The Batu Caves

In January this year, I left Australia for an internship in Kuala Lumpur. The capital of Malaysia is a bubbling bustling metropolis that offers every kind of experience for all our senses.

But when friends ask me an experience that stands out most for me during my time living and working in Kuala Lumpur, I immediately think of the Batu Caves. My journey to the Batu caves happened in my first week of living in Kuala Lumpur, and it had to be one of my most defining moments while in Southeast Asia.

The Batu Caves are a limestone mountainous hill which have a series of caves and cave temples, located in the Gombak district of Kuala Lumpur - about 12 kilometrees north of the city. This cave has to be one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.

Fellow interns of mine Monica and Glyn suggested that we visit the Batu Caves and see the Shrines dedicated to Lord Murugan, a very important in Tamil Hindu culture.

Going by the Tamil calender, one of the holiest Tamil Hindu festivals - Thaipusam - was to occur on the day we had planned to go see the shrines inside the holy caves in the mountainside. So we planned the trip in detail.

And so came the 20th January when Monica and Glyn battled to drag me out of bed(definitely not a morning person, sleep is over when I say it's over!). 6am. This had better be worth it, I thought to myself grumpily. From our posh accommodation in the affluent suburb of Bangsar, us three amigos caught the Light Rail Train (LRT) to the Batu Caves. The train trip there took us about half an hour.

As we walked from the LRT station towards this holy site, I felt like I was walking into an 'India' inside Malaysia - Tamil families everywhere, monkeys(and I mean totally crazy WILD I've-seen-it-all-before-don't-try-anything-attitude monkeys) scurrying about the place, Indian women selling jewellery and Hindu talismans, I smelt the crispy goodness of papadams being fried.

I could see stupas above the path leading us to the foot of the mountainside, elaborately decorated.

There was a feeling of awe within me. In the distance I could see the golden Lord Murugan statue, beside the mountain, looking regal and simply put, beautiful, gleaming it's goldness in the sun. This statue is the tallest and largest statue of Lord Murugan in the world.It's one religious tourist attraction nature lovers will surely love.

The mountains on which the caves are After climbing the steep 272 steps and feeling tired but proud of the small accomplishment, I can't help but admire and be mesmerized at this religious site and its Hindu Community.

Standing at 42.7 m (140 ft) high, the world's tallest statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, is located outside Batu Caves. The statue, which cost approximately 24 million rupees, is made of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from neighboring Thailand.

Once we arrived at the Batu Caves, we saw a main square at which Indian vendors have put up their simple stalls. Taking a moment at one of the stalls, I enjoyed the distinctive Hindu nature of the surroundings, complete with small temples, colorful wooden carved figures and of course Hindu worshippers dressed in traditional saffron coloured sarongs.

My friends and I just watched the grand statue of Lord Murugan, snapping pictures and just basking in the surroundings before climbing the very steep 272 stairs tor each the caves. The Batu Caves are made up by three main caves and several small ones.

The Temple Cave or Cathedral Cave is the best known and biggest of the Batu caves. To reach the temple cave, you must make your way up 272 rock stairs and through numerous macaque monkeys. These monkeys are absolutely crazy wacko creatures - one of the hairer ones swung low and swiped my fried banana fritter off me.before I even realised. So basically, I had essentially been mugged of my food by a monkey - my manhood felt seriously threatened at this point.

After Glyn and Monica stopped rolling around laughing and caught their breaths(THANKS guys), we climbed the rest of the stairs. While it was a steep long climb, it was good for the heart and the eyes. As we climbed we kept turning around and staring back at the amazing view - of so many people, gathered like a pilgrimmage - which it ultimately was - Thaipusam.

The ceiling of this cave is more than 100 metres above ground and the area is illuminated by daylight through holes in the ceiling. Here you will see elaborately painted sculptures of various Hindu gods. Lord Subramaniam takes the centre stage as the fearsome Durga and Shiva are arranged to tell parables from the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures.

Dark Cave which is below Temple Cave is not a show cave. This 2 km long cave contains a large number of endemic cave animals. To visit, permission from the Malaysian Nature Society is needed, and they make two different spelunking tours, which are held daily after advance booking. The short tour requires good shoes and physical fitness. The long adventure is a real spelunking tour and requires a change of clothes and shoes.

Visitors who want to take a look at paintings depicting scenes from Hindu lore and statues of deities can check out the Art Gallery Cave which is at the foot of the main staircase. A small fee is usually charged for this. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, back inside the caves...

Thaipusam at the Batu Caves

The main event at Batu caves every year is during Thaipusam which I was lucky enough to attend. Every year up to 1 million people (devotees and tourists) visit the Batu caves during the three-day celebration that I became a part of.

I watched many of the devotees carry kavadis, large frameworks with various metal skewers and hooks, which are used to pierce the skin, cheeks and tongue. I understood the significance to be willpower and devotion - which was an interesting watch for sure.

The procession of the jewelled chariot containing the statue of Lord Murugan would have started early in the morning, as early as 4.00 am on the eve of Thaipusam.

Devotees walked from Sri Maha Mariamman Temple and threw coconuts on the ground beside the chariot. Penitents then atoned for their sins and commemorated the giving of the vel by dragging kavadis ("burdens") up the 272 steps to the cave and depositing them at the feet of the deity.

Family and friends guided the kavadi bearers up the 272 steps of Batu Caves to go to the Temple Cave, some using drum beats and flutes as a driving rhythm while others heard the shouts of "vel, vel, vetri vel!"

I watched these preists at the shrines, surrounded by throngs of devotees, covering children's head with holy saffron to bless them and other adult worshippers. You could feel the excitement and sacredness permeat the air.

I think the best part of this festival was when I was mistaken for a Hindu. Given that I'm of Bangladeshi descent (ancestrally Indian), I guess I looked enough like the actual Malaysian Indians gathered at the Batu Caves. A Tamil Hindu preist with a friendly face beckoned me to him. He was holding a steel gold 'thali'(plate) with various colourful mixes of what looked like paint, or ointments. He beckoned me closer. I took another step closer to him.

Then without warning, he dipped his thumb into the smushy contents and landed the tip of that finger smack in the middle of my forehead much to the hilarity of my companions - he thought I was Hindu!

I strongly recommend that if anyone finds themselves in Kuala Lumpur for a few days, please go see the Batu Caves - the experience will move you, the grandeur, the gods, the greenery - everything adds up to give one such a colourful and fulfilling experience.

I have come up with the following tips for those who do visit this spectacular religious ground:

Tip 1: Bring drinking water to Batu Caves, as the climb up the 272 stairs might be a challenge at hot weather.

Tip 2: Going to Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur - It is best to in the early morning, or after the peak city traffic in downtown traffic, when everyone is rushing to work. Traffic usually becomes less congested in Kuala Lumpur city around 10am till noon.

Tip 3: For a cheaper taxi fare to Batu Caves, take the LRT to Putra Terminal, taxis from there cost from 6-8 Malaysian ringgits.

Tip 4: Arrange for your taxi driver to wait for you at Batu caves to bring you back to KL city, it will probably be cheaper than getting a taxi later.

Admission to batu Caves is Free. Bring a camera, yourself, a companion and yourself - as well as lots of energy!

At the end of our time at the festival - full of papdams, chutney, our hands covered in henna dye, pockets laden with souvenirs, we got on an LRT to head back to Kuala Lumpur City. As we pulled out of there, I mentally said goodbye to the Batu Caves, watching Lord Murugan disappear out of sight. I definitely want to go back!