Wondering where to go this year? Check out my Travel + Leisure roundup of the coolest new attractions across the globe.
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Recent Work
Last month, New York magazine gave me a budget to take a few Uber rides around Cape Town to interview the drivers, as part of a feature on Uber around…
There’s a lot of cool stuff going on in the Cape Winelands these days — I reported on the latest out of the beguiling town of Franschhoek for Condé Nast Traveler.
The Guardian (UK) has a special site dedicated to South Africa, and they asked me to write two roundups for it: one on the country’s coolest cafes, and another on…
A look at hot new honeymoon destinations for C California Style’s C Weddings special issue.
Oil drilling in the Democratic Republic of Congo is threatening the region’s endangered mountain gorillas — I reported on the latest updates from the region for Travel + Leisure.
For Surface magazine’s February issue, I interviewed Johannesburg architect and property developer Arthur Blake, the mastermind behind the funky 27 Boxes retail complex — constructed entirely out of shipping containers….
My Cape Town shopping feature from CNT UK was syndicated in CNT Middle East’s Feb issue, with a whole new layout and look.
My latest New York Times story also marks a milestone for me: it’s my first feature on the cover of their travel section. I recount a seven-day, 1,500-mile road trip across Namibia with four of my friends through a series of lessons we learned along the way.
Awards & Books
Awards
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2021: Honorable mention for the Grand Award, Travel Journalist of the Year
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2021: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Zanzibar in the Rain,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2020: Bronze in Short Work on Travel for “Raise the Roof,” Condé Nast Traveler
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2019: Outstanding Arts, Culture, and Lifestyle Reporting about South Asia for “Force of Nature,” Surface magazine
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Gold award in US/Canada Travel for “A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2018: Bronze in Service-Oriented Consumer Work for “My Town,” Virtuoso Life
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2017: Gold in Culinary-Related Travel for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- South Asian Journalists Association, 2017: Outstanding Arts and Culture Reporting for “Eating Bunny Chow in Durban,” Saveur
- North American Travel Journalists Association Awards, 2016: Two Silver awards in Destination Travel and Adventure Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2016: Gold in Foreign Travel for “7 Days, 1500 Miles in Namibia,” New York Times
- Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, 2015: Gold in Personal Comment for “Returning to Hyderabad, Once a Land of Princes and Palaces,” New York Times
- Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing, 2013: Silver in Most Unforgettable Character for “Spitting Distance in Jodhpur,” Wall Street Journal
Books
- New York Times Cultured Traveler: Contributed a feature on Bosnia & Herzegovina to this upcoming anthology
- Best American Travel Writing 2021: “City of Saints” from Travel + Leisure was selected for the 2021 edition of this anthology, edited by Padma Lakshmi and Jason Wilson
- New York Times 36 Hours World: 150 Cities from Abu Dhabi to Zurich: Contributed 36 Hours guides to Johannesburg and Mumbai for this anthology
- My Life Abroad: A Selection of Expat Stories: Contributed to this compilation of expat stories from around the globe, recounting my experience as an American in South Africa, in the chapter “From New York City to Cape Town.”
- The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35: Contributed my essay “When Coconuts Attack” to this travel anthology.