Quick, to the Batu Caves!

On our last day in Kuala Lumpur, we took the short trip north of the city to the Batu Caves, a set of caves located in a large limestone outcropping.  The caves themselves are impressive for their size, but the real draw for most is that there are a number of Hindu shrines and temples built in and around the caves. In fact, the caves are one of the most popular Hindu sites in the world outside of India.  We arrived at the caves not knowing what to expect, and left not knowing what to think.

The entrance to the site looks and feels somewhat like a county fair.  There are a smattering of Hindu temples; Hindu worshipers; Japanese tourists taking pictures of Hindu worshipers; souvenir shops selling postcards, Hindu statues, and mechanical GI Joes that crawl on their stomach; flashing neon lights; a huge staircase leading up to the main cave; and people warming up to get their exercise jogging up and down the staircase.  Observing all of this is a 130 foot statue of Lord Muruga, built four years ago.

To escape a sudden outburst of rain, we stepped into a Hindu temple (after removing our shoes, of course) and surveyed a few of its shrines.  Beckoned by a Brahmin, Magge approached him and he subsequently applied a tilaka on her forehead.  I don't know if she was expecting enlightenment, but I was expecting a request for a donation, and I was right.  Other Brahmin started motioning to Magge, and I knew it was time to get out of there while I still had bus fare to get back to KL.

We climbed the 272 steps to get to the main cave, known as Temple Cave, and thought we would escape the chaos below.  We were wrong, as we encountered more souvenir shops, more flashing neon lights, and a man handling a large snake ("donations" accepted, of course, if you want to take a picture with him).  The cave was enormous, with a 300 foot vaulted ceiling, and contains the area's original shrines.  We walked around, observed some Hindu prayers and made the 272 step journey back to the entrance.  Halfway down the stairs, a troupe of macaques made their way up, causing tourists to take pictures, women to scream, and children to chase their tails, and contributing more to the circus-like atmosphere.

 The immense Temple Cave

Magge, her tikala (you may need to click on the picture for the full size to see it) and a Hindu shrine

The Lord Murgan Temple

We didn't need to go to Borneo to see monkeys

The caves were indeed impressive, but ultimately I was most struck by the odd combination of nature, religion and kitsch.  I can only imagine what it's like during the Thaipusam festival, when over a million Hindus from around the world descend on the site, some of them piercing their skin with skewers and hooks.