Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was originally established in 1857 when Chinese tin miners,
sent by the chief of Selangor State, settled at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak Rivers.
They named the place Kuala Lumpur which means "muddy confluence".
Today it looks like 2 concrete drains .....
The Masjid Jemek mosque is nearby
Petronas Twin Towers
In order to get a (free) ticket to the viewing bridge between the towers,
I caught the monorail and the the metro to the towers.
I got there at 8.45am and got a ticket for the 10am viewing.
The towers are 452 metres and 88 storeys high.
When completed in 1996, it was the tallest building (not the tallest communication tower) in the world.
Taipei 101 in Taiwan at 509.2 metres and 101 floors is currently the highest.
The double-decker bridge facilitates movement between the towers
and offers an escape route in the case of an emergency.
The design of each tower's floor plan is based on the simple Islamic geometric form of 2 interlocking squares
creating the shape of an 8-pointed star with semi-circles between them.
These forms reflect important Islamic principles of "unity within harmony, stability and rationality".
The buildings house the headquarters of the Petronas Oil Company and many other companies.
The Malaysians are very proud of the building and have a bit of a "cultural cringe" about it.
There are 39 lifts in each tower, 29 of them double-decker.
An 865 seat concert hall in the basement is home to the Malaysian Symphony Orchestra.
The towers are beautifully lit at night.
Menara KL Tower
I caught the metro from the Petronas Twin Towers to the Menara KL Communications Tower.
Finished in 1996, at 421 metres high, the tower is the 4th highest in the world.
The highest tower in the world is the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada at 553 metres.
Second highest is the Ostankino Tower in Moscow (540m).
Third highest is the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai (468 m).
The observation deck is at 276 metres
There are many fine buildings in Kuala Lumpur.
I had to shelter under a verandah while a tropical thunderstorm poured down for more than half an hour.
Along the motorways, there are signs indicating where motorcyclists can shelter
under the bridges over the motorways.
Merdeka Square
Once an English cricket ground, Malaysian independence was declared here on the 31st of August 1957.
There is still a cricket pitch in the centre.
The ornate railway station
The National Mosque - Masjid Negara
Built in 1965 its modern design embodies a contemporary expression of traditional Islamic art,
calligraphy and ornamentation
The Gardens
Who are they trying to fool?
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was originally established in 1857 when Chinese tin miners,
sent by the chief of Selangor State, settled at the meeting point of the Klang and Gombak Rivers.
They named the place Kuala Lumpur which means "muddy confluence".
Today it looks like 2 concrete drains .....
The Masjid Jemek mosque is nearby
Petronas Twin Towers
In order to get a (free) ticket to the viewing bridge between the towers,
I caught the monorail and the the metro to the towers.
I got there at 8.45am and got a ticket for the 10am viewing.
The towers are 452 metres and 88 storeys high.
When completed in 1996, it was the tallest building (not the tallest communication tower) in the world.
Taipei 101 in Taiwan at 509.2 metres and 101 floors is currently the highest.
Taipei
101 was overtaken in height in July 2007 by the Burj Dubai in
Dubai,
upon the completion of that building's 141st floor.
The title of "world's tallest building" still rests with
Taipei 101,though,
as international architectural standards define a "building" as a
structure capable of being fully occupied.
The Burj Dubai is on course to claim the title once its construction is
finished.
The double-decker bridge facilitates movement between the towers
and offers an escape route in the case of an emergency.
The design of each tower's floor plan is based on the simple Islamic geometric form of 2 interlocking squares
creating the shape of an 8-pointed star with semi-circles between them.
These forms reflect important Islamic principles of "unity within harmony, stability and rationality".
The buildings house the headquarters of the Petronas Oil Company and many other companies.
The Malaysians are very proud of the building and have a bit of a "cultural cringe" about it.
There are 39 lifts in each tower, 29 of them double-decker.
An 865 seat concert hall in the basement is home to the Malaysian Symphony Orchestra.
The towers are beautifully lit at night.
Menara KL Tower
I caught the metro from the Petronas Twin Towers to the Menara KL Communications Tower.
Finished in 1996, at 421 metres high, the tower is the 4th highest in the world.
The highest tower in the world is the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada at 553 metres.
Second highest is the Ostankino Tower in Moscow (540m).
Third highest is the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai (468 m).
The observation deck is at 276 metres
There are many fine buildings in Kuala Lumpur.
I had to shelter under a verandah while a tropical thunderstorm poured down for more than half an hour.
Along the motorways, there are signs indicating where motorcyclists can shelter
under the bridges over the motorways.
Merdeka Square
Once an English cricket ground, Malaysian independence was declared here on the 31st of August 1957.
There is still a cricket pitch in the centre.
The ornate railway station
The National Mosque - Masjid Negara
Built in 1965 its modern design embodies a contemporary expression of traditional Islamic art,
calligraphy and ornamentation
The Gardens
Who are they trying to fool?
