The Architecture of South-East Asia Through Travellers' Eyes

Download or read book The Architecture of South-East Asia Through Travellers' Eyes written by Roxana Waterson and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the sixteenth century onwards, but particularly from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, comes a wealth of accounts written by foreigners of their experiences in South-East Asia. They were seafarers, businessmen, ambassadors, or travellers for sheer pleasure or curiosity. All vividly recorded their impressions of many aspects of South-East Asian life. Not least of these concerned the enormous diversity of indigenous and colonial architectural forms they encountered, and the style of living of the people who created them. From the sublime ruins of Angkor Wat, the elegance of life in the colonial residences in Malaya, to the bustle of burgeoning cities like Singapore, the travellers of these eras evoke for us the many amazing architectural styles of the region. Their often sensitive and lively observations are as fascinating to readers today as they were to their contemporaries.