As we walked from the customs building to our hotel, loaded down with backpacks, we stopped for lunch at a Malay restaurant. I had Mee Rebus, noodles, and some delicious Tarik tea. After we checked into our beautiful, air conditioned hotel, the Puteri Pacific, we headed to a Sikh temple. We all had to cover our heads, guys included, as the head priest led us upstairs to wash our feet and hands before we entered the holy room. The head priest explained that he was Indian and here as a missionary for three years on a permit. He explained the "5 K's" that Sikh men observe. One is carrying a little knife for self defense and to protect others. The second is is a bracelet to remind them not to do anything evil. The third was a long pair of underwear, kind of a like a purity belt. The fourth is a wooden comb in their hair to keep it neat and lastly their long hair tied in a turban. Sikh's are not supposed to cut any body hair whatsoever. It was fascinating to hear him sing and play the "harmonica", which looked like an accordion. Apparently he went to school to be a musician. Just like in Christian churches, Sikh's only play sacred music in their temples. No one is allowed to turn their back to the altar at the front of the room so we carefully backed out of the room. I have to say it was just in time too. Wearing a head scarf and standing for that long in the hot room was making me light headed. The priest then showed us wonderful hospitality, a signature of the Sikh faith, and offered all of us some amazing Indian tea that tasted very similar to Chai tea.
Once we left we walked around Johor Bahru and found a Hindu temple that was having a special ceremony. There was a man repeatedly ringing a bell to wake the gods, musicians playing sacred music, and priests carrying out the ceremony. The incense was strong and it reminded me what we learned in Religious Understandings winter quarter when the Hindu priest told us that it is important to include all five senses in the Hindu worship experience. As we were washing our feet and leaving the temple a Muslim family approached the temple and were taking pictures on the steps but did not take off their shoes as a sign of respect. The Hindu guard came rushing over and was not delighted at all. The family laughed it off and left as the Hindu worshipers gave them dirty glances.
To continue our Indian theme we ate at a delicious Indian restaurant. There has certainly not been a lack of good food on this trip so far. I was too tired to eat with my hands and cheated by eating with a fork. The food was southern Indian because Malaysia mostly has immigrants from southern India. Dr. Perumal explained that is why there was no Naan. The waiters kept staring at Zoe because we were the only non Indians in the restaurant, but they were very attentive and the food was on point.
After dinner it felt good to walk to the Mirror temple. But the further we went the darker it got and it seemed like all the street lights were slowly disappearing. I named it the valley of the shadow of death. Just when I thought someone was going to jump out of the bushes Dr. Perumal distracted us by warning us about the snakes! Thankfully we arrived to the mirror temple safely and drenched in sweat. It was worth the trek. The temple was stunning! It took workers from Indian three years to build the architecture and carve the gods and two years for Burmese workers to cover the temple in beautiful, glass patterns. The crazy part is that every twelve years they have to tear all the interior down and build it up again. It is just Hindu tradition with every temple.
On the way back from the temple Zoe froze and we both let out blood curdling screams as an animal scurried across the sidewalk. It turns out to be a black little kitten but that looked an awful lot like a rat. We got a good laugh out of the incident. Because we walked so much today, especially with our backpacks on, we were too exhausted to explore the city once we made it back to the hotel. We will save that for tomorrow!
