One Hot Afternoon at Putrajaya - Day 3 in Malaysia

We felt that we already saw almost all places on our bucket list for Kuala Lumpur, so the next two days would be side trips to nearby cities. First on our list was Putrajaya, just located south of KL. We have seen of a pamphlet on a tour bus that offer tours every weekend for only 1 RM! I couldn't believe we could avail of something as cheap as that so we decided to take the KLIA Express Train for KL Sentral to Putrajaya Sentral station. Unfortunately, “The Best of Putrajaya Tour” operates only during 3 PM every afternoon and we arrived past 12 in the afternoon so we decided to tour the place by ourselves as not to waste more time waiting. Buses from the train station called the Nadi Putra buses, charge for only 50 cents to any location you may wish to be dropped off. Cheapest bus fare I've ever had so far.

a view of Perdana Putra surprised us as soon as we got off the bus station

Putrajaya is the center of the federal administrative of Malaysia since 1999. Due to the congestion in Kuala Lumpur, a lot of government offices have relocated here. The area used to be a vast sprawl of oil palm plantations before it was purchased by the government from the nearby state of Selangor. The whole area is mainly inspired by Islamic and European architecture and is said to be a brain child of the country's former Prime Minister, Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad. Botanical gardens are spread out in the city to promote preservation of both the environment and Malaysia's architecture.

a beautiful fountain we saw on the way

lush green trees that adds more effect to the calming and quiet atmosphere of the place

Putrajaya is named after the country's first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Also, it was pretty interesting to know that in Malay, the word putra literally means 'prince' and jaya means 'success', that's why many places in Malaysia are named with 'jaya' in them.

Going to Dataran Putra

After walking from the bus stop, we have arrived at Dataran Putra or Putra Square. This is the city square wherein you would be able to see two of Putrajaya's famous buildings. We went on a weekend and it was crowded and lots of tourist buses were in the area.

One of Putrajaya's must pictured architectures came to view. The Perdana Putra is the Prime Minister's Department complex that also is a home to several of Malaysia's government agencies. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and the place was closed for visitors during that time so we opted to take some pictures. It is open to public every weekdays though, 8-12:30PM and 2-4PM, and every Saturday 8AM-12:30PM. It was very hard to take a good picture of the building as there were too many tourists at the time.

Perdana Putra

it looks so majestic even with all the tress around

Please don't mind my haggard face here!!! just wanted to show how difficult it was to take a picture of yourself here with all the tourists blocking the view (me included haha)!

Just adjacent to Perdana Putra is the Putra Mosque. I'll feature the mosque on my next post but the most interesting part of the structure for me was the color of the mosque which was entirely in pink. Fortunately, we were also able to go inside and the visit here was also my first time to go inside a Muslim's place of worship.

Putra Mosque

Putra Mosque and Putrajaya Lake

We explored the area a little more and saw that nearby the mosque was a small mall and array of eateries. We were then provided with this magnificent view of the Putrajaya Lake (which I later learned was man-made) and some of the city's finest pieces of that showcases modern architecture and design. The most notable of all is the Seri Wawasan Bridge which is the longest bridge in Putrajaya and is known for its sail ship appearance. It is one of the seven bridges that span across the lake.

Lots of people also opt to take the cruise that costs 30 RM

Istana Darul Ehsan, one of the royal residences of the Sultan of Selangor

The Putra Bridge has taken my attention with its very apparent influence to Iranian design

The weather was getting bad and the means of transportation in the area was few to nothing at all. The bus stop where we were first dropped off could take another 20 to 30 minutes of walking and hailing cabs were getting impossible as all of them had passengers or didn't want to take any. We talked to some locals who were also going the same way to our next destination but offered us no help. :( Finally, we spotted an Indian taxi driver who was waiting for his passengers who decided to offer us a ride for 20 RM. (Yes this guy sure know how to make money, but in a bad way!)

Along the way, we were able to take a glimpse of the impressive architectures around the area. The designs looked very fururistic and has a lot of European character on its design. It sure was a very amazing sight to see and I felt like I was seeing buildings at New York (minus the crowd and traffic). I didn't get to take better pictures of these awesome buildings since it started to rain a bit.

impressive buildings!

We asked to be dropped off at the Istana Kehakiman or the Palace of Justice that serves home to the country's judicial department. It was such a grand structure that I spent some time just gazing at it. It is said to incorporate Classic Moorish design, similar to the Sultan Abdul Samad building of Kuala Lumpur.

Istana Kehakiman

Just opposite of it is the Perbadanan Putrajaya Complex, a conference facility, is a contemporary interpretation of traditional Islamic architecture. One would also see the Grand Mosque just inside the complex.

Perbadanan Putrajaya Complex

Grand Mosque

Our day trip around the government capital of Malaysia sure was tiring in that one hot humid weekend afternoon, but the display of its collosal buildings and variety of styles combined in its designs sure made the day trip here worth the effort. The whole area looked sophisticated to me but it felt dead, and I was there on a busy Saturday. The night view would have been awesome to see but I can save it for a next visit. ;)

When Vanity strikes... in Putrajaya!

How to go to Putrajaya
From KL Sentral, Take the KLIA Express Train to Putrajaya Sentral. You may opt to join the “The Best of Putrajaya Tour” or roam around the city using the Nadiputra bus.

Follow my footsteps in Malaysia!

Day 1: Kuala Lumpur Chinatown Petronas Towers	Day 2: Kuala Lumpur Batu Caves Merdeka Square	Day 3: Putrajaya / Shah Alam Pink and Blue Mosque City Tour	Day 4: Malacca/Melaka City Tour Food Tour	Day 5: Kuala Lumpur Architecture	Day 6: Penang Kek Lok Si Temple	Day 7: Penang George Town Street Art
Day 8: Penang Temples	Malaysia Travel Report Itinerary and Tips