Curated playlist
Countries in Southeast Asia
- CambodiaCambodia's Tonle Sap lake swells to nearly ten times its dry-season size each year.
- LaosBetween 1964 and 1973, American planes dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos.
- MalaysiaMalaysia's king is elected by and from nine hereditary rulers, for a five-year term.
- IndonesiaMore than half of Indonesia's people live on one island, Java. It is the most heavily populated island in the world.
- SingaporeIn 1965, Malaysia's Parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from its federation. It had joined in 1963.
- BruneiBrunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, may owe its name to a shout of recognition. According to local tradition, a ruler named Awang Alak Betatar left Garang, in the Temburong District, and moved to the estuary of the Brunei River around AD…
- Timor-LesteOn the 20th of May 2002, Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. Its official name is the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, and many people still call it East Timor. The country is oddly assembled. It holds…
- ThailandThailand avoided European rule by bending like bamboo in the wind. It ceded land but never fell.
- PhilippinesThe Philippines records about five earthquakes a day, though most are too weak to be felt.
- MyanmarMyanmar has two names, and choosing between them is a political statement. The military renamed Burma in 1989.
- VietnamVietnam has a cave with a rainforest inside it. Hang Sơn Đoòng has caverns big enough to hold a 40-story skyscraper.