WHILE many Malaysians left the city to enjoy their Hari Raya holidays  in their hometowns, the city saw an influx of foreign workers who took opportunity to go sight seeing in the city during the holidays.

    Areas like Petaling Street, Central Market, Masjid India, Kota Raya and KLCC  saw big crowds of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepalese, Indonesian and Indian nationals who gathered with their fellow countrymen to catch up with one another and exchange news.

  An Indonesian factory worker who only wanted to be known as Yan, said he decided to celebrate Hari Raya in the city with his friends as he had returned to his hometown in Surabaya, Indonesia, last year.

  "The celebration here and in Indonesia is about the same except that in Indonesia we celebrate it for a week but in Malaysia, the festivities can go up to a month.

  "It is also exciting watching other races joining in the festivities by attending open houses to celebrate Hari Raya," said Yan, who works in Bentong, Pahang.

  Ali, who hails from Bangladesh, was seen in Kota Raya with a group of friends.

  "This is my first job and it is also the first time I am celebrating Eid away from my family," said the factory worker.

  For Mohamed Abdulla M. Maideen Abdul Katahar, 28,  from Madurai, India,  it has been four years since he was back in his hometown.

  "Though I miss my family very much but celebrating Eid (Hari Raya) with my friends makes us less homesick. I will be going home next year to celebrate Eid with my family," he said.

  In KLCC, Ahmed Mubarak, 23, an architecture student from Yemen, said he could not return to his home country because he only had a week's break.

  "I miss my family very much because back home  we would be visiting  my grandparents and seeking their blessings. Since I could not go  home this year, I decided to celebrate  with my friends," said Ahmed, who  is studying at LimKokWing University of Creative Technology, Cyberjaya.