To the Batu Caves!

Having the only laptop around, I've had to share and haven't had enough alone-time to blog.  Shitty excuse, but I'm sticking to it.  The lack of alone time with or without the laptop has resulted in me having kept up with the writing, online, offline, or on paper.  I have to say that's pretty shitty too.  I shall strive to rectify this, but crankiness may prevail.  Perhaps when I get my ring back, that will help to cure some of that.

Remember a while ago I was in Malaysia?  In Kuala Lumpur?  I didn't write much about it because for the first bit, we didn't do very much.  Then when we DID do something I was too busy (or sucky) to write about it.  I'm playing catch-up now.

The Batu Caves were a place that Malcolm had been too, but so long ago that it was I who informed him (and his friends) that there was now a city train line that had been extended out to the caves and they were now accessible without needing a chauffeur.  Perfect.  So one morning after breakfast (of course) with friends, we were dropped off at the LRT station and left to our own devices via Malcolm's memory and my navigation.  Not long later, we had found our way and exited the train.

I wasn't quite sure what we were getting into having done minimal research on the site and just going along with Malcolm's memory.  I knew at some point there were going to be caves, there were going to be 272 steps, and I was to beware of the monkeys.  The first thing to catch my eye as we crossed through the gates and onto the grounds of the Batu Caves was not in a cave, was not quite a monkey, but was super tall.

Now I had an idea of what I was getting into.  Without having reached the main entrance of the grounds, I was already struck by what I'd seen.  The cliffs were breathtaking and the temples already grand.  I'd never been to a Hindu temple before (at least, not to my recollection) and was impressed by the grandeur I found at the bottom of the steps.  Somehow, though I had read that the statue would be big, I didn't realize it would be THAT big.

Before heading up to the main temple, we came across a smaller one at the bottom of the steps which visitors were allowed to enter so we took a peek inside.  Statues, shrines, frescoes, sculptures, incense and more greeted us as we entered with our shoes off.  Priests seeking to give us blessings (and receive donations, which we gave) called us over to rub ashes on our foreheads and put flowers in my hair.

Already, I was liking this.

Blessed (hopefully with phenomenal stair-climbing abilities), we decided it was time to make the climb.

Since I am fully aware of how much I hate to climb stairs and especially how much I suck at it, I steeled myself to the task at hand, knowing there was no other way up.  No elevators, escalators, or secret lifts here.  Besides, after a quarter of the way up, we saw this guy and I could no longer feel sorry for myself.

Halfway there!

The sights to greet us were well worth the climb, though at the moment there were no priests or anything sacred going on at the top--only monkeys running amok.

Two tried to tag-team me and attack, but I soon found the secret to warding them off (as I didn't have any food or drinks on me that they could possibly want) was simply to remember that I was bigger than them and to reassert that fact to them.

Overall, the trip was the most touristy that I was to make in KL (since the Petronas Towers were closed) and it was quite the memorable one.