Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
January
This month can be very busy for travel if Chinese New Year falls within it, so plan
ahead. Thaipusam, the other major festival at this time, can also fall in February in
some years.
Chinese New Year
Dragon dances and pedestrian parades mark the start of the new year. Families hold open
house and everybody wishes you
kong hee fatt choy
(a happy and prosperous new year).
Celebrated on 19 February 2015, 8 February 2016 and 28 January 2017.
Thaipusam
Enormous crowds converge at Batu Caves north of KL and at Nattukotai Chettiar Temple
in Penang for this dramatic Hindu festival involving body piercing. Falls between mid-
January and mid-February.
LUNAR CALENDAR
Hindus, Muslims and Chinese follow a lunar calendar, so the dates for religious festivals vary each year. Muslim
holidays typically move forward 11 days each year, while Hindu and Chinese festivals change dates but fall
roughly within the same months. Dates have been given where they are known, but may be subject to slight
change.
