We started the day by having breakfast from one of the food stalls at the food court in Lot 10, near our hotel. The sweet pork buns and egg tarts we had were amazing!
We then caught a train from KL sentral to Batu Caves. There were so many people at the train station when we arrived. The trip took a while–we arrived there an hour later. We only found out the day before that there was a festival held at Batu Caves every year. We were greeted by sweltering heat, an amusement park, a lot more people and food/souvenir stalls.
The festival is called Thaipusam Festival. It is apparently one of the biggest Hindu festivals to celebrate the birthday of Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan is the Hindu God of war and victory, worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists.
By the time we arrived in Batu Caves, it was close to midday. Apparently, the busiest time is around 12-2 pm, as that’s where the devotees carry and parade the religious displays from the bottom of the stairs to the top. The sacred displays looked colourful and artistic. Some of them also looked heavy. One of the people we met said that if we made it earlier, we would have witnessed other rituals such as shaving of the head. That would have been interesting to watch.
Here is the statue of Lord Murugan–
So crowded!
There were 272 steps to get to the very top of Batu caves. It didn’t look that scary from afar but as soon as we started climbing up the stairs, my legs started shaking. When we were halfway, I wanted to retreat but I couldn’t–there were heaps of people walking up the stairs. There was no turning back!
I remember holding the side rail so tightly. I looked back and my heart started racing noticing how high up we were at. But I saw kids, even a man with crutches who could barely walk, bravely going up those stairs. It was such a hot day, and yet no one really cared. This made me determined to reach the top.
Yay, made it!
Great! more steps..
There were more shrines inside.
It was very spacious inside, not closed in and dark as I pictured most caves to look like.
Rock formations inside
After Batu Caves, we went back to KL sentral to eat. There was a food stall called Kampong Kravers. We ordered Nasi Goreng Ayam Berempah. It was also really delicious and tasty.
We found a shop selling sweets and delicious treats, so I had to stop by and buy some.
The sweltering heat is something I surely won’t miss. Oh Malaysia, I’ll come anytime just for the food!
