Batu Caves (Part Two)

Walking up the Batu Cave steps to the Temple Cave, I made sure when I started to feel fatigued that I concentrated on where I was putting my feet. The photo below was an exchange with another solo tourist who wanted a photo like this with her in it, so we negotiated an agreement. If you look in the background to the right, you will see two guys in the process of being mugged by monkeys. This was a smart phone snatch and the guy in the black shirt lost his latest edition iPhone because he held it out to take a photo of a monkey who decided it was an offering, snatching it and running.



Nearly to the top (Pic exchange with another solo tourist)



Only a few more steps, surely

Getting to the top, you assume that there are no more stairs, but you are very wrong. The Temple Cave complex is vast and much larger than I expected before I got there. The caves themselves are amazing structures, but the amount of space is impressive as are the shrines and temples built inside. I had a few monkeys approach to see if they could steal anything, but I think my helmet put them off as it was latched to my belt and looked like a face watching my rear.

Welcome to the cave entrance

More steps, both down and up

The temperature drops significantly once in the shadow of the caves. Although there are no more banana stalls from this point, there are many tourist shops, even selling little die cast Petronis Twin Tower replicas and "I love Batu Cave" bumper stickers. They also sell drinks in these stalls, so if you have run out of water you can grab more here.

 

One of the many shrines inside the Temple Cave complex

There are dozens of detailed shrines and temples inside the cave complex, some are off-limits and some are being repaired, but many are open to the public to pray at or take photos of. The detail in the work is amazing and I found myself happily snapping away just because they were incredible works of art, not just religious in nature. I was a bit disappointed with the Main Temple after such incredible build up outside and the size and scope of the cave itself. I was imagining a massive and intricate temple hidden in the caves.

 

Batu Caves Main Temple

Batu Caves Main Temple

It seemed that there were no more monkeys this far into the cave complex, but I was wrong. Looking back the way I had come, the caves themselves were still impressive and quite large, but as mentioned above, I was expecting more inside the caves than there was. Maybe the caves themselves were so revered that to build anything inside them really needed to have a good reason.

Also be aware, even though there are signs everywhere, you need to remove your shoes if you are going to enter the temples. I watched a tourist from one of the Eastern European countries fail to read the signs and she was monstered by one of the monks who told her in crisp English to remove her shoes. She continued as if she didn't understand and he had to physically walk her out. Then she started to remove them where she stood and he had to point to the signs for her to figure out she was still too close. The signs really are quite obvious, so I don't know what she thought she was doing.

 

Looking back toward the entrance to the caves

The large temple at the far point in the Batu Caves

There are more temples and shrines at the far point of the cave so don't just stop at the Main Temple and think you have seen it all. It is still worth heading up the final set of stairs to see the back of the cave. This is also where the more peaceful monkeys are and the only place I saw the little baby monkeys, clinging to Mum with big bright eyes. Many of them were not happy to have their photos taken, but they were not as aggressive as those out the front of the cave complex, which I thought was a little strange as they had young to protect.



I exchanged my saved banana to get close to this Mum and baby

Many of the tourists were trying to get close to the babies and the mothers would just take them higher into the caves to get them away. I remembered then that I still had two banana in my backpack, stashed for an emergency like this one. Wary that these monkeys are not stupid and often cannot be cajoled into doing anything, I thought that just offering two bananas would be a nice thing to do as the guys out the front were clearly not bringing any bananas into these depths for the young.

She hissed at anyone else who got close, but I was favoured

Initially, I pulled them out and some of the younger monkeys came up to me intending to mug me, but they soon found out I was wise to them and when they couldn't get behind me or form a pack, they relaxed a little. I moved as close as I could to the Mum and baby I could find within throw range and threw my first banana at them. Mum realised it was for her and the other monkeys also knew it was for her, so they let her come forward to collect it. She still wouldn't let me hand her the second banana, but she checked it was suitable and then gave the remains to the baby who munched it down.

The choice photo, contemplative and caring

I threw the second banana a little closer and she knew I wanted her to come closer so I could get a photo. Once the second banana had been devoured, she considered my request and then clambered down onto the stairs for some close photos. She hissed at the other photographers if they came closer than I was, clearly understanding the trade we were making. I was able to get about four meters closer than any of the other photographers and took some great shots of the couple.

This was probably my highlight of the day. The caves were amazing and the temples were detailed and beautiful, but the interaction with the monkeys was the most fun. They are not stupid - in fact, I think I saw much more stupidity from the "higher" monkeys. They were often outsmarted by the "lessor" monkeys. There is such a curiosity and intelligence in these eyes that I think we humans sometimes forget that we are not the only sentient creatures on this planet.

Perhaps this was my lesson from Haruman?