Location: Petronas Twin Towers - a view from Malaysia
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| The glass looking towers illuminated at night |
Kuala Lumpur, the vibrant and colorful capital of Malaysia, is the home
of the world famous Petronas Towers, double skyscrapers that holds the
title of the tallest twin towers in the world. The towers are 88 stores
high and 452 meters above sea level. Although they were completed in
1998, after seven years of construction, they were officially
inaugurated on August 31, 1999.
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| The Sky bridge gives tourists a great view of the city |
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The building is spectacularly beautiful and at night, it resembles
pointed spires of a giant glass castle. The lights are usually turned
off around midnight. It is breathtaking to take a peak at the city from
the towers, and visitors can go to the observatory platform on the 41st
floor, half way through to the top, where a sky bridge unites both
towers. Besides being an observatory deck, the sky bridge also serves as
an escape route in case of emergency. The ride used to be free, and you
had to spend a considerable amount of time in line waiting for a chance
to get a ticket. For that, you had to go to the underground level of the
Suria KLCC shopping mall, a high class shopping mall at the foot of the
towers, the biggest in Malaysia, where you find the booth that
distributes the daily tickets. Lines used to form as early as 6 am on
the weekends, as the tickets were distributed on a first came, first
served basis to 1,000 tourists per day.
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| Interior of the Suria KLCC Shopping Mall, located at the foot of Petronas Towers |
The 20 elevator trips to the sky
bridge are still distributed to the maximum capacity of 20 visitors per
ride, with the last ride being around 4 or 5 pm. If you are traveling
by yourself, you have a higher chance to fill one of the earliest rides.
For example, when I got there around 8 am, the line was already curving
around the corner of the room, and by 10:45 am, although the next
available slot was not until 3:15pm, I was able to score one at 1:45 pm,
because I was by myself and they needed one more person to fill the
elevator to its maximum capacity. For the last two years, the tickets
are now being sold to the public, however the touristic demand to go to
this architectural masterpiece is high and queues are still an issue.
It's advisable to stay around the area waiting for your ride,so don't go
wandering around too far. If you get there late for your elevator slot,
you won't be able to take your tour and will have to try again the
following day. You can enjoy your time walking around the shopping mall,
browsing through the hundreds of specialty shops or finding a place to
eat and have a fresh fruit smoothie while you wait.
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| Another beautiful view of the magnificent skyscrapers |
The ride is fast and non stop. Once at the sky ride observatory, you get the chance to walk around and
take breathtaking pictures of the city down below, which is well worth
the wait. No trip to Kuala Lumpur would be complete without visiting the
towers. It's a must see in the Malaysia capital, and probably the most
famous attraction, since the towers symbolize the city and
the country.
