Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Designed by the Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, and completed in 1998, these are the world's tallest twin towers.

Each tower has 88 floors plus spires that reach to a height of 452m. Inside the towers, there are offices, a shopping centre, a concert hall and art gallery.

Office worker who want to cross over between towers can take the Skybridge that links the 41st and 42 floors.

KL Tower Revolving Restaurant Buffet Dinner and Central Market Night Tour

Dine in style at the top of Asia's tallest tower, the KL Tower. Treat a loved one to a sumptuous buffet dinner with ample seating to soak up the breathtaking panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur's night lights and conclude your evening with a stroll through Kuala Lumpur's famous "Central Market". Spend a night on the town in Kuala Lumpur at the Seri Angkasa Revolving Restaurant, on top of the tallest tower in Asia. The panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur by night are breathtaking from the KL Tower, and the restaurant revolves while you dine to provide an ever-changing vista.

You'll start the evening with a stroll in Kuala Lumpur's famous Central Market, where a wide selection of Malaysian handicrafts and souvenirs are on display. This is the place to have your portrait sketched by a local artist in less than 15 minutes.

Next you'll drive to the most imposing landmark in the city, the KL Tower. At 1,380 feet (421 meters), it ranks as the tallest tower in Asia. You will take a high-speed lift to the Seri Angkasa Revolving Restaurant for a sumptuous buffet dinner surrounded by the twinkling lights of Kuala Lumpur by night.

Private Tour: Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary Day Tour from Kuala Lumpur

Visit the Elephant Conservation Farm at Kuala Gandah - only one and a half hour's journey from Kuala Lumpur. Located in a beautiful tropical rainforest, the Elephant 'Sanctuary' in an ambitious elephant conservation program implemented and managed by the Malaysian Wildlife Society, where you come into close contact with semi-wild elephants. Truly an exciting and never-to-be forgotten experience!

Spend a very special day at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary on a private tour you'll never forget. This truly exciting experience takes you to Malaysia's tropical rainforest, 1.5 hours from Kuala Lumpur, for a fully personalized visit to the elephant sanctuary.

The Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary is an ambitious elephant conservation program implemented and managed by the Malaysian Wildlife Society. When you visit, you'll come into close contact with semi-wild elephants and spend an exhilarating day with these unique creatures. You'll take rides, feed them fruit and experience the thrill of bathing with the elephants at a nearby river all under the watchful eye and careful supervision of the elephant's skilled trainers. The specially trained and committed team of wildlife experts are dedicated to the protection and preservation of the Asian elephants.

At the sanctuary, you will also enjoy a 30-minute documentary on the conservation activities and programs carried out by the team. This private tour offers a wildlife experience that's not to be missed!

Shopping in Indonesia

Shopping in Indonesia - There are plenty of things to shop in Indonesia. Among the favorite shopping items are batik cloth, woodcarvings and sculpture, silverwork, woven baskets and hats, bamboo articles, krises (small daggers), paintings and woven cloth.

Bali is the best place to shop in Indonesia, with every conceivable item readily available. This is an excellent place to buy an incredible variety of souvenirs, arts and crafts, clothes, batik, and woodcarvings. Street vendors line kilometers worth of roads. Although the availability and range of goods here is excellent, this may not be the cheapest place to buy items. Prices are often ridiculously high and you are required to use all your bargaining skills.

To purchase traditional arts and crafts at much cheaper prices it is best to head out to the smaller, more remote towns in the archipelago. Markets and vendors in these areas will only sell arts and crafts made locally. Along with these more traditional street stalls, there are large western style malls in some of the bigger cities. They house more up market clothes shops and western fast food restaurants. Jakarta has the largest array of these malls. Prices here are normally fixed.

History of Indonesia

Origin & History of Indonesia - It is generally believed that the earliest inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago were of Indian or Burmese origin. Later migrants known as Malays came from Southern China and Indochina at around 3000 BC. By the end of 7th Century, powerful groups such as Buddhist Srivijaya Empire and the Hindu Mataram kingdom developed in Java and Sumatra. The 13th Century witnessed the rise of Hindu Majapahit Empire in East Java, which united the whole of what is now modern day Indonesia and parts of the Malay Peninsula. The subsequent spread of Islam into the archipelago in the 14th century forced the Majapahits to retreat to Bali in the 15th century.

By this time, a strong Muslim empire had developed with its centre at Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. Its influence was short lived and it fell to the Portuguese in 1511. Then, in the middle of 16th century, Dutch displaced the Portuguese and began making inroads into Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company based in Jakarta dominated the spice trade and the Dutch took over the occupation of Indonesia for about 350 years. The Dutch East Indies, as Indonesia was known at that time, fell under British rule for the period of 1811-1816. Later on burgeoning nationalism combined with Japanese occupation of Indonesia during World War II weakened the Dutch resolve, and they finally transferred sovereignty to the new Indonesian republic in 1949. Achmed Sukarno-the leader of the freedom struggle- became the first President of Indonesia.

Business & Economy of Indonesia

Business & Economy of Indonesia - Economy of Indonesia is mainly based on agriculture and oil. Approximately 90% of the population is engaged in agriculture. In the agricultural sector, Indonesia has become self sufficient in rice and does not need to import this staple food as it had for years.

Earlier, oil and gas used to be a major foreign exchange earner but rising domestic consumption and stagnant oil production has now made Indonesia, a net importer of oil.

Tourism is steadily gaining ground and is emerging as major foreign exchange earner for the country. Indonesia is rich in natural resources. forestry products, rubber, coffee, tea, tin, nickel, copper, palm products & fish make important contributions to export earnings. In recent years a number of steps have been taken to promote and stimulate non-oil exports, which include handicrafts, textiles, precious metals, tea, tobacco, cement, fertilizers as well as manufactured goods.

Indonesia maintains a liberal foreign exchange system and has few restrictions on transfers abroad, and in general freely allows conversions to and from foreign currencies. The Rupiah-Indonesian Currency-is linked to a basket of currencies of Indonesia's major trading partners. The unitary exchange rate allows for fluctuation.

With the objective of a more equitable distribution of development gains, the government gives high priority to expansion in the less developed regions of the country and the creation of employment opportunities for the country's growing labour force. To attract foreign capital, certain incentives are provided and several sectors are open to foreign investment.

Best Time to Visit Indonesia

Best Time to Visit Indonesia - Best time to visit Indonesia is during dry season between April and October. The humidity is relatively less and weather is pleasant at this time of the year. Though travel in the wet season is possible in most parts of Indonesia, it can be a deterrent to some activities.