From the Millenium Monument we rode off to the Putrajaya Boulevard and parked our bikes at the front of the Palace Of Justice; our bikes there gathered many curious stares. Many has not seen such folding bikes with funny rear wheels that turn upon itself... "Er... how to ride if the wheel is like that?" some asked.
Here we waited for the start of the "Mercy Syria" public ride event, it's an event held to raise funds and awareness for those suffering during the present turmoil in Syria.
The Mercy Syria ride kicked off, we let the main mass of many cyclists ride by first before we joined the tail end.
And here we are, happily cycling down the Putrajaya Boulevard It's great to be able to ride, and such a cool looking gang we were.
Riding across the Sri Saujana Bridge - I have always liked this bridge with it symmetrical curves and two sharp pointing main masts.
A couple of the riders came wearing sarongs; here's Rita in a nice batik one. We call her the Pink Lady, she rides a Hot Pink Brompton and often with matching pink attire - pink helmet, shoes, jersey, etc.
Slightly ahead, I saw this little girl riding a cute little pink bicycle with her father, they were part of the Mercy Syria ride; it's good to start them young to be aware of the way of the world out there.
Hey Rita! Watch out, here's a future Pink Lady wannabe!
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| Regroup at Precint 8 and a short rest. |
At Persiaran Barat, we waved our goodbyes to the little girl & her father and headed off on our own. From here on, Pak Adib, the man in orange will be leading us on a more interesting route. He's just into his sixties and jokingly call himself a "Six Series", a word play on the BMW car series.
We stopped at the Putrajaya Lake Club with its stony "beach". It was a good place to stop, as from here, the view across the lake is rather scenic .....
..... a lakeside view of the Putra Mosque - taken at the right time of the day from this spot, it is quite picturesque.
Beyond this, the ride got even more interesting with us riding onto boardwalks along the lakeside.Pak Adib was a conscientious ride leader, briefing us on the area we are riding through and what pitfalls to watch out for along the route; eg. on the boardwalk - not to cycle along the center as some nails could be sticking up above the planks.Nails! That's a real no-no for our tires.
A short ride into bamboo groves, where the bamboo formed a nice archway.
We are back onto the roads again, heading for our next destination Saujana Hijau. Some of us took to riding on the pedestrian/cycling lanes, others rode on the road. The trouble with the cycling lanes here is that they are finished with either paver bricks or textured concrete, making riding on them rather bumpy; I do hope the authorities will take note of this.
Saujana Hijau is a park on a small hill overlooking Putrajaya. The hill is dotted with pines trees in many areas. Partway up the hill, at a flatter area with a rest pavilion, we took another group photo. For flower lovers, this place has flower beds with lovely, brightly colored flowers.
For cyclists who love to climb, this place offers a good climb amid a nice mini pine forest.
Takeshi was full of joy, whooshing up and down the cycling lanes - this place must remind him off home.
Back on the flats again, we are riding on the Seri Perdana Bridge. Across the lake, the Perdana Putra (Prime Minister's Office) can be seen sitting grandly on a hillock.
The previous day was National Day, our Malaysian Independence Day. That was why many of the streets were lined with the Jalur Gemilang, our national flag. Many of us were riding with small Jalur Gemilangs attached to our bicycles; Ronnie took it a step further and rode for a short while carrying a Jalur Gemilang fluttering at the end of a bamboo pole.Perhaps next year, we should join the National Day parade, all carrying flags Ronnie-style.
Brunch at Medan Selera Putrajaya.
But Pak Adib was not finished with surprising us; after lunch, instead of the normal route back to our end point, he took us on a route through a tunnel below the Putra Bridge - it's access is from the Medan Selera lakeside level.Hey! There is a tunnel here?
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| (Photo by Finty) |
It was a warm ride of meeting up with new friends and catching up with old ones.It was a ride of surprising areas that many does not know exist in Putrajaya - boardwalks, bamboo groves, pine hillocks, secret tunnels, etc.Many thanks to all for making this such an interesting ride.
Special Thanks to :Finty - Ride Organizer
Pak Adib - Ride Leader
Jason - Ride Sweeper 
Oh... By the way, one of the photo-shoot participant was riding this cute Garion Rainbow Classics bicycle. It was an odd looking bike with a 26" front wheel and 16" rear wheel, which kind of reminds us of a Penny-Farthing. Chin here was giving it a trial ride, his comment - steering is tight, need some use to get the balance well.
Our interesting visit to the wetlands over, we rode back the same way that we came but stopped at Dengkil for eats! This was some very good "Pao" (steamed buns) at Restoran Dengkil Kah Heong Pao.
Still yearning for more eats, we rode further along and had this refreshing cendol at Cendol Durian Borhan. This is a branch of the Kuala Selangor cendol stall which I had during a bike-paking trip to Sekinchan (... see blog).
This was an eye-opener trip for me, a trip to a place that I have heard of but never knew could be so interesting. I am glad that Chin persuaded us to ride all the way to the Paya Indah Wetlands.
Chin was familiar with the route and will be leading Jason & me. Heading off from Dataran Putra, we rode through the central Boulevard of the Core Island. This particular Sunday, there was much going on in Putrajaya, and passing the Palace of Justice we had to ride with care to avoid many people who had just finished a running event.
At the far end of the Boulevard, we rode on the Seri Gemilang Bridge. Ahead is the Putrajaya International Convention Centre where we will be making a right turn. Beyond that point it will be unknown cycling territory for me. To meta-phrase James Kirk of Star Trek - "Going to where no AhPek has gone before".
We are now in Precint 20 of Putrajaya, surprisingly this is a nice place to ride. The roads are shady and, being an outlying area of Putrajaya, almost devoid of traffic. This will be a peaceful ride or so we thought ... until...
Suddenly.... Vvvrooommm, vrooommmm! A loud noise came approaching us from the rear. A group of tri-motorbikes had the same idea as us, ride on these smooth roads!
Not to far ahead, the road veered left and joined up with the Dengkil trunk road. Okay, we are back to heavy traffic zone, better ride with more care. We are riding quite briskly, hoping to reach the wetlands by 10am, that's the time they feed the hippopotamuses.
At Dengkil, just opposite the police station, we made a right turn into Jalan Banting. The traffic here is quite heavy, fortunately there is an emergency lane for us to cycle on. Part of this road has some gentle slopes, good for us - we can sweat it out more.
10:15am - We are at the Paya Indah Wetlands! In a rush to try to catch the feeding of the hippos, Chin gave a shout to the guard that we will return to register later. Visitors are required to register at the guard-house or the reception building.
Fortunately for us, feeding time had just started. Here's Baby Hippo and Mama Hippo feeding on some elephant grass to build up their appetite.
Papa Hippo was a bit stand-offish, staying some distance away unbothered by the public's attention.
The good thing about this wetlands is that the public is allowed to participate in the feeding of the animals. Here's Jason feeding a banana to Mama Hippo, keeping his hands clear off the hippo's mouth.
And he has reasons to be careful; a sign nearby warns of that hippos although looking docile can be quite territorially fierce. Better to be safe than sorry.
Oh... MY! What a big mouth you have!!
The next feeding is at eleven; with time to spare, it's time to walk around and admire the wetlands park.... lotus pond full of pink blooms!
Great white pelicans.
Sober looking African storks... they look so serious, like undertakers.
A porcupine baring its spikes, is it getting ready to shoot or just showing off... whatever the case is I better step further away.
11:00am - IT'S CROCODILE FEEDING TIME!
With a shrill blow of a whistle, the crocodile came swimming close to the feeding ground. There were about thirty of them, except for their snouts most of them were hardly visible from afar.
The chicken was rolled down a cable hook, and sometimes a more active crocodile will jump up to snatch the chicken in its jaws.
From the top of a nearby viewing tower, I gazed afar. Yes, Paya Indah is indeed a wetlands - there are several lakes here. I gather that it has always been naturally a place for birds to gather, and once or twice a year some migratory birds can be seen as they fly from north to south and vice-versa to escape the cold winter.
Looking down, I can see Chin, looking like a tiny pixie!
For those keen in coming here, the above is part of their activity program sheet. There are much more than shown above, night safari, chalet stay, etc.
