Kris did a research project on Kuala Lumpur in elementary school and has always wanted to visit. When the world was introduction to the Petronas Twin Towers in the movie ‘Entrapment’ in 1999, KL became a bucket list destination for both of us.
KL, the capital of Peninsular Malaysia, is a fascinating melting pot of cultures. Mosques sit side by side with colourful Chinese temples and Hindu shrines while in the next block modern skyscrapers tower over them all.
the first 18 floors are hotel with 16 floors of residences above
The Petronas Twin towers are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers. From 1998-2004 they were officially designated as the tallest buildings in the world. They have since been surpassed by many other buildings, but remain the world’s tallest twin towers.
The towers were designed by an Argentine-American architect to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia’s Muslim religion. Each tower’s floor plan is based on an Islamic geometric form of two interlocking squares, called Rub el-Hizb, creating a shape of eight-pointed stars.
The skybridge connects the two towers at the 41st and 42nd floors. Tickets for the bridge are limited to 1000 per day, half available for purchase online, and half available at first come first served basis. We secured online tickets weeks ago, so walked right in without any fuss.
on the 36th floor of the Menara TA One building
This afternoon we took a Grab (Malaysia’s version of Uber or Lyft) to the Batu Cave and Temple outside of town. The area is named for the Malay word for rock and exists within a mogote, a type of limestone/karst landform that often contain a series of caves. The temple complex is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India and is dedicated to the god Murugan.
The main temple is in the cave at the top of the 272 rainbow-painted steps, where we encountered a troop of playful long-tailed macaques.
We had heard that the macaques were cheeky and aggressive, but today they were just chilling and munching on bananas and coconuts.
a symbol of strength, courage and devotion
We had our last Malay cuisine dinner near the Suria Mall then watched the Lake Symphony sound and light show at the Kuala Lumpur City Center park.
Then in the interest of using up the last of our Malaysian Ringgits, we had one last drink at the hotel bar.
Tomorrow we leave Malaysia and fly back to Singapore before making the long trip home.
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