Selangor exudes marvels of man, nature

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Selangor

An easy way to rate a destination, so I've discovered after six years of being -- more like trying to be -- a travel buff, is to look at what still excites you a few months after your visit.

Selangor state in Malaysia is easily overlooked by visitors blinded by the glistening shopper's haven of Kuala Lumpur, which is actually located within its borders but is federal territory.

Its capital Shah Alam, about an hour from Kuala Lumpur, is not as bustling with activities as might be expected of a cosmopolitan city. It has malls, clean wide roads and several street-side cafes, but traffic was not busy and a touch of serenity hung in the air when I went there almost two months ago.

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque, more famously known as the Blue Mosque, welcomes everyone to the city center with its cobalt dome and towering minarets as tall as 30-story buildings.

Beautiful white details with intricate lattices surround the landmark, which sees as much as 24,000 worshipers on key Islamic holidays. The mosque is a splendor to behold, even if you don't manage to get a glimpse of its interior -- possibly outside prayer times for non-Muslim visitors.

For museum aficionados, there is always the Sultan Alam Shah state cultural museum. There, you will find the routine collection of canons, kris, spears, traditional cloths, ceramics, crystals and -- why do all respectable museums have this? -- an aquarium-like display of mannequin cavemen roasting a deer.

The only display that stood out for me without being too creepy was a display on Islamic burial customs: the body is wrapped in a white cloth and bound in seven places, and is then buried seven feet underground with the head facing the holy city of Mecca.

Just off the city center is the Malaysia Agriculture Park, which was built on the site of a former forest reserve and offers endless picnic space and a lot more, including a cactus garden and the Four-Season House.

Although not very vast, the cactus garden is home to 2,000 thorny plants representing 14 species, from the tall pitchfork- like ones that we see in every spaghetti Western to green bushy ones.

Visitors can rent bicycles at RM3 (less than 80 U.S. cents) for the first hour and RM1 for every additional hour to enjoy the lush, green park. During special harvest seasons, visitors can even help pick fruits from the plantation -- if the monkeys don't get them first. A guide told us that the night before our visit, 300 rambutan trees went from fruit-laden to bald from a simian feeding frenzy.

Travelers can also try out the rustic lifestyle of old Malaysia in the traditional houses of the country's eight states at between RM80 and RM100 a night. There will be no air- conditioner or cold drinks from the mini-bar, but, due to popular demand, you can still keep score during soccer season and watch your favorite teams on the television provided.

But the highlight of the park is the Four-Season House, the brainchild of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. I can think of no other word to describe it except "brilliant".

I remember still how I so wanted to see snow a few years ago and how captivated I was by the virgin-white blanket that settled under a subdued sky after the crystalline flakes had fallen; how soft the snow was and how fun the snowball fights were. I also remember how I hated it the next morning, after the snow had melted and then froze again and I fell from my bike with a big thud as it slid out of control on a street in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Now imagine experiencing snow without having to go to faraway (expensive) lands and without the icy ground to shatter the romance.

The Four-Season House with its 39 by 23 meter garden goes through the seasons, faithfully following the appropriate temperatures, humidity and daylight hours -- but mirroring the calendar of the Northern Hemisphere.

Between June and August -- the busiest time of the year with schools out for the summer -- the house features winter, complete with a small snowman. Visitors can touch the glittering snow or, if this is too cold for comfort, gaze at the snow hanging atop bare tree branches from the warmth of the viewing tunnel.

It was summer when I was there, and beds of dahlias, marigolds, carnations, violets and pansies painted the entire garden in rich reds, purples, yellows, blues -- you name it. Tulips are in bloom in spring (September-November), and in autumn (March-May), the leaves turn into lovely golden and copper hues.

About a half-hour outside Shah Alam stands Putrajaya, a specially developed city where the federal government's administrative offices are located.

Like Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya is not part of Selangor state but is federal territory. The 4,932-hectare former palm-tree plantation was awarded in the late 1980s to the central government to realize its dream to have a modern and vibrant city of its own.

The buildings are woven into several sectors, including a business district, residential areas, a shopping mall and government offices, which are separated by man-made Putrajaya lake. Still being developed, the districts are connected to each other by eight bridges, of which five have been completed.

To indulge in the meticulously designed feat of civil engineering, visitors can try an air-conditioned cruise boat for a 45-minute ride circling the lake. Among the most beautiful landmarks are the pink dome of Putra Mosque, the 435-metre Putra bridge, its Islamic architecture inspired by the famous Khaju bridge in Iran, and the Millennium monument, which looks like a rocket-ship ready for the countdown.

Honeymooners may want to opt for the gondola-like vessels instead. It will be like Venice without the smelly water, and with the accompaniment of Malay songs instead of Italian arias.

Special trips, like watching the shimmering rays of sunset falling across the lake while enjoying a dinner for two, can also be arranged.

With such delights ingrained photographically in my memory -- I opened my notes only to look up specific names and figures -- even two months later, I think it's safe to say that Selangor is very much worth the visit.