Of the 5 things I planned to do while in Malaysia, the only one that wasn't possible was drinking teh ais on a corner in little India. This is because the cafe right in the center of little india had closed. A minor inconvenience because there are plenty of places to get teh ais, but none with such a prime location. On the positive side though, the other 4 activities were completed.

Since today is the last day of Ramadan, it seems fitting that I right about the Ramadan Market. For anyone who hasn't had a chance to visit a country with a large Muslim population during Ramadan, the basic ritual is rather simple, Muslims don't eat or drink from dawn until dusk. The times that they stop and start eating are marked by the morning prayer and late evening prayer.

As you might imagine when fasting, life doesn't generally continue as usual. This is partly because the body must make it through an entire day on whatever was eaten in the morning, and also because many Muslims use their time during Ramadan to reflect on life, engage in prayer and visit family and friends.

When I was in Malaysia Muslims stopped eating (sahur) at around 5:45 am. To ensure they had a days worth of energy, it is common to wake up early in the morning, eat a hearty breakfast, drink and lot of water and then perhaps go back to sleep. Those who might not have work the next day may even sleep as long as possible to preserve their energy. It doesn't take long to sweat out all the water in your body in Malaysia's humid climate.

About 13 hours later was the breaking of the fast (ifftar) and several hours before this people begin preparations for the evening meal. Weeks prior to the beginning of Ramadan local communities organize bazaars where people setup their tables and sell all sorts of food. There is no better place to taste the best of Malay food than a Ramadan Bazaar.

At the bazaar people can surely find all of sorts of dishes that might otherwise be difficult to find during the rest of the year. Towards the end of Ramadan approaching Eid, there are a number of foods availble that are synonymous with Ramadan. A few of these are: daging rendang, a tender beef simmered in mixed spices and coconut milk; ketupat, coconut rice wrapped woven inside palas leaves and steamed; lemang, coconut rice cooked inside a bamboo stalk over open flames.

The Ramadan Bazaar, like the night markets across Malaysia are open to anyone. If you travel to Malaysia during Ramadan you should make a point to go through these bazaars, talk to the sellers and fill your tummies.

This video highlights some of the food available at a pasar Ramadan in Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia. It is located just off Jalan Aslan Shah next to the Gelugor Post Office.