In the heart of the old British capital are many old Victorian buildings, left to decay. Some old buildings look so British indeed that parts of the city look as if London had been transplanted into a tropical landscape and left to moulder for a century or two.
The Strand Hotel is once again open and while afternoon tea of scones and imported jams is served to guests lounging in rattan chairs beneath whirling ceiling fans, in a side street black stains drip like ink from the rain soaked roofs, most of the windows are broken and have been replaced by corrugated iron or pieces of cardboard but provides a perfect backdrop for locals to enjoy their tea squatting on almost doll house size furniture, a custom seen in many places in Asia.