tarang mohnot
traveller | writer | videographer | journalist
why i started traveling full-time.
At 17, I travelled solo for the first time—seven weeks living with a local family in a small Chinese town called 'Ningbo.' Not knowing what to expect, I found myself thrust into an entirely new world—one with different languages, customs, and traditions. But despite all the differences, my host family managed to make me feel at home from the very first day. I still remember my first meal in that home—tomato egg stir-fry and sticky rice. Delicious. However, cutlery in that kitchen was synonymous with chopsticks. So, I had to make the difficult choice between eating messily with chopsticks, digging in with my hands, or settling for the serving spoon. My hosts were beyond apologetic.
We spent the next twenty minutes laughing about the fact that I was eating with a serving spoon.
By the end of my stint in China, I knew that travel had to be an intrinsic part of my life. Everything else, would have to be built around this need.
what has kept me going.
It has always amazed me to think that there are so many people in the world and so many different ways of living. To travel means to get a sneak peek into these colorful lives—each strikingly different, yet beautiful in its own way.
Living in the Himalayas, I learned that you don't really need much to live. That what you have is probably enough. China introduced me to a completely different way of living—no Google, early dinners, and lots of meat! A year in Goa taught me to not take life so seriously all the time. Journeying across Vietnam showed me that coffee really is a way of life for many.
But no matter where I went, there was one constant—the kindness of strangers.
It's what has majorly kept me going.
visual snippets.
fresh from my adventures
(click images to enlarge)
why i write.
I write to shine a light on stories that deserve the spotlight. I write to draw attention to brands that deserve recognition. I write to give my messy, messy feelings some form. I write so that people feel less alone.
I write for the pure joy of creating.
(Also because I'm pretty good at it.)
why i shoot.
I started shooting on my travels simply so I could remember.
Today, I shoot for many different reasons. A camera in a remote village in India can bring the entire community together. It's about waking up early to experience a sunrise all by myself. It's the joy that stems from giving my loved ones visual glimpses of my intrepid life.
But most importantly, I shoot because it's a supremely powerful medium of documenting stories.
