Petronas Twin Towers

Getting to Kuala Lumpur

My brother kindly dropped me off at Kuching airport two hours before my 1045 flight to Kuala Lumpur.  I was pleased I hadn’t booked the 1005 flight as it had been delayed to 1145 but with nothing critical ahead, it wouldn’t have been a disaster.  Worse thing can happen in travel especially these days.

Everything went like clockwork, from the flight, luggage collection, bus to KL Sentral and hotel check-in.  Actually, things went slightly faster than expected and that allowed me a brief rest in my room at the M&M Hotel, enjoying cut fruit and a coffee before heading out to KLCC.

Just as an aside, mangoes were selling for about the price of one-third to a half of the price in Kuching.  In Kuching, some things are air-flown or at least having extra shipping.

Visiting the Twin Towers

I had booked a visit up the Petronas Twin Towers.  Even though I have visited KLCC (the mall at the base) many times, this will be my first time going up.

I joined the queue at 1645 for my 1700 booking.  There was a security check and my water bottle had to be left at the kiosk at ground level before we were taken up to the double-decker skybridge 170m above street level.

We were given 10 mins here.  The guide explained that the bridge connecting the two towers is not attached to either building, allowing it to slide a little when the buildings sway in wind.

We were then led to the Level 86 for an even better view of Kuala Lumpur and an awesome view of the other tower’s shape and detail.  The ushers said that this is the highest floor that he can go to himself.

After having a good look around we were taken down to Level 83 where there was a lounge for us to relax while waiting for the lift back down to ground level.

Overall, the trip up and down took 1h10.  The staff were warm and friendly and we didn’t feel rushed.  They were warm and professional and didn’t mind chatting.

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Dinner at Pudu

A friend Thomas picked me up from outside KLCC at 1845 for dinner at Jalan Kancil in Pudu.  Coincidentally, another friend Ivan had planned on being here too but was put off by traffic and the parking hell.  We were lucky with parking and enjoyed dinner on the sidewalk.

There is only one dish here being the claypot chicken rice with sausage and salted fish. There is also only one vegetable dish and tonight it is stirfried lettuce.  Small range but awesome food.

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I got dropped off at my hotel around 2030.  I went to the nearby mall to purchase a Touch n Go transport card which now has NFC feature, allowing top-up without visiting a kiosk.

End note

I feel they day was well spent considering the nightstop was only meant to de-risk my connection to my international flights.  Flights are still unreliable in the pandemic recovery.  It’s even worse in Europe.

It was good to see many foreign tourists in both Kuala Lumpur and Kuching.  The travel industry and their staff have suffered enough.