Petronas Towers

1st February 

As - I try to be - an environmentally conscious person, I suppose I am a bit of a hypocrite, paying to visit a building belonging to a huge petrochemical company. But the towers fascinate me & I love views, so I couldn't resist. 

The Petronas Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at 451.9 m (1,483 ft). From 1996 to 2004, they were the tallest buildings in the world until they were surpassed by the Taipei 101 building. The Petronas Towers remain the world's tallest twin skyscrapers, surpassing the original World Trade Center towers in New York City, and were the tallest buildings in Malaysia until 2021, when they were surpassed by Merdeka 118. The Petronas Towers are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with the nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower and Merdeka 118, and are visible in many places across the city.

More fascinating facts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Towers

The trip up is organised- you have a time slot and hence are in a group - and taken up to the sky bridge first. This is actually not fully attached to the towers, in order that they can move in the wind. These are the 41st & 42nd floors.

Then you go in another lift to floor 86, the observation deck, which is the highest that visitors can go. The views were spectacular. 

There was a toilet on the observation deck so I had my highest wee! Also, I'm sure you could feel the towers moving a little,  unless it was my imagination. 

You are taken down to floor 83 where there is a café & gift shop. You can collect a photo of yourself there - I didn't pose for it - it was in front of a green screen so I didn't see the point.

From here, I realised you could see Pak Haji's house, that we visited yesterday!

After the towers, I had lunch in this area - there were a few busy cafes 

On the way back there was some 'posh car' rally going on, causing traffic chaos 

Later, as it was my last day here, I wanted to get a last look at the towers at night, but it was raining. A Malay girl, staying at the hostel kindly lent me her umbrella. It was a really nice one with a wooden handle - I got so far and the rain became really heavy and there was lightning. 

I gave up in the end and turned back making my way slowly, through the streets, which were now running with water. It was fun though - lots of people sheltering and getting excited about the rain. - one man carrying his daughter asked to walk under my umbrella for a bit - people were running & laughing - almost a party atmosphere. 

This was the closest picture I took of the towers.

 Bye bye KL.