Tom Vater

Writer & Editor

Tom Vater is a writer and editor working mostly in South and Southeast Asia.

His work has appeared in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Times, The Guardian, Nikkei Asia, CNN, Marie Claire, Geographical, Eco-Business, The Mekong Review & RemoteLands.

He is the Thailand Daily Telegraph destination expert and has authored guidebooks on Thailand and Cambodia.

Tom has published six crime novels. In 2022, he sold the film rights to his debut novel, The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, to 108 Media.

Tom has also written some twenty non-fiction books, including the bestsellers Sacred Skin, with Aroon Thaewchatturat, and Cambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer, with Kraig Lieb.

Tom's work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Times, The Guardian, Nikkei Asia, CNN, Marie Claire, Geographical, Eco-Business, The Mekong Review and others. He is the Thailand Daily Telegraph destination expert and has authored guidebooks on Thailand and Cambodia.

He is the co-author of several documentaries, including the highly praised The Most Secret Place On Earth, a feature on the CIA’s secret war in Laos.

From 2012 to 2021, Tom was co-owner of Crime Wave Press, a Hong Kong based crime fiction imprint which published 36 novels .

Tom writes and edits reports for UNDP, IFC, the EU, Fauna & Flora and others.

Tom is represented by London-based literary agency Marjacq.

Tom's latest book, SHARKMAN, is a true crime non fiction about a kidnapping in West Africa and tiger sharks in Thailand.

Portfolio

Feature Stories

Nikkei Asia
10/17/2026
Nepal, the land of Everest ... and sushi

KATHMANDU -- Even on a weekday, the garden at Hokkaido Ramen House is busy. Waiters in traditional Japanese uniforms serve bento boxes and steaming bo

Travelogues from Remote Lands
09/15/2026
What Lies Beneath

More than 50 years after the US bombing of Laos ended, unexploded ordnance continues to haunt the country and its people.

Travelogues from Remote Lands
07/09/2026
A Dib Immersion

Bangkok's first international contemporary art museum is a striking new cultural landmark that balances Instagram appeal with genuine artistic ambition.

The Telegraph
01/25/2021
My chilling encounter with serial killer Charles Sobhraj

As The Serpent draws to a close, one writer recalls interviewing the serial killer in prison - and his shocking lack of remorse In December 2003, Central Jail in the Nepali capital Kathmandu was everything one might expect from a prison in a developing country.

Travel

Travelogues from Remote Lands
09/15/2026
Tom Vater

Tom Vater is a writer and editor working mostly in Asia. He has published six crime novels. In 2022, he sold the film rights to his debut novel, The Devil's Road to Kathmandu, to 108 Media. Tom has written some twenty non-fiction books, including the bestsellers Sacred Skin with Aroon Thaewchatturat, and Cambodia: A Journey through the Land of the Khmer with Kraig Lieb.

Reise-know-how
01/12/2026
InselTrip Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, Ko Tao

Reiseführer Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, Ko Tao mit Insel-Faltplan und kostenloser Web-App Ko Samui, die zweitgrößte Insel Thailands, bietet alles für den perfekten Strandurlaub, aber auch sehenswerte Tempel, den Big Buddha und kulinarische Abenteuer, nicht nur für Fans der thailändischen Küche. Auf der Nachbarinsel Ko Phangan finden sich jeden Monat Tausende Techno-Fans zur Full Moon Party ein.

The Telegraph
01/06/2025
How to spend the ultimate holiday in Bangkok

Read our Telegraph Travel expert guide to Bangkok, including the best places to stay, eat, drink as well as the top attractions to visit, and all of the information that you need to know before you go.

Books - Non fiction & (Crime) Fiction

Next Chapter
05/23/2021
The Devil's Road To Kathmandu

In 1976, four friends - Dan, Fred, Tim and Thierry - are on a bus along the hippie trail from London to Kathmandu. But everything is not going according to plan. After a drug deal goes wrong, the boys barely escape with their lives. Thousands of kilometers, numerous acid trips, accidents, nightclubs and a pair of beautiful Siamese twins later, they finally reach the counter-culture capital of the world, Kathmandu, and Fred disappears with the drug money. A quarter-century later, mysterious...

Next Chapter
09/07/2021
The Cambodian Book Of The Dead | Next Chapter

The Cambodian Book Of The Dead - book excerpt In the Shadow of Enlightenment In retrospect, Maier could see that the catastrophe in Cambodia had been the turning point. But in retrospect, everything always looked different. War was never simple. As soon as the first shot was fired, carefully ma

Visionary World Publishing
07/01/2011
Sacred Skin | Thailand's Spirit Tattoos

A beautifully illustrated book introducing the mysterious world of sak yant, spirit tattoos said to bestow protective powers upon their bearers.

Next Chapter
03/28/2024
Sharkman: A True Story

In 1992, mechanic Peter Hauser and two friends bought three old cars and set off from southern Germany to cross the Sahara and drive to Togo, where they planned to sell their vehicles. They never reached their destination. The young, free-wheeling adventurers were ambushed by Tuareg bandits on th...