Lush greenery in Semenyih

Lush greenery in Semenyih

Semenyih is home to many tourist attractions such as the Sungai Tekala Recreational Forest, Semenyih Hot Spring, Rabbit Fun Land and Ostrich Wonderland Show Farm.

There are several rivers located in Semenyih, such as Sungai Rinching, Sungai Broga, Sungai Tekala, Sungai Pening, Sungai Batang Si, Sungai Lalang and Sungai Purun.

Roads leading to the Semenyih Nirvana Memorial Park are congested during the Qing Ming Festival period every year as people make their way there to pay homage to ancestors and the deceased.

The Chinese Calligraphy Stone Gallery, launched on Oct 28, 2012, is also located in the memorial park. It features over 150 calligraphic tablets.

The gallery is open to the public and admission is free.

Also in Semenyih is the University of Nottingham Malaysia campus, established in 2005, leading to an increase of foreign students living near the campus.

Another place of interest is the Rabbit Fun Land, which is located in Kampung Rinching Ulu, approximately 3km away from the campus.

A scenic hilltop temple in Broga also attracts visitors and tourists. Chinese New Year music videos were also filmed here.

Broga is located between Semenyih, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

Recently, it was announced that a new access road would be built for motorists to get to the Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas) from Kampung Rinching Hulu, without having to pass through Semenyih town.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Putrajaya’s hot air balloon fiesta

Putrajaya’s hot air balloon fiesta back with more exciting activities

COME March 28, look up at the skies and you may see a monkey, cat, Smurf or a clown flying over Putrajaya as the annual Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is back.

Organised for the fifth time, the hot air balloon festival will be held from March 28 to 31 at the Millen-nium Monument in Precinct 2, Putrajaya.

It is organised by AKA Balloon Sdn Bhd, Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) and the Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation (MSAF).

This time around, there will be three female pilots and nine new pilots.

Twenty-four balloons from France, the US, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, Vietnam, the Nether-lands, New Zealand, Thailand, India and, of course, Malaysia will be participating. It is the first time that Poland, Spain and Australia are taking part.

There will be six special balloons that will take to the skies, including Buzzy and a Tune Talk balloon.


State colours : Mohammad Sobri will be piloting the “Kedah” balloon.

“We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to, once again, put Malaysia on the map of ballooning.

“Since the inception of the first Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta back in 2009, Malaysia has grown to become one of the more popular Asian destinations for the ballooning community,” said Putrajaya Inter-national Hot Air Balloon Fiesta chairman Mohammad Sobri Saad.

For four days, every morning from 7am to 9am, balloonists will participate in a ballooning competition, vying for Rudy’s Trophy — a trophy named after the late fiesta chairman and co-founder Khairuddin Abd Rani.

For the competition, one pre-determined balloon, known as the “hare” will first take off. The other participating balloons, known as “hounds”, will launch at pre-determined intervals after the “hare”.

The “hare” then lands at a suitable site and lays out a large piece of fabric, forming the letter ‘X’, marking this as the target.

The “hounds” then attempt to drop their markers as close to the ‘X’ as possible. The closest marker will garner the highest score.

In the evenings, the balloonists will again take to the skies for a balloon show at 6pm.

One of the highlights is the “night glow” event on March 30, where the balloons will light up in a synchronised manner to the sounds of music, culminating in a fireworks display.

Visitors can also look forward to a myriad of activities such as model hot air balloon demonstrations and meet-and-greet sessions with the balloonists.

Adventurous visitors can visit the Mountain Dew Extreme Zone to try zorbing, car simulators, hamster roll, paintball and more .

Helicopter joy rides will be available on March 30 and 31.

Members of the public can go for the tethered hot-air balloon rides from 7.30am to 10.30am and 7pm to 10pm daily for RM20 per person.

The ride will be hoisted 60 feet off the ground.

“The fiesta offers lots of exciting activities that will keep the young ones occupied — from colouring competitions and stage performances by cartoon characters to carnival games and rides,” said event director Izzati Khairudin.

Admission to the fiesta is free.

Visitors are encouraged to use the KLIA Transit to Putrajaya as KLIA Transit will be offering a 30% discount on ticket rates during the four days.

From the Putrajaya station, the public can take the Nadi Putra buses which will ferry them directly to fiesta grounds.

Alternatively, visitors can also choose to drive to any of Putrajaya’s ‘Park & Ride’ points and take the Nadi Putra buses.

For details, visit www.myballoonfiesta.com, follow the Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta official Facebook page, @myballoonfiesta on Twitter, and @myballoonfiesta and #myballoonfiesta Instagram account.

~News courtesy of The Star~

Explore KL on rented bicycles

Tourists can now explore KL on rented bicycles

It’s official: Ahmad Phesal (left) officially launching the ‘Kuala Lumpur By Cycle’ programme.

Looking on is Mirza (right) and Tunku Iskandar (second from right). HERE’S an interesting way to discover Kuala Lumpur — ride a bicycle!

Tourists can now rent up to 20 city bicycles to explore KL’s attractions within a designated cycle zone with the introduction of the ‘Kuala Lumpur By Cycle’ programme.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib officially launched the programme at Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad, Jalan Tun Perak recently.

This is the latest tourism programme developed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) under its Visit KL initiative.

Also present was Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab and Kuala Lumpur Tourism Development Council co-chairman Tunku Datuk Seri Iskandar Tunku Abdullah.

Ahmad Phesal said the programme was aimed at offering an eco-friendly way to explore and appreciate KL while promoting cycling as a viable transportation alternative.

“If we provide the access, tourists will cycle, and with the success of the Nature Route, we will identify and develop other safe and suitable cycle routes, hopefully within this year,” he added.

The ‘Nature Route’ (the first designated route) is made up of two zones; the Heritage Zone and the Park Zone.

The Heritage Zone encompasses attractions such as the Sultan Abdul Samad building, the National Textile Museum, the Victorian Fountain, Royal Selangor Club, Cathedral of St Mary and the City Theatre, better known as Panggung Bandaraya.

The second, the Park Zone, takes tourists through the Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park, with stops covering Perdana Botanical Gardens, KL Bird Park, KL Butterfly Park, Deer Park, KL Hibiscus and Orchid Gardens, National Planetarium, Tun Abdul Razak Memorial, Islamic Arts Museum and the National Mosque.

Currently, there are two packages that tourists can opt for; the Free & Easy Cycle, which is a self-guided bicycle tour or the Guided Cycle Tour, the first-of-its-kind in the country, where riders are provided with a set of headphones that will allow them to hear a running commentary given by a tour guide.

During the launch, Ahmad Phesal also flagged off a group of tourists who opted for the Guided Cycle Tour.

One of the participants was Italian tourist, Ricardo Loschi, 28, who looked forward to seeing the city’s sights and attractions.

“It will be fun to explore the city by bicycle as it’s quite unusual. We can take our time and stop to take lots of pictures.

“The best part is we won’t be caught in any traffic jam,” he said.

Riders will also be provided with a safety helmet and safety vest as well as a route map for reference.

Rental fees are priced at RM30 for the first four hours with RM5 for every subsequent hour (The Free & Easy Cycle) and RM45 for the Guided Cycle Tour.

Bicycles can be collected at the Kuala Lumpur By Cycle centre located at the KL City Gallery, Jalan Raja and a refundable deposit of RM250 is payable when collecting them.

~News courtesy of The Star~