Lord Murugan Statue and the iconic Batu Caves 272 Steps
Inside Batu Caves Temple
With French Alice Mercier, Aymeric Germain, British Sally and Spanish Antonio Gallego.
English Sally, and Spanish Antonio Gallego respecting local Hindu culture by wearing a traditional saree given free by some community group.
Lemon & apple hooks, carrying a Hanuman (Hindu monkey god) religious club (photo credit: Antonio Gallego from Spain)
Taking rests on a stool along the Kavadi Dance pilgrimage penance journey, with a team of family supporters. (photo credit: Antonio Gallego from Spain)
Passing the Kavadi to a Trainee Kavadi Bearer without hooks, after completing the whole Kavadi Dance Ritual Journey inside Batu Caves Temple. (photo credit: Antonio Gallego from Spain)
Simple Milk Container Kavadis which still requires a lot of effort to carry for miles. (photo credit: Antonio Gallego from Spain)
Lord Murugan statue, one of the biggest outdoor statues in Malaysia and the world.
Child Kavadi Bearer without hooks.
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Cave top opening
One of the oldest iconic cave temples in Malaysia.
Some people wanted to take photos with us.
Tying red threads on hands.
Releasing the multiple hooks from a devotee at the end of Kavadi bearing, in the main cave.
Chickens roam freely in Batu Caves, but no usual monkeys were seen as the crowds were huge.
Ash blessings on forehead from Hindu priest
Donations for the poor – put into saree folds
Kavadi bearer in training without hooks, walking down Batu Caves steps.
Drums set the tone of Kavadi Dancing.
Shaven heads covered with orange-color ash mud.
Antonio with a Spanish small fan for males.
Live singing and music from a first floor balcony stage, heard throughout Batu Caves complex.
Numerous shops for Thaispusam collectables, food, religious items, books, mist fountains, and souvenirs.
Free shaving for devotees.
Hanuman, the Monkey God, showing Ram inside his heart.
Thaipusam Experience and Self Mortification at Batu Caves Temple. A Visual Tour by #RobertsTravels
There were spiritual feelings of Liberty-Truth-Light-Peace-Protection with no thoughts of Coronavirus (16 cases in Malaysia), fears, or wearing a mask in the crowds of up to 1 million at its peak.
I was touched by the respect my foreign friends French Alice Mercier and Aymeric Germain, and English Sally, and Spanish Antonio Gallego respecting local Hindu culture by wearing a traditional saree given free by some community group. Some people wanted to take photos with us too.
Thaipusam was a deeply spiritual experience for me and participants to witness the Kavadi bearers self mortification sacrifices and penances for prayers answered or asked, to feel the devotion of devotees and to see the family support of the next year’s Kavadi bearers in training without hooks
How to get Batu Caves during Thaipusam:
Probably the best way to go to Batu Caves is e-hailing especially if you have a group as there are 6 seater cars (e-hailing price from Bukit Bintang in KL city to Batu Caves around RM32). E-hailing and taxis will drop you off about half a kilometer or more from the main entrance. Parking, driving, and slow, long traffic jams are major problems near Batu Caves during Thaipusam.
KTM commuter train is very packed and full, you will have to queue wait for a few rounds before you can board with 15-20 minutes intervals between trains. The Batu Caves KTM station is walking distance of 5 minutes from the main entrance. This probably the best option in hindsight, but I’m not sure if that is the case at the most peak of Thaipusam. We went on the second day of the 3 day Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves.
If you want use e-hailing you need to walk at least 1 kilometer from Batu Caves as e-hailing will not pick up at the entrance of Batu Caves. We walked along the highway and to some side roads for around 45 minutes, and ended up in Sri Selayang. E-hailing took 30 minutes to arrive, took another 30 minutes just to get out of the traffic jam in surrounding area, waiting taxis were charging RM100 to go to Bukit Bintang.
Watch Batu Caves Thaipusam Spiritual Experience YOUTUBE video: https://tinyurl.com/u6lc333
Watch Batu Caves Thaipusam Spiritual Experience FACEBOOK video: https://tinyurl.com/smgggcx
Written: Robert Chaen
Published: 9th February 2020.
Updated: 10th February 2020.
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Thaipusam Festival: The Story of Murugan and Self-Mortification
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Batu Caves Tour & Dress Code: Kuala Lumpur’s Top Tourist Attraction
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https://robertchaen.com/2020/02/01/64467/
Robren Library: The official resources for Spiri & ChangeU Groups 