tourism – Tom Vater

Siem Reap, reinventing the arteries of Angkor, in Nikkei Asia

August 31, 2022August 31, 2022tom

Cambodia’s once-thriving tourist town rises from the ashes of COVID-19. My latest story in Nikkei Asia. SIEM REAP, Cambodia — For nearly 20 years, the magnificent Angkor monuments in western Cambodia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, have been a magnet for millions of international travelers. As the tourists poured in, Siem Reap, the town closest […]

Pleasures of the Flesh – and the Mind, in The Economist Podcast

June 1, 2022June 24, 2022tom

A museum tells the history of one of Bangkok’s notorious districts – Patpong has hosted artists, spies, serial killers and sex workers. “There’s a lot more to Patpong than sex,” Michael Messner says. The district lies east of the Chao Phraya river in Thailand’s capital city; two parallel streets host night markets, bars, clubs and […]

Two decades on, ‘The Beach’ faces fresh problems, in Nikkei Asia

May 19, 2022May 20, 2022tom

My latest feature story in Nikkei Asia – on the troubled reopening of iconic Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi in southern Thailand, made famous by Leonardo Di Caprio in the movie The Beach & subsequently destroyed by uncontrolled mass tourism. “Oh, it’s so f—ing beautiful,” exclaims Etienne, one of the characters in the Hollywood […]

Ko Pha Ngan: Thailand’s tropical refuge, then and now – My long read at Travelfish

October 1, 2020October 1, 2020tomLeave a Comment

My latest reportage is a long read on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand, with eye witness accounts going back to the 1940s. I arrived on Koh Phangan on March 17th 2020 to update a German language guidebook on the Gulf islands. A few days after my arrival, the update was canceled, thanks to […]

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.

Conservation activists urge post-pandemic tourism reset in Thailand in The Nikkei Asian Review

August 8, 2020tomLeave a Comment

My latest article with Laure Siegel on conservation initiatives in the Gulf of Thailand is out in The Nikkei Asian Review. “There are kids in Thailand who cannot identify a coconut. And if people don’t learn to appreciate what their country has, they will only think about how to make money out of our natural […]

Thailand’s holiday hotspots have become dystopian ghost towns in The Daily Telegraph

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020tomLeave a Comment

The white sands of Bo Phut Beach on Koh Samui, a popular tourist island in the Gulf of Thailand that usually sees more than two million visitors a year, lie deserted. A couple of jet skis and kayaks bake in the sun, looking more like beached whales than sports equipment waiting for sunbathers. Following the […]

Guidebooks in the Age of Covid in the Nikkei Asian Review

July 1, 2020July 1, 2020tomLeave a Comment

I had just reached Don Sak pier, a coastal Thai ferry port for boats to the tourist islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, when I almost lost my mind. I was at the end of a 10-week, 80-destination travel stint for the British publisher Rough Guides, researching the Thailand chapter for the […]

Thai tropical paradise finds opportunity in adversity – in The Nikkei Asian Review

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020tomLeave a Comment

My latest story with Laure Siegel in the Nikkei Asian Review from our temporary lockdown sanctuary, Koh Phangan in Thailand. KOH PHANGAN, Thailand — In the late afternoon sun, a long line of sandals snakes down the beachfront road in Thong Sala, the main town on Koh Phangan, a tourist island in the Gulf of […]

A Year in the Life of a Destination Expert – The Daily Telegraph

January 24, 2020January 24, 2020tomLeave a Comment

There are more than 100 Telegraph Travel experts living in amazing destinations all over the world, from Argentina’s wild pampas to high-tech Tokyo. Our job? To experience everything we possibly can in our region, and share the very best. I did just that from Thailand. Bangkok is the world’s most visited city for the fifth […]