Christabel Lobo is an Abu Dhabi-based writer, guidebook author and illustrator whose work explores travel, memory, and culture.

She creates illustrations—mostly through gouache, patterns, and texture—rooted in everyday rituals, from desert landscapes and popular snacks to folk‑floral patterns and architectural facades.

Drawing on two decades of fieldwork for feature publications and travel guidebooks, her art is an invitation to pause and see the familiar as inherited landscape.

IG.TW.BE.

About Christabel

Christabel Lobo is an Abu Dhabi-based freelance journalist,  guidebook author, and illustrator whose work appears in TIME, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, OpenTable, INSIDER, Southern Living, Taste of Home, and more.

 

With more than a decade of storytelling experience, her work explores the intersection of food, culture and community. 

 

As co-author of several guidebooks including the latest editions of Lonely Planetʻs Dubai & Abu Dhabi, India & South India, and Fodor’s Essential India, Christabel specializes in uncovering culinary narratives and cultural connections. 

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

Books & Guides
  • Lonely Planet Dubai & Abu Dhabi (2024) – Co-author
    Lead writer for cultural heritage and food sections
  • Lonely Planet India (2024) – Co-author
  • Lonely Planet South India (2024) – Co-author
    • Lead writer for piece on South India’s performing arts scene
  • Fodor’s Essential India (2019) – Contributing author
    Specialist coverage of cultural institutions and traditional cuisine in the south Indian state of Kerala
 

CULTURAL WRITING

UAE & Gulf Region Focus:
  • “The Canvas of a Nation” (Lonely Planet, 2024)
    Documentation of UAE’s emerging cultural institutions
  • “Pearls, Petrol and Progress” (Lonely Planet, 2024)
    Historical narrative of UAE’s cultural evolution
  • “Street Food and the City” (Lonely Planet, 2024)
    Exploration of urban food culture in the Emirates
  • “Emirati Food Scene” (UPROXX, 2020)
    Investigation of traditional and contemporary food culture

 

Global Cultural Coverage:

  • “Life Without a Mind’s Eye” (Brainwise, 2023)
    Research-based narrative exploring aphantasia
  • “India’s Coffee Growing Tradition” (Nikkei Asian Review, 2020)
    Documentation of agricultural heritage in south India
  • “Modernity in a Sea of Green” (National Geographic Traveller, 2019)
    Review and personal narrative of contemporary cultural space in the United States
 
See Writing Portfolio