While in Malaya, Bowley's team played the Singapore Cricket Club and Bowley was admonished by an English officer for using the same change rooms as his non-white team members. He refused to use separate change rooms and while he was awarded honorary membership of the all-white Singapore Cricket Club for his cricketing prowess, Bowley preferred to socialise with his teammates. During this time, Bowley became friends with the Malaya born Indian Test cricketer Lall Singh. They remained close for many years and Bowley stayed with Lall in Kuala Lumpur for the 1975 Hockey World Cup.