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We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Caves, before returning to the city to arrange our Vietnamese Visas.  We then returned later that night, with the crowds even more enourmous than they were earlier in the day.  With the sun down, and a full moon out, the Batu Caves, beautifully illuminated, looked stunning and inspiring.

 

A man with a large kavadi pushes on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A close up of those harrowing hooks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy was littered with hooks and ropes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A father and son make their way to the Caves.  As thanksgiving for the blessing of children, many families would bring their kids to the Caves and, in the case of boys, have their heads shaved in advance of their journey.  Others shaved their heads as a further sign of their devotion--indeed, the head shavers that could be found at the principal entrance were doing a rather brisk business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The men wearing the kavadis would often take breaks, as the crowds often brought their procession to a complete standstill.  At such times, the throng of friends and family who were helping and supporting all of such pilgrims were there to give water, adjust waist belts and hooks, or to douse bare feet with water (which suffered terribly from the hot pavement).  

We overheard this man plead "Cut me Mick."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many also pierced their tongues and cheeks with skewers, as seen here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reward for the long walk was a rest in the relatively cool Batu Caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the rear of the Caves, we look toward the entrance.  While not as large as a football stadium inside, the caves were, nonetheless, enormous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Click Camera to return to 2 Go Photos Home Page -or- continue on to our next destination, Penang, Malaysia.

 

 

 

 

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