Exploring KL - Batu Caves

Recently, I have some colleagues visiting us from Thailand and Philippines and so I decided to take them to some of the most popular tourist spots and since it only one day we decided to take them to the one of the most popular spot in KL which is the Batu Caves. You'll be suprise how many local Malaysian have never been here. Shocking..! Hahaha.. let's continue...

Batu Caves is temple in a cave near the district of Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. You will need to climb about 272 steps up in order to reach at the peak where there some temple inside.

From across the road.       F4.8 / 1/400 / ISO 100

This place is famous for a religious hindu festival called Thaipusam that take place once a year during beginning of the year. It is very interesting to come and see during this time where devotee got into trance performing mystical acts like body piercing.

A 42.7-metre (140 ft) high statue of Lord Murugan was unveiled in January 2006, having taken 3 years to construct. It is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world.(Wikipedia).

F4 / 1/1000 Sec / ISO100

At the foot of the cave you will be able to see an army of pigeons. There a long railing to guide to 3 walkway. You even feed them and it seem there quite friendly and are not afraid of people. Some interesting shots can be taken here.

My colleague Anadel from Philippines with the Pigeons  F10 / 1/125 / ISO 100

I took shot below when I notice the birds was sitting there on the railing. The leading lines on the railing makes this an interesting shot. 

Rules of the thirds applies here. If you don't know what it mean well just Imagine that your image is divided into 9 equal boxes by 2 horizontal and 2 vertical (like a tic tac toe). The focus on the object should be on the intersect on the two lines. If your camera has this one, it best to use it as a guide.

F5.3 / 1/320 Sec / ISO100

You don't really have to be fit to be able to climb the steps. You just need a little patience and some stops. It took me about 10 mins to reach to the top. Some climber even use this place as training ground to climb mountain, most popular and the tallest mountain in South East Asia is Mount Kinabalu. Some told me if you can climb up and down 5 times, you are good to climb Kinabalu.

Looking up from the bottom F4 / 1/1000 Sec / ISO 640

F3.8 / 1/40 Sec / ISO 250

Inside the cave there are some naturally light but not enough to take some good shots due to blurs and shakes, so it best to increase the ISO to between 500 to 1000 as my below settings.

with my friends F5 / 1/60 Sec / ISO 1250

One of the temple inside the cave   F5 / 1/40Sec / ISO 500

Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived from the Hindu mythology, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of the temple where the gopuram located. (Wikipedia)

One of the many Gopurams located on top of the koil or temple. F5 / 1/20 Sec / ISO 500  FL 105mm

You can spend time taking pictures as there is no restriction on time but do exercise common courtesy as this involves religious activity as the last thing you need is to offend the followers.

F5 / 1/100 Sec /  ISO 200

Be extremely careful with the monkeys there. You can see alot of them at the staircase and inside the cave. My friend had her glasses snatch away from her in just 2 secs. Luckily after bitting little bit, the monkey threw the spectacle away and it still in a good shape. Just make sure to keep your belonging close to you.

Going down you will see a breathtaking view of the city blue sky. The view is so awesome and taking a shot is the next best thing you can do.

F3.5 / 1/800 Sec / ISO 100 FL 18mm

At the entrance/exit, there are some souvenir shop and photo of the famous "Thaipusam Festival"

So if you have not been there (come on...!) or if you have friend visiting from overseas, this place is worth exploring but it is even better if visiting during Thaipusam, just the crowd attending will be overwhelming. If you are a person that love cultures, this one place you need to experience to believe especially during Thaipusam. Check out the calendar for the main event.

Signing off....

Victor.