Joe Cummings – Tom Vater

Will cleaning up Thailand’s most famous party street improve it, or kill its soul? – in The Daily Telegraph

July 29, 2019July 29, 2019tomLeave a Comment

Leonardo Di Caprio has been here. As have countless young backpackers from the West. Over the past forty years, Khao San Road, once a quiet residential street on the fringes of Bangkok’s historic centre, has morphed into the world’s best-known backpacker hub. Loud, inexpensive, garish and in your face, the 400 meter long strip has […]

Bangkok Poets

July 27, 2012July 27, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Photographer Kraig Lieb, writer Joe Cummings and yours truly at last week’s Bangkok Poetry event at WTF (whatthefuck) Bar in Thong Lor. The unusual suspects were captured by Aroon Thaewchatturat.

Sacred Skin reviewed in Thailand’s bestselling Dichan Magazine

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Sacred Skin, the first English language book on Thailand’s sacred tattoos, photographed by Aroon Thaewchatturat and written by me, has been reviewed by journalist Syno Nym in this week’s issue of Dichan, one of Thailand’s longest running and bestselling magazines. The two page review also covers Sacred Tattoos of Thailand by Joe Cummings and Dan […]

Word Play 2: Bangkok’s Literary Festival Is Back!

March 19, 2012March 19, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Word Play, the second Bangkok Literary Festival takes place next Sunday, the 25th of March at the Neilson Hays Library on Surawong Road. Last year, I gave a talk on freelance writing and my career in the digital age. Writers giving talks include Philip Cornwel-Smith, Luke Cassady-Dorion, David Young, Dean Barrett and Joe Cummings. The […]

Ron Gluckman’s full review of Sacred Skin

December 3, 2011December 4, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Roving Asia expert Ron Gluckman recently reviewed my book Sacred Skin for the Wall Street Journal. His review was shortened for the Journal publication but has now turned up in its full length glory on Ron Gluckman’s website. The review also covers another soon to be published book on the same subject, by Bangkok journalists […]

Sacred Skin reviewed in The Wall Street Journal!

November 11, 2011November 11, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Veteran roving Asia reporter Ron Gluckman wrote a great review of my new book Sacred Skin, the first English language book on Thailand’s spirit tattoos, in the Wall Street Journal, in tandem with a look at another soon to be published title on the same subject by Joe Cummings and Dan White.

Sacred Skin reviewed in the Southeast Asia Globe!

July 27, 2011July 28, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Looks like Thailand’s spirit tattoos are taking the world by storm. My new book on Sak Yant, Sacred Skin, with images by Aroon Thaewchatturat, has been featured alongside another upcoming title on the same subject, Sacred Tattoos of Thailand, by Joe Cummings (with images by Dan White), in the July issue of the Southeast Asia […]

From Backpacker-Ghetto to Global Shopping Mall – Joe Cummings on Bangkok’s Khao San Road, in The South China Morning Post

January 15, 2004May 31, 2022tomLeave a Comment

Khao San Road, one of the world’s greatest and most fascinating tourist ghettos, is coming of age. Last week the first MacDonald’s outlet opened inside one of the guesthouse complexes on the strip. Legendary hippy hangout, subject of a Hollywood blockbuster and barely more than 300 metres long, the Khao San Road offers a stop-over […]