Putrajaya
by prudence on 14-Jan-2012
Putrajaya is Malaysia's administrative centre. Not its capital, of course, which is KL, but the place where the government hangs out.
The way to get there is to go into KL, and take the KLIA Transit train that goes to the airport, stopping at a couple of places en route, including Putrajaya.
Do NOT think, "My, 9 ringgit each way is very expensive. We must be able to do it cheaper on the bus." This is what we thought last weekend, and we wasted a lot of time waiting for buses that never came. I could hear the "you-need-a-car" brigade crowing quietly in the background.
And do NOT take the KLIA Express, which bolts straight to the airport, stopping for nothing, and will cost you 35 ringgit.
For your 9 ringgit, you get a really sleek, speedy, comfortable train, with plenty of seats. At Putrajaya station, you can pick up a bus that will take you into the city centre for 0.50 ringgit. Also at the station, there's a genuinely informative information booth, and at the weekends, you can sign up for a two-hour bus tour of the city that will cost you 1 ringgit each. That has to be the bargain of the year. As we were a little early for the tour, we caught the ordinary bus into town, and strolled down to Dataran Putra, the main square, which is flanked by the beautifully pink Putra Mosque and the truly enormous Office of the Prime Minister. We did some strolling, took some photos, and then picked up the tour bus from there.
Putrajaya is extremely reminiscent of Canberra. It's the product of design, not higgledy-piggledy evolution; its centrepiece is a lake; its architecture is striking, designed to convey national pride; its roads are sweeping and tree-lined; it is green and beautiful -- and, of course, just a little artificial.
But cruising along on our bus, and hopping out every now and then for photo opportunities and little strolls, we couldn't help but be impressed. It's all very well maintained -- OK, it was only founded in 1999 (and still isn't actually complete), but that's plenty of time to get scruffy in this climate, so considerable effort must go into keeping it spruce. It's planned with pedestrians in mind -- there are broad pavements, and ramps for those with wheelchairs or prams. And the design works -- there is lots of variety in the architectural styles, but nothing looks bitty or out of place.
It's not museum-rich (that kind of thing is found in KL), but the botanical gardens and the wetlands park are rated, and we didn't time for all that today.
So we'll have to cough up the requisite 9 ringgit each way to do another trip...
The way to get there is to go into KL, and take the KLIA Transit train that goes to the airport, stopping at a couple of places en route, including Putrajaya.
Do NOT think, "My, 9 ringgit each way is very expensive. We must be able to do it cheaper on the bus." This is what we thought last weekend, and we wasted a lot of time waiting for buses that never came. I could hear the "you-need-a-car" brigade crowing quietly in the background.
And do NOT take the KLIA Express, which bolts straight to the airport, stopping for nothing, and will cost you 35 ringgit.
For your 9 ringgit, you get a really sleek, speedy, comfortable train, with plenty of seats. At Putrajaya station, you can pick up a bus that will take you into the city centre for 0.50 ringgit. Also at the station, there's a genuinely informative information booth, and at the weekends, you can sign up for a two-hour bus tour of the city that will cost you 1 ringgit each. That has to be the bargain of the year. As we were a little early for the tour, we caught the ordinary bus into town, and strolled down to Dataran Putra, the main square, which is flanked by the beautifully pink Putra Mosque and the truly enormous Office of the Prime Minister. We did some strolling, took some photos, and then picked up the tour bus from there.
Putrajaya is extremely reminiscent of Canberra. It's the product of design, not higgledy-piggledy evolution; its centrepiece is a lake; its architecture is striking, designed to convey national pride; its roads are sweeping and tree-lined; it is green and beautiful -- and, of course, just a little artificial.
But cruising along on our bus, and hopping out every now and then for photo opportunities and little strolls, we couldn't help but be impressed. It's all very well maintained -- OK, it was only founded in 1999 (and still isn't actually complete), but that's plenty of time to get scruffy in this climate, so considerable effort must go into keeping it spruce. It's planned with pedestrians in mind -- there are broad pavements, and ramps for those with wheelchairs or prams. And the design works -- there is lots of variety in the architectural styles, but nothing looks bitty or out of place.
It's not museum-rich (that kind of thing is found in KL), but the botanical gardens and the wetlands park are rated, and we didn't time for all that today.
So we'll have to cough up the requisite 9 ringgit each way to do another trip...