The full moon over the Batu Caves on Thaipusam

In my three weeks of travel now that Tamar has returned to the US I planned to visit Malaysia, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City. When I told my Malaysian friend, Vannitha, that I was in the process of making plans she told me about the Hindu Thaipusam Festival that was to happen in and around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, the weekend of February 8th this year. She described it as an “unforgettable experience” and “a very out of this world sort of thing”. That certainly sounded interesting enough for me so I planned to arrive on February 7, the day before.

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrating the deity, Murugan, and is marked largely by Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius. Malaysian Tamils created the shrines at the Batu Caves just 13km north of Kuala Lumpur in the late 19th century and, although Thaipusam is celebrated in many states in Malaysia, these caves are the primary location for the festival in the country. Devotees take part in a procession originating in Kuala Lumpur and ending up in the Batu Caves. They shave their heads and carry out acts of kavadi, or burdens, ranging from carrying a pot of milk to piercing of the body flesh, tongue and cheeks with metal hooks or skewers.

As soon as I landed, Vannitha told me that Thaipusam had already started that day and she suggested that we take a short nap and then go directly to the Batu Caves that night. This would be to both avoid the hot sun and also to observe the highest procession traffic before dawn the following day. We set out on our own little pilgrimage around 10pm from the train station in Kuala Lumpur where we found ourselves already among several hundred people crammed into the train’s cars. We then got off a few stops later to switch trains and the crowds gathered at this junction were even larger than before. We squeezed into the very end of the last train car where some young dudes were smokin’ weed (not officially part of the Thaipusam ritual) but made it to the Batu Caves rather quickly.

Once at the caves we joined the thousands of worshipers and other tourists who came out for the festival that night. Over a million people were expected to visit the Batu Caves over this holiday weekend and I felt like I had seen or felt all of them around me. Just walking to the caves was a fascinating and time consuming process. We witnessed all sorts of worshipers bearing kavadi and dancing in a trance-like state with musicians playing all around. We were nearly run over several time by approaching processions of people and the only thing we could do was to just keep on moving forward towards the caves.

272 steps up to the entrance of the Batu Caves

Before climbing to the top of the 272 steps we got a bite to eat first around 3am. I tried my first roti canai which is a thin doughy bread and is known for being both delicious and fattening. We dipped this into some sauces and we were fueled up and ready to go.

We started to climb the steps at at about 4am but the traffic flowed constantly up and down the steps at every hour throughout the night. The beginning of the ascent was slow and it reminded me of being on a roller coaster as it just begins to pull out of the boarding station to make its way up the first incline. We were surrounded on all sides and so it really was like being locked in one position and being forced to move in only one direction. The climb itself proceeded at a moderate pace and so it wasn’t too tiring but I was focused on always looking at the step in front of me and only occasionally did I turn around to see the view behind me.

From the top of the steps the view was spectacular and there was a feeling of accomplishment as an individual and also as part of a group. Of course, you couldn’t really stand at the top of the steps for long because hundreds of people were still making their way up the stairs by the second and needed to land somewhere too. We then spent the next hour or so wandering through the caves, resting and enjoying the cool breeze since the top of the cave is open and air flows freely.

The view from inside of a canopy while descending the stairs

The way down was also exciting and I went so slowly, enjoying the view and taking photos that, at one point, I was overtaken by one of the canopies and I found myself actually underneath it! That was strange and exciting. After we reached the bottom I had so much energy I felt like I could do it all over again but, this time, in the heat of broad daylight…NOT! But I did feel a sense of accomplishment even if it was to climb up the steps carrying only my Nikon D40 as my kavadi. While some of the people around me were in a trance, helping them to endure the pain, I myself was in a trance-like state commonly referred to as “sleepwalking”. I was so tired by about 5am that it was painful to think about the long journey home: walking through the crowds, waiting in line to buy train tickets, waiting for train #1 to arrive, taking the train, buying the next ticket, waiting for and taking train #2, the taxi to Vannitha’s car, driving to her home, riding the elevator…zzzzzzzzzz.

It took both of us a good few days to get back on a regular sleep schedule but when folks asked me, “What do you think so far of Malaysia?”, boy did I have a story to tell. For me it really was a mind-blowing experience to be part of something so huge that night. For Vannitha, she likes to refer to it as a “once in a lifetime experience”, meaning, she really doesn’t see herself doing that again. So, that was my first night in a new country and it was certainly a sign of all of the great things that were to follow.

Previous:   Goodbye, Malaysia and Singapore!
Next:   I Got the Visa Exemption for Vietnam!