In the first series of Kuala Lumpur Travel Tips, you might have read about enjoying oriental KL city lifestyle in Chinatown. Today we'll walk a little bit far away from the bustling city, to something a bit more cultural. Batu Caves. Malaysia being a multi-racial and multi-cultural country, one of the exciting things to do is visit temples, mosques or shrines. A popular Hindu temple is Batu Caves. It's a limestone cave filled with statues of Hindu deities and mythological arts. It has 272 steps up to the cave, and along the way, you'll be able to see a lot of monkeys playing around. They will come near you if you feed them peanuts (which are sold nearby), but they're basically harmless as long as you don't threaten them. In front of the Batu Caves is a 42.7m high statue which took 3 years to build, and was uncovered recently in January 2006. Tip 1: You can rent a headset for RM13 which would prove more educational along the way up Tip 2: Walk up the stairs sideways. Much faster, and less effort. Tip 3: Enjoy the nearby Indian food which are sold in stalls in the surrounding area Tip 3: How to get there? From Central Market, take the Intrakota bus 11D. Or take the Putra LRT (Light Rail Transit) and stop at the Putra station. From there, take a taxi. The taxi fair should cost about RM8 to RM15. Make sure the taxi driver uses the meter. Tip 4: Not far from Batu Caves, is Ulu Yam - A natural looking dam surrounded with mountains and hills. Further up is a waterfall where you can have a good bath and a picnic in the tropical reserved jungle. Further up, you might bump into several people holding up recycled water bottles on the roadside. They're actually collecting water which naturally flows from the mountain. They're drinkable, clean and proven by scientists to be healthy and rich with minerals. Tip 5: If you happen to be in Kuala Lumpur in the Tamil month of Thai (around January or February) , you better be in Batu Caves. There's a huge Thaipusam festival with about 1.2 million people making the pilgrimage. If you're lucky, this the chance of a lifetime to see elephants walking down a highway in front of the Batu Caves. Enjoy! |
