Burma – Page 2 – Tom Vater

Democracy in Southeast Asia – A Story Untold

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015tomLeave a Comment

I was recently commissioned by a Thai English language magazine to write a short satirical piece abut Democracy in SE Asia. After much back and forth, the publication decided not to go ahead with the article, apparently due to the current political climate in Thailand. In the West – by which I generally mean the […]

Hell in our Time – The Rohingya of Sittwe

June 3, 2015June 4, 2015tomLeave a Comment

Here’s an account of my visit to Sittwe, home of many Rohingya, in August 2012. This is not a particularly hands-on story, nor did it involve any courage on my part. Better reportages on the same subject have surfaced in the media in recent days. But as Sittwe is now sealed off and as no […]

Thailand: Murder in the Land of Smiles in The Diplomat

October 11, 2014October 12, 2014tomLeave a Comment

The country’s tourism sector is taking a hit following a high-profile murder case and a bungled police response. My report in last week’s The Diplomat.

Burmese Light Reviewed in The Advisor

March 9, 2014March 9, 2014tomLeave a Comment

Burmese Light. my collaboration with photographer Hans Kemp, gets a great review in The Advisor. Thanks, Wayne McCallum. “Burmese Light is the best photo-travelogue that I have read or browsed through in 2013 or nearly any year for that matter. Yes! It is simply that good.”

Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmese Light

February 17, 2014February 17, 2014tomLeave a Comment

Burmese politician and global human rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi with a copy of Burmese Light, flanked by the book’s two authors in Mandalay during the Irrawaddy Literary Festival. She kept flicking to the end papers and went, “Hm, nice….” That’s what I thought as well.

Burmese Light at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival

February 16, 2014February 16, 2014tomLeave a Comment

Photograph by Lah Worawan Simaroj.

The Irrawaddy Literary Festival – A Mirror to Burma’s Continuing Uncertainties

February 16, 2014tomLeave a Comment

I am at the second Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Mandalay, organized by Jane Heyn, the wife of the former British ambassador to Myanmar. This second festival is held in Mandalay and has been in preparation for almost a year. Top writers appearing this time around include Jung Chang, Louis de Bernieres, and Thant Myint U. […]

Crime Wave Press at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival

January 8, 2014January 8, 2014tomLeave a Comment

Very happy to travel to this year’s Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Mandalay, Burma from February 13th to 17th. Crime Wave Press will set off with a small delegation – author Jame DiBiasio, co-counder Hans Kemp and myself will be giving readings and participating in panel discussions. Looking forward to meeting lots of other authors, and […]

Burmese Light reviewed in Wildlife and Landscape Photography Magazine

October 7, 2013October 7, 2013tomLeave a Comment

Burmese Light, a new photo book by Hans Kemp to which I contributed the text, has recently been reviewed in Wildlife and Landscape Photography Magazine. Read another recent review of Burmese Light by Ron Gluckman for The Asia Wall Street Journal.

Burmese Light in The Wall Street Journal

August 30, 2013tomLeave a Comment

“For the armchair traveler, Mr. Kemp’s “Burmese Light” may be the most entertaining introduction to the country. Originally from the Netherlands, Mr. Kemp has lived in the region since the 1980s and is known for books from Vietnam and Cambodia. “‘Burmese Light’ is really about this moment in transition,” he explained before the book’s launch […]