Batu Caves
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

This is a big tourist attraction and if you are staying at your Kuala Lumpur hotel, it will soon become apparent even for the uninitiated that you should bear witness to this sacred phenomena, and so if you choose to put your hand up and take a tour you will be picked up at your hotel and shuttled to Kuala Lumpur tourist centre, where upon you will be put on large coaches and sent in a convoy.

That's why I took the taxi in part to miss the 9.30am to 11am tourist rush but really to give me some quality time to investigate this spiritual home of the Hindu faith.

The walk up the stairs is steep, the treads are narrow in width each one is numbered just to let you know how many more you have to go.

The humidity is hot and the air is exceedingly warm at this time of the morning, you can feel it traveling down your throat and your nostrils, another good reason to get here early.

So it's important to stop and turn around and see Kuala Lumpur from another perspective, I could feel my calves and leg muscles tighten up.

I started to search my mind seeking excuses for my health and general fitness but when I saw the frail devotees coming down these very same stairs that I was going up, I figured if a pilgrim of their age could mount these stairs and offer their flower and fruit offerings to the Gods, then I  said to myself "self, if they can climb these stairs so can I"

And so it came to pass I stepped into the cave, (see photo on right) and with that you could feel the coolness of the air come across your face and touch your skin, and the lips tasted the moisture of the caves due, it felt good.

Subconsciously your body picks up with a new sense of desire and purpose and you stride out across the Cathedral Caves floor minus the pews that you would find in European Cathedrals.

Every so often you would see little altars placed in the natural nooks and crannies of the caves landscape each set out with the respective deity and patron saints of the Hindu faith.

The same concept as the cloisters in European Cathedrals but using what ever nature provided for the same ends.

The human race shares so much, now I can understand the principal love one another.

Unlike the Cathedrals of Europe you can take photos without paying for the privilege. In the top cave is the main temple, (see photo on right) a monk will bless you, provided you take your shoes off and make a donation. 

Monkeys and roosters are given free rein to roam as they please through this massive cave system, so watch out for the monkeys (they are like the pick pockets that operate outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris) again the similarities in life are astonishing.

In 2006 the admission prices were RM 16.00 per adult and RM 6.00 per child