About My Halal Travels
Hi there, my name is Mustafa and I am a full time traveller A.K.A. digital nomad. I have been living out of my suitcase since 2018 working from my laptop.
As a Muslim traveller, it hasn't been easy but I have always found a way!
I built this blog with the intention of sharing my experiences with other people. Hopefully I can provide inspiration and guidance to anyone who loves travelling or wants to embark on a new adventure.
Who am I?
I’m Mustafa — a shy control freak turned introvert-extrovert. You know the type: I can show up at a party, meet loads of people, and genuinely pull it off. But secretly, I’m also dreaming about winding down later with vegan ice cream on the couch… preferably in the comfort of my own place (or, more realistically, an Airbnb).
I truly love meeting new people, discovering new destinations, and tasting my way through different cuisines. At the same time, I’m a big fan of slow travel — staying longer in each place, getting to know it beyond the highlights, and easing into the local pace of life.
This has been my lifestyle since 2017, when I flew to Vietnam on a one-way ticket with my entire life packed into a single suitcase. It was equal parts thrilling and terrifying — but it taught me so much about myself and the world.
Since then, I’ve built a career as a full-time blogger, which allows me to share my journey and experiences through My Halal Travels. You might also want to check out my first blog, Edible Ethics — a vegan food blog I started back when I was working as a chef in London (in my pre-nomadic life).
How do I travel full time?
At the beginning, it wasn’t easy — I started traveling without a steady income. I had been working as a vegan chef, so I decided to turn that experience into something location-independent by becoming a vegan food blogger and working as a freelance chef.
That plan ended up being more challenging than I expected, so I also tried teaching English online on the side. But honestly, it just wasn’t for me.
To create a more stable remote setup (and to level up my skills), I accepted a remote job in digital marketing, mainly to learn more about SEO.
Not long after, I went a bit off-track — in a good way — and ended up building my own vegan-focused digital marketing and web design agency, Atlas Web Co.. I worked on it for a few years, grew a remote team, and built a remote client base.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I kept working on my own blogs and poured everything I learned into them. By the end of 2022, I was finally able to focus on my blogs full time.
It’s genuinely a dream job — but it also takes a lot of hard work, consistency, and patience.
Where have I travelled to?
Travel has taken me to many amazing places around the world. Each destination has taught me something new.
Here is a list of the countries I have visited so far:
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Portugal