This was tough to report: how to choose the best Indian restaurants in the U.S.? I accepted the challenge for Travel + Leisure.
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Recent Work
The new (November 4) issue of New York magazine has a huge Winter Travel special that I’m happy to be a part of. The theme was second (or third, or…
When I realized Departures, the ultra-luxury magazine, was dedicating its annual single-topic October issue to Africa this year, I knew I had to be included. I’m excited to be a…
My very first story for the New York Times’ Travel section is a review of an innovative Johannesburg restaurant that features a black chef making sushi with an African accent.
You probably don’t expect to see a tent that resembles a spaceship in the African bush, right? Here are some high-design hotels in unlikely locales, in the Wall Street Journal.
I just received my copy of The Places We’ve Been: Field Reports from Travelers Under 35, a brand-new travel anthology featuring young(ish) writers — including yours truly! My humble essay…
For one of India’s top magazines, India Today Travel Plus, I wrote a big feature on the best shopping in NYC. Check it out here, and let me know if…
If you’re flying Emirates during the month of September, take a close look at the excellent in-flight magazine — I wrote a piece on a quirky new Cape Town shop…
In my latest piece for Fodor’s, I spotlight five great day trips from Cape Town — if you’re visiting for more than a few days, a mini road trip is…
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.