1

Abadan: Major oil terminal and

refining centre in Iran.

Abu Simbel: In Egypt; ancient

temples carved out of solid

sandstone.

Adam’s Bridge: Chain of

sandbanks; 22 metres long in

Palk Strait between India and

Sri Lanka.

Al-Aqsa: A mosque in Jerusalem;

the third holiest to the Muslims

after Mecca and Medina.

Alaska: Largest US State

situated near Canada; purchased

by the USA in 1867 from Russia;

famous for fishing, mining,

lumbering, and pulp-milling

industries; oil resources available

here in plenty.

Alexandria: Important city and

sea-port of Egypt; founded by

Alexander, the Great; chief

centre of foreign trade; famous

for a white marble lighthouse on

the island of Pharohs.

Amsterdam: Capital of the

Netherlands; famous for

diamond-cutting industry.

Aswan High Dam: Opened in

1971, a 350 feet high dam on

river Nile, in Egypt; world's

biggest.

Angkor Vat: In Cambodia;

famous for ruins of ancient

Hindu Temples dedicated to Lord

Vishnu built between 800 to 1200

AD.

Bangkok: Capital of Thailand;

called the Venice of the East.

A scene of Vishnu temple

Baku: In Russia; situated on the

Caspian Sea; an oil field in

Azerbaijan.

Babylon: Near Baghdad in

Iraq; ancient centre of art,

science and culture; famous for

remains of biblical tower/hanging

gardens.

Cultural dance in Bangkok

1

IMPORTANT PLACESOF THE WORLD

2

Big Ben: The

Great Bell in

P a r l i a m e n t

Clock Tower,

London.

Bandung: A

city in Indone-

sia; venue of

first Afro-Asian

Conference in April, 1955.

Beijing: Capital of China;

Beijing is the new Roman-

ised spelling of Peking,

introduced from September 1,

1975.

Bethlehem: In Israel; birth

place of Jesus Christ.

Buckingham Palace: In London,

residence of the Royal Family of

England.

Buenos Aires: In Argentina;

largest city in the southern

hemisphere; famous for dairy

products.

Cape Kennedy: In Florida

(USA); America’s spaceship

launching centre; now known as

Cape Canaveral.

Cape Trafalgar: On the coast

of Spain, where the British fleet

won a decisive victory over

Napoleon in 1805.

Cologne: In Germany; Indus-

trial centre; ‘Eau-de-Cologne’ is

after its name.

Corsica: An island in the Medi-

terranean Sea where Napoleon

was born.

Disneyland: An amusement

park at Anaheim, California;

built in 1955 by Walter Elias

Disney, the world famous Ameri-

can cartoonist and motion-

picture producer; park encloses

170 acres of land; each main divi-

sion of the park has its own

theme indicated by its name viz

Fantasy-land, Adventureland etc;

Disneyland’s unusual transporta-

tion facilities include a monorail,

submarines, keelboats etc.

A scene of Disneyland

Big Ben

3

Durban: In South Africa; associ-

ated with political activities of

Gandhiji.

10, Downing Street : Official

residence of the Prime Minister

of England in London.

Eiffel Tower: A 984 feet high

tower designed by Alexander

Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Ex-

position of 1889 in Paris (France).

ft.; opened on May 1, 1931.

Fleet Street: A street in London

named after the river Fleet;

there are offices and printing es-

tablishments of many of the lead-

ing British newspapers and Press

agencies.

Fujiyama: Extinct volcano in Ja-

pan near Tokyo; pilgrim resort;

the highest peak (12398 feet) of

Japan, perfectly formed, snow

capped cone; has long inspired

Japanese artists.

Geneva: In Switzerland; a cul-

tural, financial and administra-

tive centre; headquarters of

many international organisa-

tions.

Greenwich: Situated on the

Thames river near London and

noted for its astronomical ob-

servatory; located on the prime

meridian from which geographic

longitude is measured.

Gettysburg: In USA; site of Am-

erican civil war; Lincoln deliv-

ered his famous address, in which

he defined ‘democracy’, here.

Fujiyama : the most sacred

mountain of Japan

DO YOU

KNOW ?

Eiffel Tower

contains 9,700

tons of pig-

iron, held to-

gether by 2.5

million rivets

and covered

by 40 tons of

brown paint !

Eiffel Tower

Empire State Building: In

New York (USA); one of the lofti-

est buildings in the world; has

102 storeys and a height of 1250

4

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China: A wall

built in North China along

Southern edge of Mongolian pla-

teau to keep out invading Mon-

gols; 1,500 miles long, from 15 to

50 feet high and 15 to 25 feet

wide; its construction completed

in 3rd century BC; said to con-

tain enough bricks to build 30

great pyramids.

Hague: The seat of the Govern-

ment of Netherlands; Interna-

tional Court of Justice, a UN Or-

gan is located here.

Harappa: In Pakistan; excavation

of prehistoric township of pre-

Aryan Indus Valley Civilisation.

Havana: Capital of Cuba in

West Indies; famous for the cigar

industry; exporting centre of

sugar and tobacco.

Hiroshima: A flourishing Japa-

nese town completely destroyed

by the first atom bomb on August

6, 1945.

Hollywood: Part of the city of

Los Angeles, South California

(USA); centre of world’s biggest

film industry.

Hong Kong: A British colony

composed of a peninsula on the

South-East China mainland and

many islands off the coast;

transferred to China on July 1,

1997; one of the world’s finest

harbour.

Hyde Park: Famous place for

public meetings in London.

Johannesburg: Gold mining

centre in South Africa.

Jordell Bank Observatory: It

is the locale of the world famous

radio telescope near Manchester

in UK; has played an important

role in international space

research.

5

SOME OUTSTANDING BUILDINGS OF ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

Skyscrapers, once an exclusively Ameri-

can phenomenon, and other elegant

modern architecture are piercing the

skylines and jutting into the harbours of

virtually every major Asian city. The

tallest buildings in the world are now in

Asia and those near to completion will

soon be eclipsed by even higher buildings

now being planned. Symbols of modern

progress, these sparkling structures are

becoming Asia's newest landmarks, pro-

viding people exciting working, living

and leisure environments. Here's a sam-

pler of some of the region's most impres-

sive architecture :

Central Plaza, Hong Kong: Easy to

spot by its soaring gold spire and golden

lights at night, Hong Kong's tallest build-

ing is a 78-storey office tower, overlook-

ing the harbour and near the Convention

Centre, another Hong Kong landmark.

Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo:The first major convention and cultural

centre of its kind in Tokyo, the Forum

houses state-of-the-art halls, exhibition

spaces and conference facilities. Located

in Tokyo's business centre, the Forum's

most striking feature is its Glass Hall.

Opera House, Sydney: This complex of

theatres and halls is one of the busiest

performing arts centres in the world and

one of Australia's most popular tourist

attractions. Perched on the edge of Syd-

ney's harbour, the Opera House has a

distinctive roof of spherical shell shapes

that give it a soaring, wing-like effect.

Petronas Tower, Kuala Lumpur: The

88-storey, record-breaking twin towers

were the first in the world to surpass

Chicago's Sears Building as the tallest

buildings in the world. The towers are

part of the new Kuala Lumpur City Cen-

tre, which also includes three smaller

glass skyscrapers, a retail centre, a pub-

lic park and a mosque.

Baiyoke Towers, Bangkok: The firstof the two Towers ranked as Thailand's

tallest building for 10 years and is easy to

spot by the vertical rainbow of colours on

its exterior. Its sister tower, which in-

cludes the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, will be

completed in near future — 12 metres

higher than the Petronas Towers.

World Financial Centre, Shanghai:

Now under construction, the striking,

95-storey, postmodern building in

Shanghai's financial district will be

the world's tallest building upon its

completion.

White House

IMPORTANT RESIDENCES

Buckingham Palace (London) ................ King/Queen of Britain

10, Downing Street (London) ................. Prime Minister, Britain

Elysee Palace (Paris) .............................. President, France

Rashtrapati Bhawan (New Delhi) ......... President, India

White House (Washington) .................... President, USA

Vatican (Rome) ........................................ Pope

6

Kandy: In Sri Lanka; famous for

temple having Buddha's Tooth.

Karakoram Highway: It is an

800 km all weather road linking

border of China’s Sinkiang prov-

ince with Pakistan; road inaugu-

rated on June 18, 1978 by Gen-

eral Zia of Pakistan; India lodged

her protest against the opening

of this road as it passes through

Kashmir territory.

Kimberley: Situated on the east

of Kalahari desert in South Af-

rica; the biggest diamond mining

centre/market in the world.

Lumbini: The birth place of

Gautam Buddha in Nepal.

A scene of Kathmandu

Jerusalem; Church of theHoly Sepulchre

Jerusalem: Capital of Israel;

Holy city for three faiths— Jews,

Christians and Muslims.

Kathmandu: Capital of Nepal;

4500 ft above sea level; famous

for Pashupati Nath Temple;

headquarters of SAARC.

Kaaba: In Islam, the most sa-

cred sanctuary, the centre of the

Muslims world and the chief goal

of pilgrimage; it is a small build-

ing in the Great Mosque of

Mecca, nearly cubic in shape,

built to enclose the Black Stone,

the most venerated Muslim ob-

ject; the Kaaba was a pagan holy

place before Muhammad, and

many legends surround its ori-

gin; nonbelievers are forbidden to

approach it; Muslims face the

Kaaba when praying.

0 100KM

Leaning Tower:

180 ft. high, 8-sto-

rey marble tower

in Pisa (Italy)

built in 1154 AD.

London: Capital

city of Great Brit-

ain on both sides

of Thames river;

one of the world's

foremost financial, commercial,

industrial, and cultural centers

and one of its greatest ports;

London’s cultural institutions in-

clude the British Museum, Na-

Leaning Tower

7

tional Gallery, Tate Gallery, and

Victoria and Albert Museum;

among its landmarks are the re-

mains of the city's Roman walls,

Buckingham Palace, the Houses

of Parliament, the Tower of Lon-

don, Trafalgar Square, and West-

minster Abbey.

Madina: In Saudi Arabia; Tomb

of Prophet Mohammad.

Mecca: Holy city of Islam in

Saudi Arabia; birth place of

Mohammad; Kaaba, a place of

pilgrimage for Muslims is located

here.

Mont Blanc: Alpine massif on

Franco-Italian border; rises to

15,781 ft. (in France), highest

point of the Alps.

Mohenjo-daro: In Pakistan; site

of Indus Valley Civilisation.

Muree: Chief hill station of

Pakistan.

Mount Rushmore: Here the

A scene of London on the bank of river Thames. In the background is

The Houses of Parliament and the famous clock Big Ben.

A scene of Alps range

8

DO YOU KNOW ?l Each president's head is about as tall

as a five-storey building.

l Mount Rushmore can be seen from 60

miles away.

CHANGED NAMES OF CITIES,

STATES AND COUNTRIES

Old Name New Name

Abyssinia Ethiopia

Angora Ankara

Batavia Djakarta

Basutoland Lesotho

Bechuanaland Botswana

British Guiana Guyana

Burma Myanmar

Cape Canaveral Cape Kennedy

Ceylon Sri Lanka

Christina Oslo

Constantinople Istanbul

Dacca Dhaka

Dutch East Indonesia

Indies

Dutch Guiana Surinam

Egypt United Arab Rep.

Formosa Taiwan

Gold Coast Ghana

Holland Netherlands

Malaya Malaysia

Mesopotamia Iraq

Nippon Japan

Northern Zambia

Rhodesia

Persia Iran

Rhodesia Zimbabwe

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City

Salisbury Harare

Siam Thailand

South West Namibia

Africa

Stalingrad Volgograd

Tanganyika and Tanzania

Zanzibar

Upper Volta Burkina Faso

Zaire Republic of Congo

heads of four great American

presidents— from left to right—

George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt

and Abraham Lincoln—have

been carved; all four heads took

14 years to complete; now one of

HIDDEN FALLS FOUND

The legendary great falls on Tibet's

Tsangpo river, subject of myth and folk-

lore for more than a century, has finally

been reached by Western explorers. A

team of explorers, sponsored by the Na-

tional Geographic Society sighted the gi-

ant falls 30-35 metres high, on November

8, 1998. Tucked tightly between the ris-

ing cliffs of the Tsangpo Gorge, the falls

are in shadow most of the time and hid-

den from view in a hairpin turn. Stories of

the giant falls told by Tibetan hunters

and Buddhist monks were a popular topic

in Victorian drawing rooms. The rugged-

ness of the gorge prevented explorers

from determining what became of the

Tsangpo. An expedition in 1011 reduced

the unexplored section to between 50 and

65 km and in 1924 that was cut to five

miles (8 km) But, Hidden Falls remained

hidden.

SMALLEST COUNTRIES

Country Area

Sq.km.

l Vatican City ................................. 0.44

l Monaco ......................................... 1.50

l Gibraltar ...................................... 6.47

l Macao ......................................... 16.06

l Nauru ......................................... 21.30

l Tuvalu ........................................ 24.00

l Bermuda .................................... 53.35

l San Marino ................................ 62.00

l Liechtenstein ........................... 157.00

l Antigua .................................... 279.72

America’s famous tourist sights.

9

A scene of Kremlin in Moscow

Moscow: Capital of Russia; big

commercial and industrial cen-

tre; fine buildings, Kremlin, the

palaces of Czars.

New York: The largest city in

the U.S.A.; leading financial

and cultural centre; situated at

the mouth of the Hudson river;

noted sights include the Empire

State building, St. Patrick's Ca-

thedral, the Cathedral of Saint

John the Divine,

the Statue of Lib-

erty, Broadway

and Fifth Avenue,

Greenwich Village,

and Central Park;

The United Na-

tions has its head-

quarters here; Cul-

tural institutions

including Lincoln

Centre for the Per-

forming Arts and

Carnegie Hall; the

Metropolitan Mu-

seum of Art, Mu-

seum of Modern

Art, Whitney Mu-

seum of American Art, and many

other museums; and the New

York Public Library and other re-

search facilities; among the nu-

merous educational institutions

are the City Univ. of New York,

Columbia Univ., and New York

Univ.

Nagasaki: A city and port in Ja-pan; destroyed by atom bomb in1945.

Nankana Sahib: In Pakistan;birth place of Guru Nanak.

Nuremberg: City of Bavaria inEast Germany; under Hitler,Nuremberg was the scene ofthe National Socialist PartyCongress; in 1945-46 the firstinternational war-crimes trialswere held here.

Pearl Harbour: A key navalbase of the U.S.A. at Oahu in Ha-waii Islands. It was the scene ofthe Japanese air attack duringthe World War II.

Pentagon: Headquarters of theDepartment of Defence in Vir-ginia, USA; world’s largest officebuilding, constructed in 1943.

Statue

of Liberty

10

Philadelphia: Place of historic

importance, where Americans de-

clared their independence on

July 4, 1776.

Pisa: A town in Italy; famous for

Leaning Tower; birth place of

Galileo.

Pompeii: Ruined Roman city in

South Italy; situated at the foot

of Mountain Vesuvius; destroyed

by earthquake (63 AD) and bur-

ied by an eruption of Vesuvius

(79 AD).

Pyramids: Royal tombs to pro-

tect the body and thereby to pre-

serve the spirit; such pyramids

are found only in Egypt. Great

Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops at

Giza, one of the seven wonders of

the world, is largest pyramid

ever built; pyramids date back to

2700 BC.

Paris: Capital of France, situ-

ated on river Seine; cultural and

fashion metropolis of the world;

known for Eiffel Tower and Arc

de Triomp; UNESCO headquar-

ters.

Red Square: A famous open

A scene of Arc de Triomp

space in Moscow (near Kremlin)

used for political demonstrations

and processions; famous for Len-

in’s mausoleum and tombs of

other Revolutionary leaders.

Rome: Capital of Italy; situated

on the bank of river Tiber; called

‘The Eternal City’; one of the world’s

outstanding historical, religious,

cultural and art centres with

Vatican City and St. Peters

Church.

Sandhurst: Chief military train-

ing centre in England near Lon-

don; seat of Royal Military Acad-

emy, founded in 1799.

Scotland Yard: Headquarters of

the Metropolitan Police, London;

as the seat of the Criminal Inves-

tigation Department, Scotland

Yard is a synonym for the force

of detectives.

Sphinx: A fabulous monster rep-

resented in Egyptian art as a lion

with a human head; the best kno-

wn example is the great Sphinx

at Giza, Egypt, 52.6 m long and

20.1 m high, built around 2900-

2750 BC; it also figures in the art

11

of Greece, Assyria, Persia, etc.

St. Helena: An island in the

south Atlantic; became a British

possession in 1673; Napoleon

died here in exile in 1821.

Stockholm: Capital of Sweden;

a cultural centre; most of the

Nobel Prizes are awarded here.

Stratford-upon-Avon: Birth

place of Shakespeare in England.

Suez Canal: Ship canal in Egypt

linking Mediterranean and Red

Seas and separating Africa from

Asia; built by Ferdinand de Les-

seps in 1859-69; nationalised by

the then President Nasser in

1956.

St. Petersburg: Former capital

of Russia founded by reformist

Russian Czar, Peter the Great in

the 18th century; after the death

of Lenin, renamed as Leningrad;

with the dissolution of the

U.S.S.R. original name restored.

Stonehenge: A circular assem-

blage of huge shaped stones in

Salisbury, near London; built in

1800-1500 BC.

Taxila: Near Rawalpindi; an-

cient seat of Indian learning and

Buddhist university.

Tashkent: Capital of Uzbekistan

in former USSR; Tashkent Pact

between India and Pakistan was

signed here in January 1966.

Remains of Stonehenge

DO YOU KNOW ?

Venice is celebrated as the city of

canals, yet Birmingham, Britain's

second-largest city, has more canals

than Venice.

Venice: A city in Italy built on 118

alluvial islets within a lagon;

canals and bridges give access

among islands; boats are the only

conveyance.

Vatican city: Sovereign papal

State of about 0.44 km forming

an enclave in Italy, near the city

of Rome; the smallest independ-

ent State — has its own railway

Basilica of St. Peter at Vatican city

and radio and television station;

issues its own stamps and coin-

age; created by the Lateran

Treaty (1929) between the Pope

and the Italian Government.

Vienna: Capital of Austria; on

the river Danube; a cultural,

commercial and transportation

centre; headquarters of Interna-

tional Atomic Energy Agency.

12

MAJOR RIVERSIDE CITIES

City River

Alexandria Nile

Amsterdam Amsel

Antwerp Scheldt

Ankara Kizil

Baghdad Tigris

Bangkok Menam

Belgrade Danube

Berlin Spree

Bonn Rhine

Bristol Avon

Budapest Danube

Cairo Nile

Canton Canton

Chittagong Karnaphuli

Cologne Rhine

City River

Chungking Yang-tse-

Kiang

Galsgow Clyde

Hull Humber

Hamburg Elbe

Karachi Indus

Khartoum Blue &

White Nile

Lahore Ravi

Lisbon Tagus

Liverpool Mersey

London Thames

Montreal Ottawa

Moscow Moskva

New Orleans Mississippi

City River

Nanking Yang-tse-

Kiang

New York Hudson

Paris Seine

Philadelphia Delaware

Quebec St.

Lawrence

Rome Tiber

Shanghai Yang-tse-

Kiang

Tokyo Sumida

Vienna Danube

Warsaw Vistula

Washington Potamac

Yangoon Irawadi

Wall Street: Thoroughfare in

New York; the stock exchange

here has come to be used as a

synonym for stock dealing in

USA.

Waterloo: In Belgium; on June

18, 1815 Wellington defeated

Napoleon here.

White House: Official residence

of U.S. President in Washington;

oldest public building in Wash-

ington; John Adams (1800) was

the first President to live here.

Wimbledon: A London suburb;

famous tennis ground where Inter-

national tennis matches are

played.

World Trade

Center : In New York;

constructed in 1972;

two towers, each

with 110 stories;

430 offices; work-

ing people about

50,000; in a deadly

terrorist attack on September 11,

2001, both the towers were

dest-royed killing thousands of

people.

Yellowstone National Park: A

picturesque national American

Reserve established in 1872.

Zanzibar: In Tanzania; famous

for production of cloves.

WTC on fire

WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World : The Greek author

Antipater of Sidon, who lived in the 2nd century BC, was one of

several writers to list the greatest monuments and buildings known

to the Classical world. He settled on seven because that was consid-

ered a magic number by the Greeks.

1. The Egyptian Pyramids : Built more than 4000 years ago, they

are the oldest of the ancient wonders and the only ones still surviv-

ing. They served as tombs for the Egyptian pharaohs, whose mum-

13

mified bodies were surrounded by treasures and personal belongings.

2. The Colossus of Rhodes : A bronze statue of the sun god Helios

standing 32 m (105 ft) high at the mouth of Rhodes harbour. Accord-

ing to legend, the Colossus straddled the harbour and vessels sailed

between its legs. It was built on the Greek island in about 305-292

BC and was destroyed in 224 BC by an earthquake.

3. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon : Built in the 6th century BC

by Nebuchandnezzar II, they consisted of a series of terraces on

which flowers and trees were grown. The gardens stretched along the

banks of the Euphrates and were watered by irrigation channels.

4. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Asia Minor : The tomb of

Mausolus, a ruler of the city in the 4th century BC. It was built by

his widow and was destroyed by an earthquake before the 15th cen-

tury.

5. The Pharos of Alexandria : The World’s first known lighthouse,

it stood 122 m (400 ft) high and had a spiral ramp leading to the

beacon. It was built on the island of Pharos, at the entrance to Al-

exandria harbour in Egypt, in about 270 BC. By the 15th century it

had fallen into ruin.

6. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia : An imposing figure-9 m (30 ft)

---of the supreme Greek god with the body made of wood and covered

with gold and ivory. It was designed in the 5th century BC by the

Athenian sculptor Phidias and was destroyed by fire in AD 475.

7. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Asia Minor : Built of

marble in the 6th century BC in honour of the Greek virgin goddess

of the hunt and the moon, it was rebuilt in the 4th century BC and

finally destroyed by invading Goths in the 3rd century AD. Frag-

ments of the temple are in the British Museum, in London.

Seven Wonders of the Medieval World :

Picture showing seven wonders of the world

1. Colosseum of Rome

2. Great Wall of China

3. Porcelain Tower of Nanking

4. Stonehenge

5. Mosque at St. Sophia (Con-

stantinople);

6. Catacombs of Rome

7. Leaning Tower of Pisa

14

TRANSPORT IN ASIAN CITIES

In some Asian countries transport

options are singular to the location

and offer memorable one-time

travel experiences. Here's a sam-

pler of some of the region's interest-

ing transport options :

l China: Trans-Siberian Rail-

way— Three rail lines comprise

the Trans-Siberian Railway, two of

which traverse China. The Trans-

Manchurian line crosses the Rus-

sia-China border and the Trans-

Mongolian line connects Beijing to

Moscow via the Mongolian capital

city of Ulan Bator, a journey of

about 5-1/2 days.

l Hong Kong: Trams — Hong

Kong's double-decker trams offer

one of the most colourful tours of

the main island. The trams run

parallel to the harbour. Another

delightful journey is the Peak

Tram, which runs from Central

straight up Victoria Peak, with

breathtaking vistas of one of the

world's most impressive harbors.

l Singapore: Eastern & Orien-

tal Express — The weekly trip of

this deluxe train service runs be-

tween Singapore and Bangkok. The

journey takes approximately 42

hours and includes two nights on

board in antique decor.

l Malaysia: Jungle Railway —

The central railway line goes

through aboriginal territory and

dense jungles, offering some of the

country's most fascinating scenery.

l Indonesia: Bali Tourist Shut-

tle Bus — This network of mini-

buses traverses the main sites of

Bali and also connects with ferry

services for extended routes to the

islands of Java, Lombok and

Sumbawa, offering travellers the

convenience of travelling between

islands via one prebooked means of

transport.

l Thailand: Chao Phraya River

Express — An hour's boat trip

through Bangkok's main riverway

provides an interesting glimpse of

the city's colourful water life, in-

cluding floating markets, trading

houses, temples and the watercraft,

from canoes to barges, that ply the

river.

l India: Palace On Wheels —

This luxury tourist train makes a

weekly circle of the major sites of

Rajasthan, including Jaipur,

Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and

Agra. The train's carriages have

been refurbished to look like those

that once belonged to the mahara-

jas. Sightseeing is done by day and

travelling by night.

l Mass Transit Railways —

Many Asian cities, including Hong

Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo,

have well-developed, fast and safe

underground mass transit railway

networks that connect the area's

major districts. Easy-to-read maps

of station locations are conven-

iently mounted at each station and

inside railway cars. The trains are

a convenient way to get around,

especially at non-rush hours.