It’s been about two months since rebranding from Living In Asia to Future Southeast Asia. From what I read online about moving domains, experiences varied from site traffic continuing as normal, to sites taking 2-3 months to recover. My experience has been the latter, with site raffic only now getting back to normal this week.

With the site now almost back in the graces of our munificent overlord Google, it was time to spend a week cleaning up the link and category structure of the site, and other time-consuming administration work.

This week instead of a new post, I made a new page.

Latest Posts At Future Southeast Asia

There are now 98 published posts on Future Southeast Asia, which is enough to visually represent them on a map. Introducing the Future Southeast Asia Map.

I’ve pinned articles that are about specific places, so general editorial articles aren’t posted here. This is more of an overview page to see what is happening in the region.

The red stars represent the Future Cities series, which as you can see is well-represented by Vietnam while I am based here. I had planned on featuring several cities in Indonesia last year, then the pandemic struck.

For railways I’ve just pinned the main destinations, and not every station. When you look at the map you get a general idea of the route (such as the China-Laos Railway).

I have a long list of post ideas and I sometimes get stuck wondering what to post next. By looking at this map I can at least look at gaps to fill. For example I have not posted anything about Sumatra yet, so I will add an article soon. I will also cover Brunei and our non-ASEAN Southeast Asianers Timor-Leste at some point.

If you have any topic suggestions then feel free to message me.

Updated Posts

Cambodia

New Phnom Penh International Airport construction now 40 percent complete

• Added to New Phnom Penh Airport

Malaysia

The East Coast Rail Link has been updated to show the current routing that goes north of KL. This was the original alignment, which was then changed to go south of KL via Putrajaya. Now it has reverted to the original alignment. I’ve also added a Google Map to show the route, though it only pins the cities and not all of the exact station locations yet.

Thailand

Trams out, buses in for thrifty Phuket

"Phuket has swapped its planned tram system for an automated rapid transit (ART) bus system and saved 15 billion baht in the process."

• Added to Phuket Light Rail

Other News

Save big cities in Asia from sinking

“Earlier this month results from a study by consultancy firm Verisk Maplecroft deemed densely populated Asia as the most environmentally at-risk area in the world. How badly did the region fare?”

Cambodia

‘Phnom Penh should be a city designed for humans, not cars’

“Phnom Penh is at a development crossroads – not yet carved up by major expressways, but with the potential to move in that direction. Future Forum researcher Aronsakda Ses urges authorities to stop and consider a more human-focused urban plan, before it's too late.”

NagaCorp working on “fresh plans” for non-gaming Angkor Wat project

“In late March, Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said that the $350m resort could not “be implemented” as proposed by the company. NagaCorp was granted a 50-year lease on a plot of land “about 500 metres south of” the development- restricted zone of Angkor Wat back in November.”

Indonesia

Citizen lawsuit seeks court’s help in battle for clean air in Jakarta

“A district court in Indonesia’s capital is expected to rule soon in a suit accusing the president and top officials of failing to curb pollution.”

The hunt for the next Bali: Inside Indonesia's plan to save its tourism industry by minting 5 new hubs for international travelers

Why Indonesia's 'new Bali' is accused of trampling on human rights

Hundreds of Bali hotels up for sale on online marketplace

Myanmar

Japan ready to freeze all Myanmar development aid: Motegi

Aeon postpones Yangon shopping mall construction after coup

Philippines

PNR's North-South railway to cut travel time by more than 50%--DoTr

“The DoTr reported that the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1 is 45.82 percent complete as of May 17. Upon completion, the DoTr said the 38-kilometer rail line can accommodate 300,000 passengers daily and will shorten travel time from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban, Manila to 35 minutes instead of 1 hour and 30 minutes.”

Thailand

Bangkok's micro homes: a model for slum dwelling in COVID-19?

“Flimsy shacks of tin and ply have given way to sleek, painted newbuilds - small, clean and leak-free - in Bangkok's biggest slum, creating model homes and a blueprint for city development.”

4 large contractors want to build a double-track railway Denchai – Chiang Rai – Chiang Khong

Junta critic says Thailand needs hyperloop not Chinese rail

Thailand-Cambodia highway 70% complete

UK and Thailand to cooperate in new era of smart city development

Timor-Leste

Less than 20 years after independence, Timor-Leste is running on fumes

“When Timor-Leste won independence in 2002 the belief was it had petroleum reserves to last generations, but the money is running out much earlier than expected.”

Vietnam

How solidarity rebuilt Vietnam

“During the Vietnam War the city of Vinh was almost destroyed by US bombing. It was rebuilt with the help of socialists around the world – and today its architecture stands as a monument to that solidarity.”

HCMC to remove 178 trees for park renovation

Vietnam to cancel 1,500 unnecessary public projects

“Vietnam will trim the list of public projects to around 5,000 after cutting at least 1,500 deemed unnecessary and ineffective. This will improve investment efficiency, officials say. So far, around 1,050 projects have been cut from the country’s investment plan for the 2021-2025 period, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.”