The Batu Caves - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This statue of Lord Murugan is 42.7 m tall and was completed only a year ago.

Today we took a bus out of Kuala Lumpur to the nearby Batu caves, located about 13 km out of the city centre. Kuala Lumpur is a crazy city with lots going on so we decided to take a break from all the street hawkers and Islamic food stalls to visit this famous natural landmark which was discovered in the 1800s. At the front of the cave is the giant statue that marks the beginning of a 272 step climb into the mountainside. Inside we were dismayed to find that piles of trash had accumulated from the recent Thaipusam festival and the whole area stunk like garbage and sour milk. There were mangy roosters and cats lurking about the area. I was amazed at the natural elements of the caves but found some of the temples in and around the cave itself disappointing. It didn't stop us from taking lots of pictures, though I let Jacob and his superior camera do most of the work.

On the way out of the caves we were surrounded by hungry monkeys who were used to being fed by tourists and would snatch at anything you dangled in front of you. I nearly had my water bottle stolen right out of my hands.

The entrance archway on the road leading up to the Batu Caves

A view of the caves, the statue and the 272 steps we had to climb to go inside

Looking up from the inside of the cave to the extremely hot Malaysian sun above.

One of the hundreds of monkeys that live in and around the cave. You can buy peanuts or bananas to feed the monkeys, but they'll snatch things right out of your hand if you're not careful.