feature story – Tom Vater

Koh Phangan – Thailand’s Tropical Refuge Then & Now – out with Travelfish on October 1st

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020tomLeave a Comment

My long read, a lively history of Koh Phangan in Thailand, home of the infamous Full Moon Party and so much more, is out with Travelfish on October 1st. I interviewed numerous residents, both Thai and foreigners, providing eye witness accounts dating back to the 1940s, with great anecdotes and intriguing insights on island life.

Kampot Pepper in Geographical

February 1, 2012February 1, 2012tomLeave a Comment

Published in November’s issue of Geographical Magazine, magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, was Bangkok based photographer’s Luke Duggleby‘s feature on the reviving of Cambodia’s pepper industry after it was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge. I traveled to Kampot with Luke to write the story. One of Cambodia’s best known exports prior to the Khmer […]

Tom Vater´s Feature on Vann Molyvann exhibited at Phnom Penh Airport

June 15, 2011June 19, 2011tomLeave a Comment

A new exhibition about the architectural designs of Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann is showing at Phnom Penh’s International Airport and features a display of my feature portrait of Molyvann, published last year in the Asia Wall Street Journal. Vann Molyvann, born in Kampot province in 1926, was appointed by Norodom Sihanouk in the 1960s to […]

Tom Vater on Kep in the Asia Wall Street Journal – Now online at the Center for Thai & ASEAN News Study

February 24, 2011February 25, 2011tomLeave a Comment

My AWSJ feature story on Kep, a seaside resort on Cambodia´s southeastern coast, is now available online. In the 1950s and 1960s, Kep-sur-Mer was a popular beach getaway for Cambodia´s elite, who built villas and modest palaces along the beach front and sipped cocktails to the sounds of Khmer Rock’n’Roll. In the 1970s the small […]