Searching for Liquor in a Muslim Country

Paul, critically low in his whiskey supply, and I, craving cold beer that doesn't cost $5 a can, decided to try to find a liquor store or grocery that would sell us said items. The concierge assured us that we could find some at the mall in Putrajaya, and so we took a cab there. If they weren't so weird here about taking pictures in malls, I would have captured the poor marketing decision to have armed guards in a jewelry store (one had a shotgun, another an AK, and a third was armed with a pitiful 9mm).

We wandered around asking people, who seemed perplexed that we wanted to buy alcohol. The local shopping mart, which had a beer and wine section on its store map, didn't have any either. All of the workers in the store were Muslim, and I got the distinct impression they didn't want to help us fine tasty libations. We were starting to wonder if it was allowed to be sold in the area, because c'mon, it's beer! So we talked to a cab driver (their English is typically better than your average Malaysian) who informed us that alcohol was banned by law in Putrajaya. He drove us to another store, about 20 minutes away, where we gratefully found something. The whole affair took about two hours, and the beer was expensive compared to the costs back home.

So, cold beer in hand, I can honestly say I don't want to live here. Not having beer is against my religion, after all. Cheers!