Shah Alam

Shah Alam's state mosque, Bukit Cahaya and i-City in a day

One day is enough for Shah Alam. See the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque mid-morning between prayer times, walk the Lake Gardens, and take a Grab to the botanical park at Bukit Cahaya when the heat eases. Finish with teh tarik and cheese tosai in Section 7 and the evening lights of i-City.

Morning. Reach the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque mid-morning, between prayer times, and allow an hour for the prayer hall, the dome seen from inside and the grounds. Robes are lent at the door. Walk across to the Shah Alam Lake Gardens afterwards and follow the water past the state buildings, looking into the Sultan Alam Shah Museum if it is open.

Midday. Cool off with a bowl of cendol from Pak Akob's stall outside the Section 16 mosque, a short Grab away, then a long lunch somewhere air-conditioned.

Afternoon. When the heat starts to ease, take a Grab to the national botanical park at Bukit Cahaya for a shaded forest trail or a hired bicycle. If the sky turns, swap it for Wet World or the Extreme Park in Section 13, where skaters ride into the night.

Evening. Head to Section 7 at dusk for teh tarik and cheese tosai at a mamak, then on to i-City once its trees and walkways light up with LEDs; children will want Snowalk, kept at minus five. For Kuala Lumpur, ride the LRT from Seksyen 7 station and change to the Kelana Jaya Line at Glenmarie 2, or take a Grab.

Visiting the Shah Alam Blue Mosque

Non-Muslim visitors are welcome at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque, Malaysia's largest, outside prayer times. Its blue and silver dome is 51.2 metres across and its four minarets stand 142.3 metres high. Wear long sleeves and trousers or a long skirt, borrow a robe at the door if needed, and avoid Friday midday prayers.

Its dome, blue and silver and 51.2 metres across, is one of the largest religious domes in the world, and the four minarets, at 142.3 metres, rank among the tallest anywhere. The hall holds 24,000 worshippers. Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz commissioned it when he named Shah Alam the new state capital, and it was finished in 1988 in a mix of Malay and modernist styles.

Dress the part. Wear long sleeves and long trousers or a long skirt; robes and headscarves are lent at the entrance, and shoes come off before you enter the prayer hall. Friday midday prayers are the busiest time of the week, so pick another day, and during Ramadan visiting hours can change.

Inside, keep your voice down and ask before photographing anyone at prayer. The best pictures of the dome come from across the lake in the late afternoon, when the light warms the blue tiles, and on a clear day the minarets show up from vantage points as far away as Kuala Lumpur.

Section 2 ikan bakar and Section 7 cheese tosai

Shah Alam's food is halal throughout and built around grilled fish, rice and late-night mamak tables. Eat ikan bakar, fish grilled over charcoal in banana leaf, at the Section 2 stalls, and join the students at the Section 7 mamak restaurants for cheese tosai and teh tarik after dark.

The essential meal is ikan bakar, fish grilled over charcoal in banana leaf and served with rice, sambal and a sharp dipping sauce. The Medan Selera food court in Section 2, in front of the water park, is the place for it, and the best fish goes early, so arrive at the start of service.

Section 7 has long rows of mamak restaurants, the Indian Muslim cafes where students and families sit over cheese tosai, roti canai, nasi lemak and frothy teh tarik, with football on the screens. They stay open late and are cleaner and roomier than most. For dessert, Pak Akob's cendol stall outside the Section 16 mosque is an old local favourite.

During Ramadan the city's rhythm shifts: daytime eating slows, and in the late afternoon Ramadan bazaars set up across the sections with grilled meats, kuih and drinks for breaking the fast. For pork dishes, including Klang's bak kut teh, you will need to drive the short way west to Klang.

Klang bak kut teh and Kuala Selangor fireflies as side trips

Shah Alam sits between Kuala Lumpur and the coast, which suits two outings. Klang, a short drive or Komuter ride west, is for a bak kut teh breakfast by the station. Kuala Selangor, about an hour north-west by car, is the evening trip, ending with a boat ride to watch the fireflies along the river.

Go for breakfast: the bak kut teh shops by the station on Jalan Stesen open early, and the royal quarter, with the Sultan Sulaiman Royal Mosque and the silver Tugu Keris, and Little India on Jalan Tengku Kelana fill the rest of a morning.

Climb Bukit Melawati for the remains of the old fort, the lighthouse and the silvered leaf monkeys that gather on the hilltop, then wait for dark and take a boat on the river at Kampung Kuantan, where the mangroves along the banks blink with fireflies. Choose a dry, moonless night for the best show.

The weather counts on both. October to December is the wettest stretch, with November close to 280 mm, and April is almost as wet, so evening boat trips are more often called off then. June and July, at about 125 mm each, are the safest bets.