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Very detailed travelogue on visiting the remotest inhabited islands in the world: Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena, as well as S. Africa, Malaysia and Singapore, and Indonesia. Very informative, full of tips, history, what it was like to visit and stay there, indexed by country. Visit my webpage for this and other downloadable travelogues: http://www.tcp.com/~lgreenf
These are fascinating islands. Tristan has only 238 people, all with same 7 last names.
Remotest Islands in World St Helena, Tristan da Cunha + S Africa Malaysia, More
Larry2006-05-27 03:40:04
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river).
Walking down Jalan Ampang towards the Petronas Towers, I stopped in at
the Malaysian Tourist Information complex, located inside a large historic
mansion with beautiful grounds (far enough removed from the street that you
can't tell if it's open or closed without approaching it). Inside, I found
one of the few Tourism Malaysia officials without a cold shoulder (perhaps
becuase he was Chinese, not Malay), who told me that due to the holidays
(Hari Raya), the nearby Petronas Towers were closed until January 2nd. When
I then asked about visiting the Batu Caves (located a short distance outside
of town), he said there would be a bus tour leaving at 2:30pm (R35/US$9.21),
but looking me over, guessed I wouldn't be interested in a guided tour (he
was right). So instead, he told me to get to the caves on my own (by
catching Bus 11D near the Bangkok Bank behind the Central Market or Bus 69
from the Pudu Bus Station) -- but his information that "the bus leaves every
two hours" was incorrect -- the buses actually come quite frequently, as
unless it was an amazing coincidence, I never had to wait more than a couple
of minutes for a bus in either direction.
Since I had walked quite a ways to reach the Petronas Towers and was
practially already there, I decided to finish the walk, and reached the
Towers within a matter of minutes. The two 88-story Towers are based on an
8-sided star pattern with Islamic designs and motifs molded out of shiny
silver steel, complete with fountains out front with plenty of tourists busy
taking pictures. There is no public observation deck in either of the
towers (and security is tight), but the public is allowed up in controlled
groups to the 41F "Sky Bridge" which connects the two buildings, though its
closure this week meant I'd have to return at the very end of my trip in
February.
...
See photographs from:
Indonesia Gallery
,
Malaysia Gallery
,
Saint Helena Gallery
,
Singapore Gallery
,
South Africa Gallery
