My friends asked me if I wanted to join them for the Wesak Day Walk and I thought, why not? That was before I heard that the walk was about 12km long. However I had good company so in the end, it didn't really seem that far.

It rained in the late afternoon, just before the walk. Apparently it rains nearly every Wesak Day but by some miracle (or divine faith?) it stops just before the walk is about to start. This year was no different. Some believed that the rain cleanses the street for the parade.

The walk starts from the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple in Brickfields and ends there too. The route covers several tourist spots in KL such as Central Market, Petaling Street and Bukit Bintang.

There were 27 floats joining the parade this year and about 100 000 devotees were expected to participate in the walk. There might have been more though.

It was strange to be walking on the main roads which were all closed for the parade. These roads are normally so busy during the day (and night) that having them all to ourselves is surreal.

It certainly was a family affair. Mums, dads, kids, grandmas, grandpas and everyone else participated in the walk. I salute the kids who walked without complaining! I salute the guys and girls who walked alongside us carrying those heavy mineral water bottles to be handed out to anyone who wants one.

Of course there was that temptation to just pop into one of those many Starbucks outlets to grab an icy cold frappucino. Although it did rained and that the walk was at night, it was hot and I was very happy when I finally reached the end so that I can indulged myself with a cold drink.

I can now tick Wesak Day Walk off my list. Next up - maybe Thaipusam?