…are fasting. So said the taxi driver, anyway, when I wondered aloud if the one buzzing around his cab was hungry. 

It’s the last week of the Holy Month of Ramadan, which in Kuala Lumpur means that:

• the information board on the station platform gives you the all-important time at which you can break your fast
• the traffic is horrendous as people make their way to the mosque for prayers or home early to be with their families
• online shopping sales boom in the morning hours of 4-6. It appears that those who get up early to eat before dawn heralds the start of the fast use their time to buy new things for the Hari Raya (Malaysian Eid) celebration
• a common greeting is ‘selamat berpuasa’ – wishing people a successful fast
• Ramadan markets spring up along the streets to sell local foods to take home for the evening meal…satays, biryanis, fried fish, prawns, noodles, nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk) and spicy beef rendang…(we bought, and ate, far too much)
• and bakeries do extra business selling sweet endings to each day’s fast….