Batu Caves is one of the most important Hindu shrines outside of India. It has a huge gold statue of the Lord Murugan, and becomes a pilgrimage site during Thaipusam, for Hindus in the country and abroad. The temple cave entrance stands 100m above ground, and to reach it, visitors must climb a steep set of 272 steps.
2015: After many years of living in Kuala Lumpur, my friend and I decided to give Batu Caves a visit. It is situated right outside the KTM Komuter station and can easily be reached from Kuala Lumpur. Outside the station there were people selling souvenirs, anklets, bindi, henna tattoos and palm readings.
Because the steps were steep and we were both scared of heights, we held on to each other for dear life, but still managed to reach the top in less than 10 minutes. It was quite an achievement. There were countless monkeys roaming freely in the area and made climbing up harder. You have to be extra careful with your belongings, as we had seen with our own eyes how one of the monkeys had stolen somebody's Samsung phone.
