ErebusFact library / Countries
11 countries in Southeast Asia, each with a picture to fix its place, shape or name in your memory.
Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia; its capital is Vientiane, on the Mekong River.
Picture it
All of Southeast Asia is at the beach except one kid who LOST the map to the sea (LAO-st). He sits in a deckchair on the Mekong River instead, eating a Vienna sausage (Vientiane).
Memory hooks
Say it: Vientiane (vyen·TYAHN)
Brunei, a small oil-rich sultanate on the island of Borneo, is split into two parts by a strip of Malaysia.
Picture it
On the island of Borneo, a tiny oil-rich sultan's land has been broken in two ("broo-NIGH"), with a strip of Malaysia slicing through the middle. The sultan rows between his two halves in a golden boat.
Memory hooks
Vietnam is a long, S-shaped country along the South China Sea, with its capital, Hanoi, in the north.
Picture it
A long, thin S curls down the coast of Southeast Asia, bulging at the top and bottom like two rice baskets on a pole. Up in the north, someone laughs "HA! NOI won't move the capital!": HANOI.
Memory hooks
Cambodia has the temple of Angkor Wat on its flag, and its capital is Phnom Penh.
Picture it
A CAMERA ("CAM-bodia") snaps the towers of Angkor Wat, so famous they're printed on the national flag. Then someone yells "P-NOM, PEN!" and steals the photographer's pen.
Memory hooks
Say it: Phnom Penh (p'NOM·PEN)
Thailand is shaped like an elephant's head with its trunk running down the Malay Peninsula, and its capital is Bangkok.
Picture it
An ELEPHANT'S HEAD stands in Southeast Asia, its long trunk dangling down the Malay Peninsula. It wears a TIE ("TIE-land") and keeps its money in a BANK (BANGKOK) by the river.
Memory hooks
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Myanmar, formerly Burma, moved its capital from Yangon to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in the mid-2000s.
Picture it
MY ANcient MARket packed up in 2005 and moved from busy Yangon into the jungle. A horse protests "NEIGH! PIE! DAW!" as it hauls the government to NAYPYIDAW.
Memory hooks
Say it: Naypyidaw (nay·pyee·DAW)
Malaysia is split between the Malay Peninsula and northern Borneo, with its capital at Kuala Lumpur.
Picture it
A country splits in two: one half on the Malay Peninsula, the other on the island of Borneo across the sea. In between, a KOALA wearing a LAMPshade ("KWAH-la LUM-poor") paddles back and forth.
Memory hooks
The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in the western Pacific, with its capital at Manila.
Picture it
PHILIP spills a bag of more than seven thousand pebbles across the western Pacific. Each becomes an island. His sister MANILA collects them in a big MANILA envelope.
Memory hooks
Timor-Leste, also called East Timor, shares the island of Timor with Indonesia, became independent in 2002, and has its capital at Dili.
Picture it
An island in the Timor Sea is cut in half. The eastern half throws a birthday party in 2002 to celebrate independence. The cake is a giant DILL pickle: DILI.
Memory hooks
Singapore is an island city-state at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula that left Malaysia to become independent in 1965.
Picture it
At the very tip of the Malay Peninsula, a LION ("Singa" in Malay) sits on a tiny island city. In 1965, it waves goodbye to Malaysia next door and roars off on its own as an independent city-state.
Memory hooks
Indonesia, with more than 17,000 islands, is the world's largest archipelagic country, and its capital is Jakarta on Java.
Picture it
Between Asia and Australia, a necklace of more than 17,000 islands stretches along the equator. On the island of Java, a coffee-loving giant pours a cup of java and yells "JA-KAR-TA!" at the capital.
Memory hooks