While the dazzling Petronas Twin Towers may be the tallest buildings in Kuala Lumpur, I had read that they did not offer the best views of the city. And at 80 ringgit for admission, it’s not exactly the cheapest activity for someone on a backpacker’s budget who has already splurged on an Airbnb. So I went with the recommendations of what I had read online and decided to check out the view from the Kuala Lumpur Tower instead. 

KL Tower was completed in 1995, and is currently the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world. (The tallest is Tokyo’s Skytree which I can also proudly say I’ve observed the view from). The top of the antenna makes the structure a total of 421 meters (1,381 feet) tall. The Sky Deck offers an open-air view of the city from 300 meters (984 feet), and the lower Observation Deck offers an enclosed view from 276 meters (905 feet). 

The tower was located at the top of a hill, with several other touristy activities up top including an upside down museum, a canopy walk, and a small zoo. Having had enough of the heat after the hike to the top (most people arrive via car, but I much prefer walking and public transport), I went straight to the tickets for the KL tower. 

At the time of my visit in January of 2020, the admission to go to just the Observation Deck was 49 ringgit for non-Malaysian adults, and the price to go all the way up to the Sky Deck was 99 ringgit. The Sky Deck admission included a 1m 40s photo opportunity in one of the two Sky Boxes (glass boxes that stick out over the city for a very Instagram-worthy shot). The price was a little more than I had read, but I was already here, so why settle for the halfway point. I might never be back in this city, so go big or go home, I decided.

A slight case of dehydration from the walk over combined with spending my whole budget for the day in one go gave me almost instant buyer’s remorse. I had known Malaysia was going to be more expensive than the rest of Southeast Asia, and that the capital city would be the most expensive area of the country, but I still couldn’t help but feel that I was blowing all of my budget when my trip had barely begun. 

I rode the crowded elevator to the top of the tower and emerged into a much cooler atmosphere. Ahh, the air felt nice up here. The view was excellent, and I quickly picked out the buildings I had already become aquatinted with. There were the Petronas Twin Towers. There was the famous Platinum apartment building with its infinity pool overlooking the towers. You can snag a room at in on Airbnb for $25 if you’re lucky. I had found one of these elusive rooms, but it was already gone by the time I booked a day later. 

Because the famous Sky Boxes are primarily a photo opportunity, they don’t just allow everyone to crowd in at once. No, when you arrive at the Sky Deck, you receive a number for your place in line, and just like at the DMV, the numbers are announced so that you know when it is your turn. The announcements are nice, because you don’t have to physically stand in line. Instead you can soak in the views until your number is called. 

The typical waiting time is 90 mins to two hours. Waiting two hours for a photo is not something I normally do, but I discovered that traveling alone makes you ask yourself, What else am I doing? a lot. 

It is worth mentioning that the Sky Deck is a full 360 degrees. The majority of the crowd was on the half that the elevators led out to, and didn’t realize that they could walk through the Sky Box waiting areas to go to the other side of the deck. Or maybe they weren’t on that side because that was the side in the direct sunlight. I sat down on an empty bench and realized very quickly in the heat that I was parched. 

Luckily there was a cafe up on the Sky Deck – an extremely overpriced cafe, even by Western standards. I stupidly forgot my water bottle back at the apartment, and ended up paying 40 ringgit for an iced tea. Luckily it was a very large glass, but I don’t think there is a glass of flavored water in the world worth $10. Ok maybe that tea that the flowers bloom in… I’ve always wanted to try that… 

90 minutes gave me a lot of time to decide how to best utilize 100 seconds in the Sky Box. And a lot of time to watch every one else’s photo sessions which is always a fun pastime. I finally decided that I was going to do a headstand. Yeah! That was something no one else was doing. I hadn’t practiced in weeks though. Hopefully doing an impromptu one over a glass ceiling jutting out over the city far down below wouldn’t be too nerve-wracking. 

My number was finally called. I handed the photographer my phone, but of course he said he was going to use his professional camera first. The photographers take their own photos first, hoping you will buy them afterwards, but he didn’t mind taking some photos on my phone after he was happy with his selection. 

He led me through a series of cheesy poses. Thumbs up! Peace fingers… Sit down… Peace fingers again… the quick succession of shutters made me realize that 100 seconds is an incredibly short time, and I was not going to have a moment to actually look out of the SkyBox. By the time he was happy with the number of photos he had taken, I had just enough time for two of my own photos, and then the buzzer was going off. Time was up. The whole process was a quick whirlwind, and just as I had suspected, I never really got a moment to enjoy the view, or look downwards long enough to process the illusion of standing on thin air. The Sky Box had been 90 minutes of waiting for a photo opportunity. 

Full admission included entry into the Observation Deck, so I went to check that out when my Sky Box session was over. One of the elevator attendants informed me that it was only 4 floors down, so I opted for the stairs. 

The views from the Observation Deck were better in my opinion, since everything was more up-close, but this deck was also way more crowded. Apparently there were a lot of people who didn’t want to pay the full admission. 

So there you have it. If money isn’t an issue, then the KL tower is definitely worth checking out for a great view of the city. If you are on any sort of budget, then it all just depends on what your priorities are. If you are all about getting that Instagram shot, then the Sky Box is one that you won’t want to miss. If you tend to avoid tourist gimmicks, then maybe give the KL tower a pass. I kind of wished I would have saved the money for something I care about more, like scuba diving, but hindsight is 20/20. I also don’t like to look back on experiences thinking, I wish I would have done that. So I went ahead and did that. 

If you do decide to visit the KL Tower, I do recommend paying the full admission for the Sky Deck. After seeing how crowded the observation deck was, I was very glad that there had been more space up top to sit and relax for a while. I also highly recommend bringing a water bottle with you, as the cafe is able to get away with charging prices that rival Western amusement parks.