Putrajaya: The ultimate Kuala Lumpur stopover guide
So if you have already been to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur to be precise) and have a stopover there again? PS this is mainly from an Indian point of view. Well it's a blessing in disguise! Firstly, KL is a beautiful and friendly city and you can never get bored of visiting it multiple times. Secondly, I am here to share an unexpected guide with you!
When we were booking our flights to Australia, we were planning for Air Asia flights. Tickets to Australia (Sydney/Melbourne from Delhi/Mumbai ) are really expensive and an economic way to travel is through Air Asia. Now every Air Asia flight has a stopover at Kuala Lumpur (the low budget airport terminal). But our connecting flight to Melbourne was quite late. So when we were brainstrorming options what to do in that transit period, we discovered an extremely fascinating fact. Malaysia offers free transit visa for upto 120 hours (that means 5 days) for passengers towards Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea (of course with the valid visas of those respective countries). However, the grant of that free transit visa is fully on the discretion of the KL Immigration Authority.
So we decided to take a chance, we booked a flight in which the stopover time was around 20 hours. That is, we were landing in Kuala Lumpur early in the morning and the connecting flight to Melbourne was at around 4 in the morning. I had been to Kuala Lumpur twice before, so there was no point in exploring the friendly city again. However KL's twin city, Putrajaya was unexplored. I had heard so much about that place and was just 25 kms from KL. So the plan was sealed. We were to explore Putrajaya in those 10 to 12 hours. Only a slight uncertainty: our transit visa was at the mercy of the Malaysian immigrant officials.
After we landed and proceeded towards the immigration, the officer looked at our tickets and passport for quite some time. He asked what we are going to do in these hours. We divulged our plan and there came the stamp of approval. Yay!
We took the metro to reach Putrajaya. It was already morning. We crossed numerous palm plantations and they all look so pretty. Then we deboarded at Putajaya station. Mind you, this was going to be an entire walking tour! I know, we are crazy!
For the starters, Putrajaya is the administrative capital of Malaysia. It has been developed as a garden city, during 1999, to decongest the highly populated capital city of Kuala Lumpur. As we started walking, we could see the Putra Bridge, our first stop. It was an architectural marvel and we took pictures and sat on the grass to catch our breath. We had not slept the whole night mind you :D
Our next stop was the main attraction of the city, the Putra Mosque or Masjid Putra; famously known as the Pink Mosque. However, the rest of the attractions which we tend to visit were on the way to the mosque.
We walked by (read encircled) the serene Putrajaya lake, one of the most beautiful lakes of the country. It's a huge artificial lake, to maintain the temperature of the city. At one side of the lake is a huge botanical garden. There are luxurious penthouses bordering the lake, each with a private pool. Those penthouses were so tempting that I felt like shifting there right now! The Pink mosque could be seen far from the lake. We gradually walked towards that magnificent structure.
What we did not do is visit the Prime Minister residence. It was beyond our scope of walking and would take time too. We wanted to pay a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers before boarding the flight to Melbourne.
This walking tour is one of the best utilization of time in our lives so far. The city of Putrajaya is extremely pretty as it's fully planned; with marvelous architecture and greenery all around. In all we walked around 15 kms that day, that too without any sleep, after a red eye flight, all prepped for another red eye to Melbourne. But it was so worth it!
We took the metro to the capital and bade goodbye to this pretty city, with our hearts full.
19 comments
Covering a city in 10-12 hours and that too visiting all famous places requires great effort in planning. Sharing this post to friends who can make best use of stopover.
ReplyDeletePutrajaya looks like a wonderful place to visit. And you made the most out of the stopover time there.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Kuala Lumpur so many times. However I could never make it to Putrajaya. So glad that you could use the metro. That definitely saves time. Reading your post and looking at the pictures I am so tempted to visit the Putrajaya Mosque sometime.
ReplyDeleteWow you had put in lots of planning and thankfully the transit visa was approved so you could enjoy the beautiful city. It's really tough to enjoy a city in 10 to 12 hrs and a transit flight to catch...
ReplyDeleteGreat use of time. Putrajaya looks beautiful. Traveling required lots of patience. And I must say I have to learn from you.
ReplyDeleteMy brother lives in Kuala Lumpur and I have been fortune to be there quite a few times and I'm say the place is beautiful. Putrajaya is one beautiful place, and I loved your detailed description and pictures.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Kulalampur and that was my first official trip from Company side... So You can say I enjoyed a lot without spending a single penny out of pocket other than shopping. Been to Putrajaya also
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful place and definitely good use of time while travelling. Will share this with friends.
ReplyDeleteBeen to KL a few times but yet to explore Putrajaya. I didn't know there's great places to see there too! Will surely include this in our IT when we get a chance to visit KL again - MommyWithAGoal
ReplyDeleteI have been to Kuala Lumpur but have not yet been to Putrajaya. After reading it your post, I am surely going to plan a trip. It is really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteA good utilization of time! Your pictures look amazing. Will keep your post in mind if we travel to Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a gem of a place. Loved the pics, Mandira. The mosque is breathtaking. I am definitely adding it too my bucket list.
ReplyDeleteKuala Lumpur is one of the destinations which I use to sell as a travel agent and this place is worth a visit
ReplyDeleteI travel to Mexico with hardly any layover time. Your idea seems very appealing and I think even I should take off on one of my trips. Only issue is I am alone and not adventurous enough to explore alone.
ReplyDeleteWith you on utilizing layover time to sample a visit. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Kuala Lumpur before the pandemic. Putrajaya is a lovely city, and I enjoyed your detailed description and photographs.
ReplyDelete-Anjali
I am planning for Kuala Lumpur in this year. Never know about Putrajaya. Thanks for the detailed info. I would love to visit this place too with Kuala Lumpur. By the way, you looked lovely in these pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post about Kuala Lampur, I absolutely adore it.
ReplyDeletePutrajaya is a City in Malaysia. it is very famous for expansive, meandering man-made lake and many areas devoted to parks, botanical gardens, and wetlands. Last year I visited this city and enjoy the new year here and at the time, I have decided I will going to enjoy new years eve in boston.
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