Join me for a Tour of the Majestic Petronas Towers in Malaysia
On day three of our visit to Kuala Lumpur, after Sophie, Memrie, and I left the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation, our out rider, Mr. Abu Bakar, led us through the downtown area so that we could tour the magnificent Petronas Towers. With eighty-eight floors and 1,483 feet (452m) tall, these buildings are the tallest twin buildings in the world. Tower One is occupied by Petronas, a Malaysian-owned oil and gas company and Tower Two is leased to other companies.
Designed by Argentine architects César Pelli and Djay Cerico, the Petronas Towers are filled with extraordinary motifs found in Islamic art. One very interesting feature of the towers is the two-story skybridge that connects the buildings at the 41st and 42nd floors. This bridge is not rigidly attached to the structures, but is instead, designed to move independently to prevent it from breaking during high winds. If you saw the movie ‘Entrapment’ starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, you may recall that the Petronas Towers were a setting for some thrilling scenes. In any event, please enjoy this little tour!
1 The skyline of Kuala Lumpur is graced by the regal Petronas Twin Towers.
2 The towers’ location in the center of Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur reflects the fact that downtown Kuala Lumpur has historically served as the center of Malaysian culture, politics and economy.
3 Here I am with Memrie and our fabulous out rider, Mr. Abu Bakar. He expediently and safely delivered us to the Petronas Twin Towers.
4 Looking up at these elegant towers
5 Another view - we later visited the top floor of the bridge, which is located on the 42nd floor.
6 The downtown area has lush vegetation, like these beautiful palm trees.
7 Another view up as we walked around the towers
8 Here I am speaking with Mr. Safful Bahari Din, an executive at the Petronas Towers. He kindly gave us a tour.
9 The Petronas logo near the entrance - Petronas is short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad.
10 We loved these amazing chandeliers.
11 More great lighting
12 This intricate steelwork coordinates beautifully with the intricate woodwork.
13 For safety, one must pass through a security check before getting on the elevator.
14 Such exquisite detail everywhere
15 There is a lot of construction being done all around Kuala Lumpur.
16 Looking out at one side of the city
17 And the other with the Kuala Lumpur Tower
18 This apartment building is very unique in that each unit has its own swimming pool!
19 Imagine, a beatifully designed and very green water park right in downtown Kuala Lumpur!
20 This is the skybridge that spans between the 41st and 42nd floors of each tower. Due to the subtle sway of the tall towers, the bridge is not actually attached to these floors, but held in place by suspensions attached to lower floors!
21 A detail of the bridge
22 Here I am, stepping out on the skybridge.
23 Looking down at the fascinating geometric patterns on one section of the lower rooftop.
24 Mr. Bahari Din gave us a most comprehensive tour of the Petronas Towers.
25 The skybridge has skylights and here is a view of one tower from the middle of the bridge.
26 Waving to Sophie, who lay on the floor trying to photograph both tower tops - it's difficult to find the exact angle.
27 But, she did it!
28 Sophie on the skybridge
29 A beautiful Islamic pattern on this tile floor
30 I liked these interestingly placed notebooks.
31 Each tower has 16,000 windows letting in so much natural light.
32 Another view
thank you Martha for the tour of Petronas Towers, such detail, thought design and amazing engineering.
Posted by: Aussie gal | June 7th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Hi Martha,
Would you believe “Entrapment” was just on TV the other day? I watched it just for a few minutes but now I’m going to look for it to air again just to see the tower scenes. They are so impressive and what a breathtaking view of the city, not to mention just to see that geometric pattern on a lower rooftop would be worth taking the elevator ride up. The green color matches the green tint in the windows. Looks like Martha green too. You said a subtle sway of the buildings – what about a subtle sway of the bridge! Not attached, on suspensions! Gulp. I’m afraid of heights and if the object moves, forget it!
It is so amazing that each apartment unit has their own pool. At least with 100 degree temperatures, they wouldn’t have to put in a pool heater. If they have a restaurant in the tower, a view from that would be great too! Well, thanks for the grand tour – loved it! Trish
Posted by: Trish | June 7th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Wow Spectacular views!! S sky walk so High up!! very interesting architecture at every turn! http://www.meandmartha.net
Thanks again! for the pictures.. I also liked sophie's website too!! excellent work!
Dan Viger
Hollis Center, Maine.
Posted by: Dan Viger | June 7th, 2010 at 11:16 am
So near and yet so far..great pics of the Twin Towers Martha! Did you know that the whole area where the Twin Towers are located was once the race course? It was our then Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir who decided that the land could be put to better use and to benefit more people. Connected to the Twin Towers is Suria KLCC(Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Suria is Malay for the sun) one of the largest shopping malls in KL with approx 300 specialty stores/boutiques and where my boutiques are located. He he you are so observant you noticed the notebooks tucked in the groove of the steel wall. Picture 19 of the lake is where you will end if you walk through the mall from the lobby of the Twin Towers.The Petronas Philharmonic Theatre is located beneath the Twin Towers, it is a beautiful theatre all done in wood and is home to the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Anyway there was probably too little time for you to go around ...so you must try make it to this side of the world again.
Posted by: Kartini Illias | June 7th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
WOW!!! These photos are amazing, very creative picture taking Sophie! Totally enjoyed that! Thanks so much for sharing. Brave, highs make me a little quizzy.
Posted by: KLBrown | June 7th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
well done martha these are the worthing taking picture
Posted by: usman | June 7th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
As always, perfect, the shots are so interesting with your dialog. It is nice when a person from the area ( Kartini Illias thanks)
comments and adds more information for us blog followers. What a special thing to have that type of interaction among individuals through out the world with just you being on the go and posting pictures to the rest of us.
Posted by: Margie | June 7th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Stunning pictures once again Martha! You go to the nicest places - thanks for taking us along!
Posted by: Donna | June 7th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
I have to say this is my FAVORITE blog for pictures, and that is saying a lot because I really like blogs!
Have a good day!
Posted by: Wendy | June 7th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Hi Martha, What a fascinating blog! For some reason, I am overwhelmed by all of the towers and tall buildings in Malaysia. This tour of the Petronas Twin Towers was really fun. Everything in those towers is absolutely stunning! Did the three of you go all the way to the top?! Sophie's photo of the top of the 2 towers is really great. Loved listening to you on 'Ask Martha' on Sirius Radio 112 today! Sure hope you get over the jet lag and feel more comfortable soon! Take care and get some rest. Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | June 7th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Martha,
Oh so 'off topic' (well I did do a summer internship with Cesar Pelli when I was studying architecture, but that has nothing to do with my comment). I was down at the Home Depot on 59th Street last weekend, a place that is just a walk away, but don't get there enough. Well, there they were, an entire display of 'martha stewart clean' products. I stood there thinking, am I really going to buy martha stewart cleaning products? For the longest time I ignored you for the most part, to me, you were just somebody out there who wrote books about baking cookies and setting tables. But, in the last year or so, you have become my entrepreneurial business role model. So, I said to myself, I'm going to try these products and I bought a bunch of them. In a word, AWESOME. I usually stick with the earthy french inspired stuff - lavender or lemon verbena infused products or the like - but 'clean' is the right word for your products. Those lavender or lemon verbena products always smell like they are masking something awful - your products smell 'clean' with no masking. As a kid growing up in the late 60's and 70's your 'clean' products somehow remind me of that time - it's a weird olfactory experience taking me back in time. I don't know if that was an intent, but it sure does that for me. Can you get them placed at Whole Foods and Gourmet Garage just to make my shopping easier!
Thanks, Will (aka recovering french lavender scent cleaning product addict)
Posted by: Will | June 7th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
A few years ago I had the chance to be on the 83rd floor (I think). It was scary but I had to test the toilets to see if it works..it did! Lovely photos martha!
Posted by: Badariah Ferneyhough | June 7th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
The design that comes from each photograph is great! Seeing a whole different culture is very interesting - the same modern but different. The detail in the building is reminiscent of Arts and Crafts era. I am enjoying YOUR trip.
Posted by: Susan | June 7th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
As an Argentinian, I feel so proud of the talent of those architects !!!
I would cook for them eternally in appreciation of so much architectural mastery and beauty !!!
Posted by: Cristina, from Buenos Aires to Paris | June 8th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Lovely photos!
Just a note on Entrapment. This movie did not give a correct impression of the Twin Towers. But I guess you have to be there to realize that! : )
Posted by: foongpc | June 8th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Hello Martha
Did you take a walk from the KLCC to the Kl Convention Centre?
It's a beautiful sight with leafy park.
Its looks like Boston Commons except Malaysia is too hot to take a stroll in the day-time.
Posted by: Idzan, Kuala lumpur | June 9th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Picture #3 the police escort (outrider) is attached to the Traffic Unit of the Royal Malaysian Police. During the 1980s & 1990s, Kuala Lumpur & some major cities in Malaysia were plagued by severe traffic congestions. The Traffic Police was then specially trained & deployed to alleviate the traffic problems in the cities. They learnt good lessons from that. I have travelled almost round the globe, and after observing Traffic Police from other countries, the Malaysian ones are very effective in delivering the traffic duties
Posted by: durio uno | June 9th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Good God! The pictures are simply breathtaking! I'm missing home even more now. *sobs*
Glad to know you enjoyed the Twin Tower tour, Martha! I only managed to get into the lobby and that was it!
By the way, I love this post!
Posted by: DayanaKL | June 14th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Hi! Martha,
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the twin tour visit even it's short visit.i'm really appreciate your comment & compliment notes during the tour.My regards to Sophie & memrie.
- Safful Bahari-
Posted by: saffulbahari | June 14th, 2010 at 9:25 pm