Batu Caves and Little India

This afternoon, after finishing my last assignment, I went to Batu Caves. I had heard so much about it and was really excited to visit. The journey there went well, although the train was slightly delayed. But I had pleasant company, so it was fine ;) It cost 2.80 Ringgit (60 cents) for a 12-kilometer trip from the city center to the north. When I arrived, I went down the stairs and, to my disappointment, the first statue and the visible temple were covered. It seems that whenever I go on vacation or travel abroad, something is always unavailable. But anyway, I continued past the temple complex, turned a corner, and there it was: the giant golden statue and the colorful staircase. According to the guidebook (do I need to cite my sources here?), the statue is 42.7 meters tall and depicts Lord Murugan, the god of war and the son of Shiva and Parvati. The staircase has 272 steps, but I didn't count them. I was too distracted by the monkeys. I could see them from below, scampering up the stairs. At the entrance, they provided cloths for those who were not sufficiently covered, but for once I had thought ahead and brought one with me from home. So, I started climbing, taking the leftmost staircase. The two middle staircases are reserved for devout Hindus. Although there were quite a lot of steps and the staircase was not that comfortable to walk on (I simply don't like stairs that don't fit my entire foot...), it wasn't too bad. As I said, it was mostly because of the monkeys. We kept stopping to take photos or simply observe, so the journey didn't feel long anymore. Eventually, we made it to the top and stood in this overwhelming cave. It was simply massive. And there was another cave right behind it. My geography-loving heart was filled with joy! It was truly beautiful, especially with the vegetation and the sunlight streaming in. You can get a glimpse of it through the photos. Today, we only explored the two main caves. I will explore the smaller ones with my family later! On the way back down, the number of monkey photos increased. And while taking a monkey selfie, one of the rascals briefly tugged on my earring! But it was just for a moment, and it was gentle. I've dealt with toddlers who were worse :D Once we reached the bottom, we headed back to the city. To end the day, we went to Little India. A day like this can only be concluded with Indian food. There are apparently several Indian restaurants in KL, which made it a bit challenging to meet up with the others. But we eventually found a small local place with delicious food, and there were mostly Indians there. It was a nice change from the usually tourist-filled restaurants. After dinner, it was time to go home, and another weekend came to an end. Tomorrow, it's back to school, and of course, I'm looking forward to it!