Selamat Berpuasa or for my non-Malay speaking friends, Happy Fasting.
I have indeed lost track of when Ramadhan is supposed to be for 2010. It is a big deal for me considering where I'm coming from. Malaysia is a Muslim country and although with the population of less than 40% non-Muslim, fasting month is a well observed occasion back home. For an instant, the working hours would be adjusted -my Muslim colleagues would turn up an hour earlier than usual to work in the morning so they could leave work earlier for breaking fast in the evening. There would be minimal physical outdoor activities organized and most on-the-street shops would not be opened for lunch. However, this does not mean that the non-Muslims would not get to eat during the days of Ramadhan as mainly all the non-Muslim operating shops would still be open for business as usual.
I enjoyed Ramadhan during my years in Penang and KL for one main reason: pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan food bazaar). If you are by any chance to be in Malaysia around Ramadhan, please 'visit' pasar Ramadhan where the best traditional food in Malaysia are being sold. Pasar Ramadhan normally consists of temporary (throughout the fasting month) stalls that sell food from all parts of Malaysia and this is probably one of the very few if not the only one place that sell food of all kind. We non-Muslim take advantage of the ludicrously tasty food made by our Malay counterparts (who are mainly Muslim) and normally skip home cooked food for one long month. Who needs to cook when you're surrounded by cheap but tasty food anyway? Yum yum.
This is obviously a non-photography related post but I figure it is nice to acknowledge the month, especially now that I'm imagining walking along pasar Ramadhan with my camera in hands and a hungry tummy...
I expect a lot of pasar Ramadhan photos from my photographer friends in Malaysia on Facebook soon. Looking forward to those, guys! Once again, Selamat Berpuasa. :-)
I have indeed lost track of when Ramadhan is supposed to be for 2010. It is a big deal for me considering where I'm coming from. Malaysia is a Muslim country and although with the population of less than 40% non-Muslim, fasting month is a well observed occasion back home. For an instant, the working hours would be adjusted -my Muslim colleagues would turn up an hour earlier than usual to work in the morning so they could leave work earlier for breaking fast in the evening. There would be minimal physical outdoor activities organized and most on-the-street shops would not be opened for lunch. However, this does not mean that the non-Muslims would not get to eat during the days of Ramadhan as mainly all the non-Muslim operating shops would still be open for business as usual.
I enjoyed Ramadhan during my years in Penang and KL for one main reason: pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan food bazaar). If you are by any chance to be in Malaysia around Ramadhan, please 'visit' pasar Ramadhan where the best traditional food in Malaysia are being sold. Pasar Ramadhan normally consists of temporary (throughout the fasting month) stalls that sell food from all parts of Malaysia and this is probably one of the very few if not the only one place that sell food of all kind. We non-Muslim take advantage of the ludicrously tasty food made by our Malay counterparts (who are mainly Muslim) and normally skip home cooked food for one long month. Who needs to cook when you're surrounded by cheap but tasty food anyway? Yum yum.
This is obviously a non-photography related post but I figure it is nice to acknowledge the month, especially now that I'm imagining walking along pasar Ramadhan with my camera in hands and a hungry tummy...
I expect a lot of pasar Ramadhan photos from my photographer friends in Malaysia on Facebook soon. Looking forward to those, guys! Once again, Selamat Berpuasa. :-)
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