We're talking bout Malaysia- the country once known as Malaya. Back in 1963, Singapore agreed to become a part of Malaya and in return, they added an "SI" to the name to make it MalaySIa. That only lasted a few years and by 1965 Singapore were on their own but the name stayed as is. The big picture below will give you an idea of where we're going. On the far left are the eastern coast of India and Sri Lanka. On top are Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Thailand extends down into the middle of the picture and turns into the Malaysian peninsula. Singapore is the small island at the tip. From the bottom up is the Indonesian island of Sumatra. On the right is Borneo - part of which is Malaysia, another part is Indonesia and a tiny piece is Brunei.
Closer up you can see Singapore at the lower right and Melaka near the middle of the map, just south of Kuala Lumpur. The sea between Malaysia and Indonesia is known as the Melacca Straits and was a key shipping route between India and China. As you might guess, the European powers have been fighting over this area of the world for the last 500 years. At first the Portuguese ran the show only to be replaced by the Dutch and then finally the British. Our tour guide, Christopher, explained that there was still a small Portuguese community surviving in Melacca and they still speak the archaic Portuguese from the 1500's.
Closer up you can see Singapore at the lower right and Melaka near the middle of the map, just south of Kuala Lumpur. The sea between Malaysia and Indonesia is known as the Melacca Straits and was a key shipping route between India and China. As you might guess, the European powers have been fighting over this area of the world for the last 500 years. At first the Portuguese ran the show only to be replaced by the Dutch and then finally the British. Our tour guide, Christopher, explained that there was still a small Portuguese community surviving in Melacca and they still speak the archaic Portuguese from the 1500's.
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