Not sure where to eat in Cape Town? If you want someplace trendy, you’ll probably wind up on Bree Street. Read all about Cape Town’s hippest restaurant row in my second story for the February 2015 issue of WSJ magazine.
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Recent Work
I spent some time hitting the streets of Mumbai’s artsy Kala Ghoda district to report this neighborhood spotlight for WSJ Magazine’s February 2015 issue.
If you only read one article I’ve written, please let it be this one. My second feature in this weekend’s New York Times is on a subject very dear to my heart.
I was a guest contributor to the popular New York Times Frugal Traveler column, and for my first frugal outing, I hit the road from Cape Town along quirky Route 62.
The über-luxury private-jet magazine unveils a complete redesign this month, and I’m excited to be a part of the new issue with my feature on three itineraries from Cape Town….
In the January/February issue of Virtuoso Life, you’ll find a feature I wrote on the otherworldly terrain of Cappadocia, Turkey. Read it here.
I’m back on the New York Times 52 Places to Go list this year — while I didn’t manage to score the number one spot, the way I did last year with Cape Town, this year I had three picks: Durban, Oman, and Tanzania.
My writeup on Istanbul — which is in the midst of a major hotel boom — is on T+L’s list of 50 places to go in 2015. Read it here.
Wondering where to go this year? Check out my Travel + Leisure roundup of the coolest new attractions across the globe.
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.