Irreverent, informed and downright eclectic books and reportage from Southeast Asia and beyond
I have just come to the end of an extended stay in India. I have been living in an old crumbling palace, the infamous and incredible Z Hotel in Puri, Orissa, facing the Bay of Bengal, hanging with my co-conspirator Aroon Thaewchatturat.
Puri, once a hippy haven for Japanese drop-outs, is now an all but forgotten [...]
The 13th century Konark Sun Temple in Orissa is one of the most spectacular buildings in India and features a vast array of erotic sandstone carvings. View more images on my flickr page.
In July and August 2009, Tom Vater and photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat travelled overland from Kolkata to Orissa, where they witnessed the magnificent Rath Yatra car festival in Puri, along with one million pilgrims.
They continued through Andhra Pradesh to Chennai and Mahabalipuram, town of shore temples and hustlers (the latter destination is sadly well past its sell-by date, yet [...]
The Andhra fishermen of Puri on India’s east coast are fighting for cultural, financial and spiritual survival.
First light on Puri Beach. Pentacotta fishing village, which grows like a misshapen appendix from the resort’s northern beach front, is coming to life. More than 10.000 people from Andhra Pradesh live in small [...]