Stairway to Heaven
Outing to Batu Caves; Little India, Kuala Lumpur
The Oldies certainly did their steps today. And these were the most colourful steps I’d ever seen. We were at the Batu Caves, a comfortable half-hour train ride from KL Central. Comfortable, as in air-conditioned. Cool!
On arrival, I thought we had stumbled onto a movie set. The first thing I saw was a giant god. This statue of Hanuman, the monkey god, is 15m high. But Hanuman was dwarfed by the statue of Sri Murugan, the Hindu god of war. Standing 43m high, it’s the largest Sri Murugan in the world. Now, that’s a god you definitely have to look up to.
Those steep, colourful stairs led up to the Temple Cave, 272 steps in all. It doesn’t sound like much, but in that heat and humidity, even I felt sorry for the Oldies for once. But I couldn’t spare that pair much thought. I was on constant lookout for marauding monkeys. Thankfully, they only seemed to be interested in any coconuts or bananas they could get their hands on.
To be appropriately dressed for the temple, Her Ladyship only had to cover her legs, so thankfully there was no repeat of the whinging I had had to endure on our mosque visits. Although, after ascending those stairs, keeping her eyes peeled for discarded banana skins all the way, she worked up much more of a sweat than in the mosques.
The caves themselves are huge and a beautiful natural feature. I can easily understand how they became a place of pilgrimage originally. Of course, now they are full of statues, shrines and temples. I noticed that peacocks featured prominently, the peacock being the mount of Murugan. It’s funny how several religions use similar symbols. I won’t easily forget the peacocks in Naum Monastery in North Macedonia!
I thought this a little weird – a sacred site sponsored by a carbonated drinks manufacturer. What next? A basilica sponsored by a burger joint?
The Wingless Wonders were on a roll now and, back in the city centre, decided to visit the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. Like all the temples in and around the Batu Caves, it’s a riot of colour.
Once again, there were gods galore – on the roofs, along the walls, everywhere I looked. I found some of them rather scary looking with their multiple limbs and heads, but others looked quite friendly and not all that alien to me.
This looks like the most complicated religion I’ve come across yet. Dozens of different gods, rituals involving music, dressing and washing statues, offerings of food and drink, water, fire, incense, face markings, special clothing… Hats off to the practitioners. How they remember everything is beyond me. And I must say, the music was really funky. It reminded me of the jazz the Oldies listen to.
Not having had enough of Indian culture for one day, the Oldies decided to explore Little India, in the Brickfields area of the city. Their first priority was to check out the culinary delights on offer. There was no protest from me on that front! Spoilt for choice, they ended up in what I thought was a rather nondescript restaurant. But, goodness me, the food was fabulous!
As we wandered around Brickfields, I noticed a blind person. And then another, and another, and another. I also noticed that all the pedestrian lights in the area had beepers and the footpaths raised sections. What was going on? It turns out that blind massage is big business here; hence the large number of blind people living in the area. Apparently, blind masseurs have an excellent feel for the job. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense!
I had to laugh when we arrived back at our metro station. The elevators were out of order and the Oldies had to take the stairs! Luckily the lifts in the apartment block were in perfect working order. I don’t think the Wingless Wonders would have managed the stairs all the way up to the 41st floor. They had done enough steps for one day.
