My last post on the 15th century Portuguese merchant-spy Pêro da Covilhã prompted quite a bit of debate among some readers around how the history of the Portuguese Discoveries should be interpreted: celebrated as a glorious chapter of the proud history of Portugal, or dismissed as a shameful period of imperial rapaciousness and religious bigotry? I understand both points of view, but for me personally it's... just history. History that's hundreds of years old, but with echo

In the history of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries, the focus has been on the maritime exploits of the day, with Bartolomeu Dias sailing...

When the Portuguese took control of Malacca in 1511, the Sultan of Malacca escaped south and founded the Johor Sultanate, which included...

This year, 2023, will see Japan and Portugal celebrate 480 years of relations between the two maritime countries at opposite ends of the...

I just spent a week holidaying with my family in Manado on the northern tip of Sulawesi, the fourth largest island in Indonesia. Aside...

Many thanks to João Pimenta, the Beijing bureau chief of the Portuguese news agency Lusa for reaching out to me. He noticed this blog...

My last post on Asian influences on Portuguese food sparked off lots of comments, showing how viscerally important food culture can be to...

I recently had an interesting conversation with João Pimenta, bureau chief for the Portuguese Lusa News Agency who's lived in China for...

Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India, is perhaps not particularly well-known in the rest of the world. I first heard about it...

In an earlier post, I explained how China became known as China thanks to the Portuguese: https://www.portuguese.asia/post/how-china-beca...

When most people think of Vietnam in a historical context, the Vietnamese war and the American role come to mind, or perhaps the French...

I had the pleasure of spending last weekend in Phuket, Thailand. Reading about things to do, I came across the fact that Old Phuket Town,...

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is not among the most well-known countries of Southeast Asia. A former British colony, it was starting...

Following up on Thailand's centuries-old relationship with Portugal, would there be any surprise that cultural exchange extended beyond...

Each time that I go to Bangkok I like to visit the Kudeejeen neighbourhood on the west side of the Chao Phraya river. Not a well-known...

I had the pleasure of a quick trip to the Indonesian resort island of Bintan this weekend. At the breakfast buffet, I came across this...

In my last post about kerosang, I described how this traditional piece of jewellery for wearers of the kebaya blouse comes from the...

The Straits Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia are a unique culture, a centuries-old blend of Chinese and Malay. One of their traditional...

I recently visited the Eurasian Heritage Gallery in Singapore, a museum at the Eurasian Association that commemorates the complex history...

Yesterday, June 10, was Portugal's national day and our Portuguese friends are enjoying a long weekend. The Portuguese ambassador to...