My experience at Petronas Towers

Petronas at Night

When we planned for a trip to KL the first thing that comes to mind is The Petronas Towers. Firstly something about this tall structure. We never knew what Petronas is, we always felt that the name was given to the building just like that. After entering the building and seeing the movie about the Petronas company, which is the largest company in Malaysia, we came to know how the name came to that building. In the CBD area 90% of the land belongs to Petronas and they built this building. This building is a perfect blend of modernity with a traditional Islamic theme.

By the time we reached the room in KL it was 8.30AM. We asked the hotel owner if we could get the tickets for the Petronas Towers. He told if we were lucky we can just give it a try. We just dumped our stuff in the room and rushed to Petronas. The experience of the first look of this towers was simply superb. We have just seen that scene in some photos online. Now its a reality before us. We reached Petronas just before 9 and went inside. To our shock the line was so big. There are around 650 tickets per day that they distribute and I guess we were able to see those 650 there. Nagraj and Srini stood for sometime in the line and later me and Vidyadhar stood in the line.

Nagraj and Srinivas in the queue

Me and Vidya in the queue

Thats me with the tickets

Petronas backdrop

The tickets were given away in every 15 minute time slot. By the time we reached the counter the time slot running was 6PM. We asked for the 6.30PM slot which was the last one. After taking the tickets we had our breakfast, then went to Batu caves, then to KL Tower, then to Times Square and we returned back to Petronas exactly at 6.20PM. Firstly we were given goggles and a blue ID card and were asked to enter a amphitheater.

Goggles and Blue ID card given while going up

I could see people with Blue and Green ID cards. Thats how the group was divided and would be allowed to go to the 41st floor. In the movie shown to us I came to know some more facts about the Petronas Company.

Exactly at around 6.35PM we were asked to go towards the lift. There was a little security check and then into the lift. I was very excited as it was something which I have never thought a year before. Once we entered the lift, the lift man told us how fast the lift would go up. It would travel 41 floors in 40 seconds. We were ready for that roller coaster ride in the lift. By the time we could really realise we were in the 41st floor and there was the sky bridge.

On the Sky Bridge

It was in the evening at 6.40PM that we were there on the sky bridge and we could see the sun setting, the huge sky scrappers, and some part of Malaysia. We took many pics there and our excited did not last long.







We were allowed to stay there only for 10 minutes and we came back. We came out and took some more pics before the Petronas Towers. Finally I would like to add some facts about Petronas which I have found online.

Shopping Mall in Petronas

• Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004, when Taipei 101 took over the title.
• Petronas Towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world.
• There are 88 stories in Petronas Twin Towers.
• Petronas Towers were designed by Argentine-American architect César Pelli.
• The foundation of Petronas Twin Towers is as much as 120 m deep and was built by Bachy Soletanche.
• Reinforced Concrete is the main material used in the construction of Petronas Towers.
• Petronas Twin Towers make use of glass facade that was designed to resemble Islamic art motifs.
• The overall height of Petronas Towers is 451.9m (1483ft), from street level.
• Petronas Twin Towers measure 378m (1240ft) high, without the pinnacle.
• Petronas Towers spread over an area or around 341,760 sq. m. (3.7 million sq. ft.).
• The sky-bridge of Petronas Twin Towers is at 41st and 42nd level and is 58.4m (192ft) long. It weighs 750 tons.
• There are 10 escalators in each building of Petronas Towers.
• The entry to Petronas Towers is free, but only a limited number of timed tickets are provided on a daily basis.
• Petronas Twin Towers have 32,000 windows.
• It cost US $1.2 billion to build Petronas Towers.
• Petronas Twin Towers also include an art gallery, an 840-seat concert hall, and an underground parking lot.
• The main occupant of the Petronas Towers is Petronas, the national oil-company of Malaysia.
• Below Petronas Twin Towers is a shopping mall, Suria KLCC, and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, the home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Accenture, Al Jazeera English, Carigali Hess Bloomberg, Boeing, IBM, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, McKinsey & Co, TCS, Krawler Networks, Microsoft, and Reuters are some of the companies that have rented offices in the Petronas Towers.
• There is a service building located to the east of the Petronas Twin Towers. It contains services required to keep the building operational.
• Alain "Spiderman" Robert, a French urban climber, tried to climb the Petronas Towers on 20th March 1997, with his bare hands and feet. He reached the 60th floor, where he was arrested by the police. He again tried the feat, this time on the other building, on 20th March 2007. This time also, he managed to reach only 60th floor and was arrested by the police.