A forest saved? – Cambodia’s Phnom Tamao Protected Forest escapes logging but faces an uncertain future, in Eco-Business

A protected nature reserve was spared complete destruction when Cambodia’s prime minister stepped in after a public outcry. Replanting has begun to restore the forest – but with saplings that could be for a timber plantation. On 1 August, 2022, excavators began tearing down parts of the Phnom Tamao Protected Forest, an area of 2,300 hectares […]

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Interviewed on Travel Safety in Cambodia in The Daily Telegraph

My thoughts on travel safety in Cambodia in his Telegraph piece. Behind the paywall, unfortunately. Tom Vater, one of Telegraph’s south-east Asian experts who travels frequently in Cambodia, says the recent boom in investment in Sihanoukville from China has led to the arrival of violent gangs and a rising crime rate. “Since 2018, the Cambodian […]

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Laura Snook, high priestess of Cambodian punk rock and ace magazine editor – RIP

Laura Snook, Cambodia’s high priestess of punk, ace magazine editor, and a fantastic, sensitive and kind woman and all round Rocknroll lady. What a huge loss. I wrote the following text for her remembrance concert in Phnom Penh in March. Laura, I’d like to quote from a novel by John D MacDonald: I get the […]

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The Crime Fiction of Phnom Penh @ Crime Reads

Patrick French reports on Drifters, Conspirators, and Noir in Cambodia’s Capital City for Crime Reads and writes… “Hard-boiled and noir is pretty much the only option on the menu when it comes to Phnom Penh crime writing. Tom Vater, a Bangkok-based writer and publisher, wrote The Cambodian Book of the Dead (2013) which sees German […]

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