Travel Stories
WSJ: Skydiving
Some skydive to confront their fears, some for the thrills, and some, like me, to bond with a sibling.
House Beautiful: Passage to India
What makes Kerala special for a child growing up in India?
House Beautiful: Immutable Madras
Why I love Madras, the land of my youth.
Financial Times Weekend: Singapore
How creative chefs are transforming Singapore's food scene
For Silverkris on Tamilnadu
What makes Tamilnadu a special and tropical melody?
Sleepless in Singapore | Condenast Traveler US |
Staid, chaste, strict, small—Singapore has heard it all. But this island-nation of 4.2 million people has one thing going for it (many things, actually, but we'll get to that later): Singapore is a sure fling. Having lived in Singapore for two years, I have returned wanting to revel in it as a tourist—to see it all and do it all within forty-eight hours.
Geisha Arts of Kyoto | Condenast Traveler US |
I have come to Japan to learn about allure. I’ve been married for seventeen years, and while my marriage isn’t falling apart, it is fraying at the edges. So I have come to Japan to learn about feminine allure from its acknowledged masters: the geisha. Geisha were created to pamper men—but they were also the freest women in old Japan.
Mumbai Scene | Condenast Traveler US |
I am going to Bombay to become a movie star. Why not? Every country in the world, if it is lucky, has a city that allows people to create such gauzy fantasies unfettered by the grim shackles of reality. They thrive and inspire, catalyze personal transformations and fuel creativity, not through wide-open spaces but through vibrant congestion.
For British Airways Magazine on Chennai
Why it is best to land in Chennai at dawn.
Latest Articles
Hindustan Times: Secret Bangalore
To write this, I asked a few old and new Bangaloreans for suggestions of where to go and what to do. Here below is a list of “Secret Bangalore” suggestions, in honour of India’s 75th Republic Day. They include chaats to masalas to juices. Thank you Sowmya Nandan, Naresh Narasimhan, Vishal Nagpal and Jay Bhow.
Hindustan Times: Self-care
How to help your diabetes. How to help with your body pains. How to figure out your posture and gait. I talk to three Bangalore experts on these topics. Small things you can do.
WisdomCircle: New Year Resolutions
We all need to change, adapt, and evolve in order to survive and thrive. I have been thinking a lot about this particularly in the context of New Year resolutions. Here then are 10 suggestions.
Hindustan Times: Buying happiness
This column got me thinking about happiness and whether it was possible to access it for cheap – specifically for under Rs.100. So here are some things that I have tried.
Hindustan Times: Best Pizza in Bangalore
The best pizza I have eaten in Bangalore is at my friend, Jay Bhow’s house. So when Jay, a VPN certified pizzaiolo, wondered if Bangalore was the artisanal pizza capital of India, we decided to go on a pizza crawl to find out.
WisdomCircle: Upskilling
Most couples retire without thinking about the fact that they may well be single soon either due to death or (these days) divorce. While death of a partner is an eventuality that most married couples face, “gray divorce” is becoming more prevalent these days, even in India.
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.