The Petronas Twin Towers stand 452 metres (1,480 ft) tall and are the focal point of the new Kuala Lumpur City Centre development. Although there was some contention when first commissioned, the towers currently enjoy the status of being among one of the world tallest twin buildings.

A more pertinent attestation would be that a small developing country like Malaysia managed to muster enough global wealth, expertise and local confidence to not only conceptualise but also realise such a feat. Many may quibble on points of political motives, white elephants, Other People’s Money and absolute irrelevance - but there is no denying the extraordinary power of such monumental architecture. On par with Gustav Eiffel’s tower heralding the advantagesof steel-construction, or the dramatic urban planning of Christopher Wren’s St Paul’s rising goliath-like over a shanty 17th-century London, the spirit of the Twin Towers is historic and “millennial”. Considering that the local content (both in terms of expertise and materials) is minimal, the fact that they were built in Malaysia at all is testimony to the power of globalisation and how projects of any nature and size will be developed in years to come the world over.

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KL has many art galleries for art lovers, some of which are works of art in themselves, such as the minimalist Petronas Art Gallery (KLCC) and the charming Gallery Taksu off Jala Dato’ Keramat.Located in Jalan Temerloh, Balai Seni Lukis Negara (National Art Gallery) provides a sampling of the broad spectrum of local art. The moderm building has three galleries showcasing experimental, permanent and temporary works.

Down the road from Golden Triangle is the Istana Negara (National Palace), the official residence of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung (king).

The country has a new agung every five years as the position is rotated among its sultans. The palace began life as the town house of a wealthy Chinese businessman and was sold and converted into a palace in 1926. Typical of colonial mansions, it has large balconies and gardens ; not so typical are its golden domes. Yellow is the colour for royalty, and only kings may walk on the welcoming yellow carpet while politicians and visiting dignitaries use red. Royal garden parties, investitures and receptions are held here, but the agung normally lives in his own palace, every sultan having his own “mini” palace in the capital.

Beyond the National Palace and further south along Jalan Syed Putra is a small road which climbs a steep holl (Jalan Kerayong). Follow it and you wil find yourself at another commanding view of the city. On this hills stands the massive Tien Hau Temple.

Built in 1985 with the contributions of several Chinese multi-millionaires, each purportedly donated large sums of money to build one pillar of the temple. Although it is known that the cost of building the temple was phonomenal, the exact figure remains a secret.

A much-utilised community centre, the temple complex has a large conference hall for meetings, performances and weddings, a restaurant, youth and women’s clubs and offices. The temple itself sits right at the top of the hill. There is even a small garden inside, which can be viewed perfectly from any angle. The building itself is an incongruous mixture, gaudy yet impressive, mystical yet decidedly wordly.

Cult techno-mag Wired once called it “the planet’s most seductive technopark”, a quote later seized upon by the International Herald Tribune. They were referring to Malaysia’s MSC, the Multimedia Super Corridor, which is anchored in KL by the Pertonas Twin Towers. At the other end of the 50 by 15 kilometre (31 by 9 mile) corrider is the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Selangor.

Though effectively still an experiment, the MSC is meant to leapfrog the country into the knowledge-based world economy of the new millennium. The idea is to invite international participation to explore new ways of doing things in tomorrow’s information-driven environment. The Malaysia node would physically be on the corridor of an “intelligent” state-of-the-art infrastructure, linked to an international collaboration of companies, regions and communities via a high-bandwidth fibre-optic backbone. Among its components is Putrajaya, the “cyber” seat of government which will eventually take over Kuala Lumpur’s administrative role.

Advising the government on the ambitious project - slated to reach its objectives in 2020 - is an international panel comprising the likes of Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Netscape’s James Barksdale and NTT’s Jun-Ichiro Miyazu.

The fulcrum of modern consumerism in Malaysia is the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Bukit Bintang, an area of expensive shops, high-class restaurants, international hotels and party-till-drop nightlife. You will find a number of large shopping malls in this area : Sungei Wang Plaza and the adjacent Bukit Bintang Plaza offer more than 500 shops, including the best book-stores in KL ; Imbi Plaza concentrates on computers and software ; the upmarket Starhill Plaza is the place for branded designer wear and fashionable eateries; and flashy Lot 10 has its European designer boutiques.

Location : No.99, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 603 - 2144 9988
Fax : 603 - 2144 7788

On Jalan Conlay, off Jalan Raja Chulan, is the arts and craft centre of Kompleks Budaya Kraf (Craft Cultural Complex ; open daily 10am-6pm). A larger, quieter and more upmarket version of Central Market, it comprises a collection of shops offering traditional and contemporary designs for anything a souvenir-hunter could want, including handwoven textiles, woodwork, batik, basketwork, silver and pewter, native products and pottery. There are also demonstrations of songket cloth weaving, batik printing and silver and copper tooling. The building at the back houses a small museum (entrance fee) and cafetaria.

Petronas Twin Towers, among one of the world’s tallest pair of buildings is the city’s newest landmark which is located on Jalan Ampang. Soaring some 451.9 metres (c. 1,500 ft) above the traffic-congested streets, its identical towers - linked midway up by a skybridge on the 42nd floor - reach an auspicious 88 storeys. Designed by Cesar Pelli, these glass and stainless steel buildings combine Islamic patterns with state-of-the-art engineering techniques.

The Twin Towers are actually office blocks, and make up a section of a larger development called the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Sitting on what used to be KL’s racecourse, the development includes a cinema complex, one of the largest shopping centres in KL (the ultra-modern Suria KLCC) and an oil and gas museum. There is also an art gallery and a small but magnificent concert hall, the first dedicated classical music venue in Malaysia. The development also has a pretty landscaped park, hotels and a big convention centre.

Visitors can ascend to the Skybridge on the 42nd floor of the Petronas Towers (open daily 10.45am-12.45pm and 2.30-4.45pm) but for a higher view head down the road to Menara Kuala Lumpur (open 10am-10pm ; entrance fee). Also known as the KL Tower, this 421-metre (1,380-ft) structure is of impressive height. The public observation platform reveals in one glance KL, its surrounding hills, and as far away as the casino playground of Genting Highlands in the penisula’s mountainous backbone, the Main Range. The Islamic-influenced tower also has a souvenir shop, revolving restaurant and private banquet facilities.

Tips : Galeri Petronas (open Sat-Thurs 10am-8pm), level 3 of the Suria Mall, KLCC, is a cutting-edge art gallery exhibiting works by both international artists and well-known Malaysians like Latif Mohidin.