Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Round The World 2006-07
Twin Towers and a Tropical Storm
I was in no particular hurry to get up after my late night - although this was a new destination, I felt in the mood for a more relaxed approach to sight-seeing. It isn't really advisable to blitz each and every destination, or you just end up exhausted. So it was well after 0900 by the time I made my way down to the hotel's excellent breakfast buffet, where the presence of items such as beef bacon, turkey ham and chicken sausage reminded me that this was a Muslim country. Then it was back to my room to get organised and ready to hit the streets.
Just about the only thing I knew about KL was the presence of the
Petronas Twin Towers, which have taken their turn at being the
tallest buildings in the world and are still the tallest twin towers
in the world. Apart from anything else, I had vague memories of the
Sean Connery movie Entrapment, which featured the buildings
in spectacular fashion! I made my way to the area and was suitably
appalled by the hot and sticky conditions. When I arrived at the
site, my first priority was simply to get inside, into the
air-conditioned haven of the shopping mall. I managed to obtain a
ticket for a skybridge visit at 1345, so I realised that I had some
time to kill. Eventually I ventured back outside and managed to see
the buildings from just about all available angles, including from
the attractive little park on one side of the complex. Incidentally,
just using that word reminds me that I'd been vaguely amused ever
since arriving by Malaysian words such as Kompleks, Teksi
(taxi), Tren Ekspres (express train), Lif
(lift) and so on.
It doesn't take
much to keep me entertained!
I had a light lunch at Starbucks, back inside the mall, and ended up chatting with a young compatriot whose national identity was proclaimed by a prominent saltire tattoo. Small world, indeed! Soon it was time for the highlight of my visit, so I made my way back to the skybridge visit reception area in the basement. My group was whisked up to the 41st floor by express lift and we were able to venture out onto the bridge. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted, especially when they explain that it's not solidly attached (to allow for sway) and show you the gaps in the walls along which it can slide, if necessary, to compensate for the movement of either or both towers.
Skybridge visit
Back on terra firma, I decided that my next objective was yet another tall building, the communications tower. However on my way there, it became very apparent that a severe storm was imminent. I'd seen the signs while on the skybridge, but at that stage it wasn't clear which way it was moving. Once the high winds started, I hurriedly changed direction and made it back to the Crowne Plaza about five minutes before a dramatic electrical storm broke. I'd never heard thunder like that in my life before, although I could recall a similar overnight storm during my first ever visit to Singapore in the 1980s. With the disastrous conditions outside, I accepted that my sight-seeing programme was over for the day and took the opportunity just to relax and unwind. And I wasn't complaining, either: there always comes a point on a trip like this where some quality relaxation time is essential.