My travel role model, Anthony Bourdain, visited them on one of the first few episodes of his show No Reservations (skip to 5:08).
Tourist attractions like Batu Caves are infested with con artists, trying to take advantage of unsuspecting visitors.
Some scams can be simple, like pick-pocketing. Others can be more elaborate, like the famous tea house scam.
Going to places like the Batu Caves are difficult. You have to be on your guard all the time, which can make for an exhausting experience, instead of an enjoyable one.
We went to the caves our first Saturday in KL.
Our taxi driver was a local Indian man, whose card said his name was Nathan.
Nathan drives a lot of tourists to Batu Caves. He had suggestions and guide books to keep us occupied the whole half-hour trip. It felt fake, which put me on my guard. What was he trying to sell?
As we approached the caves, he asked if we needed a ride back. We declined because we wanted to take a train back into KL - experience the public transportation.
Trip Advisor recommended going to Batu Caves before noon to avoid walking up the 272 steps in the sun. Going early, there also weren't a lot of tourists.
When we exited the cab, we were instantly accosted by a man dressed in plain clothes.
"Hey, you! What are you doing?! You can't wear that!"
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| SB shortly after being told no shorts allowed. |
In a bone-head move, I told SB to wear something light because we'd be climbing in the heat. I failed to mention it was a holy site.
She wore shorts.
"You need something that goes past your knees before you can go up. Here. Come here. There are shops right here to buy a dress. Come. Buy a dress."
Flag! Why would someone with no visible association with the caves yell at tourists, whom probably come in all states of inappropriate dress, unless they were getting a kick-back from the dress retailers?
The Yeller started to lead us to a nearby stall.
"No thanks. We'll stay down here."
He walked away. We waited to see if any other knee-exposed tourists went up the stairs.
Most women there were Hindu practitioners and wore ground-length saris and skirts.
Nearby, a group of Chinese tourists were wearing shorts, but they weren't going up the stairs to the temple.
We relented and bought her a skirt at a nearby stall for RM 30 ($10).
The stairs to the caves were narrow and steep. We had to stop twice for a break.
Monkeys climbed around us on the railings and stairs, getting so close one could reach out and touch them. Not that one would.
Many of them were eating bananas and plates of food given to them by tourists. We even saw one monkey snatch a whole bag of bananas out of a woman's hand and eat them rapid-fire. Bully monkeys.
The caves themselves were uneventful. It was dark, dank, and wet, like most caves. Bats flew over our heads.
There were shrines with people praying, but we didn't want to get too close or take many pictures to avoid being rude.
It took about an hour to walk through the caves and descend the 272 steps.
When we got to the base of the hill, we could hear the Yeller, again. He was scaring away a group of tourists from a nearby shrine. He was legitimately trying to maintain the religious integrity of the caves.
We debated taking the train back to our hotel but decided against it. We headed for the taxi stand but were interrupted by Nathan. He was waiting for us.
On the ride back to our hotel, we didn't talk about KL's tourist locations; we talked about the real KL.
He was born, raised, working, and raising his own family here, but he said it isn't easy for Malaysians who are ethnically Indian.
"The Malays own the government," he said. "The Chinese have all the business. And the Indians are forgotten. No one cares about us. We get all the bad jobs."
Driving through the same neighborhoods as before, he pointed out the affluent places, the struggling areas, and the local landmarks.
"There's a great Indian restaurants here and a small temple... I used to live here, but it got too expensive. Now I live in a suburb. It's too expensive for native Malaysians to live in KL."
He was opening up, and for the first time, I was hearing about the concerns and hardships of real people in KL.
As we neared the hotel, he started talking about his wages, a taboo subject for most Americans. I don't know if he was illustrating his point or trying to appeal for a tip, even though tipping in Malaysia is a no-no.
Tourist attractions can be wondrous to see, but they obstruct the reality around them. Helpful, pious, honest people get ignored because tourists like us are put on high alert and try to avoid any potential scams.
The easy solution: be smart and alert. The problem: being smart and alert prevents surrendering yourself to the experience, some cynicism is required. The reality: it takes a level of grace to balance between the two, and I haven't found it yet.
Nearby, a group of Chinese tourists were wearing shorts, but they weren't going up the stairs to the temple.
We relented and bought her a skirt at a nearby stall for RM 30 ($10).
The stairs to the caves were narrow and steep. We had to stop twice for a break.
Monkeys climbed around us on the railings and stairs, getting so close one could reach out and touch them. Not that one would.
Many of them were eating bananas and plates of food given to them by tourists. We even saw one monkey snatch a whole bag of bananas out of a woman's hand and eat them rapid-fire. Bully monkeys.
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| Taking pictures of people taking pictures. |
There were shrines with people praying, but we didn't want to get too close or take many pictures to avoid being rude.
It took about an hour to walk through the caves and descend the 272 steps.
When we got to the base of the hill, we could hear the Yeller, again. He was scaring away a group of tourists from a nearby shrine. He was legitimately trying to maintain the religious integrity of the caves.
We debated taking the train back to our hotel but decided against it. We headed for the taxi stand but were interrupted by Nathan. He was waiting for us.
On the ride back to our hotel, we didn't talk about KL's tourist locations; we talked about the real KL.
He was born, raised, working, and raising his own family here, but he said it isn't easy for Malaysians who are ethnically Indian.
"The Malays own the government," he said. "The Chinese have all the business. And the Indians are forgotten. No one cares about us. We get all the bad jobs."
Driving through the same neighborhoods as before, he pointed out the affluent places, the struggling areas, and the local landmarks.
"There's a great Indian restaurants here and a small temple... I used to live here, but it got too expensive. Now I live in a suburb. It's too expensive for native Malaysians to live in KL."
He was opening up, and for the first time, I was hearing about the concerns and hardships of real people in KL.
As we neared the hotel, he started talking about his wages, a taboo subject for most Americans. I don't know if he was illustrating his point or trying to appeal for a tip, even though tipping in Malaysia is a no-no.
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| Temple inside the caves. |
The easy solution: be smart and alert. The problem: being smart and alert prevents surrendering yourself to the experience, some cynicism is required. The reality: it takes a level of grace to balance between the two, and I haven't found it yet.
When you said SB was dressed inappropriately - I thought "why did she wear her Packer's jersey!"
ReplyDeleteAgreed, that the tourism side and scammers have almost ruined some of the best places. Came across some of that on our trip to Cancun (timeshare sellers that hold you hostage, figuratively) -fortunately we had read up and knew how avoid them.
We rode the public bus in Cancun and lost track of our stop and took it out of the tourist areas. We were quickly the only gringos on the bus. Everyone else was commuting to or from work in the hotels etc. We eventually got off and some locals directed us to a bus heading back towards the Strip. Funny thing was, a guy got on and played his guitar. I thought "well here comes shakedown time". He just played mostly for his own enjoyment. When we saw the workers were giving him a little money, then we figured it was ok.
A good and laid back travel partner sure helps in enjoyment of touristy attractions. Kathy can fall into the travel rhythm pretty well (liquid courage). We were so used to having kids with us at places - which makes tourism like walking the Gauntlet - that I didn't think enjoyment was possible. Still, people keep going back to Disney for some unknown reason.
Aaannnd sorry to steal your blog again. The caves and surroundings look beautiful. I am guessing that the upside of visiting far far outweighed the downside.
Remember Tom Like Dan sez. It's always good to take a Robin when you head to the Bat Cave.
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