Why Did We Come to Malaysia?

If you had asked me before the trip what we would want to do in Kuala Lumpur, the only thing I could have answered would have been to see the Petronas Towers, once the tallest building in the world. After perusing the guidebooks, I didn't come up with much else, so I kept our time in KL to a minimum. Perhaps I shorted our time a little too much, but I was also having a harder time deciding on the right hostel, so we were only going to get a half a day in KL before shipping out to Taman Negara National Park.

The desk clerk at the hostel told me that there were a limited number of tickets to go up to the Skybridge of the Petronas Towers each day. The tickets were free; however, the ticket giveaway started at 9 am and usually ran out by noon. By the time we had arrived and checked in, we would not be there in time to get tickets. So, we decided to hit the mall across the street--mainly because we were starving--and go to the Towers later.

The mall did not disappoint. It was huge. It had Starbucks, McDonalds, Krispy Kremes, a movieplex, a huge amusement park with a giant roller coaster, and best of all, a giant Borders. We wandered floor after floor after floor. I can't say we bought a lot, but it was fun. Malaysia is interesting because of the obvious mix of Muslim and Western influences. It almost seems as if half the women are completely covered, and half are not.

Later, we managed to figure out the monorail system and got to the Petronas Towers. At night, it's incredibly beautiful. You can go inside and the first few floors have high end shopping--lots of western designers. There's also a Chili's there and a nice food court.

Petronas Towers--once the tallest building in the world, currently ranked 4th. The Towers are 1483 feet tall with 88 floors. In comparison, the Empire State Building is 1250 feet and 102 floors. 

Even though, the Petronas Towers is one of the tallest buildings in the world, you can only ascend to the Skybridge that spans the two buildings (Level 41).

Anyone want a durian? If you've ever smelled one, imagine if the entire truckload was opened at once!