Eclectic crime fiction & informed, irreverent non-fiction from Asia & beyond
The 18th edition of my bestselling Thailand Handbuch is out now with Reise Know How, more than a 1000 pages packed with information on travel in Thailand. Co-authored, researched and updated with Rainer Krack. Content: Thailand ist seit Jahrzehnten eines der beliebtesten Reiseziele Asiens. Trotz Naturkatastrophen und politisch unruhigen Zeiten konnte das Land fast ständig […]
Continue ReadingI am interviewed by veteran correspondent Richard Ehrlich in his thorough exhumation of all things Patpong and the the opening of the Patpong Museum, which recounts the history of what is perhaps the world’ most notorious red light district in downtown Bangkok and its historical connection to the Vietnam War, in this thorough exhumation of […]
Continue ReadingMy thoughts on travel safety in Cambodia in his Telegraph piece. Behind the paywall, unfortunately. Tom Vater, one of Telegraph’s south-east Asian experts who travels frequently in Cambodia, says the recent boom in investment in Sihanoukville from China has led to the arrival of violent gangs and a rising crime rate. “Since 2018, the Cambodian […]
Continue ReadingLeonardo Di Caprio has been here. As have countless young backpackers from the West. Over the past forty years, Khao San Road, once a quiet residential street on the fringes of Bangkok’s historic centre, has morphed into the world’s best-known backpacker hub. Loud, inexpensive, garish and in your face, the 400 meter long strip has […]
Continue ReadingMy latest look at Bangkok in The Daily Telegraph. Welcome to Bangkok – a sprawling, humid metropolis of more than 10 million souls that rose along the eastern banks of the Chao Phraya river a little more than 200 years ago. Today, the Thai capital brims with interesting historic sites, stylish hotels, incredible culinary adventures, and […]
Continue ReadingI contributed eight pages on Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Thai history and my favorite place in Thailand (can you guess where? See above pic) to MERIAN Magazine. The current issue of Germany’s classic travel publication focuses exclusively on Thailand.
Continue ReadingMy first encounter with Scott Nicholson was as formidable and extraordinary as our 19 year friendship. I found him sitting in the surf on a remote beach in the Andaman Islands, in 2000. I was about to go swimming and we said hello to each other, the way two westerners do three thousand miles from […]
Continue ReadingMy piece on my return to Nepal three years after I was caught up in the devastating earthquake of 2015 and the journey to overcome my sense of trauma is published in the Mekong Review, Southeast Asia’s literary journal, next month.
Continue ReadingThe third updated edition of Moon Angkor Wat, my English language guide to the Angkor temples in Cambodia is out now, both in print and ebook format. Reviewer Janet Brown had this to say: I’m the kind of person who reads guidebooks to remember where I’ve been as well as to plan my next destination […]
Continue ReadingThe brand new third edition of my Moon Guide to the Angkor Wat temples is out now and it looks fantastic. Here’s my complete line-up of titles for Moon, a US based travel guide publisher. Get your copy here. Reader and fellow author Janet Brown wrote: I’m the kind of person who reads guidebooks to […]
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