AFAIK Raffles is still there. Singapore has grown bigger tho...but the airfield I landed at no longer exists built over with high rise.
On both Mike Smith's flights, Searay, going west, and this one eastbound he has had to stay well off-shore from now Iran, with very long hours over water.
50 years ago one could cross the Strait of Hormuz to the Persian coast, over Jask an Imperial airways stop-over, and follow the very spectacular coastline to Bachulistan/West Pakistan and Karachi, thence India. I had an overnight at Jiwani...luckily for me, lit for the BP Air Race as I got there in the dark !. China now wants a major Belt and Road Port at Chabahar on that coast not so far away.
I had no Shell road map or WAC to cross the sub continent but an Indian Railways map at 1" =100 miles scale.. Plenty of IFRs to get you to your destination.
Having come more southerly I bypassed Iraq for Saudi and Bahrain , after Lebanon and Damascus.
Then as now Baghdad wasnt recommended !
IN the Vimy days most of the world map was pink with Empire and chaps could pretty well go where they pleased.
Not any more.