A Religious Journey

                We took our bags, and took off on the bus towards the KL LRT station to take the LRT from Cempaka Station to Masjid Jamek to kick off the start of our field trip at the Mosque. First, my group visited Masjid Jamek, a peaceful and calm place of worship for the Muslims, the majority religion in Malaysia. Walking around the praying spaces, there was a lot of nature and spaces to wash yourself so that you would be clean for praying. The magnificent dome of the main mosque, and the geometrical shapes on the minarets made this place of worship an architectural wonder. With a simple ' Terimah Kasih' to the watchman, we were on our way, this time to the Chinese temple. In the middle of a busy street, motorbikes, vendors, and all, was a home to all the deities of the Buddhists, in the Chinese Temple. From the many benches and mini-shrines outside to the beautiful statues and the fortune-teller inside, the Temple, unlike the Mosque was more relaxed to visitors. While some of us took the incense sticks and lit them in big pots filled with ash, others went to a little room to learn of their destiny and their life in future. The deities, standing grand, were all for anyone who wanted to pray for anything (health, good fortune, and more) but they were all not as mighty as the Buddha, the almighty being for which this grand temple was in existence. After much happiness, mostly over fortunes, and some disbelief, (mostly over fortunes), we marched on in our group to Central Market, where we had a tasty lunch with most of it being Western, but some of us choosing the Asian option. Our last stop on this spiritual journey was to be the Hindu Temple, my place of worship. Before we stepped into this grand palace of culture and religious wonder, we had to take off our shoes as a respect to the gods. The moment we stepped in, we could hear the joyous music, drum beats, along with the colorful and intricate designs on the ceilings. Praying to the gods as the priests washed them, and showing my friends all the different gods made me feel wonderful as I was showing them all these stories and culture entrenched deep into the religion: Hinduism. It was stunning and magnificent, walking around the temple, looking at all the statues. After walking 7 times around a black box with statues of the gods, (customary for Hindus who come to pray), it was time to leave this wonder. The next part of the trip was, admittedly more exciting for most, as it was a time of skill. Bargaining, getting the right price, getting the right glasses, getting the right laser pointer. Reaching the end of the street only to find that you could have got the same thing for 30 rm less. Oh yes, this was Chinatown. McDonalds, shopping, food, more shopping, McDonalds, then, it was time to leave. Knowing that this trip was ending and that we would have to participate in lessons the next day was not a great feeling as we climbed back onto the LRT and traveled back to Cempaka, to reach back to school. Although the day had been fun, we had learned many things about different religions and places of worship, and it was truly a religious journey, if an exhausting one. But more exhaustion was to come for me, as I had to travel to Mont Kiara, this time for Basketball!