Bentong

Monday December 18th, Kuala Lumpur ( Port Klang) Malasia

Port Klang is the largest port in the country. The port is located about 38 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur which is the capital of Malaysia. Our drive took us on a 90 minute drive from the cruise terminal to the city and was punctuated by skyscrapers, colourful food stalls and streets shaded by the leafy canopy of huge Banyan trees.

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the largest city of Malaysia. The city serves as the cultural financial and economic center. It is also home to the parliament of Malaysia and the Instana Nevada, the official residence of the Yang Di Pertuan (monarch of Malaysia)
In the year 2020 the population was 2 million in the city and 8 million in the greater Klang Valley.

Some interesting facts

-The three main races are Malay, Chinese and Indian.
-There are 9 Malay states and 9 rulers each called a king. The nine rulers elect one king to reign for 5 years.
-The religions break down as 70% Muslim, 25% Christian, and the balance is of mixed races.
-Rubber is very important as is Palm oil, used mainly for cooking and also used in cosmetics.
-The fruit that grows on the Palm Oil trees is similar to dates and grows continuously. They extract oil from the fruit at factories and the faster you extract the oil after picking, the better quality the oil.
-Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of the global supply of Palm oil.
-Compared to other vegetable oils the oil palm is a very efficient crop, able to produce high quantities of oil per unit of land. However, the conundrum is that Palm oil has been, and continues to be, a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant, and Sumatran rhino. This forest loss, coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils, are throwing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

-Malacca was first settled by Indians. 1400 was the start of spice trade. Then Dutch in 1600, British in 1796. And after the spice trade slowed down, tea became the most important comodity.
-The Malaysians who came from India were originally Hindu but then were converted to Muslims by the spice traders.
-Putrajaya Mosque is called the pink mosque because it is made out of pink granite. The minaret has 5 columns representing the 5 “commandments”. Pray 5 times a day.
-Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. This year it will take place from Sun, Mar 10, 2024 – Tue, Apr 9, 2024. During Ramadan, Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset which is supposed to make them appreciate what going hungry is like and to know how the less fortunate feel, which encourages them to donate.
-Every Friday Muslim men must go to mosque for prayers which takes 5 to 10 minutes. For lunch hour on Fridays, Muslims get extra hour off from work.
National Philosophy
1) believe in God
2 )respect constitution and king
3) be morally upright
4 )love one another
5) collaborate with everyone

We saw a big statue-like silver hand , each finger representing one of the 5 philosophies.

One of our tours today was visit to the Putra Jaya Botanical Garden. The emphasis was on Orchids, every size, shape and colour, both on display and for sale. It was unfortunate that we only had just over an hour there and part of the time was spent helping out a lady who had a bad fall while getting off the bus.

Our next stop was a brief photo stop at the Putra Square. Putra Square is the city square in Presint 1, Putrajaya, Malaysia. The square has been used for festivals such as the Malaysian Independence Day parade. The 300 meter circular Putra Square is bounded by Perdana Putra, the Prime ministers office, Putra Mosque, Putra Bridge and the Promenade Shopping Mall.

The national flag of Malaysia flies high on a flagpole in the square, surrounded by flags of each of its States.
Designed as two concentric plazas surrounded by Putra Perdana Park, the circular ceremonial area is an open hard landscape encircled by Charbaghs, ( Persian and Indo-Persian quadrilateral garden with a layout comprising four gardens) Inside the Charbagh are a traditional interplay of paths, water channels, flower beds and trees.
The Square is divided into 11 segments, in the pattern of an 11-pointed star. The outer 11-pointed star represents the 11 states of Malaya when the country gained independence in August 1957, the inner 13-pointed star represents the 13 states of Malaysia and the 14-pointed star includes the new addition of the Federal Territory. The progressive arrangements of the different pointed stars finally culminate in a circle at the centre of the Square. The circle symbolises the ultimate goal of unity.

Since our tour ended at about 2 o’clock, we had time to play a round of mini putt on the top deck. The entertainment for tonight was a movie which we had seen before and decided to leave after about the first 15 minutes.Read more