Take a few Aussies and a Yank, a extremely hot day, an old Hindu temple and a HUGE golden statue and you'll get our day trip to the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The day started out innocently enough. I had my morning mango and was looking forward to bumming it at the hotel pool, but the boys had a different idea. We took the LRT train to the end of the line and then caught a bus with "Batu Caves" in the window.
Silly us. Apparently, the Batu Caves is also an area of town... Which the bus driver (who KNEW we were going to the temple) didn't happen to mention. He kicked us to the curb a MILE away from the actual caves and we ended up walking there in the hot sun. I felt like I was going to melt.
Walking there, we saw the mountain-side and a small golden statue soaring into the sky. But you don't realize that the "small" statue of Lord Murugan is actually 50 meters high (that's over 160 feet for you non-metric Americans out there.) That's HUGE.
It seemed like no matter what angle I took the photo from, the statue always looked so beautiful, regal and insanely cool. Quite frankly, the best part of the Batu Cave temple, is the statue outside.
There were about 300 steps up to the where the caves actually were... We ended up taking breaks on the way up - especially since the sun was beating down on us. Here's a great picture of Joel, Zuh and Alan resting on the steps, which were painted red and white.
I tried to walk in the shade, but my trusty umbrella did come in handy. Apparently, the Aussies call them brolly's, which does make sense. I thought I would learn a lot of Malay while in KL, but honestly, I've picked up a lot of slang from down under. For example, Joel had called me when we were trying to make plans... "I'll give you a bell when we're sorted." I paused for a moment, and checked with Karen. "He meant, I'll call you when we figure out what we're doing, right?" She laughed and nodded. If we're speaking the same language, why can't I understand them?
There were a lot of Monks at the temple... But this guy was cool. I think the picture speaks for itself. Monk + Video Camera = Riani smiling to herself.
Look at all those stairs, and the size of the statue. This picture was taken from the entrance to the compound, which was at least a 4 minute walk.
Zouh and I posing for Joel's camera. I don't know whose more comfortable with the camera. I mean, check out the look on his face. Zouh, you're a closet photo whore!
So if you're making it out here to Malaysia, the Batu Caves makes for a good afternoon trip. Check out the whole album below, and let me know what you think. Again, I'm sorry I'm so behind on posting. I don't have Internet access at the house I'm staying at, (shock, horror, gasp, I know) so it's going to be few and far between for awhile.
The day started out innocently enough. I had my morning mango and was looking forward to bumming it at the hotel pool, but the boys had a different idea. We took the LRT train to the end of the line and then caught a bus with "Batu Caves" in the window.
Silly us. Apparently, the Batu Caves is also an area of town... Which the bus driver (who KNEW we were going to the temple) didn't happen to mention. He kicked us to the curb a MILE away from the actual caves and we ended up walking there in the hot sun. I felt like I was going to melt.
Walking there, we saw the mountain-side and a small golden statue soaring into the sky. But you don't realize that the "small" statue of Lord Murugan is actually 50 meters high (that's over 160 feet for you non-metric Americans out there.) That's HUGE.
It seemed like no matter what angle I took the photo from, the statue always looked so beautiful, regal and insanely cool. Quite frankly, the best part of the Batu Cave temple, is the statue outside.
There were about 300 steps up to the where the caves actually were... We ended up taking breaks on the way up - especially since the sun was beating down on us. Here's a great picture of Joel, Zuh and Alan resting on the steps, which were painted red and white.
I tried to walk in the shade, but my trusty umbrella did come in handy. Apparently, the Aussies call them brolly's, which does make sense. I thought I would learn a lot of Malay while in KL, but honestly, I've picked up a lot of slang from down under. For example, Joel had called me when we were trying to make plans... "I'll give you a bell when we're sorted." I paused for a moment, and checked with Karen. "He meant, I'll call you when we figure out what we're doing, right?" She laughed and nodded. If we're speaking the same language, why can't I understand them?
There were a lot of Monks at the temple... But this guy was cool. I think the picture speaks for itself. Monk + Video Camera = Riani smiling to herself.
Look at all those stairs, and the size of the statue. This picture was taken from the entrance to the compound, which was at least a 4 minute walk.
Zouh and I posing for Joel's camera. I don't know whose more comfortable with the camera. I mean, check out the look on his face. Zouh, you're a closet photo whore!So if you're making it out here to Malaysia, the Batu Caves makes for a good afternoon trip. Check out the whole album below, and let me know what you think. Again, I'm sorry I'm so behind on posting. I don't have Internet access at the house I'm staying at, (shock, horror, gasp, I know) so it's going to be few and far between for awhile.
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| Batu Caves |
3:19 PM
What? No Batuman and Robin in the Batu Caves? You obviously didn't search hard enough.
That statue is absolutely gorgeous, and so serene. Treasure these moments.
Much Love and Many Hugs,
Uncle Steve & Aunt Adrienne