Travel Stories
Travelling with Parents Part 1: Eating butter chicken at 32,000 feet
When I decided to take my parents on a holiday last month, I didn’t know where we would go, what we would do, or how I would handle their fragile health. But I knew one thing: my folks were going to fly business class.
For India Today on Iceland
How a Chennai girl ended up in Iceland.
The Craziness of Vacation planning: HT Brunch
Want peace and harmony within the family? Check out the Abilene Paradox
The Pleasures of Palakkad: buying a lottery ticket
From the thrill of a lottery ticket to the wonder of herbal kashayams
Iceland Luxury Hotels: Robb Report
I wrote about Iceland for the January 2018 Travel issue of the Robb Report.
Vivanta by Taj, Bangalore: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This luxury hotel has spacious soothing rooms, a Jiva spa offering excellent treatments, pool, fitness centre, Indian and Italian restaurants, all held together by the intuitive service that the Taj hotels are known for.
Sandhotel, Reykjavik: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
Sandhotel is situated in the heart of Reykjavik's hip shopping street, Laugavegur, and is bordered by Iceland's oldest gentleman's tailor and a cult bakery. Warm staff and thoughtful touches including a mobile phone, and chic comfortable rooms with locally sourced organic toiletries, make it a great place to stay.
Marriott Whitefield: Hotel Review: The Telegraph UK
This sprawling hotel in the midst of the evolving business district of Whitefield – a busy and buzzing district on the outskirts of Bangalore – has 321 rooms, unintrusive service, great restaurants, and an amazing spa.
For Qantas magazine on Mumbai Cricket
About stadiums, fans and ethos of cricket in Mumbai.
Latest Articles
The cult that conquers: Hindustan Times
It is December in Bangalore. Finally, the bean that Bangaloreans wait for, and celebrate with a josh that is akin to how Delhiites celebrate the musk melon or how the whole country celebrates the mango during the summer.
Poem: Silence: in the DMQ Review
This poem was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I am pinching myself. I had submitted it to the DMQ Review, which published it and later nominated it. Details in the post.
Annual Street Fairs: Hindustan Times
This is what I love about living in Bangalore. Amidst this tech-driven startup-city lies an agrarian festival that has somehow survived and thrived.
St. Mary’s Feast: Hindustan Times
I stand amidst the devout at St. Mary’s Basilica in Shivaji Nagar. We are gathered here to celebrate Mother Mary’s birthday.
Karnataka Rajyotsava: for Hindustan Times
Underneath the pomp of the Karnataka Rajyotsava lies a frustrating truth, and this is something every Bangalorean knows.
India Currents | Los Angeles
For the last two years, I have been visiting Los Angeles a few times a year. Here, then, is a guide to experiencing Los Angeles beyond its cliches.
Nine features I wrote for Condenast Traveler (US edition) a while back
Interviews with His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Follow my Youtube channel below
Follow my Instagram channel below
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.