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.

This is a purely comedic video I made while in Cairo showing the lighter side of Cairo traffic. For all intensive purposes it's really stupid, but nonetheless does include a fairly accurate depiction of what Cairo is like at night.

I should also say that this was taken during Ramadan and was one of my most memorable evenings in Cairo.

At 4:30 Thursday morning I awoke to the sound of drums and songs drifting over the rooftops outside the open door of my bedroom veranda. I have not yet asked any locals what was happening, but I must assume that people were celebrating the beginning of the first day of fasting, which begins at sunrise each day. It is customary in many Muslim countries for people to wake up early in the morning to eat and drink before sunrise then go back to sleep for a few hours so that they can make it through the rest of the hot day before breaking fast in the evening.

The Islamic Holy month of Ramadan is just about to start and here in Cairo it is a very major event. Ramadan is the time of the year when Muslims deny themselves food, drink and sexual contact during daylight hours. It is also a time when people reflect on life and otherwise give thanks to god. This article isn't meant to explain what Ramadan is, but wikipedia has a decent page on it if you want to learn more. Unlike Christmas, the holy month of Ramadan doesn't always begin at the same time. Due to the Islamic Calendar, which is Lunar, the month of Ramadan is a few weeks earlier each year. The first day of Ramadan is signaled by the first sighting of the crescent moon and usually it is not clear exactly when the month will begin until a day before, or even the day it starts.