Tarutao National Park in Thailand

24 May 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Toey19863/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Toey19863/cc-by-sa-4.0

Tarutao National Park consists of 51 islands in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Satun Province of southern Thailand. The Tarutao National Park consists of two island groups: Tarutao and Adang-Rawi, which are scattered from 20 to 70 kilometres’ distance from the south-westernmost point of mainland Thailand. The park covers an area of 1,490 square kilometres (1,260 ocean, 230 island). The southernmost end of the park lies on the border with Malaysia, just north of Langkawi. Tarutao became Thailand’s second marine national park on 19 April 1974. The coastal Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park had been designated in 1966.   read more…

Theme Week Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur

30 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

© flickr.com - naim fadil/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – naim fadil/cc-by-sa-2.0

Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and commonly known as KL, is the national capital and largest city in Malaysia. As the global city of Malaysia, it covers an area of 243 km² (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.73 million as of 2016. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.25 million people as of 2017. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, in both population and economic development.   read more…

Theme Week Malaysia – Malacca City

29 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Malacca River flowing through Bandar Hilir © panoramio.com - jetsun/cc-by-sa-3.0

Malacca River flowing through Bandar Hilir © panoramio.com – jetsun/cc-by-sa-3.0

Malacca City is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca. As of 2010 it has a population of 485,000. It is the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, having become a successful entrepôt in the era of the Malacca Sultanate. The present-day city was founded by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince who escaped to the Malay Peninsula when Srivijaya fell to the Majapahit. Following the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate, the city drew the attention of traders from the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the Portuguese, who intended to dominate the trade route in Asia. After Malacca was conquered by Portugal, the city became an area of conflict when the sultanates of Aceh and Johor attempted to take control from the Portuguese.   read more…

Theme Week Malaysia – George Town on Penang Island

27 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Eastern & Oriental Hotel © Gryffindor/cc-by-2.5

Eastern & Oriental Hotel © Gryffindor/cc-by-2.5

George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, is located at the north-eastern tip of Penang Island. It is Malaysia’s second largest city, with 708,127 inhabitants as of 2010, while Greater Penang is the nation’s second biggest conurbation with a population of 2,412,616. The historical core of George Town has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.   read more…

Theme Week Malaysia

25 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  13 minutes

Fort Cornwallis in Penang, first British colony in what was to become Malaysia © Cmglee/cc-by-sa-3.0

Fort Cornwallis in Penang, first British colony in what was to become Malaysia © Cmglee/cc-by-sa-3.0

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government (List of cities and towns in Malaysia by population). With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world’s 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to large numbers of endemic species.   read more…

Theme Week Indonesia

20 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  15 minutes

Borobudur, the world's largest Buddist temple © Gunawan Kartapranata/cc-by-sa-3.0

Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddist temple © Gunawan Kartapranata/cc-by-sa-3.0

Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world’s largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles), the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world’s 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world’s most populous island, contains more than half of the country’s population.   read more…

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