Stairway to Heaven at Batu Caves

 

This morning we visited the Batu Caves, about 30 minutes outside the city of Kuala Lumpur.

 Driving through the gates, we were confronted by the gigantic 44 metre gold statue of The Hindu deity, Murugan.  The gigantic gold statue cost 240 million rupees (about 8 million AUD), and is constructed of 1550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel and more than 300 litres of gold paint imported from Thailand. This enormous statue overshadows a veritable Stairway to Heaven, the massive staircase up to the sacred Hindu temples, inside the caves.

CK, our guide told us that this was the most holy place for those of the Hindu faith in Malaysia. As a tour guide, he comes every day, but has never made it to the top of the staircase. When we asked him about the caves at the top, he said that they were basically empty with some statues.

The steps looked daunting….

Could we do it??

There was only one way to find out so we set off……. slowly at first to pace ourselves. There are 276 steep steps in flights of 17… so I counted every flight …… stopping to turn around and catch a glimpse of the views back across KL, whenever I needed to catch my breath.

We had been warned not to carry anything that the cheeky monkeys who live in the area could swoop on and steal……….. sunglasses, cameras, food and anything that could crinkle and sound like a food wrapper and that they could be quite aggressive to get food.

Suddenly, we heard screaming above us, and looked up to see a young girl surrounded by three or four of the Macaque monkeys, pulling at her t-shirt …….the more she screamed, the more monkeys gathered – probably attracted by the screams of her mother who joined in for the chorus! Eventually dad stepped up and saved his two women, as the monkeys turned their attention back to the coconuts and oranges that they were carrying.

There were a couple of baby monkeys – curious like all children … so mum calmly sat with her paw on one’s tail as it tried to get away …. so entertaining, and great photo opportunities.

Finally, the top was in sight … just as well as I really had to use the railing to help me up the last flight ……. reached the summit ….. looked inside the caves …. and what did we see??? …….. more steps going down and then another  three flights on the opposite side of the cave up to the main temple.

Over 100 metres above the ground, the caves are a complex of three main caves and a few smaller ones leading of from the side walls. The largest cave is the Cathedral cave, with a very high ceiling with natural windows which let light into the caves, with the main temple devoted to Murugan. The whole complex is considered a sacred site, so each cave contains a number of smaller temples, each one staffed by a monk in classical orange robes. The caves themselves are fascinating, long stalactites hang down from the ceiling. Of course, there is also the obligatory souvenir shop selling religious iconic statues.

Once back into the sunlight at the top of the steps, we took photos of the views back over the city of Kuala Lumpur and the myriad of small souvenir stalls, food vendors and money changers at the entrance far below.

My legs felt like jelly as we finally reached the bottom of the steps, where Garry and Arnold were accosted by a group of local ladies in saris and head scarfs who asked if they could have their photos taken with them – they did look different from most of the other dark skinned Malaysian men around us – now they have their own harem!!!

The base of the steps draws flocks of pigeons as they are fed seeds brought by visitors. As we walked back to the car, we stopped to watch a professional photographer taking photos of a young couple – maybe engagement photos? The photographer was trying to gather all the pigeons around their feet by throwing seed on the ground, and then waving a peacock feather to get them to fly around the couple while he took the photos – judging by the look on the girl’s face, I don’t think this was the type of photo she wanted!!

We told CK that he was missing a great experience if he had never been up to the caves, and he should go to the top and see the caves for himself… he said that he would get in training and walk an additional flight each day, until he could make it to the top…LOL.

It is easy to get from the city to the Batu Caves by train, local bus, taxi, or private tour – as we did, because Princess didn’t offer a tour to these caves.

 

Happy Birthday Megan

Tonight the Captain put on a pool side cocktail party, although Megan decided that it was HER birthday party attended by nearly 2000 of her nearest and dearest friends … and so she graciously  thanked him for his efforts!!

Megan and Malcolm, are two of our kiwi friends that we met on a previous cruise and they are great table mates, so of course, we had to celebrate Megan's birthday in style at dinner. We decided that the theme would be an 'Arabian Nights Party', so we brought suitable head wear when we were in Turkey and decorated the table accordingly.

Another wonderful night of fun at our dinner table – we are so lucky to have such great table mates!!

Cue Alice and the white rabbit....

Every afternoon, a very formal high tea is served in the Dining room… picture this ….. a piano player tinkling the ivories… white gloved waiters …….delicate cucumber sandwiches…. luscious cream cakes….. scones with jam and cream…… lashings of chocolate ganache…. the best china ware …….

                                                                                                                    so civilised….. until today.

The occasion…. the Dawn Nomads Mad Hater's Tea Party…. the invitation said to put on your craziest hat… and about 60took up the challenge and came along in all manner of headwear to share afternoon tea with their friends and have some fun. Cynthia and Timothy, as well as Brigitte, Thom and Bernie from the cruise staff came along to judge the winners and join in the frivolities.

The photos tell the stories……

Now I can cook.....

   

The crowd gathers early to get the best seats…… the lights dim …. and then speakers blare….. 'when the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie, that's amore" …..  the crowd claps, some even stand up.....  and the master enters the room….

 no…not a rock concert …..

 but a cooking demonstration!!!!!

The Culinary Ambassador Master Executive Chef Commendatore (what a title!!!!)  Alfredo Marzi, the international  head of cuisine for the Princess organisation has been conducting  a series of cooking demonstrations on sea days, starting from the basics of how to make mayonnaise at home to award winning creations.

Today was the culmination, with graduation certificates presented after a tour of the cavernous ship's galley.

The recipes include his World Championship winning recipe for Pork Chops with a Bacardi sauce – watch out guys, I will be trying this when we get home.

Now I can cook, if only I can remember where everything is in my kitchen!!