As someone who lives in southeast asia (Singapore), in an area with lots of shophouses, this is an area I can comment on. Below are some photos of shophouses in my neighbourhood. Points to note:
- Shophouses are built directly ajoining each other. There are no gaps between them.
- The idea (as the name suggests) is that the business / storage area is on the ground floor, and the family lives "above the shop" on the second floor.
- Shophouses can be as upmarket or downmarket as their owners.
- Thick wooden shutters are a necessity (monsoon is a b***h).
- They can be quite colourful (with pastel colours commonly used).
- I've seen the same layout of shophouses from Bangkok to Hanoi to Manila to Jakarta. They're quite universal.
Tim