I recently got a free trip to Putrajaya, a beautiful “planned city” about 25 kilometers southwest of Kuala Lumpur, for the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011. While some of the invited bloggers probably got down to planning what to wear for that gala event - it’s the “Oscars” of the Asia Pacific blogsphere after all, I got busy to planning what to shoot in Putrajaya.

I got excited once I saw some photos of Putrajaya: grand mosques and buildings and beautiful bridges. The city planners certainly made sure everything looked beautiful. One of the most beautiful and iconic of the buildings there is the Putra Mosque or the Masjid Putra (nicknamed “Pink mosque” for obvious reasons).

I got down to the usual planning: where the sunrise/sunset would be, what time, where the best POVs are based on the existing photos (cross referenced with Google map), etc. I also emailed some Malaysian photographers I came across in Flickr for tips.

The next day after the awards night while most are still in slumber land due to what was probably a rockin’ after-party (which I did not attend), another Pinoy blogger (Michael of iPinoyLike) and I were headed to one of my planned locations to shoot. Sunrise that day was at 7AM, pretty late than what I am used to actually so waking up was not a problem.

We managed to get a cab (transportation in Putrajaya is a big problem, you always have to book your ride in advance) and after a seemingly long ride on a wide empty highway (I’m pretty sure our cab driver was lost by the way, even after I showed him a printed map and pointed where we wanted to go) we arrived at Kelab Tasik or Putrajaya Lake Club as just the dawn is breaking.

momentary color burst

What’s great about the Kelab Tasik POV is that you get to shoot the Prime Minister’s office as well.

rowers dwarfed by the imposing mosque

As the sun finally rose and broke through the clouds, the mosque’s pink color was made more evident. Everything was still except for the soft morning breeze that created small ripples on the lake and a group of rowers nearby were preparing their boat.

early morning reflections

Though the sunrise was not spectacular that morning, I felt quite good about being there. There is a deep sense of serenity in this place that can make one be more thankful of the new day.


Watch out for more photos of Putra Mosque (yup I returned the next morning for more :D)