This gallery contains 20 photos.
While Bangkok was never colonised, it was the seat of a colonial empire that encompassed most of what we now know as Indochina, and parts of present-day Malaysia and Burma. Up until the early 20th century, the Kings of Siam … Continue reading
This gallery contains 31 photos.
Surprisingly for a city that has never been colonised, Bangkok has a surfeit of colonial architecture, belonging to the full range of European Imperial styles. Because it was never colonized by any one European power, all the European powers are … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Timeless Elegance Bangkok is also known for another legendary and venerable institution in Southeast Asia – almost as old and venerable as the Grand Palace itself. This is the Oriental Hotel, versions of which has stood on the same site … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
“There it was, spread out largely on both banks, the Oriental capital which had yet suffered no white conqueror…” Joseph Conrad, The Shadow Line River of Kings I had fully intended to arrive at the Palace by river that morning. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 28 photos.
Across the Kali Mas (Mas River), East of the Jembatan Merah (or Red Bridge), sits a different world altogether from the one the Dutch lived and worked in. Here, there is a sort of dignified stillness and anonymity, associated with … Continue reading
This gallery contains 25 photos.
The colonial is everywhere in Surabaya, even as it lies buried underneath a layer of outwardly nationalistic symbols and slogans. Behind the banners in Bahasa, and past the hordes of chugging motorcycles and cars, the Dutch East Indies still lurks, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
Paradise on Earth If it weren’t for the Hotel Majapahit, I would have had trouble remembering that Surabaya even existed, so entirely overshadowed has the city been by the Indonesian capital Jakarta, and by other tourist hotspots like Bali, Lombok … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
“ ‘What do you think of that?’ asked Rienkie’s mother, pointing at the painting. ‘A real Indies sky, don’t you think?’ And only a few people could reproduce an Indies sky, she went on to say. To do that you … Continue reading
This gallery contains 18 photos.
I came to Ho Chi Minh City expecting to find the essence of Saigon in all the noise and the pollution. I came away from Ho Chi Minh City thinking I had seen nothing but Ho Chi Minh City – … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
One to rival the French In Ho Chi Minh City, I chose to accommodate myself in the Hotel Majestic, rather than the older and much much more legendary Hotel Continental. In Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, the Majestic is mentioned … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 