Malaysia, Truly Asia

The title of this blog is Malaysia's tourism campaign... Malaysia truly is Asia. After going to Thaipusam in KL I finally realized this. I swear I could have been transported to India and would have never known, except my passport didn't have a stamp from India. Thaimpusam is a huge Hindu festival to celebrate thanks to God for granting prayers. It is a time that make sacrifices to Lord Muruga. They do this by carrying pots of milk on their head, by shaving their heads, or by piercing themselves in the face, back, and chest with giant meat hooks. Then they walk to the Batu Caves from Chinatown... a walk that begins at midnight on Friday and goes all day until Saturday morning... for like 13 hours. This festival is incredible. I have no other word for it. My mouth was agape the entire time as I watched devotees pay respect to their God. There were something like 1.3 million people in attendance and it is the largest Thaipusam celebration in the world. I have never experienced anything like it. So, here are some pictures to illustrate the day...

These are my friends Jida and Ash. Jida and I went to OU together and she and Ash let me and two other ETAs, Amy and Audrey, crash at their houses for the night. Thanks Jida and Ash!!


Jida's friend Balan, an Indian man, took us to the Batu Caves for the celebration. We went by train and here is everyone fighting to get on.


Here is the train pulling into the Batu Caves station... it inconveniently cuts right through the parade route, but as it did, I snapped a picture of all the people... people everywhere!! If you're clausterphobic do not come to this festival!


Here's a picture of a little Indian baby girl I saw on the train. I was panicked by the crowd and she was just so calm.


Like I said before, some devotees choose to just carry a bucket of milk on their heads, while some choose to....... WARNING, DO NOT LOOK IF YOU ARE QUEASY!!


...to pierce themselves with giant meat hooks!! This looks painful but the devotees go into a trance and claim they do not feel pain. In fact, afterward, there are no scars, no swelling, and during, there is absolutely no bleeding!! It is incredible, the only word to describe it.


Here is a close up for those of you could not get enough!


Here is a devotee in a trance... I thought the colors in the photo were really weird.


Here is a female devotee who ended up being in all my pictures. It turns out I was following her group and now I have their experience documented on film if they ever want to find me and check it out.


That is the world's largest statue of Lord Muruga... I think it is 140ft high. The other 2 statues depict the most beautiful Greek God and Goddess named Zachadonis and Audreyvenus


Here is a dad and his son shaving their heads to give thanks. I'm glad they didn't opt for the meat hooks this year!


Finally, this man is holding a Kavadi. They are personal floats that people make and decorate themselves. Then they carry them for thirteen hours+ from Chinatown to the Batu Caves. The men get up and walk for about 20ft then have to sit again immediately. All the while their friends and family members who have walked with them are cheering them on and giving them water. Personally, walking for that long is a pretty challenging task in itself, but enhace that with meat hooks and fishing poles through your face, and wow, you've got one devout person.

Alright, I'm a terrible updater these days... look for more very soon!