Question: Whats the smallest room in the world?

Answer: A Mushroom!

Ba doom ching! Man I”m funny! I’ll tell you what isn’t funny though, Acrophobia – the fear of heights, sometimes incorrectly referred to as vertigo. Vertigo, however, is actually when a person feels they are spinning, the room is spinning, or their head is spinning causing a nauseated feeling. Acrophobics have a fear of heights, like they are falling or they won’t be able to get down and suffer panic attacks or anxiety, this can also happen when looking up at a building.

Question: What are the tallest twin towers in the World?

Answer: You guessed it, The Petronas Twin Towers!

I often get that freakish falling feeling when up high and usually find myself standing back from the edge of a tall building, I have panicked once or twice  – most embarrassingly up in the Dome of St Paul’s, London, where when I couldnt find the way down my expletives echoed throughout the Cathedral, not a fitting place for that kind of language – But I can usually calm myself down. I dont have severe acrophobia, I can change a light bulb at home 😉

So it was on my third visit to Kuala Lumpur where I actually summed up the courage to visit the Petronas Twin Towers. The towers, completed in 1996 at a cost of USD1.3 billion, reach 451.9 metres high with the top floor, the 88th at 375 metres.

 

Tickets can be booked out weeks even months in advance, which for me was a good thing because by purchasing them online a few weeks before I set off to Malaysia, I couldn’t chicken out when I looked up at the monolithic peaks. Tickets are MYR80 / AUD26.50 if bought through their website which guarantees entry at a time of your choosing. Few tickets are available at the site early in the morning on the day, but these often sell out leaving many disappointed tourists. From the ground, the towers look magnificent from the almost crystal like shiny steel and glass facade.

 

After clearing security and presenting my ticket and ID, I was given a lanyard emblazoned with visitor and the time I was due to visit. A quick stroll around pictures and displays telling the construction of the buildings, I made my way to the elevator where a group formed for the ride up to the first stop, the Skybridge located on the 41st/42nd floors, but before we entered the lift a holgram informed us of the safety features of what to do in an emergency.

The small elevator, one of 78 in the twin towers, are windowless although LED screens situated on the walls you see the buildings rise as if you are looking to the outside.

Here was the first place I would confront my fear, the Skybridge, a double bridge located on the 41st and 42nd floors. Visitors are only allowed to visit the 41st floor as the 42nd is used by the buildings tenants and the bridge. The Skybridge, the highest double bridge in the world, is not actually attached to the buildings to allow it to slide in and out when the buildings sway due to high winds they tell us… I really wish they hadn’t! I slowly walked out and took a look over the edge holding on the the railings tight…whoa! I decided not to look down, but rather, look out, I let go of the railings and walked to the other side looking out at the magnificent views of Kuala Lumpur…I was fine! Then a little girl jumped up and down behind me on the floor, the floor of this bridge not connected to the buildings I remembered! My hands gripped the railing and I quickly made my way back into the main building.. OK lets go..lets get to the top I mumbled to myself.

 

Back in the elevator I made it to the top viewing floor, the 86th. The buildings actually go as high as 88 floors, but for me the 86th was fine enough 🙂

I must admit, it was pretty spectacular from the top, even if I did stand back for a little while summing up the courage to move closer to the windows. When I did, I looked out for awhile before I actually looked down, when I looked down It felt pretty strange to be looking at the tops of other high rise buildings! The architecture inside the building was just as stunning as from the outside with corners and curves representing Islamic art.

Before long it was time to head back down, there had been no falling or spinning feeling and I had enjoyed the time. I was pretty proud of myself for taking to the top of the Petronas Twin Towers, which once was the tallest building in the world but now its the Burj Khalifa in Dubai….Hmm I wonder if I should head there next?