Kuala Lumpur

What can I say about Kuala Lumpur. It's big and city-ish and we were only there a day and a half. We got to Kuala Lumpur at the end of Ramadan which is the Muslim month of fasting. Malaysia is a Musim country and it's a noticable change from Thailand with which it shares a border.

It was a few days before Hari Raya (known elsewhere as the festival of Eid) which marks the end of Ramadan. It's a huge holiday and as a result many things were closed and it felt at times as though the entire country was on the move. Everyone goes home to their family to celebrate Hari Raya. As a result we had a hard time getting out of Kuala Lumpur (more on that in a sec).

So for those unfamiliar with Ramadan, it's a time in the Muslim calendar where Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down. No, food, no water, no spit, all day ... and it's hot here. So at the end of the daily fast, everyone is extremely anxious to get to eating, and probably more important drinking, since I can imagine it's very dehydrating. We were in the evening Ramadan market at the end of the daily fast one day. Everyone was getting prepared to end their fast. Everyone bought food, bought drink, and then just sat ... waiting ... cups full, plate full, just waiting. Then all the sudden over a loudspeaker somewhere, was the call of an Imam. Then everyone, drink in hand, took a long gulp ... the fast was over ... for today.

So we were trying to get out of Kuala Lumpur, because, well I wanted to get to the beach. Unfortunately because Hari Raya was in a few days, all the routes out of town were booked. Buses, trains, flights, everything, but tiny Berjaya Air. Miraculously we were able to go to the airport and buy a ticket to Pulau Tioman ...