Monkey Nirvana

Also known as the Batu Caves. We’ve been doing at least one pretty touristy thing each weekend, and this weekend we hit the Batu Caves.

From Grant's first visit

Grant had visited here back in September, which is why I’d been putting it off a little, but we both enjoyed it and I’m sure we’ll be back here again with visitors. It’s touristy, but in a pleasant way: lots of Indian snacks, statuary, steps, and monkeys.

Lots of monkeys. Maybe I should say that one more time: monkeys everywhere.

Man or monkey?

First, the caves, which were in fact the reason why we were there, and the reason I would return. Well, the main reason I’m going to say I’m returning. I might be going back for the monkeys too.

The caves are just about 8 miles north of KL, and it’s actually a series of caves within a huge limestone hill. We visited the main one, Temple Cave, which has several Hindu shrines in it and is at the top of 272 steep steps up the hillside. Beside the steps is a giant statue of Murugan (the largest in the world), which was framed by light scaffolding now. We watched workers climbing the scaffolding like monkeys, and then noticed monkeys climbing the scaffolding like….well, you know. I got a kick out of watching the monkeys stealing the workers’ drinks.

Thief!

Apparently, Murugan is a Hindu deity of war and victory, and he carries a Vel (translates to lance or spear). He is worshipped primarily in areas with Tamil influence, and the festival of Thaipusam honors him. We’ve been told we’ll need to come back to the Batu Caves for this one, as millions of worshippers from all over will be here to take part in a procession that begins in KL and ends here. During this pilgrimage, they carry burdens, which range from a jug of milk to piercing their skin and tongues with skewers and small spears: the greater their pain, the greater the merit they earn.

Interior of Temple Cave

The caves themselves are craggy, dim, dripping with water, and randomly lit by unnecessary sulphur lamps. The shrines inside are dwarfed by the high-arching ceiling, and we were mostly impressed with the natural beauty of the caves rather than the shrines.

Craggy overhang

Shrine in the caves

The trip back down the stairs was interesting. Hard for me, because you know how fond of heights I am, and the monkeys were a bit more active. We were getting closer to a mama monkey with her baby clinging to her chest, and while I was standing back on a landing trying to get a photo of her sitting on the railing, a guy accidentally grabbed her as he was reaching for the handrail. She wasn’t pleased, and made a beeline for Grant and me, since we were standing between her and the edge of the stairs closest to the trees. We awkwardly danced around her, and made our way carefully down the rest of the steps.

Up close and personal

Ok everyone, 272 steps and more monkeys than you can count. What do you think the greatest hazard is going to be? Wait for it….

Banana peels!

Some (crazy) people like to feed the monkeys here. We were walking around the base of the caves area, and you’d see the trees gently twitching as monkey acrobatics were taking place. All it took was one guy with a piece of fruit, and suddenly the monkeys started swarming down off the hillside. They are a little aggressive, and certainly have no fear of people. Of course, it’s quite the high life for them: plenty of free food, trees and buildings to climb, and a constant stream of tourists here to worship…them? I can see how it would go to their heads.

The taxi ride home was a new experience for us too, when our driver announced that he needed to gas up or else we’d end up pushing the car back to KL. He checked the meter with us before we stopped, and said we’d just check it again before we continued and subtract the cost of the stop – pretty reasonable. Then he pulled up to the pump, left the car running and opened the hood. We figured he was going to check something out, but then he proceeded to put a large hose into the engine compartment and we heard a loud hissing noise as he filled the tank (from the sounds of it, located in the trunk) with compressed natural gas. That was a first, although it looks pretty common for taxis here. Our driver was complaining about the lack of pressure, and I would have thought that Grant would have a million questions, but it left him speechless!

Christmas in Southeast Asia

I‘m not particularly feeling like we’ve entered the holiday season; I think it has to do with the fact that Thanksgiving was a blur, it is always in the high 80s – low 90s here, and I see palm trees everyday.

Never fear, even though the primary religion here is Islam, KL celebrates Christmas, and they mean Merry Christmas, none of the generic Happy Holidays stuff. It’s like the whole city is determined to get me into the Christmas spirit.

It seems that most of the Christmas songs you hear at home are of the “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” variety, and you certainly hear those in KL too, but you also get honest to goodness Christmas carols straight out of your hymnal played through the speakers of every store and most restaurants. It’s interesting to hear more religious Christmas music in an Islamic country than you hear in the United States!

Even though I haven’t done any decorating, because we’ll be spending Christmas and New Year’s in Cambodia, I’m getting my daily dose of Christmas cheer every time I step out of my door. Without further ado, here’s how they do Christmas in Southeast Asia.

Chris Blackstone, Batik Artist?

On one of my first days in KL, when we were staying at the Prince Hotel, I wandered down the street to an arts and crafts complex: Kompleks Kraf. I love the phonetic spellings here: teksi eksekutif, polis, basikal, motosikal, kopi, teh, restoran, stesen, helo – the list goes on and on.

Anyway, I’d noticed it on our first taxi ride into town, and I thought maybe I’d find some handmade souvenirs or Christmas presents. The complex is fronted by a large building with your standard gift shops selling lots of batik fabrics, woven boxes and baskets, metalwork, and the ubiquitous I ♥ KL T shirts. If you make your way behind this building, there’s a semi-circular collection of small huts and each is rented by a different craftsman: mostly woodcarvings, ceramics and batik.

Lazim waxing the design

I had been wandering through these, just smiling and nodding at the artists, and then a cheerful man leapt up and started talking to me. I figured it would be the typical “please look at my work, you like, you buy?” sort of conversation, and I laughed it off when he said he could teach me how to do it. No, Lazim was actually serious about that, and it turns out there are a few batik artists there who will let you sit in their open air studios and give it a shot. They often have pre-waxed silk squares, but they also have thick books of designs that you can pick from.

Who knew I could be an artist?!

Lazim is very welcoming and encouraging, and his original work hangs all around you, lending inspiration. I’ve made three designs so far, and I’m having so much fun! It’s been pretty straightforward: I trace a design onto the silk, Lazim applies the wax over my design, and then I paint on dyes with a bit of coaching from him. He’s been making batik art for 30 years, so I’m listening carefully to the expert. Next time, he says I should try waxing it myself (I’ve only signed my name with the wax). No caffeine for me that day – I’ll need a really steady hand!

What do you think, is this a new calling for me? I don’t know, but I’m having a great time!

Hello KL!

At this point, we’ve been here for almost two weeks, and it has absolutely flown by. We spent the first five days in the Prince Hotel, where Grant had stayed for his initial month here. It was nice, centrally located, and we lucked out in getting a good last minute deal on a one bedroom apartment there. What a luxury to be able to spread out after our week in a small hotel room!

We have a fantastic realtor, and he’s been very patient and cooperative with all the unknowns about our timeline. We were able to re-renegotiate our lease (from Nov 15 to Dec 15 to Dec 1 to Nov 24 – did I mention he was a patient guy?), and we moved into our new home on Thanksgiving! That is, Grant went to work from the Prince Hotel and came home to a fully unpacked apartment in KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre – they love to abbreviate things here!). It’s huge and in an amazing location, right by the Petronas Towers; I’ll follow up with pictures soon. Grant did a great job finding this place!

I’m not a miracle worker, so unfortunately no turkey dinner was awaiting him, but I was still motivated enough to explore the nearest grocery store. The closest grocery store is called Isetan, which is a Japanese chain, so much of what they carry is labeled in Japanese. I focused on buying the essentials, and then found a free-range, organic chicken. Great, that sounds like a perfect faux Thanksgiving to me! Only one problem: when I got it home and unwrapped it, it turned out to have feet!! I’m not sure what a local would have done, but I was aghast and couldn’t imagine cooking a chicken with its feet still on. So, with the dullest knife in the world (note to self, next thing to buy), I set about hacking them off.

I’d say that’s a good representation of life here so far, mostly normal but with a twist. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Goodbye to Singapore

We hadn’t known how long we’d have in Singapore when we arrived, but it was great to have a full week to explore it at a leisurely pace. It’s a very walkable city, apart from the humidity, and I’m already making a list of the things I want to do when we come back.

All the legends seem true: this is a perfect gateway to Asia for us westerners, and much safer and cleaner than most cities in the US. It’s a true melting pot, and I loved exploring the different historic neighborhoods and tasting the food of all the cultures as it comes together in the hawker centers.

That being said, it could be so polished that at times it felt vaguely “Disney-fied”. As Grant reminded me, KL would be a very different experience, so I was looking forward to the next adventure!