Batu Caves

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Today we had arranged to go to the Batu Caves with our friend.  We had also arranged to go with her on our last trip to KL, 5 years ago but unfortunately arrived just as it was closing.  Today wasn't looking good as it was pouring with rain! 

We decided to go for breakfast first and hope the rain would stop. The place we went to served Malay, Chinese and Indian food. We opted for a traditional Malay meal of nasi lemak - rice, cucumber, peanuts, boiled egg, small fried fish, sambal and chicken... All washed down with tea tarik. Our friend also ordered something else for a to try, this time Chinese. This was a toasted sandwich with butter and a spread made with coconut and pandan.  This was served with a half boiled egg (slightly less cooked than a soft boiled egg) which you mixed up and dipped the sandwich in. Very tastey.


The rain  had eased slightly so we decided to head to the Batu Caves.  The caves are within a limestone karst and house Hindu shrines, with an enormous statue of Lord Murugan at the entrance. With umbrella in hand we made our way up the 274 colourful steps and into the caves. We had been warned not to carry anything with us as there are many monkeys living at the temple who like to steal from visitors, particularly if you are carrying food.  Some of the Hindus were carrying food as offerings to the gods and were relieved of their offerings en route!!  After stopping for some fresh coconut juice back at the bottom, we headed back to the hotel.


Later in the evening our friend took us to a Chinese temple, as today is Chinese New Year's  eve.  The temple was beautifully decorated with red lanterns and rabbits.  We saw people praying, we lit candles and made wishes and were blessed by a monk.
After the temple we headed back to little India for a Dosa and tea tarik to finish the evening.  As the clock struck midnight we could hear fireworks in the distance


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