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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Batu Cave and Malaysia's National Museum

First itinerary in KL is Batu Cave, a popular Hindu Shrine in Malaysia known for its limestone cave temples located on top of a high mountain.  Many Hindus visit this place for worship and penance, especially during the Thaipusam Festival where devotees hurt themselves as a form of sacrifice.  

There are 272 steps that has to be climbed before reaching the cave.  It was a real challenge for us considering the very steep steps that we climbed under a very very hot and humid weather.  So for those planning to visit Batu Cave in the future, here are some tips:

  • Entrance is for free!  You can save your money for souvenirs.
  • Wear rubber shoes or any other comfortable shoes for added safety while climbing the steep steps.  Remember that you will have to take again the 272 steps when going down.
  • Best time to visit is 4pm onwards when sun is not on its highest. Otherwise, make sure that you put on sunblock and brought a hat or an umbrella to keep you from the harsh heat of the sun.
  • Bring drinking water to refresh your system once in a while while climbing the steps.
  • Wear comfortable shirts and women should wear pants or shorts.  Wearing a short skirt, for obvious reason, is a no-no.
  • For persons who has heart illness, better to just stay on the ground and just appreciate the exterior beauty of the Batu Cave. :-)

World's tallest statue of Hindu Deity Murugan
A&R in Batu Cave.
Behind shows the 272 steps to reach the limestone cave.
KL Trio


It's now time to climb!

A devotee.
Yehey, halfway na!
Don't look down! Hehe.
The first view on top of the mountain.

Check out our clip: 


The surprisingly huge Cathedral Cave.
A true wonder of nature! 
One of the many blessed altars inside the cave.


Wonderful interior of the cave.
More stairs behind pa!
Just when we thought we already reached the peak,
we still have to climb a number of steep steps to finally reach the summit.

Come see the summit on video:


Shiva
Monkeys cheerfully greeting the tourists.


Behind is a holy Hindu Temple.



After Batu Cave, we had our lunch back in Pavillion and headed right away to Malaysia's National Museum.  Entrance fee is RM2 for locals while they charge RM4 for tourists.  The museum is not huge and one can finish all the galleries in 1-2 hours.  We noted as well that most of the exhibits are only replicas of the original ones.   Here are our pics:
    
Malaysia's historical stamps



The Proton Saga,
Malaysia's National Car.


Malaysia, the proud champion of 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup.
Si Mary Rose.. at
Si Alvin John.
*******
:-)


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