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From the early Christian era in Europe, Southeast Asia was known as the "Land of Gold." It is a region blessed with a rich diversity of cultures, peoples, and scenery. A Traveller's History of Southeast Asia is a lucid and concise introduction to the histories of the modern states of Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and East Timor, providing an essential guide for both tourists and the general reader. It spans the history of the region from "Java Man" some one million years ago to the development of the high-tech, skyscraper cities of the new millennium.Following chapters on the physical environment and the earliest human history of Southeast Asia, the authors carry the reader through the classical kingdoms that produced such architectural marvels as Borobudur in Java and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.