Tom Vater

Southeast Asia

Correspondent, Writer, and Editor at Freelance

Asia based writer of crime fiction/non fiction & writing for @NikkeiAsia, @Telegraph, @TheEconomist etc. New true crime thriller SHARKMAN. https://t.co/7ps6bgE0yp

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Articles

Fighting for life in Thailand's 'Democratic Jungle'

3 weeks ago | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

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Thai resorts ride on the White Lotus effect

Mar 12, 2025 | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

KOH SAMUI, Thailand -- "The White Lotus" will put Thailand, and particularly Koh Samui, back on the map," says Jasjit Assi, general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, a hotel in the Thai island resort that served as the main location for the third season of the hugely successful TV series, launched in February.
Books: 'Bangkok Modern' tells the story of a 20th-century city

Feb 12, 2025 | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

BANGKOK -- Most first-time visitors to Bangkok find Thailand's capital an overwhelming, chaotic and yet exuberant experience. Nearly 6 million people hustle along concrete canyons and tepid canals, paying their respects to Buddha in countless glittering temples and passing century-old palaces on the way to work, school and home.
À la découverte de la mythique vallée de Katmandou

Jan 25, 2025 | courrierinternational.com | Tom Vater

Jusqu’aux années 1950, la vallée de Katmandou, la capitale du Népal, était un lieu dont beaucoup avaient entendu parler mais que peu avaient vu. Cette image mystérieuse a radicalement changé au fil des ans, mais nombre d’aspects de la culture traditionnelle népalaise demeurent. La vallée compte toujours d’innombrables temples et palais et plusieurs sites inscrits au Patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco.
The best bars and nightlife in Bangkok

Jan 6, 2025 | msn.com | Tom Vater

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Shooting from the Hip

Nov 6, 2024 | remotelands.com | Tom Vater |Travelogues Storyteller

I got somewhat close to a lofty ambition of being a movie villain when Thapphawut Parinyapariwat, also known as Sun, the owner of Bangkok’s Red Light Lab & Studio, photographed me with his wet-plate vintage camera. Since the beginning of the year, Sun has been taking portraits of guests of The Siam Hotel Bangkok, a family-run property that ranks as one of the most unique stays in Thailand’s capital.
Paradox of Laos shows how the past can haunt a place

Oct 22, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

"When I drove through Laos nine years ago, the villages were very dark. People were watching me from the shadows. Now it's brighter and it's possible to talk about the secret war. But it's still not safe," says Thai photographer Vinai Dithajohn, who traveled earlier this year to remote parts of the small and often neglected country.
'Cool factor' boosts Bangkok's vegan dining scene

Oct 5, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

BANGKOK -- "I come from a family of animal rights activists and we thought, 'Something is not right about the way we eat.' So we opened our first Veganerie restaurant a decade ago," says Sittileun Tortianchai, co-owner of a vegan chain that has seven outlets in Bangkok. For some, this may come as a surprise. Thailand is world famous for its cheap and delicious animal-based street food.
Photographer documents disappearing face tattoos of Myanmar's Chin women

Apr 19, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Tom Vater

BANGKOK --- The woman's eyes are closed. She looks content, perhaps there is a hint of a smile playing around her lips. There is a blue circle with a cross in its center on her forehead from which strong dark lines emanate across her entire face, including her eyelids, like a rising sun. This is a strong face, a face filled with identity, pride and beauty. She is Chin, an ethnic minority living in northwestern Myanmar, and she is one of the last women of her culture to have her face tattooed.
Sharkman: A True Story|eBook

Mar 24, 2024 | barnesandnoble.com | Tom Vater

In 1992, mechanic Peter Hauser and two friends bought three old cars and set off from southern Germany to cross the Sahara and drive to Togo, where they planned to sell their vehicles. They never reached their destination. The young, free-wheeling adventurers were ambushed by Tuareg bandits on the Algeria-Mali border, kidnapped and disappeared into the vast nothingness of the desert.