The Top

Right next door to my hotel is the Komtar high-rise, which is home to The Top Theme Park, which on the upper levels has an observation deck, a glass floor skywalk and even an external walkway. In short, it looked interesting.

And yes, there are other attractions, but these are aimed more at kids than adults, and while people do call me a big kid, I think, for once, I will stick to the adult attractions, er well for this short trip anyway.

I was particularly interested in the observation deck, which was located on level 65 of the Komtar Tower, the glass-bottomed rainbow skywalk on the roof, and the skybridge also on level 65.

First, I needed a ticket, which you can buy online; however, being so close, I figured I would get a ticket in person.

A five-minute walk to the entrance of the Komtar tower

Heading in and up the stairs into the building. And yes, I did notice the huge Durian, and one of the other attractions is the Durian Museum, although while I do like this fruit, just not enough to visit the museum.

Ouch, that's more stairs than my bad knees would like, and the escalator was not working.

Anyhow, I headed up, and by the time I made it to the top, my knees were not happy, but that's something to worry about later.

Getting to the top and heading toward the ticketing desk, I noticed that there were very few people about, which was interesting.

Maybe that's down to me visiting mid-morning during the week and not on the weekend. No real problem for me, and never know, it could be a good thing for me as people in my photos are not something I like.

Anyhow, still deserted, and getting to the ticket desk, the staff just appeared. So, getting my ticket, I found that there was a weight limit of 100kg on the skybridge, and I was too heavy.

Dam it, I was looking forward to that one, but it is what it is. But I am good for the observation deck and the rainbow skybridge.

And no, I did not go full Karen at the ticket desk after finding I was too heavy; it's not their fault, they have the weight limit for a reason, and yes, I know I am fat, something my doctor reminds me all the time.

Another ouch, this visit was going to cost me 88rm, or about $32AUD, expensive yes, but remembering my visit to the Sky 100 in Hong Kong, it may be worth it.

Ticket in hand, I headed to the lift, past one of the other attractions, the Jurassic Research Centre, which, as I mentioned above, is aimed more at kids than adults or big kids such as me.

Heading to the lift lobby, I was joined by a few other people also heading up to the observation deck.

The lift ride up was slower than expected and not as polished as the Sky 100 in Hong Kong, but it's still comfortable.

Getting to the Observation Deck brought back more memories of Hong Kong, with the floor-to-ceiling glass, although, unlike Hong Kong, the glass is not super shiny.

The lack of the super shiny glass is a real plus, as it drove me nuts trying to get good photos, and meant I had to spend way too much time in Photoshop to get rid of the reflections. And yes, I did use the AI-based reflection removal tool; it helps, but it still needs additional work.

Now there is a railing which stops you from getting close to the glass, which for me makes taking good photographs through this interesting, and means way more quality time with Photoshop.

Then came the nets shown through the windows, which seemed to be part of the skybridge. Yes, that attraction I was too heavy to try.

Very annoying, as I would have loved to get outside at this height with a camera strapped to my chest.

And no, heights are no problem for me, so after I lose some weight and return to George Town, I will give it a go.

Knowing I was about to get onto the roof and well away from the nets and barriers, I just spent some time looking around, and yes, the view from this high over George Town is stunning.

One highlight on this level was the glass floor area, which, after removing my shoes, drew me onto it.

Ok, now that's a long way down, around 200m, and quite a view. And yes, sorry for the hairy leg and red socks.

It's a good thing, heights do not bother me, as I can see this freaking out some people.

For me, the only issue is that it's not wide enough to let me get some real photos without my feet in the shot or the maintenance level below.

The glass-floored rainbow skywalk is looking good about now; it's wider and outside.

Time for the roof, so back to the lift lobby, a few minutes later, I get out of the lift in what looks like a restaurant. While still inside, it had the floor-to-ceiling glass and this time without the issues the observation deck had.

Not a bad shot of George Town, even if taken through the less-than-clean glass, and yes, I did Photoshop out some of the reflections, reduced some of the haze and sharpened things up a little.

Heading outside, the heat hit me like walking into a wall, although I will admit the breeze was nice.

Interesting, and far from what I was expecting from the outside roof deck. And yes, totally deserted, not even any staff were around.

Something tells me that this would be buzzing on the weekend.

Anyhow, the view is stunning, and being outside is actually better for photography than Sky 100 in Hong Kong.

And some trivia, this is close to the highest I have ever been outside, only one in Hong Kong was higher, but that was under construction.

The glass barriers are not so high as to make photography difficult, so as expected, I raised the camera above the glass and took many photos.

This shot shows not only some of the newer George Town high-rise buildings, but also the bridge to the mainland in the distance.

The haze is coming from fires in Indonesia and is something that is expected each year, not only in Malaysia but also in Singapore.

Annoying, yes, but nothing to be done, and yes, this was a day after rain, so it could have been much worse.

Moving on toward the Rainbow Skywalk, and no, I have no idea why they call it Rainbow

Yes, that is a glass floor, and 200m straight down, the view from the skywalk was stunning. Looking down, there is nothing in the way; the skywalk is outside the building footprint.

Wow, now that's a long way down, and not a bad shot, although the glass could do with a clean.

And time to come clean, yes, the above shot has had a fair amount of work in Photoshop, to remove the reflections, clean up some of the dirt from the glass and dial up the saturation.

As mentioned before, heights do not bother me at all, so maybe in the future I will visit some of those glass-bottomed bridges in China.

But now it's time to head back to the lift lobby and back to the entrance.

Exiting the lift at the ground floor, it's still deserted, and while heading towards the exit, there were several of what looked like retail spaces, but all closed with for rent signs.

Not a good sign, and more of what I have seen in some of the local shopping centres. Maybe there are still some issues from what the COVID lockdowns did to the economy.

Getting to the end of this walkway, and looking back, it seems this used to be a Japanese food court. In better times, I would expect this to be really buzzing, especially with the arcade so close.

Final thoughts on my visit to Komtar/The Top

The whole experience was good and well worth the ticket price, the views were stunning, even if the observation deck was a little disappointing, and I was not able to try the Sky Bridge due to being too heavy ☹️

If you are lighter than me, have no problem with heights, then the Sky Bridge on the observation level would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As for me, next time I am in Penang and lighter, I will give it a go.

Getting to the roof in the open air more than made up for the observation deck issues.

The Rainbow Skywalk was something I had to experience, and it was the highlight of the visit.