Visitors who come to through KLIA are often suprised by its state-of-the-art design and facilities.  From here, modern expressways take visitors to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur as well as other cities and towns in Selangor and the rest of the peninsula.

Its state capital Shah Alam, is well-planned city with impressive buildings and plenty of open spaces.  Here, the popular Blue Musque is an impressive place of worship that never fails to impress its visitors.

Close by is the royal town of Klang, which is also next to the country's biggest and busiest port, Port Klang.  Klang town has a large Indian population, thus it is not surprising to find a well-established 'Little India' here where Indian items and decorations are found in profusion.

A third major urban area is Petaling Jaya, which was recently declared a city on 20th June 2006, making Selangor the only two Malaysian states hosting more than one city.  Petaling Jaya is a well-planned city, located close to Kuala Lumpur and has huge residential areas supporting most of the capital's working population.

Selangor is also the richest state in and it's not surprising to see modern urbanites in popular hangouts, keeping up the latest trends that fashion the world.

Some of the most modern and popular shopping complexes in the country are found in Selangor, around Petaling Jaya and they include the gigantic One Utama and The Curve complexes, Subang Parade, IOI Mall and Sunway Pyramid.  The country's premier water-theme park, Sunway Lagoon, is also located in here.

Selangor becomes the centre of the world attention when major international racing events are held at its F1 Circuit in Sepang.

But Selangor is not all about modernity and development as a large part of the state still exudes the warmth and serenity of rural Malaysia.  Places like Kuala Selangor and Kuala Langat retain the atmosphere of the typical coastal areas, where fishing villages dot the mangrove-clad coastline.  The famous Kuala Selangor fireflies are found  along the mangrove forest here.  The area is also a sanctuary for local as well as migratory birds and many other smaller animals such as monkey and snakes.

Paddy fields are typical scenes in many parts of the northwest area of Sabak Bernam and Sekinchan.  Here, rice is cultivated using modern techniques and the yield is reputed to be the highest in the country.

Fruit orchards and plantations line the main roads leading to towns like Kajang, Ulu Langat and Kuala Kubu Baru.  The latter is a quaint peaceful-looking town, surrounded by mountains and it is the administrative centre for the Ulu Selangor district as well as the gateway to Fraser's Hills.

Most people who are new to the country will be surprised to know that Selangor is also a haven for nature lovers.  The state offers jungle trekking, white water rafting, bird watching and even mountain climbing on its eastern side where its highest mountain, Gunung Nuang at 1,493m is located.

Many other places that are close to major urban areas have peaceful recreational forests where serene-looking waterfalls attract hoards of visitors during weekends.  They include the Kanching Recreational Forest, Templer's Park and Commonwealth Park.

Selangor is indeed an amazing state where a world of difference is just less than an hour apart.