Hari Raya - Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of Hari Raya (day of celebration), the term Malaysians use to refer to the 2 day holiday marking the end of Ramandham. In the morning I went to the reception to snap a photo of the one non-Muslim who works at the Guest House. To mark the occasion she was wearing her "festive clothes." To her left (not in the picture) was another area decorated with lights and cards.

A later in the morning I heard from Rattu - Tuesday's rains had washed out our plans for a boat trip. Lim, a student in my class, offered to take us around Georgetown. Of course, this being Malaysia we started with a meal. The restaurant was crowded and Lim commented that there were a lot of out-of-towners. He could tell by how they were dressed - I took this to mean that KL people are a bit more up-market in their clothing choice. The rest of the day involved a lot of temple hopping (the Asian equivalent of going from cathedral to cathedral in Europe). We went to Taoist, Chinese Buddhist, Burmese Buddhist, Thai Buddhist, and Hindu Temples . Along the way we chatted about everything including burial and wedding rituals. Although Rattu and Lim are both Buddhists the variation traditions are a bit different.

At the first temple Lim said we didn't have to remove our shoes in Chinese temples. Rattu pointed out that keeping shoes on made it harder to the cleaning staff. The picture of Lim and Rattu is in front of the Sleeping Buddha temple, Thai Buddhist temple. This temple and the Hindu temple were the most aggressive in soliciting donations. The Chinese ones did minimal solicitation, but they may be largely supported by family associations. At one temple there were plaques with the donor' names. Most had the name of their university and degree; although the lawyers tended to note their profession. (As I write this I realize that I should have taken a photo.) Lim said that the Chinese Buddhist temples don't use joust sticks, but we visited the temple where he and his wife went to pray after they were married. We were nearly affixiated by the smoke!

A nice way to spend an unfamilar holiday.