Southeast Asia consists of the ten countries that lie between the Indian subcontinent and China. On the mainland of Southeast Asia are Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Insular Southeast Asia includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. While most of Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) is on the mainland, that country usually is considered part of insular Southeast Asia because the Malay population (the majority ethnic population) shares a common language and religion with much of the Indonesian population. The city-state of Singapore (on an island connected by a mile-long causeway to Peninsular Malaysia) was historically part of Malaysia, but because of its unique ethnic composition (threequarters of the population is of Chinese origin), it is more similar to East Asia than to Southeast Asia.

While there are some common geographic and cultural features, diversity is the hallmark of the region. Incredible indigenous...