About
WELCOME to The Adventures in Colour of Momtaz Begum-Hossain
“As the child of working-class immigrants I never went on holiday. No vacations, summer camps or gap year. Travel was something other people did
I’m Momtaz. If you’re passionate about Colour, Crafts and Travel then you’re in the right place. I write about crafts, fashion, art & design and colour inspired by my travels and personal experiences.
Breaking the mould – why I travel
Travel does not come naturally to me. As the child of working-class immigrants I never went on holiday. No vacations, summer camps or gap year. Travel was something other people did…
Growing up my parents covered our walls in photos of incredible locations – mountain regions, luscious lakes and natural phenomena, things they dreamt of seeing, but never did. They both passed away while I was in my 20s.
I deferred university to look after my mum when she became unwell then left full-time employment to spend more time with my dad after he was diagnosed with cancer.
This experience of watching them both suffer from health problems and experience financial difficulties was hard. At first I fell into an episode of depression which I thankfully got treated and I emerged with a a new energy and passion for life. I decided to go out, see and experience the things they never did.
My journey begins
With zero travel experience I didn’t know where to start. When I began university I had only been on a plane twice and both were family visits to see relatives in Bangladesh, trips my parents spent years saving up for.
I was drawn to studying a Geography degree as it involved international travel and as I was one of the ‘poor students’ the trips were heavily subsidised.
My main field work was in LA and Las Vegas, and that project was the only First I was ever awarded – I clearly had a knack for travel writing : )
During that trip I didn’t want to go home so I extended my stay and went to Mexico – that was my first solo travel and I haven’t looked back, in fact I’ve re-visited Mexico five more times.
As of May 2024 I’ve visited 60 countries and I feel at ease travelling by myself though I sometimes travel with friends or on group excursions. I’ve even published a travelogue about my solo travels in India, available to read on Kindle. My 60th country was Pakistan, also my first long-haul flight since the COVID-19 pandemic and the five year wait was worth it!
From learning how to do indigenous embroidery techniques in Mexico to visiting some of the most creative museums in the world I’m creating my own narrative of what it means to travel as a Bangladeshi woman.
MY BLOGGING VALUES
First and foremost these are my words. No AI, no hired help. My blog is my diary, a place to tell my stories. You won’t find conventional travel guides, mine are more personal and sound less like they’re Wikipedia. In some ways by taking this approach I’m limiting the views my pages organically get through SEO but I’ve weighed this up many times and like every other aspect in my life I want to be true to myself so I focus on telling stories that you can’t read anywhere else.
As a traveller I also have specific travel values: I believe that by exploring and learning about traditional handicrafts we can better connect with local people, develop a better understanding of their culture which in turn leads to a more sustainable form of tourism, one where we support local people, shop locally, get guided by locals and in return have a much more authentic travel experience and that’s the most important part of travel for me, to know that I have been respectful to the places I have visited.
Why I started my blog CraftandTravel.com
I started Craft and Travel to showcase traditional and contemporary crafts from around the world, it replaced my previous craft & lifestyle blog that I wrote for 10 years called Cos I Like Making Stuff. When I go travelling I’m most drawn to meeting local people by learning about local traditional arts and crafts so when I chose my blog niche that was the natural fit.
I always have my radar switched on for handicrafts: it’s the aspect that most draws me to a destination as well as colourful local fashion, good design and art.
Just call me a Rainbow Hunter
Most of what I see, spot and want to share involves colour so that’s why my blog is so colour focussed, there are some serious rainbow-vibes and they’re not just down to my ever-evolving hair shades : )
I live in London, UK, so you’ll also find local content too because when I’m not abroad I love discovering my city by visiting the latest exhibitions and colourful spots.
Get in touch
I hope Craft and Travel will help you to make your globe-trotting plans as colourful as they can be.
If you have any questions and comments or you’d like to work on a collaboration or commission, please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.
Momtaz Begum-Hossain
Email: momtazbh@hotmail.com or editor@craftandtravel.com
Follow me on social media:
Instagram: @momtazbh
Twitter: @momtazbh
About Me
I currently work as a Freelance Writer and Content Creator specialising in Travel, Style and Crafts (all colourful!) and am the author of the book Hello Rainbow Finding Happiness in Colour.
I’ve spent over 15 years as a Journalist including being Editor of the UK’s oldest crafts magazine Popular Crafts and have written for a number of leading publications including The Guardian, the i paper, Prima, Mollie Makes, Project Calm, Actual Size, Asiana and BBC Magazines.
In addition to my colour book Hello Rainbow I’ve had two craft books published and a travelogue, and have over 10 years professional experience travel writing, specialising in the luxury, honeymoon market. In 2019 was awarded ‘Fashion Journalist of the Year’ at the British Bangladesh Fashion & Lifestyle Awards.
In 2022 I trained to be a Walking Tour guide with Open House London and am one of their Golden Key Academy trainees specialising in the Royal Docks area of East London. I also host a podcast.
You can find out more about me on my website:
www.momtazbh.co.uk
I’m always on the look out for my next Adventures in Colour…
COUNTRIES I’VE VISITED SO FAR (60):
- Albania
- Algeria
- Austria
- Bali (Indonesia)
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- China
- Costa Rica
- Cyprus
- Cuba
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- El Salvador
- Egypt
- France
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece (incl mainland, Corfu and Mykonos islands)
- Guatemala
- Hawaii
- Holland
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- India
- Israel
- Ireland
- Italy (incl mainland and Sardinia)
- Jordan
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia (and Malaysian Borneo)
- Maldives
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mexico
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Portugal (including mainland and Madeira)
- Romania
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Scotland
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
- USA
- Wales
MY BUCKETLIST DESTINATIONS …where I really, really want to go!
- Being of South Asian descent, I am keen to visit every country in South Asia to fully experience my ancestral homelands
- Poland – (a third trip to finally see the colourful hand-painted village of Zalipe)
- Central Asian/Silk Route (for the crafts and architecture)
- South Korea (the nature, general culture and style)
- Japan (to visit all the colourful kitsch places, Cat Island and go shopping)
- Taiwan (I’ve heard about a rainbow village I really want to go to)
- Vietnam (very interested in the crafts and fashion and I love Vietnamese food)
- Peru (to learn about their incredible handmade crafts, see their epic landscapes and experience the culture)
- New York – such an iconic city but I’ve not yet had a chance to go!
- A Caribbean Cruise – I haven’t been to the Caribbean but I am a water baby and seek watery destinations so a cruise seems like a perfect way to island hop.
- South India and Kerala backwaters – I did a soundbath experience where all I could visualise was Kerala, it’s calling me and I also adore South Indian food and movies
A flavour of my Adventures in Colour, you’ll find more on my Instagram
Golden Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
Carpet Village, Bodrum, Turkey
Chichicastanengo Craft Market, Guatemala
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
During the Covid pandemic 2020-2021 I paused this blog in order to focus on writing my book Hello Rainbow. I ‘re-launched’ it September 2022.