Travel Stories
Waterworld, Time magazine
Iguazu Falls, as Eleanor Roosevelt famously observed, "make the Niagara look like a kitchen faucet." This may be an exaggeration but not by much�after all, the Iguazu Falls are four times wider than Ontario's most [...]
Nothing Doing at Maia Spa and Resort, Seychelles for Time magazine
Maia, an ultra-luxurious resort in the Seychelles, may offer canoeing, fishing and snorkeling excursions, but our tip is to give them all a miss. This seven-month-old property is instead made for mooching on an opulent [...]
How to bargain | Condenast Traveler US |
The thought occurred as I eyed a stunning Persian carpet in a downtown Manhattan shop. The Mogul-inspired piece looked terrific but cost thousands more than I wanted to pay. The smile on the manager's face suggested that he was willing to bargain. But where to begin? Middle age brings with it the sobering realization that you can actually learn something from your mother.
Mekong, Cambodia & Laos | Condenast Traveler US |
Cambodia is like a lotus bud concealing an onion—serene on the surface but eliciting tears as you peel back the layers. The scale of the Angkor temples contrast with the photos of skulls in the Genocide Museum. The peace of a Buddhist monastery gives way to the raucous din of tuk–tuks. I am in Cambodia to meet a monk and to travel the Mekong.
Bangalore and Beyond | Condenast Traveler US |
Bangalore is home. I didn't always live here—until two years ago I lived in New York. But now this is the city where my kids go to school, where I hail auto rickshaws for bone-rattling yet perversely exciting rides to work and meetings, where I prowl pubs and malls in search of stories and sales, and where I go to Namdharis Fresh supermarket to buy organic grapes, too-hard bagels, and much-too-soft cream cheese in an attempt to replicate the Sunday morning brunches at my Upper West Side apartment.
Our Native Village: Hotel Review: Gourmet Magazine
Our Native Village 11.16.07 This 20-room rustic hideaway bills itself as India’s "only 100 percent eco-friendly back-to-basics lifestyle resort." In plain English, that means solar power, windmills, composting, bio-gas plant (no, it doesn’t smell), organic gardens, [...]
Latest Articles
Hindustan Times: Ganesha festival
Of course Mumbai is the city that is associated with Vinayaka, Ganesha, Ganapathy, call him what you will. But you may be surprised to find that Bangalore can provide spirited competition in the spectacle area.
WisdomCircle: Soul and Spirit
This column is about a simple fact: as you age, the ego becomes both stronger and more fragile. This plays out in ways that can both strengthen and sabotage because you are both secure and insecure.
Hindustan Times: Gay Bangalore
Recently, I was at the 14th edition of the Bengaluru Queer Film Festival (BQFF), a three-day community-funded event where 50 films were screened.
Hindustan Times: India Independence Day
It is that time of year again when all of us engage in a healthy dose of nostalgia, amnesia and hope about how India has changed since independence. Lists will come aplenty about things to be proud of and things to worry about.
WisdomCircle: how much money
When I was at the Columbia Journalism program in 1995, two professors invited a bunch of us students to their apartment for dinner. After a few drinks, one students asked— what’s the number? How much do you need to live like this?
Hindustan Times: Theatre in Bengaluru
Karnataka, like every other Indian state also has a robust night life beyond the pubs nightclubs which includes theatre, music performances, and processions, all of which are linked to religious institutions.
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.