South East Asia Archives

An interactive map at the Singapore City Gallery.

Singapore City Gallery review: Urban planning gets interesting

Review of the Singapore City Gallery. See how the museum uses interactive displays and models to detail the city's extreme urban planning challenges. This review was expanded and updated in January 2026. The planning challenge of Singapore For those of us who spent abnormal amounts…

Visiting the Changi Chapel and Museum in Singapore: Transport, tickets and tips

The Changi Chapel and Museum tells the story of civilian and military life during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. This guide, updated in January 2026, explains how to get there by public transport, opening hours, ticket costs, and how to plan a meaningful visit. A…

A routine dose of torturing in Haw Par Villa's Ten Courts of Hell.

How to visit Haw Par Villa in Singapore — transport, tickets and tips

Haw Par Villa is one of Singapore’s most unusual attractions, a park filled with colourful statues and gruesome dioramas of Chinese folklore. This guide focuses on how to reach it by public transport, when to go, what it costs, and how to make the most…

Why Melaka is so much better by day than by night

Is Melaka better by day? I explore the historic architecture and culture that make daylight hours the best time for a visit. The colourful trishaws of Melaka The trishaw weaves through the narrow streets, adorned with as many flowers and spinning windmill contraptions as the…

6 lessons about tackling a tropical city learned in Kuala Lumpur

A stopover in Kuala Lumpur provides lessons for travelling to other tropical cities. There’s an argument for Kuala Lumpur being rather underrated. The Malaysian capital has a surprising amount to do in a 48 hour stopover – Bird Park, caves, big towers to clamber up…