Aroon Thaewchatturat

Chin face tattoos at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents Club

March 27, 2024April 6, 2024tom

Fantastic evening at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents Club with Jens Uwe Parkitny who has been photographing the facial tattoos of Chin women in Myanmar for the past 15 years. I added some context on the universality of face tattoos and on the western taboo on tattooed faces.My story on indigenous face tattoos, with Jens Uwe’s images […]

4th edition of Inseltrip Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao out now!

November 16, 2023November 16, 2023tom

The 4th, brand new edition of my bestselling German language guide to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand – Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao is out now! If you have sun & beach at the top of your list, you should love Ko Samui. Because the island offers everything for the perfect […]

InselTrip Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, Ko Tao, brand new 4th edition, out now!

November 12, 2023November 12, 2023tom

The latest, 4th edition, the first since COVID, of my German language guide to the islands in the gulf of Thailand – Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, is out now. If you have sun & beach at the top of your list, you should love Ko Samui. Because the island offers everything for […]

My second skin, made in Thailand, in Nikkei Asia

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023tom

My latest story in Nikkei Asia was really fun to write and to live… a month or so ago, the Thailand Tattoo Expo took place for the 5th time, a great opportunity to reflect on my own relationship with tattoos…. I first got inked in a dingy tattoo parlor near the Cowley car works in […]

Interview on Sak Yant & Sacred Skin, in Der Tagesspiegel (German)

February 11, 2022May 20, 2022tom

DPA correspondent Carola Frentzen interviewed Ajarn Neng On Nut and myself for her feature on Sak Yant, Thailand’s spirit tattoos, out in Der Tagesspiegel. Read the full story here. Buy the first English language book on sak yant, beautifully photographed by Aroon Thaewchatturat, the best-selling Sacred Skin here. Check out the new Sacred Skin website.

Documenting music for The British Library – The musical pillars of a medieval Indian temple

November 30, 2021tom

In the 1990s and 2000s, I recorded & documented disappearing musical traditions from South and Southeast Asia for The British Library. British Library Audio Project Cataloguer Jim Hickson has written a wonderful article about one of my recordings from India – music performed not only in a temple, but also on a temple. The Shri […]

Sacred Skin – Second edition, 8 years in print

September 20, 2019September 20, 2019tomLeave a Comment

Sacred Skin -Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos by Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat, published by Hong Kong imprint Visionary World, was first published 8 years ago. The highly acclaimed best-selling title, currently in its second edition, garnered more than thirty reviews, including a three page spread in TIME Magazine. Sacred tattoos, called ‘sak yant’ in Thailand, have […]

3rd Edition of the Moon Guide to Angkor Wat is out October 2nd

August 13, 2018tomLeave a Comment

The third edition of my guide to the Angkor temples, published by Moon in the US, is out October 2nd. Lots of changes around the Cambodian temples and in Siem Reap which is growing at an extraordinary pace. And lots of new hotels, eateries and other attractions in the new edition. Trip of a lifetime! […]

Wat Bang Phra – Thailand’s Tattoo Temple Revisited

July 5, 2018July 5, 2018tomLeave a Comment

Back in March, I guided a group of visitors to Thailand to the annual Wai Khru (Respect your teacher) at Wat Bang Phra temple, an hour west of Bangkok, the largest event celebrating all things sak yant, Thailand’s spirit tattoos, in the country. Great group, wonderful day. Thanks to Where Sidewalks End and Ian Ord. […]

The Tom Vater Collection at the British Library to be digitally preserved

May 14, 2018May 15, 2018tomLeave a Comment

This recording is part of the Tom Vater Collection (C799) at the British Library. A longer extract has been published on The Moken: sea gypsies of the Andaman Sea (Topic Records TSCD919, 2001). The full collection also includes recordings from India, Laos and Cambodia. It will be digitally preserved as part of the Unlocking our […]