So, it was my birthday weekend and I decided to go a little bit wild and adventurous with my husband and son this year instead of the usual leisurely getaway. It’s a bit of a last minute ad-hoc decision.
You see, Tourism Selangor announced that they will be hosting a yet another exciting outing and we decided to join in the fun. With the catchy hashtag #TSDayOut2016 for social media enthusiasts to use and share on their social media platforms throughout the program, Tourism Selangor promised to bring us on a full day of fun.
Interview with Tourism Selangor General Manager on TS Day Out Program
Not sure what TS DayOut is all about? Well, basically TS DayOut is a fun and interactive program initiated by Tourism Selangor to exclusively introduce interesting places in Selangor to the public and the members of the media. It is a long term effort to promote tourism events and attractions in Selangor. You may find out more about it in my interview video above with Puan Noorul Ashikin, the General Manager of Tourism Selangor Sdn Bhd.
Our itinerary for #TSDayOut2016 was as follows:
*Photo hunt in Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil
* Experiencing 1000KM Endurance Race in Sepang F1 International Circuit
*Race your heart out at Sepang Go Kart Circuit
That’s just 3 items on the itinerary. Sounds boring and mediocre in comparison to my other trips? Wrong. It was fantastic. Here’s sharing with you what we did, in depth during #TSDayOut2016.
First on our list; Photo hunt in Paya Indah Wetlands, Dengkil. Instead of following the transport provided by Tourism Selangor, we decided to drive for our own convenience to travel back home after the day is over.
Reaching Paya Indah Wetlands is not that tricky if you use Waze to navigate there. Basically, the place is
located about 15 minutes drive southwest of Putrajaya-Cyberjaya.
Paya Indah Wetlands is a man-made wetlands area built in 1998 on land which had been heavily degraded by tin mining and sand dredging activities. The excavations left by the mining works have been converted into lakes which is now a home to exotic creatures and beautiful plants.
We met up with #TSDayOut2016 participants early in the morning at Paya Indah Wetlands and were briefed about the Photo Hunt and the mini competitions that we can participate during #TSDayOut2016.
Participants were divided into groups. Our tasks was fairly simple. We just had to go on a bit of a treasure hunt where we have to snap pictures of certain landmarks and wildlife at Paya Indah Wetlands in the clues given. Basically the answers that we could figure out were just a lookout tower, crocodiles and hippos. So, we headed over to the Hippo Pond and snap some photos of them.
Two hippos, originally from Botswana, live in the Hippo Pond enclosure.
The best time to see them is feeding time 10am – 10:30am.
They spend most of their time daily being semi-submerged in the lake to prevent their surprisingly sensitive skin from getting sunburnt.
Crocodile Feeding Time at Paya Indah Wetlands
After seeing the hippos eat their breakfast, we made way to the nearby crocodile lake just in time for the their feeding session.
The crocodiles are fed at 11am – 11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays.
According to the Jabatan Perhilitan officer, the fierce-looking crocodiles were transported to Paya Indah from Langkawi.
Being somewhat separated from our group as they were tasked finding other items on our photo hunt list, we had plenty of time to spare and headed over to the lookout tower. The tower provided us a 360 degree view of the whole area and we discovered that there’s much more to Paya Indah Wetlands than just the hippos and crocodiles. There’s horse’s stable where they houses some beautiful horses, a Laman Fauna where there’s porcupines and tortoise, and of course, the place where big and small birds lives.
Stable housing some beautiful, healthy horses
Horses in Paya Indah Wetlands
Porcupine spotted.
Porcupine making an appearance in Paya Indah Wetlands
Porcupines are mammals with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that protect against predators. They are actually huge and the ones living in Paya Wetlands are almost as big as a dog. The porcupines are nocturnal, and no, they are docile creatures and not dangerous. Contrary to the made up fiction and myths, they can’t shoot their quills at you.
Tortoises
Tortoise spotted at Paya Indah Wetlands
Check out the video of the tortoise
It is interesting to note that in Paya Indah Wetlands, the group of tortoises co-habited with the porcupines and heartwarming inter-species interaction between the tortoises and the porcupines can often be seen, where they often share feeding time and takes shelter together.
Ducks spotted at Paya Indah Wetlands
Ducks swimming at Paya Indah Wetlands
Ducks swimming happily in the lake at Paya Indah Wetlands
Pelicans.
Pelicans Swimming at Paya Indah Wetlands
The great white pelican is also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family and breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and in Africa in swamps and shallow lakes.
Apart from the wildlife inhabitants, other interesting thing about Paya Indah Wetlands is that they also provide bicycles for those who would like to cycle in the park.
The bicycles can be rented for RM5 for 2 hours. Tricycles are provided for children under 6 years old at RM3 for 2 hours.
Other notable facilities is Surau for the Muslims to pray.
And not to mention there’s a playground for young children to play too.
The Department of Wildlife & National Parks (Jabatan Perhilitan) has done a good job over the years in regenerating an abandoned mining site into a family friendly eco-tourism attraction . There’s even accommodation offered at Paya Indah Wetlands.
If you would like to spend a day or two back to nature in Paya Indah Wetlands, just check in for one of the park’s 29 Chalets. They offer double beds and are air conditioned for RM120 per night. Dormitories and a camp site are also available at RM 9 per person/site/night.
For more information on Paya Indah Wetlands, refer to their official website HERE.
After spending some time playing Crocodile Hunter, we moved on to the second thing on our #TSDayOut2016 itinerary: Experience the1000KM Endurance Race in Sepang International Circuit.
This is Sepang International Circuit. Here is where Adrenaline addiction and exhilaration began. I thought we would just be watching the 1000KM Endurance Race, but I was wrong. We were brought there to Sepang International Circuit to experience everything about Sepang like never before; up close and personal on track, watching Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race from various stands and of course, the behind the scenes things of what makes Sepang International Circuit ticks.
Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race 2016 is a spin-off event from the hugely successful Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race (MMER) , S1K pits production cars below 1900cc and has attracted international entries from as far as Australia and Japan.
The 1000km race is about 181 laps and lasts about 12 hours non stop and the aim is not only to test the endurance of the car engines, but everyone involved as well.
Racers needs to be physically and mentally fit to join the race.
So does the pitstop crews,mechanics, engineers and medics.
And of course, the grid girls needs to be able to literally stand the heat throughout the entire race as well
Life on the fast track. Teabreak at Perdana Suite, Sepang International F1 Circuit. The place looks ordinary, no? Well, there’s more to it than just an ordinary building. This is where SIC hosts VVIPs, dignitaries, royalties during F1 racing and stuff. Strictly off limits to public without a pass.The view of the track from here is simply breathtaking and much better than the view at the Grand Stand.
And now, we had the privileges to watch the 1000km race while having tea. Pretty much a blessed birthday weekend, I must say. I always love all the fast and furious thing.
My view from Perdana Suite
Race view from the Grand Stand
Behind the scene at the Race Control Room
Behind the scene at the Media Room
The Media Room in Sepang International Circuit can accomodate more than 100 journalists at one time. Here is where breaking news on every single race held in Sepang International Circuit are made. This is, practically the news hub, connecting Sepang International Circuit and the rest of the world.
Commentary room where live broadcasting of commentary is done for ongoing races.
Behind the scene at the Pit Garage where the crews are hard at work, ensuring everything will be revving fine.
Press conference room
Podium. Yes, this is where racing champions are crowned and glorious national anthems are honoured.
Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race 2016 Highlights
Check out Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race Highlights by Adam Lau.
After such an exhilarating time experiencing the 1000KM Endurance Race and going behind the scene at Sepang F1 International Circuit, it’s finally time to get our Adrenaline all pumped up and race our hearts out at Sepang International Kart Circuit. The Sepang International Kart Circuit is located within Sepang International Circuit. The track is 1.247km long and 10m wide with 11 challenging curves. The tarmac that is used is identical to the one on the main track to give the best racing experience for the go kart racers. Yes folks, #TSDayOut2016 brought us to experience Adrenaline rush on track; through Go Kart racing experience. And this time we’re not just witnessing the race but we get to go on track and literally race our hearts out with each other on the Go Karts. There’s prize involved for #TSDayOut2016 participants, of course, but we were mostly there not for the prize but just for the fun of it.
And here’s us, getting ready to race our hearts out.
Me, caught on track. I didn’t manage to get the best lap and win the race, but it was really a wonderful experience, to be able to feel how it’s like to race on track.
#TSDayOut2016 participants who won the race against each other.
Wanna experience this? Well, gokart rental is pretty much reasonable, it’s as listed below:
1 Karts Series (RM 42.40/pax)
2 Karts Series (RM 106/pax)
3 Karts Series (RM159/pax)
For more information on GoKart racing in Sepang, you might wanna click HERE.
One for the album before we call it a day.
#TSDayOut2016 was definitely a fun and interactive way to discover Selangor, but the best part is not that I get to go to interesting places that I’ve never been before, but I’ve also learned plenty of important things along the way and I’d join another one of the activities hosted by Tourism Selangor in a heartbeat.
Before I pen down, I’d like to say that Selangor have plenty of attractions that could win your heart over. Interesting places is just in our own backyard, so do come over and discover Selangor.