When the Petronas Twin Towers were completed in 1996, Malaysia had announced to the world that it had arrived. It was designed by Cesar Pelli, a renowned architect from Cesar Pelli and Associates of USA. The 452metres tall, 88 stories high building with Islamic geometric pattern as its base floor design and a skybridge connects both towers at levels 41 and 42. It was the tallest building when it was build, surpassed by Taiwan 101 but still, it holds the tallest Twin Tower record till today.
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| Petronas Twin Towers |
The skybridge (41st level) and 86th floor is open to public. It opens from 9am to 9pm (closes every Friday from 1pm to 2pm, and also during Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Kabir) and only 40 people are permitted each session. One session lasts 30 minutes and it covers both the skybridge and 86th floor. You can buy the ticket at Concourse level or buy it online (here)
Since my brother and his wife, Azmeir and Dina are Petronas hard working employee (wink wink)... we followed him to office (well he went to office) ....went straight to the counter only to find this...
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| queue at the entrance! |
A dozen or so people were already there! The blue TV screen you see in the picture shows you which visiting session still available. I would suggest you to purchase your tickets online, easy.
Both children were very excited and looked forward to this visit. Earlier they visited KL Tower (that's another story altogether) and they were very patient and well behaved. When the counter finally opened, we took the 9.30 am session.
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| the ticket |
We came back to the Concourse level 10 minutes before our session and was given a colored tag. Each session has their own color so the staffs can track each visitors when needed. Mind you, we have two places to visit in a single session.
First stop, the skybridge. 58.4 meters in length and 170 meters from street level. A group ahead of us were there and the staffs would call out the respective color tag and off they go to the 86th level. Then it was our turn.
Took as much pictures as I could. The children explored the whole length of the skybridge. In the middle, there's an info about the bridge. Fay was her usual self, always know how to amuse herself. Benjamin running after Fay, making sure his sister not in trouble.
The bridge is on two levels, 41st and 42nd. The 42nd is for Petronas staffs and their tenants only. In the event of emergency, they could evacuate from one tower to the other if the need arise. So the bridge is just not for show, but an important structure in a time so critical for employees at the higher floors.
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| the cheeky girl |
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| window cleaning crew on duty |
Not a moment too soon, it was our turn to go to level 86. Our ears popped as the elevators raced towards the pinnacle, the highest we could go. The other 2 floors above it are for the maintenance crew.
Apart from the magnificent view of the Kuala Lumpur, there's also a model of the towers, the spire and a map of Kuala Lumpur buildings made out of wood and resin. There were also info about Petronas, Malaysia's national oil and gas company. Its the biggest government owned corporation and employed close 50,000 people all over the world.
At certain corners, there are binoculars from NIKON for visitors' use. The optics was good but I do wish they put a stand for children to stand on when using it. Ben was ok, he's 10...but for Fay, I would say most 8-9 y.o children and below would have difficulty using the instrument.
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| the spire design |
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| Kampung Baru on the right foreground, buildings along Jalan Ampang on the left side. |
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| Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated highway and Jalan Tun Razak. Kampung Baru on the left side of the picture. |
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| interactive TV, it reads the QR code on the ticket and info about the towers appears on the screen |
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| Map of buildings in Kuala Lumpur (forgot I put on tilt shift mode) |
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| Petronas Twin Towers and Tower 3. KL Tower in the distance |
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| Us.... :-) |
I was wearing a grey tag, and the moment they called out your color...it felt too short. First the lift took us to 41st floor, but this time no access to the bridge. We waited inside a gift shop, it was for a few minutes only when we took another lift all the way to the Concourse level and exited thru the gift shop. What a strategy...the children managed to shanghaied me into buying some souvenirs for themselves. They also bought an apron for our steward back in Lagos.
We did not do any shopping but just went to Avenue K (next door mall) to have our brunch. Stomachs full, it's easier to take them around. We took the train back home and at the station, a short trip with the taxi and we're home.
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| Lagos will have something like this, soon..hopefully |
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| Noticed the brand? Yes, it's Malaysian made |
The trip to the twin towers was in July, after Eid. I kid you not that this article was the hardest ever to write....I put if off many times... maybe because the pictures were lousy... but its my blog...what me worry. Hope to get the hang of it...writing every other day. I can only wish. The picture of the tower at night was taken by Ben using the phone camera...not bad for a 10y.o......ahehhhh
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