KLCC : “With My Own Hands!”
Posted by kris on April 1, 2005
If there is one thing that really attracts the tourists into Malaysia is the Petronas Twin Towers, also known as the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).
Although I am a local, I have basically no idea how much the Petronas Twin Towers are being advertised all over the world. Infact, sometimes I think that we have become so used to it that it no longer really matters to us. But I am proud of the fact that this small country of ours was able to break into the world with the first tallest office building outside of the western world.
I used to try to describe to people who were new to Malaysia, where the country is and that Kuala Lumpur is its Federal Capital, the city in which I work. They’d always give me puzzled looks and ask me if it’s some island (since they don’t notice it in the maps) or if it was part of Indonesia (ggrrr~!!). Now however, whenever I chat with strangers or foreigners, the one thing that they can identify Malaysia with is the Twin Towers. It is satisfying that finally this small little country is recognized.
While going home in a taxi one time, I looked up from Jalan Ampang toward the towers. It never fails to give me that small feeling each time I gaze upon it from below. The driver saw me doing so with his rear view mirror and told me something I found rather funny.
The driver had a foreign Middle Eastern customer at one time, no doubt he was rushing for a meeting or something. He was here in Malaysia on business and had not had the opportunity to do any visiting. So when the taxi was passing by Jalan Ampang, he urgently requested for the driver to stop at a corner and wait for him. Puzzled, the driver stopped further down the taxi stand and his guest dashed out of the taxi without taking anything with him, and left his belongings in the back seat as well. After about 10 minutes, his guest came back empty handed but with a huge grin on his face and told the driver to resume the journey.
As he was driving, the driver couldn’t contain his curiousity and asked him what happened. Where did he go for 10 minutes leaving everything behind, all of a sudden?
“I went to see the Twin Towers,” the businessman said in a heavy accent, “And I touched it!”
“You touched it?” the driver asked in a stupified manner.
“Yes! Yes! I touched the building! With my own hands!” he replied, happy as lark.
The wonders of modern buildings. And the wonders of the people visiting it 
Another time I took two visiting VIPs around KL. One a General and the other, a high ranking army officer, both from Pakistan. Their visit was short that I was required to show them KL in only three hours. I did it all in KLCC. Good thing the Pucuk Rebung Heritage Museum and the Petronas Art Gallery (which was showcasing Malaysian cultural painting at the time) were also located in the Suria KLCC shopping mall. This gave me the chance to explain the history and culture, and even give them a fantastical view of the towers itself. And of course, I related to them the story the taxi driver told me as entertainment.
When it was time for their dinner with some of the CEOs of a certain management company, they happily told them of their tour to KLCC. At one point I heard the General comically telling one of them that he himself touched the Twin Towers – “with his bare hands.”
With some effort, I managed to resist from giggling when the CEO looked sideways toward me with a raised eyebrow and squinted eyes.
THE SKYBRIDGE
One very famous question would always be this, “Am I able to go up and have a look?”
The answer to that question is “YES!”
But you have to know that the visit is not to the top of the towers, only to the bridge. The Skybridge as it is called connects the 41st and 42nd floors. The 41st floor is accessible to public visitors, whereas the 42nd floor is only for resident use.
The other thing is that the number of visitors allowed up onto the Skybridge is 1,500 pax per day. Tickets are free though. So if you plan to have a look from the top, you should be up early and in line for getting the tickets at the counter. This is the problem for me and some of my fellow friends in the same field… Since tickets are limited, we are required to get them first thing in the morning just before the ticket counter opens. Even then, there is a long line of tourists waiting for their chance.
It’s a hassle to get the tickets and then wait for your turn, but once you’re up on the Skybridge, it’s all worth it. On one side you’ll be able to see the beautiful landscape done for the KLCC park by Roberto Marx (a brilliant Brazillian landscape artist) and on the other side, the city of Kuala Lumpur and all its other buildings dominating the cityscape. Plus, an inhouse guide to accompany and explain the details of its construction and most recent developments. The best of free tours 
