Look Up ‘Cause You Can’t Look Down

The world’s new tallest buildings - the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - officially opened this summer and are filling up with office workers, but tourists shouldn’t count on seeing the view from the top.

Unlike the previous tallest building, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the stunning Islamic-motif skyscrapers have no public observation deck. An official at the Malaysian Tourist Information Complex located a few blocks away said visitors often ask how they can go up, and he joked about erecting a “you can’t do it” sign that would save them from asking the question.

The towers are 88 stories high and reach 1,483 feet into the air, just taller than the Sears Tower at 1,454 feet. A skybridge connects the Petronas Towers at levels 41 and 42. In any case, the Petronas Towers’ place in the spotlight of superlatives isn’t going to last especially long; a taller building is under construction in Shanghai, China.

Hungry ATM: If your ATM card, credit card or bank card has an expiration date of 2000 - which would appear on the card as, say, 06/00 - think twice about using it in an ATM machine while you’re traveling. Because of the “year 2000” computer glitch, which makes it hard for some computers to comprehend the end of the century, there is a small chance that an ATM machine might eat the card.

Consumer Reports Travel Letter has an account of a case in which a tourist in Mexico lost his card that way, and card-issuers acknowledge the problem could arise elsewhere until all bank computers and networks are adjusted. As a precaution, carry a duplicate card or ask to have the expiration date changed.

Spacing out is popular: What museums draw the most visitors in the nation’s capital? Tallies for 1996 provided by the Washington Convention and Visitors Association put the National Air and Space Museum at the top, as usual, with nearly 7 million visitors.

Behind it come the National Museum of Natural History, 5.3 million; National Gallery of Art, 4.7 million; National Museum of American History, 4.5 million; and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1.9 million.

Also high on the list of attractions are Union Station, Arlington National Cemetery, and the National Zoo.

Miscellaneous: Golf is hot, and many destinations that are rich in golf courses are publishing free guides, hoping visitors will come and linger on the links and elsewhere.

Hundreds of courses are tucked among the British Isles, and many are described in “Golf Britain: The Essential Guide,” available by calling 800-462-2748.

The guide also has info on booking golf holidays in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Travel Books and Language Center in Bethesda, Md., one of the country’s premier travel bookstores, has published a free catalog of travel and language books.

The 81-page catalog is well-organized, with many categories, and includes books from independent publishers as well as the big-name series. It’s available by calling 800-220-2665, faxing 301-951-8546, or e-mailing to travelbks@aol.com

Construction of a new Amtrak station for New York City is expected to start soon beneath the old James A. Farley Post Office Building at 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, near Pennsylvania Station. The initial work will be on new platforms, and eventually the old post office building will be renovated into the main station.

The $315 million station is not scheduled for completion until 2002, but some service is expected to begin operating there as early as 1999.

Shannon Airport, near Limerick in western Ireland, is celebrating the golden anniversary of duty-free shopping, which it says was born there 50 years ago when the airport opened as a refueling station for trans-Atlantic aircraft.

It began in a small kiosk at the terminal, selling souvenirs, Irish linens and other locally produced items to passengers flying between the United States and Europe.

As longer-range planes became available, Shannon lost its competitive advantage, but the duty-free industry had been born. To mark the anniversary, the airport unveiled a bronze sculpture called “Spirit of Duty Free” and is offering anniversary sale items - where else? - in the duty-free shops.