The end of the month of May saw the return of Magic of the Night, a boat parade at Putrajaya Lake in the namesake administrative center outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Coinciding with our Eat Travel Doodle media tour, this year’s event featured 14 flotillas brought in from every state in Malaysia. The annual event promotes Malaysia as one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Running from May 27 to June 4, the festival was a grand showcase of Malaysia’s flora and fauna as well as the one-of-a-kind attractions found in the different states. The festival kicked-off with retro-themed dance performances on a floating platform across the main stage.
I’ve blogged about Putrajaya recently and I find it fascinating how the new city consistently finds ways to promote itself by constructing new attractions like the giant helium balloon ride and tourism events like the hi-tech Festival Light and Motion Putrajaya (LAMPU). Magic of the Night is another special reason to visit. It was first time to witness the festival, and I thought it was a nice event especially for families with children. Seated right along the lakeside, I couldn’t have asked for a better spot to watch the boats float by, framed by suspension cables of the Seri Wawasan Bridge. I could see children light up as the illuminated boats floated down the marina, and their parents cheered for their respective hometowns. My favorite boat was the nature-inspired entry from Sabah, which featured a giant iguana. The illuminated flotillas complimented the lit-up government buildings that surrounded the lake and lit-up bridges that spanned its calm waters. The evening culminated with a grand fireworks display above the flotillas and reflected on the dark lake water, leaving the throngs of people that crowded the lakeside in awe and admiration.
The following are the winners for Magic of the Night 2016: Most Popular Boat (audience voting) – Kelantan; Best Lighted Boat – Sabah (3rd), Penang (2nd), and Pahang (1st); Most Creative Boat – Johor (3rd), Selangor (2nd), and Putrajaya (1st); and Overall Best Boat – Sarawak (3rd), Terengganu (2nd), and Perak (1st).
For more information about next year’s Magic of the Night and other tourism events in Malaysia, visit Tourism Malaysia.
This blog post was made possible through Eat Travel Doodle, a media tour held last May 27 to 29, 2016. The event was organized by Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia, together with Tourism Malaysia with the support from Gaya Travel Magazine.
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