Since I was already in far southern Thailand, I decided to cross the border and spend a few days in Malaysia. Specifically, I wanted to spend some time in Kota Bharu, apparently one of Malaysia's more traditionally Muslim areas, during Ramadan. I was hoping to soak up some of the holiday atmosphere, eat some good Malaysian food and to hit up more post-fasting markets. I also wanted to check out Pasar Siti Khadijah, Kota Bharu Malaysia's famous Central Market, which I had read about previously here.
Well, things didn't go exactly as planned. Kota Bharu was practically comatose during Ramadan. The streets were eerily empty and all shops were closed. Thankfully the evening market was functioning, which I'll blog about soon, but virtually no restaurants, other than a mediocre Chinese noodle place, were open. In the end, I was able to hit up Kota Bharu's striking indoor market one day (it was closed the next for Aidilfitri), although the results are only marginally food-related, and more an excuse to show off my cool glass:
