Some say that the journey is just as interesting at the destination itself. Well our visit to the Petronas Towers in Malaysia was just that, with the journey being quite the event.
Table of Contents
The Petronas Towers – Getting There
Our journey to the Petronas Towers was fraught with difficulties from the very beginning. Our group was severely hampered by one person with such a terrible sense of direction, he kept getting everyone lost during their entire stay in Malaysia.
[Oh wait, that was me!]
Spire
As you can imagine, having a lousy sense of direction in a country that doesn’t speak much English is a recipe for disaster. So even if we kept asking for directions, our group regularly ended up getting lost even more.
Local tourist maps weren’t much of a help as they aren’t exactly optimized for accuracy. And since my orienteering skills were less than stellar, using them just made things worse. Thanks to all those dead ends and wrong turns, the amount we covered must have been the same as going to the moon and back.
[Okay, so it wasn’t that far, but it sure felt that way.]
In my defense, several parts of Kuala Lumpur were under construction and quite a few road signs weren’t available. And when the signs did exist on the road, they could not be found in maps. But after several days of leading people astray, I finally got my bearings.
View from the Top
And while I’d love to claim that a bolt of lightning opened my mind to the truth, it wasn’t that spectacular. We finally found someone who pointed out the location of Jalan Pudu, or Pudu Road. And after establishing that as our marker, I finally realized where we were.
Our feet were painful from all that walking so there was a growing consensus in the group to take a Teksi, which is what they call taxis in Kuala Lumpur. But thanks to a good night’s rest, it was decided that everyone walk to the Petronas Towers from our hotel instead. And this time around, there were no surprises.
[Okay, so that’s not entirely true. I still managed to get us to take a longer route.]
The Petronas Towers – Sky Lobby
If you’re planning to go to the Petronas Towers, you need to line up early. Ideally, you should be in line at 7 o’clock in the morning because they only let 300 tourists in per day.
In our case, the slight detour meant we arrived at about 7:15 in the morning to put us second in line.
Model of the Towers
[Oops!]
By the time the ticket booth opened at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, the line behind us looked like it was close to fifty on a week day. I understand that the line is much longer during weekends, so it is really important not to take any long detours.
Entrance is a bit steep, with adults being charged Ringgit 80. Fortunately, tourists can pay through credit card if they are short on bills.
While while paying, tourists are given the opportunity to choose what time to go up. Visitation hours are between 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening, so people can choose anything within that window.
Tourists are organized into groups and are given color-coded IDs. They are then led to a high speed elevator and given 45 minutes for the entire tour.
Now if there is one thing that was notable about the tour, it was the elevators. Running at about 5 meters per second, they get tourists to their destination almost instantaneously.
The Petronas Towers – 41st Floor Sky Bridge
Skybridge
The first stop of the tour is on the Sky Bridge that connects the two towers on the 41st floor.
It is 170 meters above the street, is 58.4meters long, and is composed of two levels. The top level is used by the building’s residents to get from one tower to the other. It also acts as an alternative path should there be an emergency. The second level of the Sky Bridge is the part open to tourists.
The Petronas Towers – 86th Floor Viewing Deck
After a few minutes minutes, the next group will appear to indicate that the preceding group needs to go up to the 86th floor for the second half of the tour.
View from the Top
With 88 floors and 452 meters above the street, the Petonas Towers are the tallest twin tower buildings in the world. Even the 86th floor provides an unobstructed view of Kuala Lumpur.
Apart from the high view, there are a few other things to keep tourists busy for the next few minutes. The first is a system that allows tourists to manipulate a model of the Petronas Towers. Using their ticket, a computer generated image can be twisted on a monitor. The second is a large scale model of Kuala Lumpur. And the third is a larger scale model of the Petronas Twin Towers.
Once the next group comes up, it signals the end of the tour and everyone is shuffled in to the elevators for a quick ride down to the Souvenir Shop.
The Petronas Towers – Ground Floor Souvenir Shop
Just like many tourist shops around the world, the Souvenir Shop of the Petronas Towers has several unique stuff, like t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, and mugs.
[We checked other shops beforehand to make sure.]
So if you’d like to get something to remind you of your trip, you have the convenience of paying via credit card so you don’t have to carry any bills with you.
Final Thoughts
View at Night
Just when we thought we knew exactly where we were going, we got lost on our way back to our hotel.
[And no, it was not my doing this time around.]
Instead of going up the right escalator back to the Sky Walk, we ended up in the gardens near the Petronas Towers.
We actually ended up in the same spot the night before, thanks to my amazing sense of direction. This error gave us the opportunity to take night pictures of the Petronas Towers. So even if I managed to get everyone lost after dinner, it turned out to be a great photo opportunity.
Must Do’s
- Download maps into your tablets or phones so you won’t get lost.
- Get in line as early at 7 o’clock in the morning.
- Wear comfortable shoes in case you get lost.
- Bring a credit card so you don’t have to carry too many bills.
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