Boarding Pass: How Australian Author Neha Kale Travels

Writer Neha Kale was born in Mumbai, grew up in Perth and now lives in Sydney. She has spent stretches in Melbourne and London, and her travel itinerary takes her interstate four or five times a year, with an annual international trip to cap things off.

Her first book, Foreign Return: On Art and Inhabitation, is part memoir, part art criticism, part travelogue. It challenges traditional migrant narratives, with chapters set in Mumbai, New York and Mexico City.

“I often write about overlooked narratives and the way history and power shape individual experience,” she writes in her monthly newsletter, Portals, which examines the space between art and life. Foreign Return “searches for a new language of home in a world in which the old stories of belonging no longer apply”.

“The book is very interested in the relationship between cities, places and art,” she says. “It really speaks to ideas of movement and mobility.”

It’s apt subject matter for an award-winning journalist, columnist, essayist, editor and critic who has been writing about art, culture and society for more than 15 years. Her byline has appeared in myriad local and international publications, from literary journals to newspapers to fine art magazines.

In this instalment of Boarding Pass, Kale transports us to the streets of Mumbai, white-sand beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula, and the compact jazz bars of Tokyo.

DESTINATIONS

Favourite hotel?

On a trip with friends some years ago, I checked in early into the Alila Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, designed by the Shanghai architects Neri & Hu. I still think about the concrete surfaces, the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking jungle and skyscrapers and temples, the infinity pool that seems to float midair and often dream about being back there.

Your favourite beach in the world?

Having spent my life near the Indian Ocean, or the Pacific, nothing prepared me for Tulum Beach in Mexico. The atmosphere of that place is electric: the soft, white sand, the Mayan ruins, the deep-turquoise Caribbean that calibrates itself to the temperature of your own body, as if by magic.

City with the best nightlife?

I love Tokyo for its shoebox jazz bars, and its endless capacity for watching people, whether it is a salaryman sipping highballs, or eccentric proprietors that refuse a tip. The great cities of the world make you feel like you could enter a thousand realities, and to me nowhere like Tokyo replicates this feeling.

The place you go to find serenity?

I’m a new convert to Ubud in Bali, the lush rainforest and the sense of adornment that infuses every aspect of life. I get depressed sometimes by how Western cities can lack regard for ritual. Ubud – its flickering shrines, the frangipani offerings that appear each morning on the ground – feels like a salve.

Best store you’ve discovered while travelling?

Two years ago, after a friend’s wedding, I lost myself in the aisles of Apollo Books, a second-hand bookshop in Mahabalipuram, in Tamil Nadu; a second-hand bookshop home to old and rare titles, next to the sea. There I bought a lavishly art-directed book of heirloom recipes that I’m still cooking my way through, transporting me to that moment every time.

Favourite museum or art gallery in the world?

When I visit New York City’s The Whitney – home to a sculpture terrace with vistas over the Meatpacking District – I always leave seeing something I love. Writing Foreign Return, I spent time with the photographs of Tseng Kwong Chi and paintings of Salman Toor and am still thinking about those encounters.

Where are you going to next?

Unoriginally or otherwise, I’ve been fantasising about Athens, or Hydra off the coast of Greece. Something about the combination of stark, natural beauty and the presence of mythology feels important for me. I’m in a busy work period and can’t think of anything I’d like to do more than read at a taverna and nap in the sun, preferably with taramasalata and ouzo on the side.

FOOD AND DRINK

What’s a neighbourhood gem you discovered while travelling?

These days Mumbai, where I was born, can feel at times like a flashy world city. But last time I was there, I fell in love with the city’s century-old Persian cafes. In the Fort neighbourhood, I recommend Yazdani, a tiny bakery with a peeling, aqua facade that dispenses the city’s best mawa cakes – traditional Parsi tea cakes – fresh from the oven.

What restaurant, bar or cafe would you get on a plane for?

Levadura de Olla in Oaxaca City, a restaurant both elegant and earthy run by the chef Thalía Barrios Garcia, was awarded a Michelin star. It’s known for a salad: three types of native heirloom tomatoes grown in Oaxaca, sprinkled with wild herbs. It is simple yet exquisite. Follow up, always, with a mezcal.

PACKING

What are your carry-on essentials?

Noise-cancelling headphones, an eye mask so I can sleep on cue and a soft shawl or pashmina to double as a blanket to weather the icy in-flight air-conditioning.

Chaos or calm? Checked or carry-on? What’s your packing strategy?

I used to be a chaotic flyer, but over the years I feel better if I’m prepared. I like to pack the night before – rolling all my clothes to save room – and prefer to travel with carry-on if I can. I love the feeling of arriving in a new place, liberated from all my possessions.

The beauty and skincare products you can’t travel without?

I like the Very Lightweight Moisturiser from Go-To skincare, which seems to hydrate my skin instantly. Long flights can take a toll on the nerves and body, and carrying a travel sized perfume – Replica by Maison Margiela – makes me feel more like myself when I’m disoriented.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Best in-flight survival tip?

I fly best with a routine. For me, this means putting on a movie and then trying to sleep as soon as the overhead lights switch off and, with any luck, I arrive at the destination rested.

Best jet lag hack?

I try to match my body clock with the time zone as soon as I can. If I arrive during the day, this means resisting the urge to stay in and walking the streets of the city to attune myself to the local rhythms.

The apps that make life easier while you’re travelling?

Insight Timer, Apple Music, Google Maps, Notes.

Foreign Return: On Art and Inhabitation is out September 1 with Newsouth, pre-order here or wherever you buy your books. The book launches in Sydney on September 10 and in Melbourne on September 17 at Soundworks Music Studios, hosted by Brunswick Bound.

nehakale.com

Boarding Pass is a new Broadsheet series where we speak to tastemakers and travel pros about how, where and why they travel. Last time, we spoke with Australian artist and Bulgari collaborator Anouk Colantoni.