After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s Green Apple restaurant we took a train to Putrajaya which is the administrative capital of Malaysia and a planned city.   The railway station is too far from the centre to walk so we waited a short time for a bus to the main square.  The bus fare was RM1 (no change given).  The main Putra square is elegantly laid out with wide streets and attractive floral borders.

In front of us was the modern Putra Mosque with its Islamic inspired architecture and to our right  the majestic offices of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.  Opposite we could see a waterway opening into a lake.  Walking down some steps we came to a European style promenade with several cafes and restaurants where boat trips were just departing.   We would probably have taken one of these, but we missed one by only five minutes and didn’t wish to wait a further 90 minutes for the next trip.

To return we caught the bus back to the railway station then a train to KLIA airport.  Outside the Arrivals Hall a free shuttle bus runs every 20 minutes to the newly opened Mitsui Outlet Park .  It was a public holiday commemorating Malaysia Day and many people had decided to spend some time at the outlet park.

The outlet only opened three months ago and currently there are 180 outlets in the first phase of construction.  Most of the leading brands have a presence there and we picked up some good buys whilst looking around.

On passing the food court we were tempted into eating freshly made waffles.   Spread on mine, I chose Kaya (a fruit curd made from coconut, eggs and sugar) which tasted delicious.  I’d heard of Kaya but hadn’t sampled it before, and didn’t really know what it was.

It was 6.30pm when we returned to our hotel for a rest and at around 9.00 pm we wandered around to Jalan Alor for dinner.  As we passed Low Yat Plaza in Bukit Bintang we noticed many police and their vehicles lining the road.   In Chinatown earlier in the day there had been a large protest march by the Red Shirts.

Police were taking no chances in case of any trouble.   Fortunately we didn’t see the protest ourselves.  The majority of Jalan Alor’s restaurants were closed ahead of the protest but we were able to find seats in one of the establishments that had remained open. Finding somewhere to sit we tempted our tastebuds with Drunken Chicken and Garlic Prawns.  The waiter wasn’t taking any chances in case of the protest getting out of hand, and requested payment with our order.  This was presumably to cover themselves if trouble broke out and the diners had to hurry away.  Thankfully there were no incident and we enjoyed our delicious meal in peace.

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