KL - Batu Caves

EVERYONE said we had to have a look at these caves. They are about 45min from KL central by taxi and are a big with Malaysia's Hindus who, apparently, have a thing about caves in general.

The caves we used as a refuge by the resistance during the war - which means that they must have been a lot more hidden than they are now - then as a tourist attraction , and now as a kind of Hindu shrine / art qallery.

There are LOTS of pictures so let's get started.

This guy guards the main entrance. Well, I wouldn't mess with him - not with that big pointy spear.
There are lots of little shrines like this. I really don't know how this works. They are clearly looked after with flowers, necklaces, candles and, sometimes, food and drink. But there are so many, how do you choose which one to go for?

Pretty much everything is brightly painted - this one is under construction and has the colour of the clay.
This one's all done but they must have needed a ton of paint for the big fella on the right.
A lady with lots of heads and arms sitting on a peacock. She has a few friends with her - the blue is, apparently, because those deities have a thing about water, which is blue, right.
Stalagtites.
There are a few monkeys terrorising the tourists - especially the ones with bananas.
The god of gay.
It's really difficult, without a guide, to know what's going on. Nice colours though.
This is one of the small temples inside the main cave.
Yes Kim, you've found something that looks a bit like a willy.
Me. with not nearly enough arms.
There's an elephant under there somewhere.
Unusually, not masturbating.
Many-armed elephants. Wearing clothes. There are some serious drugs around here somewhere.
I like the little bloke on fat-boy's head who looks like he's had a pretty good night.
Wella, wella, wella. It's one for the money...
We're going to see some relief murals in a minute. This is how they are made. Get a bit of wall and draw the mural on it. Then build up the relief in cement...
...when it's set, get the painters in.
Unusually, not masturbating.
This is the acid cave. You wouldn't want to be in here on a bad trip.
It's great stuff - but what are they doing?
Me, still without those arms.
A naked bloke (really) coming out of the water holding a snake while standing on other snake's heads. Who's blue. And wearing a crown. I mean, really, why didn't they just paint a portrait of Freud?

You don't get homoerotics like this with the christians. Oh, wait a minute...


And that's the end of KL. What was intended to be a short stop-over to break the Europe-Aus flight turned out to be a bloody fantastic city-break. KL is just lovely. It's inexpensive, clean and interesting and wouldn't look out of place on any Asian itinery. I would just love to go back and see more of the country outside the capital.