It’s the only thing I knew about Kuala Lumpur before the email hit my inbox saying I’d been invited to Malaysia. I’d seen countless pictures posing in front of the Petronas Towers by day and night, some even in the hokey style of Leaning Tower of Pisa pictures.
I’d hardly been in the country for 12 hours when we hopped out of our bus after dinner to shoot some nighttime pictures of the towers before going up them the next morning.
The iconic twin towers are the headquarters of the Petronas oil company, the largest in Malaysia, as well as home to a large shopping mall and the philharmonic orchestra. The offices are connected by a Skybridge, one for tourists like myself and one for employees to get between the buildings.
They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and have since replaced the World Trade Center as the tallest twin towers in the world.
We went inside to receive our tickets and lanyards and went through a security screening where those with bigger bags and backpacks, not to mention monopods and tripods, were asked to check their bags. Guides escorted us into elevators to the Skybridge level on the 42nd floor, where we learned about the modern design of the buildings, which were constructed starting in 1992.
The Petronas Towers may now be dwarfed by structures like Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Taipei 101, but the views from the top allow you to see the surrounding sprawl of Kuala Lumpur, albeit on a hazy day during our visit. A school group joined us at the top, where we could check out interactive exhibits on the towers.
The Petronas Towers are so much of the Malaysian identity, on t-shirts and souvenirs everywhere. It’s been the site of a base jump by Felix Baumgartner, the climactic ending to Entrapment, and a free climb by Alain “Spiderman” Robert.
I recommend checking the weather before you go up in the towers for the best views of the city or try to visit at night when the city is lit up.
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