March 16th - 19th

Tuesday
Rather than carry our backpacks to the pier, we caught the resorts boat, and saved 10 mins walk!
View of the resort from the pier.
Caught the 8am boat to the mainland, approx 40 mins, then taxi to the airport 1hr15mins, for our flight at 11.30 from Kota Baru to K.L. Flight is 1hr, where we met our friends from Pai, Thailand and traveled to the city of Putrajaya, approx 40 mins taxi ride.
We are booked in at the Marriott, in Putrajaya. This banner is in the main lobby.
It's a huge complex and the main lobby is approx 2 acres big!!! Hotel is rated 5 star, so should enjoy some comforts!
Lovely deluxe room, with balcony and hot showers and sinks that don't drain out onto your feet!
Hotel room view.
Checked in , then lay out by the swimming pool. Pool is shaped like a Lagoon and it's huge.
In the afternoon, we caught the shuttle bus to the mall to stock up on goodies. Hard to believe that at 8am we were at the beach/jungle and by noon we were at a shopping mall in the heart of civilization! I prefer the jungle!!!!
Thursday
Derek had a flight in the morning, winds were calm and he flew for about 1hr. On the left is the main mosque of Putrajaya, and on the right is the Presidents residence.
The skies were gray and rain was on and off in the afternoon, so the flights were cancelled.
In the evening all the pilots were treated to a welcoming dinner and entertainment.
View of Putrajaya from the balloon. This city houses all the government buildings and each one had a different architect The lake is man made and the bridges were built first, then the area was flooded.
Our Japanese ( kamikaze ) friend, flying over the lake.
Flying over the government buildings.
Flying over the Palace of Justice.
Derek and Kamikaze captured in the reflective windows of a high rise.

One of the attractions in the festival is trying to maneuver these inflated balls along the river.
Levi's balloon got shipped here from Pattaya festival in Thailand.
Darth Vadar also made it.
Friday
Today is a holy day and we're not allowed to fly the balloons in the morning. So everyone was asked to tether. Such a waste of a beautiful morning but we have to respect these restrictions.
Derek managed to jump the fence with his balloon, and put an extra long tether rope on the basket, so it was almost like flying. Took up quite a few media people, so hope the event has good coverage.
Spent the morning tethering, refueled then had a good afternoon flight.

Derek landed in the entrance of one government building, which had about 20 security guards. They helped him land and positioned him away from the main road.

With so much help, we were packed away in no time! We're considering the request to land here again tomorrow!!

On the way home, we passed by the mosque. this is such a beautiful building, it is a major draw for tourist to this city.