Putrajaya, a place to work and play.

Putrajaya, well-known as the administrative capital of Malaysia. The brainchild of former Prime Minster minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Looking at the impressive buildings that house the different ministeries, it really dawned on me that this former physician had put a lot of thought into turning a swampy wetland into the touristy place it is today. Putrajaya also houses accommodation apartments for the civil servants who work here and also places of worsship, shopping and entertainment. To date at least, 300,000 are residents who work and live here.

Being impressive as it is, Putrajaya is fast becoming a must see for all tourists coming to the country. The government blocks that house different ministries,

the shopping outlets and of course near the Dataran where tourists can walk around near the Sultan Mizan Mosque, shop for souvenirs, eat at the numerous outlets or take a cruise around the lake. Yes another attraction of Putrajaya is the numerous lakes around as well as the bridges that abound. Recently, my husband and I took some relatives from Hong Kong on a boat cruise around the Putrajaya lake, on the Dondang Sayang, I was pleasantly surprised with the tour guide who spoke in English and since most of the tourists in the boat were Arabs, there was an Arab guide who spoke in Arabic. I also found out that Putrajaya’s famous bridges were actually structured after other famous bridges in the world, e.g. the Teheran bridge, the San Francisco bridge and the Sydney Harbour bridge. Cool eh?

Even though I have been to Putrajaya for meetings and the usual short drives around the place, I am still awed by the immense size of the buildings and the different structures...really nice and I am sure of architectural interest. I often think about who works in the offices and whether any of them are white elephants or semis? I hope with such posh surroundings and work places, the quality of work that is produced do justice to the millions spent in building these premises. But I am awed just the same.

However, I still think Putrajaya is still the place where we bring visitors and friends. It is a beautiful city and we must maintain it...development is still going on and I am sure for a long time to come. With new hotels and places of interest and shopping malls around, Putrajaya will remain an attractive place to visit and a conducive place to work and live.