The Blue Mosque of Shah Alam

As a day trip from KL, I took the local bus over to Shah Alam, a city just about an hour away from the capital. The city itself offers just one large attraction, the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Asiz Shah Mosque. The mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, is the one reason that tourists come to this town, though I found it to be a nice quiet place, not seeing even one other tourist during my half day in the area. At over 350 feet high, the massive onion shaped dome of the mosque is the largest dome in Southeast Asia and perhaps the world (in terms of mosques), and it is covered in intricate blue and white tiles, giving the mosque its name. Surrounding the enormous structure are four tall minarets, akin to a church's chapel, these are huge pillars from which the call to prayer is made every day. In the past, someone would have to climb these minarets to shout out the call, but these days, it is all done with speakers and recordings. These rocket shaped minarets are each 460 feet tall, dominating the meager city and making them the tallest minarets in the world. Arriving at the first roundabout in town from my bus, I immediately saw the mosque standing tall over the city. Overlooking a calm lake and sitting atop a small hill, it's hard to miss this huge building.

Taking a break from the hot sun and hazy day, I relaxed under the shade of the nearby trees while taking in the views of the mosque. I also found a local cafe for lunch, a place not accustomed to tourists, as most of the locals were staring at me and children would giggle every time I looked at them. That also meant authentic food and prices, so I had a large buffet lunch (which is common) for about $1.50. I tried to order roti canai, the wonderful flaky flatbread that you dip in curry, but I was told that was a morning meal, though they did manage to scrounge up two leftover pieces. I then tried to order chicken fried rice, but I was told that it was an evening meal, so I was stuck with the buffet, which turned out fine. You are basically given a plate of rice and choose from a variety of soupy curries with random cheap cuts of meat or vegetables thrown in, along with many types of over-dried fish, complete with the head and tail, and other not-so-appetizing choices. I opted for some potato curry and some sort of chicken, chili and green bean combo, along with a nice donut to top it off.

Moving back to the mosque, as I circled around the huge compound, I was approached by a security guard on a motorcycle, thinking that I was going to get in trouble for not dressing appropriately, taking pictures, etc. As it turns out, he (along with many other random Malaysians that I have met) was extremely nice and just wanted to talk for a second. He wanted to know what I thought of the place and offered to take some pictures of me (though they didn't turn out too well). As always, these chance encounters with locals away from the tourist centers always seem to make my day, since I'm always impressed by the true hospitality and friendliness that I find along the way. A few minutes later, the speakers began to buzz and then the call to prayer began to play, droning on in a slightly lyrical way, sending its message across the entire neighborhood. I spoke with one of the workers at the front of the mosque, and I unfortunately couldn't enter to see the inside of the mosque until after prayer time, which would last for another hour, so I didn't have time to wait around. The expansive interior is said to be able to hold 14,000 people, but I didn't see that many shoes outside, so who knows...

On the way back, I had to make a few bus connections, unbeknownst to me, but a few locals helped me find my way, and I was back in KL by the evening, impressed with the signature attraction of Shah Alam.

(The massive blue mosque of Shah Alam, overlooking a nice little lake.)

(The intricate Arabic script of the huge dome, the largest in SE Asia and maybe the world...)

(The front of the mosque, right after being greeted by a very friendly security guard, anxious to know what I thought of the place.)

(If this were a video, soon you'd hear the call to prayer streaming out of the four minarets.)

(I'm not exactly sure why they chose blue, as green is more of a Muslim color, but who knows.)

(Since I couldn't enter during prayer time, I had to admire the outside of the impressive structure.)

(The local buffet. I seemed to be a bit out of place here, but that's good, meaning that it's pretty authentic. You can see random curries, vegetables and lots of dried, crunchy fish.)

(My plate, for under $2. Donuts, potatoes, beef, rice, curry, and flat bread. Pretty good deal.)

(Back in Kuala Lumpur, this is the street market of Jalan Alor. Every night, one lane of the two lane street is cleared out and filled with tables and chairs, offering up hundreds of different kinds of cheap Chinese, Thai and Malaysian food. This is chicken sate/satay, basically just skewered chicken with peanut sauce, grilled over an open flame.)

(The crowded streets of Jalan Alor, just about two blocks from my hostel.)

(The pungent and ever-popular durian fruit. Durian is all over the roadside stalls of SE Asia, and its smell can be overwhelming, but I didn't think it was all that bad. Inside of the prickly exterior are a few pockets of fleshy interior wrapped around large pits.)