Natural Charms of Selangor - the place I am living in

Dear readers,

I am more than happy to share with you the charm of the place I am living in - Natural Charms of Selangor and hope you too enjoy reading it.

It is the most prosperous and industrialised state which lies not far from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Its newly launched Selangor Shines campaign for 2010, is blessed with many natural attractions.

One of its most well known natural wonders is the fireflies that glow in the mangrove swamps and remind you of lighted Christmas trees. The best viewing time for the fireflies is in the evening at Kampung Kuantan, Kuala Selangor.

The entrance to Kampung Kuantan Fireflies Park

The picture of a typical firefly 

The chalets are built on stilts and are directly above water. The Firefly Park Resort.

Each house separates by 2 units of wooden walls.

It is no wonder that some people claim that the name of Selangor comes from the Malay word, "selanga", which means a large fly and draws its reference to the abundance of the flies that live in the marshes along the Selangor River in the northwest of the state.

Others say its name is derived from the term, "selang ur", which means land of the straits since "ur" in Tamil means "land" while "selang" in Malay means "straits".

The Melawati Hill in Kuala Selangor offers not just a panoramic view of Selangor's coastline but also used to provide a vantage point to monitor ships in the Straits of Malacca. Remains of the Malawati Fort, which was built to protect the state from intruders, include cannons and its original foundation stories.

 Melawati Fort at Melawati Hill

The fortress was renamed Fortress Alstingburg after its governor general Alting when it was captured by the Dutch. The Chinese nicknamed it "Mai Lau San", which means monkey hill as the place is swarmed by silver leaf monkeys and long-tailed macaques.

A lighthouse, several old colonial houses built during the British era, a poisoned well and the Royal Mausoleum are some of other tourist attractions found here. Sited at its foothill is the Kuala Selangor Nature Park, a great bird watching site.

The coastal town of Kuala Selangor used to be the State's royal capital before it was moved to Klang, Kuala Lumpur and later to Shah Alam, which is renowned for its Blue Mosque. As one of Southeast Asia's largest mosques that can hold 24,000 worshippers, the Blue Mosque, with its four minarets with a height of 142.3 m, is also one of the world's tallest mosques.

Blue Mosque

Another must visit sight in Selangor is the limestone hill of Batu Caves with its scared cave temples. Taking its name from Sungai Batu or Batu River that flows by, this popular Hindu shrine is dedicated to Lord Murugan. You need to climb 272 steps in order to reach it. This attraction is also the focal point of the Thaipusam festival in Malaysia, which attracts over 1.5million pilgrims yearly.

                                                           Batu Caves

Hope you enjoy reading it.

James Oh