folks being caught in a Kannada language controversy. The players may be different but the script is the same.
Hindustan Times: Bangalore’s Youth
The humanities humanize us. They make us care. They allow for empathy. If you are sitting in a cubicle, you won’t care about the woman wading through water.
WisdomCircle: Lifelines Part 1
Who are the people you call in a crisis? Not the “car broke down on the highway” type of crisis although that’s bad enough. If something truly awful happened — like your marriage falling apart, or your loved one contracting a life-threatening illness — who would you dial first?
Nine features I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition) a while back
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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Shoba Narayan is an award-winning Indian author, journalist, and freelance travel writer based in India. She specialises in luxury travel, immersive journeys, and Indian culture with a focus on food, wine, culture, cities, and identity. With over two decades of experience, she has contributed travel features to Condé Nast Traveler (US edition), Travel & Leisure, DestinAsian, Mint Lounge, The National (Abu Dhabi), Taj Magazine, and Hindustan Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, and Robb Report among others. Her awards include the James Beard food-writing award and a Pulitzer Travel Fellowship. Her travel writing spans India, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, the Maldives, Bhutan, Costa Rica, and beyond — always with a focus on the sensory, the cultural, and the deeply human. Based in Bangalore, India, Shoba is a leading voice on South Asian travel, reviewing luxury hotels in India and abroad, and writing immersive features on traditional Indian crafts, and contemporary Indian culture. As a freelance travel writer and memoirist, she writes evocative, deeply researched features on everything from birding in Costa Rica to spiritual tourism in Bhutan.
For editors: Shoba Narayan is an Indian travel writer and food writer, who contributes to assignments on travel, food, culture, and Indian cities. She has reported from across the world and writes narrative-driven features with a strong sense of place.
Key Expertise: India travel writer, freelance travel writer India, South Asia travel journalist, luxury travel India writer, food and travel writer India, Indian food writer, Bangalore travel writer, South India travel writing, cultural travel writer, narrative travel journalist, travel features India, heritage travel India, slow travel India, sustainability travel writer, hotel and destination features India, travel essays South Asia.