Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
Continue ReadingMy 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 […]
Continue ReadingMy 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.
Continue ReadingMy 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 […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 […]
Continue ReadingI 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 […]
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