Travel Stories
Scuba Diving Lakshadweep | Condenast Traveler US |
I don't want to write about this place. Few people know of it; fewer still visit. Perhaps that's the way it should be. In this rapidly shrinking world, there ought to be somewhere that remains remote, even obscure; set apart in space and time; offering the promise of mystery, the romance of discovery. Lakshadweep—the name comes out in a sigh.
For Gourmet magazine on Florida
Every year for the past 15 years I have been coming to Southwest Florida. I have family here. More important, at least for my kids, this is Disney country. Orlando and Busch Gardens beckon from [...]
For Gourmet magazine on yoga
SHOBA NARAYAN KEY NOTES: SHREYAS YOGA RETREAT, INDIA 09.10.07 Step through the gates of this lush retreat and you could be anywhere. Outside is the cacophony of India, inside, all you hear is the humming [...]
The Year in Travel for Gourmet magazine
Gourmet asked all its correspondents (including me) to fill up the following questionnaire, which they then posted on the site. SHOBA NARAYAN 2006: THE YEAR IN TRAVEL 12.28.06 What was your most memorable trip this [...]
A Delhi Food Tour: for Gourmet magazine
Delhi Journal PDF Links here SHOBA NARAYAN Delhi Journal: Part 1: Fried is Fine 06.18.07 I am not sure that I would eat the food in Chandni Chowk, but I know Americans who have [...]
For Forbes Life on Singapore
Singapore is an island-state full of contradictions. On the one hand it flaunts its prudishness: chewing gum is banned unless it is of ‘therapeutic’ value; pornography and homosexuality frowned upon; strict fines, caning and the [...]
Eat, Drink and Stay in Hong Kong: for Forbes Life
Few aircraft descents offer as spectacular a view as the one into Hong Kong. Sandwiched between sea and mountains, Hong Kong is in many ways an ‘in-between’ city juxtaposing its Colonial past with its Chinese [...]
Off Work: Bangalore. for Forbes Life magazine
Off Work: Bangalore Established as a British cantonment in the 18th century, the green city of Bangalore, India, is now famous for its late-night call centers, IT companies and BPO units. The gleaming brand names [...]
The Reds Are Coming: New Zealand wines: Time magazine
With 463 wineries producing 119 million liters annually, New Zealand wines have come a long way since the first Sauvignon Blanc was harvested in Marlborough a mere 30 years ago. Mild, fruity whites are what [...]
Latest Articles
Mint Lounge: Conservation story
Recently, conservationists in Bengaluru had a huge win. The State Board of Wildlife, headed by the Karnataka chief minister, approved a proposal to deem 5,010 acre of grasslands, about 25km outside the city, as the Greater Hesaraghatta Conservation Reserve (GHCR).
Hindustan Times: Breakfast in Bangalore
India has a masala dosa problem. This folded potato-filled fermented-rice flat circular piece of deliciousness has overtaken the world. The problem is that equally good variations of this form get lost in the focus on this one type of dosa.
Sommelier India: New York City wine
Say you are visiting a new city in the US and you want to taste and buy wine. What do you do? I experienced this recently when I visited New York.
Hindustan Times: Visiting Chefs
To be a good chef, you have to have knowledge, opinion and confidence. Few professions are as unforgiving as a chef’s chosen job. You get feedback instantly. If the dish isn’t good, it gets sent back to the kitchen.
For WisdomCircle: Fearless after 50
Recently, I have noticed a happy trend among women in the fifties. They are blossoming in ways that even they could not have predicted.
Hindustan Times: Dance in Bangalore
Bangalore is blessed with a multitude of classical dance forms relative to say, nearby Chennai where Bharatanatyam reigns supreme, or Hyderabad where Kuchipudi takes pride of place.
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.