I recently spent a week in Malaysia. The first couple of days were in Kuala Lumpur, a surprisingly laid-back easy city to be in. In contrast to other South East Asian cities, KL doesn’t have the crazed non-stop action, the aggressive shop-keepers, the hustling taxi-drivers. I didn’t see any tuk-tuks, the moped driven taxis, nor did I see any mopeds or scooters. I kind of missed the chaos of these other cities, but it was extremely pleasant to be in a more relaxing atmosphere.
Thanks to my Malaysian friend’s recommendation, we stayed at the Traders Hotel, which squarely faces the Petronas Towers. Here’s a view from the KL Tower, which has the best view of the city. You can see our hotel on the right. The picture on the right is from the rooftop pool of the hotel.
I must say, the towers are underrated. For one thing, they don’t mimic the boxy towering behemoths of other famous skyscrapers. Instead, they use a lot of native cultural elements. The overall shape reminds me of the minarets that flank most mosques. Yet the texturing of the surface reminds me of Buddhist stupas that are everywhere in Southeast Asia.
The best time to see the towers are at night. With the beehive facets, the shimmery steel and the lighting, the towers looked like crystal minarets. It’s a stunning effect.
And here’s another shot closer to the base.
One final shot, to show how tall this building is, once the tallest in the world. Like a mountaintop, it’s got it’s own micro-climate at the top.
The Quilting Sword 