I’m the Cape Town local expert for Travel + Leisure. Browse my picks for best cafes, beaches, hotels, and more!
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Recent Work
I wrote about my first solo-travel experience in India earlier this year, along with tips on planning your own Mumbai trip, in Yahoo! Travel. Read it here.
I round up some of Cape Town’s hottest design destinations, from hotels to restaurants to markets, for the New York Post.
I wrote a guide to Johannesburg for Four Seasons Magazine — read it here.
The Indian city of Hyderabad, where my family hails from, is famous for its biryani — a dish I’ve struggled to love over the years. I went back to my grandmother’s kitchen to learn how to make it Saveur’s beautiful special issue dedicated to India.
I reported on some of the new action in Buenos Aires’s up-and-coming Villa Crespo neighborhood for the New York Times.
What happens when an ancient culinary tradition decides to go molecular? My review of Mumbai’s innovative Masala Library in the New York Times.
I have two stories in the May/June issue of Virtuoso Life: the first is a spotlight on Cape Town’s Central Business District (CBD), which has undergone quite a transformation in…
I found this awesome flower shop that doubles as an ultra-hip bar in Buenos Aires — read all about Floreria Atlantico in the New York Times.
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.