Putrajaya
A Purpose Built Administrative Capital Raised Out Of Plantation Land In The 1990s, With Monumental Architecture, Showpiece Bridges And Almost Nobody Walking · Putrajaya, Putrajaya
MALAYSIA BUILT ITSELF A NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL FROM SCRATCH IN THE 1990s, on plantation land south of Kuala Lumpur, AND MOVED THE GOVERNMENT INTO IT. Putrajaya is what that looks like: enormous boulevards, a man-made lake, a set of deliberately showpiece bridges, and monumental buildings in a style that blends Islamic, Mughal and modernist forms. THE PUTRA MOSQUE IS THE ONE EVERYONE PHOTOGRAPHS - rose-tinted granite, on the water's edge, with PERDANA PUTRA, the Prime Minister's office and its huge green dome, standing beside it. IT IS ALSO, BY DESIGN, A CITY WITH ALMOST NO STREET LIFE: the scale is civic rather than human, the distances are made for cars, and outside office hours it is close to empty. WHETHER THAT IS FASCINATING OR EERIE DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON YOU. It is thirty minutes from Kuala Lumpur on the airport line, which makes it a good stopover rather than a trip, and it is not walkable between districts - take a taxi or hire a bicycle, and come at dusk when the buildings are lit.
Putrajaya Federal Territory, Putrajaya, Putrajaya, Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA IS ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES FROM CENTRAL KUALA LUMPUR and is on the KLIA TRANSIT LINE, which makes it an easy stop on the way to or from the airport - the station is PUTRAJAYA SENTRAL, and you need a bus, a taxi or a car from there because THE CITY IS NOT WALKABLE BETWEEN DISTRICTS. THE PUTRA MOSQUE is open to visitors outside prayer times and PROVIDES ROBES AT THE ENTRANCE; modest dress is required and Friday midday is prayers. PERDANA PUTRA AND THE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS ARE NOT OPEN - they are photographed from outside. LAKE CRUISES run from the waterfront. THE HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA is an annual event with its own dates. IT IS HOT AND SHADELESS on those boulevards; go early or late, and do not plan to walk between sights.