PutraJaya

Putrajaya is the federal administrative capital of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is the capital for other purposes. Port Kelang is the closest harbour. Traffic in the city of Kuala Lumpur was getting so bad the wise leaders decided to build a separate city for their government offices. The land was purchased in 1990 and construction began in 1995. The 1997 – 1998 world financial crisis slowed production a little, however, in 1999 three hundred of the prime minister’s staff moved their offices to the new city. In 2002 the rail line was operating from the city to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. By 2012 most of the government offices were operating in Putrajaya. The population was recorded as 88,300 in 2015, only 20 years after the construction of the city began.

The Prime Minister’s office is in Putra Square with the Putra Mosque. It is surrounded by a man-made lake and connected by the Putra Bridge to an island then to the International Convention Center by the Seri Gemilang bridge.

Zooming into the bridge we can see the Prime minister’s office directly ahead disappearing into the haze on the horizon.

The main tourist bus stop is in front of the Putra Mosque and the Prime Minister’s offices in Putra Square. From there, I looked back down the road between the buses to the bridge and at the time of posting, I noticed the International Convention Center is visible on the horizon disappearing into the morning haze. I recognized it by its unique roof line.

The lineup to go inside the mosque was rather long ( notice all of the tourist buses) and since we had many more things to see, we moved on with only time for a few photos outside.

Below is a modern sculpture acknowledging Malaysia and Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad for their efforts towards anti-corruption. The upper part of the Prime Minister’s office is visible on the left.

The large building below is a corporation responsible for the administration of many federal government services from waste management, environment, public transportation, health and safety and maintenance of the urban infrastructure. The building that is visible through the arch is the Iron Mosque. It is the second principal mosque and is larger than the Putra Mosque.

Across the road is the Palace of Justice. This is where you will find the country’s judges and lawyers. It will be visible through the arch from the Iron Mosque.

Our next stop was at another spectacular landmark that was integral to the design of the city.

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The views from this bridge are even more impressive than the view of the bridge.

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Kuala Lumpur

After our enlightening tour of Putrajaya we traveled on to Kuala Lumpur. It is an older city and has a mix of historic buildings and more modern towers.

The Jamek Mosque in the center (below) has been built where the Gombak river meets the Klang river. Kuala Lumpur means “muddy confluence”.

Below are a sampling of the older building styles.

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This was not my first visit to KL. On earlier visits, I have been up the Kuala Lumpur tower and have been closer to the Petronas Towers. This time I had lunch in one of the hotel towers. From one of the not so clean windows, I was able to capture a peek at the Kuala Lumpur Tower and top of the Petronas Tower.

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Port Klang

The excursion began and ended at the ship docked at Port Klang. The port is the major port of Malasia. In addition to the container ship handling terminal, it now has a terminal for cruise ships.

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