Having been here for a week already, I was slightly embarrassed to have to admit that I hadn’t seen the Petronas Towers yet. It’s bit like spending a week in Paris and failing to spot the Eiffel Tower. So a trip downtown on my day off was a must.
Feeling a bit Ubered-out, I decided to take the train to the city centre – they have a sort of overground underground here, called the LTR – and the single ticket cost approx 50p, with a train every four minutes or so … Transport for London, please take note.
And here they are, viewed from the base –
– where I felt rather overwhelmed and insignificant.
Particularly after I learned that: The towers are ‘intelligent’ structures, built with a system that seamlessly coordinates telecommunications, environment control, power supply, lighting, fire and smoke control, and building security. I have yearned for seamless coordination for years – how come a building can manage it when I can’t?
Nestled at the foot of the towers – think Alpine village but with much less snow – is a giant shopping mall. This is a city that views a day without retail therapy as a day wasted.
There are five floors of retail therapy here, including Marks and Spencer –
– which has lots of clothes and a tiny food hall selling nothing but biscuits. If you ever come across a Malaysian who’s convinced that the British diet consists entirely of shortbread, you’ll know why.
The security guards look endearingly like British policemen with their caps with checked hat bands … not sure if that’s a truncheon or a gun he’s holding behind his back.
And I was rather taken with this fruit stall in a nostalgic-for 80s-synth-pop sort of way.
I popped outstide to see the fountains, which are a prime photo spot.
Two men offered to take a photo for me in front of the fountains, but I declined. I’m not sure whether I was more worried about them running off with my phone, or the possibility that I might turn into a narcissistic selfie-taker, with my face bobbing up in front of every tourist spot I visit … Mr Toad would not approve.