Charu Suri Charu Suri started traveling at the age of three. She’s lived on four continents, including Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America, and she has climbed mountains, snorkeled, and zip-lined all over the world. Charu is the first Indian-born jazz composer to perform at Carnegie Hall. As a journalist, her work has been featured in The New York Times, HuffPost, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, The Independent, Travel + Leisure, and The Wall Street Journal. Charu has won several gold medals from the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA), and also a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist Award for a collaborative story for The New York Times. Her composed jazz music has been performed by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and she is a voting member of the Recording Academy for the Grammy Awards. Charu lives in New Jersey and often travels with her daughter Erika in tow.• 15+ years of experience as a travel writer• Won several gold medals from the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA), and also a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist Award• Graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in classics About Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure, a Dotdash Meredith Brand, is a top travel media brand with a mission to inform and inspire passionate travelers. Our expert team includes a network of hundreds of writers and photographers across the globe, all providing a local eye on the best places to stay, eat, and explore. We reach an audience that takes 76 million round trips annually, offering valuable travel tips, ideas and inspiration, and products you need to get you to your destination — whether it’s a small town or big city, beach or lake, national park or theme park, road trip, cruise, or long-haul flight, and everything in between. Learn more about us and our editorial process