From 1998 – 2004, the Petronas Towers were the world’s tallest buildings at 1,558 feet each.

Although several individual buildings have since claimed the record, Malaysia’s Petronas Towers remain the world’s tallest twin buildings.

 

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Trespassing in a Pool to Photograph the Petronas Towers

The story of how I got the above whale photo is one of my favorite memories from the entire trip.

Me in a broken fountain taking photos of a whale sculpture beneath the Petronas TowersAfter spending an afternoon looking for a unique vantage point of the Petronas Towers, I came across a broken fountain in a park below their towering spires.

Inside that fountain were beautiful metal status of whales, dolphins and other ocean-animals: all of which would make a great compliment to the skyscrapers above.

So, as my wife Carrie photographed me from a nearby bench, I kicked off my flip flops and waded through knee-high water to get right under this whale.

Although every single passerby took a long look at the foreigner in the fountain, no one said anything and I was able to get one of the most special photographs of the Petronas Towers that I’ve ever seen!

 

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia reflect in the windows of a nearby office building

Living Out my Entrapment Fantasies 

Gazing out across the sprawling city of Kuala Lumpur from atop the Petronas Towers has been high on my to-do list since first seeing the buildings in the movie Entrapment, staring Catherine Zeta Jones and former 007, Sean Connery.

It was finally checked off during a backpacking adventure across Malaysia and SouthEast Asia

As I wrote in my blog entry titled Chinatown, The Entrapment Towers and the Harlem Globetrotters in Kuala Lumpur:

We woke up at the crack of dawn the next day and headed back to the Petronas Towers to queue up for two of the 1,400 free tickets issued daily to go to the skybridge on the 41st floor. Our book advised us to arrive early or be disappointed so we got there an hour before go time and found ourselves pretty much at the front of the line and people still coming in and going up hours later. Oh well, we still got to go up on the second elevator ride of the day. The view from the top was spectacular and the light perfect.

 

The Petronas Towers reflect in a metal globe in a park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Petronas Towers reflect in a metal globe in a park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

A view of Kuala Lumpur from the Petronas Towers
A view of Kuala Lumpur from the 41st floor observation deck of the Petronas Towers

 

Me and Carrie below the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malayisa
Me and Carrie below the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malayisa

What’s the tallest building you’ve ever seen?