One of the major attractions of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is majestic Petronas, the twin towers and it is definitely a ‘must visit’ place. People come to Kuala Lumpur with tight schedule thinking they can cover all major landmarks in a day before heading to more ‘attractive’ places of this beautiful country. The travel packages also do not include going up the Petronas in their itinerary. All they do is to take a round and show it from outside.
And I, myself could see Petronas only in my third attempt. Why ?
Because while getting to the Petronas Towers is easy from anywhere in Kuala Lumpur, getting tickets for skybridge tour is not always so easy. If you do not plan, and out of the blue decide to see the surroundings from skybridge, it is extremely unlikely that you can make it.
Yeah, you heard me right.

Only one tower? Where is the other one gone?

First, a little procedure on how it works.
You have to get a reservation slip or ticket to visit the skybridge, for which you have to wait in line till your turn comes. While booking your ticket, you can choose a time slot of 15 minutes (from 10 AM to 4 PM) which are displayed on a digital screen. If the slot is free, you’ll be accommodated. You have to report 15 minutes before your allotted time slot. Till then you can spend your time elsewhere.

Ticket to Skybridge

Once you check in, security check happens just like those in airports, you are given an identity card/pass (one color for one batch of 15-20 people), & guided to a waiting lounge/exhibit hall where you get to see the construction video of the Twin Towers and read some interesting facts about it.
When your turn comes, you are directed by a warm and friendly English speaking tour guide straight to the elevator taking you to Level 41…the only floor accessible to the public. The guide also explains a few things necessary for you to know.
The elevator travels at a speed of 5-6 meters per sec… 41 floors in 41 seconds.
10 minutes is the maximum time allowed on the skybridge and you are taken back to the ground. The skybridge is a double deck bridge connecting the two towers at level 41 and 42, but only level 41 is open for public viewing.

Here are a few important tips on visiting skybridge of Petronas.

1. Choose your day - Petronas are closed on Monday.
2. Entry fee - There is no entry fee. It is on 1st come 1st served basis.
3. No. of persons - There is no restrictions on no. of persons visiting but it is unlikely for a bigger group to get reservation in a single slot of 15 persons.
4. Be early – Reach the place as early as possible. You can see people queuing up as early as 6 am.
5. One can reserve for 5 - One person can reserve tickets for 5 persons. So, if you have kids who can not wake up in morning, leave them behind & book for a time slot when you think they can join you.
6. Opens at 9 - The booking office opens at 9 AM and if you are there latest by 7, you have chances of making it that day.
7. No advance booking - You can not advance reserve your place for next day. It has to be for the same day.
8. First slot at 10 - First batch of people going to skybridge starts at 10 AM.
9. Belongings – All your belongings are scanned thoroughly. Do not bring big handbags or any other bags. You’ll be asked to keep them in locker.
10. Eatery - No eatery is allowed inside. There is a small shop at the booking office level which sells some eateries and coffee.
11. Ask for Skybridge - When you ask the directions in Petronas, ask for skybridge and not how to go up. Once, inside the building, I spent at least 40 minutes to figure out & reach to booking office. I was guided up & down… all wrong way, not intentionally though. Remember, not many people speak English and the ones who speak are tourists like you.
12. Spend time - Often there are many hours between you getting the ticket and the time for you to go up. Once you get your reservation slip, you can spend or kill time anywhere till you get back at allotted time. Level 2 is food court.  One level up is movie complex. But make sure to be back on time. I had gone out of the building and roamed around on the roads of Kuala Lumpur.
13. Restrooms - There are both types of toilets/ restrooms inside Petronas on each floor. Paid ones are for RM 2 per visit and free ones have long queues.

This was at 7 in the morning & the place I was waiting isn’t part of this photo…. was another batch of crowd to join this side.

14. How to reach there - Petronas are connected well through LRT, buses and cabs. The Petronas Twin Towers are in between Jalan Ampang and Jalan Raja Chulan and the KLCC station is on the LRT line. When you come out of the station, there are guides to show you the direction.

You can also ask if it’s worth getting up early in the morning, waiting the whole day, go through a rigorous security check… all this only to get 10 minutes up at the Petronas Twin Towers’ skybridge which is just 1/3rd of the total height ?
Yes, worth it.

More on skybridge in a later post. You can see some more photos of Petronas here.
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