Form separate queues according to your gender, please

This is what the government of Kelantan, Malaysia asks.

It's Sunday evening here in Kota Bharu.

Yesterday, Saturday, was my last day in Kuala Lumpur. I had seen most of the major stuff in the city. I just figured I'd go out for a walk. I did wind up at both the Jemak Mosque and The National Mosque (which, presumably, is very large). Both were not very exciting, as tourists cannot enter the mosques, only walk on the areas around them. I saw one tourist get chased out of a prayer area (open air) by the cleaning guy using the stick end of the mop. It was pretty funny, no one got hurt. I got some good lunch, more Indian food, a spicy fried chicken with rice and vegetables and such. I made my way back to the hostel to chill out. I made it just in time, the tropical rain hit hard. I've never seen it rain like that for that long. There was tons of thunder and lightning too. A few of us just hung out and played scrabble. There was a "party" at the hostel that night, so I hung out there talking to other travelers, good conversation. I was the only American (I've only met one American so far in my travels, in Melaka, and he is an expat who settled in the Philippines). There were a few British, a Canadian, a German, a Dutch, an Iranian, and the Malaysian owner.It was a lot of fun.

This morning I woke up at 4:30 to catch my 7:30 plane to Kota Bharu. Coincidentally, the German guy was heading out on the same flight. The guy working reception at the hostel who checked him in found out about his plans (they always wask where you're going), and knew I was doing the same. This meant we could both justify a cab ride (we split it). Otherwise, I would have had to go to the central train/bus station by cab (monorail/trains don't run at that hour), then take an hour and 15 min bus ride out to the airport (its pretty far outside the city). Our taxi driver got us there in 35 minutes, his foot seemed to like the gas pedal, and there was no traffic. The plane ride went without a problem (this flight cost me about $34 US). It's on a super-budget airline, Air Asia, which flies out of a special terminal, not connected to the others, we boarded via tarmac. We landed an hour later, at 8:30.

I took a taxi to Ideal Traveller's House. Ritz-Carlton, watch out! Ideal Traveller's House is an experience. Only cold water here. My room is pretty basic. Cement floor, thin mattress, windows (glass slats that pivot, kinda like a venetian blind) don't quite close all the way, a ceiling fan and a fluorescent light. On the upside, it's only about 5 bucks a night! (ew, the hostel owner just farted). Fortunately they do have a little pay internet area that I'm on now. There's also a phone and cheap phone cards, so I got to call home which was great (Hi Mom and Dad!).

Before I go any further, I should tell you about where I am. Kota Bharu is the capital of the state of Kelantan. It's located on the East Coast of the Peninsula (Melaka, KL, Penang, which is my next destination, and much of the rest of the Malaysia population is on the West Coast). Kelantan is ruled by the opposition party, the Islamic Party of Malaysia. It's rather conservative Islamism in effect. It would be more conservative, but the federal government won't allow it. Many believe that Sharia (Islamic law) would be totally in effect if the federal government didn't interfere. Nonetheless, you see the differences from the rest of Malaysia. Headscarves are required for Muslim women (the ethnic Chinese don't wear them, nor do others such as Western visitors). I don't know how they know who's Muslim, and if this is ever enforced. All women aren't supposed to wear clothing that exposes shoulders, midriffs etc (I don't know if this is enforced either). One that nearly got me today is that men and women queue separately in the grocery store. I stopped in to pick up some juice and just got in the shortest line. The I looked up at the sign over the cashier and remembered what I had read a while ago. The sign had the profile of a woman's shoulder and head (whose hair is, of course, covered in a scarf) as well as the Malay word for "woman" (I forget what it is now, but I did recognize it at the time). I hunted down the men's line (there was only one for men as opposed to 4 for women, as women do most of the shopping here). The sign had the profile of a man (wearing traditional Islamic cap). My blunder wasn't noticed (I think), but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a big deal. I should also mention any female model on a billboard must also be wearing a headscarf. Needless to say, it's been a bit of a culture shock. It's a bit hard to take it all in when I think about it. It's difficult to understand "why" things are the way they are. Yet, this is the reason I came here, I knew I should see something very different from what I'm used to.

The men do dress more conservatively here too, though it's not required by law. I won't be donning shorts in the next few days. The sale of alcohol is nearly non-existent. The one exception is hotels run by ethnic Chinese (like my hostel). Sale of alcohol is permitted in these hotels only. Still, it's pretty expensive, I won't be indulging.

Today was mainly spent wandering around. I got a lay of the city which was good. I took a nice nap too. Of course, I ate good food too. I had a great bowl of noodles and accompaniments in a really spicy broth. I also had the local banana fritters (fried on the street). Dinner was rice with good roast pork (from the Chinese, of course, pork isn't Halal).

That about wraps it up.

Hope you enjoyed reading,
Mike




PS Andrew brought up a good point in a comment on a previous post. Kuala Lumpur used to be a tin mining town. It's name means "Muddy Confluence" (or similar). Needless to say, it's come a long way.