When I was younger I watched a movie with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones called Entrapment. There was a part in the film where they went to Kuala Lumpur to steal something from the Petronas Twin Towers. The first time I laid eyes on that tower in the film, I knew that one day I wanted to see those towers in person. Years later, my desire came true!
I landed at the KLIA 2 airport which was built specifically for Air Asia to accommodate their traffic needs. While the airport itself is great, it is a bit far from central K.L. Plenty of options are available however to get to the center of the City, including taxis, trains and buses. The bus (cheapest option to the city) took about an hour to drop us off at the K.L. Sentral (that’s not a typo, that’s how they spell ‘Central’). It was quite a scenic trip to the City and honestly I was surprised how hilly surrounding K.L. was. From there, numerous trains and skyrails were available to take one to any corner of the city.
I had pre-booked (so unlike me, I know!) a little B&B about a kilometer from the towers called The Orange Pekoe for several nights while I awaited my next flight out to Indonesia. While they did provide great directions on how to get to the B&B from K.L. Sentral, for some reason I ended up getting a little lost once on foot. I’m just going to blame it on being shell-shocked after coming from a sleepy and chill city to the booming energy of K.L., and of course on the heat of the day as well! Long story short, though I did wander in the wrong direction several times for about a half hour, I finally found my way (i.e. I stopped and asked for directions) to The Orange Pekoe.
The B&B is located in a partly residential, partly small business street of K.L. and is so obscured that I probably never would have noticed it had I not been looking for it! While the room was a teeny bit on the dirty side, the rest of the charms of the place made one feel at home. The staff were really helpful and friendly, and the breakfasts, while basic, were filling and satiating. Overall I couldn’t complain about the place at all, especially considering its distance from the Towers. It was perhaps only a 300 meter walk to the covered skywalk that led directly into the heart of the Towers.
I felt like a kid in a candy store having finally arrived in K.L. and able to see the Towers up close and personal. So needless to say, after quickly settling in to my room, I headed over directly to the skywalk to get to the Towers. Let me give a warning now to all those who really enjoy finer shopping… If you aren’t looking to break the bank or ring up thousands in retail purchases on your credit card, LEAVE THEM AT HOME!!! The lower floors of the Towers are essentially a gigantic mall filled with every top clothing/jewelry name in the industry! From Gucci to Ferragamo, Tiffany’s and Bulgari, the 5 levels and endless hallways of the lower towers are a shoppers dream come true! Dozens of delicious but top-dollar restaurants are also found there along with at least another dozen coffee shops, a huge food court and a movie theater!!
Again for me it was a bit shell-shocking to arrive in such a grand place. I normally shy away from larger crowds and detest malls because of the crowds, but I wrestled my way through them to the first level and out the front doors so I could stand in front and view those majestic Towers in their full glory. Generally I can’t say I’m that impressed by buildings and their architecture, but the Petronas Twin Towers are very impressive!! The way the light hits off the windows during the day and how brilliantly it lights up at night is mesmerizing. I could have stood there for hours (and over the 4 days I was there literally did) gazing up their heights, taking in how stunning they are. In front and behind the buildings they have water displays that light up in an array of colors and even have a water show to music nightly, similar to (but honestly not as grand) as those at the Bellagio in Vegas.
Just like in any large city, there is a lot to see in Kuala Lumpur. And like many cities, K.L. is well-organized with their transportation options. One of my favorite features was the ‘Go K.L.’ busses that offered free transport to various parts around the city. During my time in K.L. I used the free service to get to a starting point, then walked on foot around various parts of the city, eventually rounding my way back to the towers in time to see them light up at night.
I explored China Town (which honestly wasn’t that impressive as it was mostly all about bargain shopping and not food!) and the very impressive sentral market; enjoyed a lovely picnic and walk around the park with a couple I’d met at the B&B from Norway, as well as a visit to the Muslim museum. I was also there during Deepavali, which is the ‘festival of lights’ celebrated by all Hindus, so I got to enjoy several nights of fireworks up and down the streets. I had thought to visit the caves while in K.L. but sadly the weather wasn’t as cooperative as I was hoping for, and honestly I was content just spending my days lingering around the city, spending time in the Towers and chilling with my new friends. I did of course take advantage of the movie theater in the towers and watched the movie “The Wire” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt based on the true story of the high-rise wire walk between the NYC twin towers. Kind of ironic I believe…
On to Teaching English in Indonesia
Further tidbits on the Towers: The Petronas Twin Towers are so named because of the oil company (Petronas) which occupies the majority of the office space of the towers. They were designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, reflecting the Muslim religion. A joining walkway is found on the 41st and 42nd floors of the towers and tours are available most days for about 80 ringgit (if memory serves!).
It took a total of 7 years to construct from its groundbreaking to the inauguration at a cost of $5.6 billion! The towers were the tallest in the world for 6 years, until Taipei 101 was completed. However, to this day they still remain to be the tallest twin towers in the world!
Facts about the towers were provided by Wikipedia
Ramblintraveler 