Entrapped in Petronas Towers

It’s true you can see them from almost every place in Kuala Lumpur. Even though they are no longer the tallest building in the World they are still very impressive (451.9 metres). I mostly associate them with Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones.

The twin towers were built on the site of Kuala Lumpur’s race track. Test boreholes found that the original construction site effectively sat on the edge of a cliff. One half of the site was decayed limestone while the other half was soft rock. The entire site was moved 61 metres (200 ft) to allow the buildings to sit entirely on the soft rock. Because of the depth of the bedrock, the buildings were built on the world’s deepest foundations. 104 concrete piles, ranging from 60 to 114 metres (200 to 374 ft) deep, were bored into the ground.

We came back from Batu Caves and got out from the train at Bank Negra deciding to somehow find our way through the streets of Golden Triangle. It’s not a long distance and PT are a distinctive landmark. When we got to the towers it turned out that the tickets for the day were already sold out even though it was around 2pm. So make sure you get there in the morning or book in advance. Adult ticket for Non-Malaysian costs MR80 and you can buy it online here.

What makes them beautiful for me is the steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art. The design of each Tower’s floor plate is based on two interlocking squares, creating a shape of eight-pointed stars. Architecturally, these forms describe important Islamic principles of “unity within unity, harmony, stability and rationality”. The towers are depicted through its outline, which resembles the letter “M” for Malaysia.

As we could not get to Petronas Towers we moved on to see Kuala Lumpur Tower (Menara Kuala Lumpur). The tower is the highest viewpoint in Kuala Lumpur that is open to the public. So we had a better view for MR99. There is another price option. You can only go to observation deck (enclosed with glass) and pay MR56. As we were going to the highest floor only one elevator could take us there. It took a while so we had time to observe the people queuing and our surroundings. Have a look at this spectacular ceiling in the elevator area.

Before leaving Ireland we were watching a few videos of people base jumping from this tower. Once we were there we met no daredevils but had to sign devils pledge. Let the pictures speak for themselves as the panorama of Kuala Lumpur reviles itself. Let me just say I was really impressed. Jus one more think. We’ve seen both towers during the night and they look so much better. The coloful lights making the all the difference. I didn’t get a chance to take a shot but believe me it’s so worth it to see it. I’m sure you will find plenty of those online anyway.