Ramadan the fasting month and Hari Raya the celebration of muslim New Year in malaysia

The fasting month of Ramadan is a good time for all food lovers to visit beautiful Malaysia. Hotels throughout the country serve various menu buffets simply referred to as Buka Puasa, to break the fast at dusk (maghrib) of each day. These buffets feature an irresistable variety of malaysian dishes, including many that are not prepared at other times of the year.
The end of Ramadan--that is Hari Raya signals the end of the fasting month and the beginning of the muslim new year celebrations. In Malaysia we have basically 4 different new years mainly Hari Raya(malay new year), Deepavali(hindu new year), Chinese New Year (buddhist new year) and Merry Christmas (christian new year) all marked with open houses to which everyone is invited to participate.
Ramadan begins with the sighting of the moon and continues for a full month (30 days) until religious leaders sight the new crescent moon, Syawal.
During the month of Ramadan muslims will fast from dawn to dusk. Muslims are forbidden to consumed food, drink, to smoke and to indulge in sexual activity until after the break of fast.
Hari Raya Aidil Fitri marks the beginning of the muslim New Year.
Malaysians and visitors to the country are invited to Hari Raya open house gatherings hosted by
the King and Queen at their official Istana Negara and another open house hosted by our Prime Minister. Open house gatherings is a popular and common sight so be prepared for the long queques. One can eat the lemang with rendang, the satay and other curries and kuih muih.
Our departed ones are not forgotten too. Many make way to cemeteries to pay respect to their loved ones.

nothing can bring you peace but yourself

all of us spend our time here on earth searching for happiness, longing to discover the secrets for living a fulfilled and peaceful life. from our very first moments of existence as an infant until the day we die, we are motivated by the search for what we believe will make us happy.
'we want our kids to do well in school....we want our daughter to marry a nice boy ....we want our investments to perform well so that we will have enough money to take on further generations'....
these are all wonderful things to wish for but what happens inside of you when what you hope for in life doesn't happen?
the answer is we suffer. we feel betrayed, angry, hurt, confused, insecure and definitely not happy.
we go through this silent process of evaluating our happiness many times daily starting from the moment we wake up. and the list goes on and on...
life is unpredictable. like it or not but "shit happens" always.
happiness is a decision that we make to experience a situation in a particular way. likewise unhappiness isn't something that is inflicted upon you-it too is a choice that we make.