A tuan discovers his cook has included tiger meat in his curry. Sampan boys race down the Singapore River. A gang robs dhobies and make off with shirts and petticoats.

A penniless American traveller lands a gig as the ragtime pianist of a waterfront saloon and begins a journey filled with drunken sailors, bar fights and late-night chop-suey suppers.

The easy and indulgent life of established colonials shown in full swing.

A gun on Fort Canning signals morning call. A long walk on country roads is followed by lolling about the bungalow verandah. At 9 o’clock, breakfast is served. And so begins the day in the life of the colonial gentleman.

Mems collecting water-lilies, bargaining for tropical birds, feasting on turtle steaks, visiting a coffee plantation and nearly fainting at the first encounter with durian.

The fascinating account of two former British colonies with a shared past but vastly different identities today! Singapore and Malaysia sit astride the sea lanes linking East with West--vital choke points in the world's commerce. Since ancient times, ports along the Silk Road of the Sea were populated by peoples from around the globe who came here to trade and live, carried by the steady flow of goods and the ever-present monsoon winds. Author Christopher Hale recounts many fascinating histories of this region, including: The ancient international trade in spices and the seven voyages to the southern seas of the Chinese eunuch Admiral Zheng He in the 15th century The rise of Islamic kingdoms along rivers bordering the Straits of Malacca and the conquest of Malacca, one of the world's largest cities, by a few hundred Portuguese marauders in 1511 The saga of Sir Stamford Raffles, credited with founding Singapore, and the development of tin mines and vast rubber and oil palm plantations on the Malay Peninsula The disastrous fall of "Fortress Singapore" to the Japanese in World War II after only three weeks of fighting, the worst British military defeat in history The wildly successful film Crazy Rich Asians, set in Singapore, the highest grossing romantic comedy of the decade A Brief History of Singapore and Malaysia tells these and many other compelling stories about the people and events which have shaped these nations as they developed into modern powerhouses of international trade and tourism.