This gallery contains 40 photos.
What distinguishes Singapore from everywhere else in Southeast Asia, is that here, one still feels keenly, the sense of the colonial. In fact, the colonial is pervasive in Singapore, not just in terms of the way of life here; … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
This was it: the grande dame of not just Singapore, but Southeast Asia. It was meant to be the glorious climax and culmination of the entire Grand Tour. But somehow, it fell short, by about a mile. I think it … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
“’No, Jim, that’s not what the Singapore Grip is,” cried Matthew, his eyes flashing more than ever. ‘I know what it is! It’s the grip of our Western culture and economy on the Far East… It’s the stranglehold of capital … Continue reading
This gallery contains 40 photos.
In 1883, the celebrated author and explorer, Isabella Lucy Bird had this to say about her extended sojourn in Malacca, to which she had decided to wend her trans-continental journey, on a whim: “Malacca fascinates me more and more daily. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Malacca doesn’t have a Grand Hotel per se, but it does have Majestic Hotel, which is almost as historic, and has been recently refurbished so it recalls these other Grand Hotels in the region. The “peranakan” or mixed architecture of … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Malacca is the first European colony, and the most colonised city in Southeast Asia, having been taken over by the Portuguese in 1511, and having had not just one colonial master, but three (the Dutch from 1641, and the British … Continue reading
This gallery contains 35 photos.
Oud Batavia lingers today in a few isolated neighborhoods in Jakarta. The greatest concentration of historic buildings is to the North, in what is now known as Kota, or “City.” Here lies the old administrative and commercial heart of colonial … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
So the question is this: how does one re-create something that is no longer there? The Hotel Des Indes was the oldest and the grandest of the Grand Hotels in Southeast Asia, having been opened in the 1860s. It was … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Jakarta was a weird one. I debated for sometime whether or not I would actually visit it – since the fundamental criteria for it being part of the Grand Tour was missing: Jakarta’s Grand Hotel – the Hotel Des Indes … Continue reading
This gallery contains 21 photos.
Hanoi was captured by the French in 1873, and relinquished to Ho Chi Minh in 1954. Compared to the 1000 years of Chinese rule over Vietnam, the 80 years of French Colonial rule seem like a mere afterthought. However, having … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 