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Subscribe to CommentsTwin peaks of KL
31 Jan 2008 21:18 Filed in:
Malaysia 2008
Malaysia 2008
There are some
gigs that are a pleasure to do and some that are
horrific in nature and an exercise in futility.
Luckily this is one of the former and to give you
an idea of what that entails, here is a picture
of us in the pool with the Petronis Twin Towers
in the background, the second tallest buildings
in the world.
They look stunning at night beaming like beacons with the lights.
We are performing in front of the Eye On Malaysia ( A big Ferris wheel) for the International Arts Festival.
I am on the ground for most of this season, directing, so it has been great to see the show from outside.
On a day off, we decided to go check out the Batu Caves. They are a sacred place for the Hindu's of Malaysia and the Taipusum Festival was just held there.
On the eve of Taipusum a procession is organized and the men put metal skewers through their face and hooks in their back and women carry silver jugs full of milk on their heads while climbing the 272 steps to the entrance of the caves. They do penance in the hope to extort some favors from the gods. I think I prefer the women's role in this caper.
The standing Buddha at the base of the steps was HUGE. This is Lord Murugan and at 42.7m high, it is the tallest version in the world.
When you reach the top, there are signs everywhere and you wouldn't believe what they say.
What the hell do you think the last 272 steps were, a walk in the park? It's a shame people don't exercise more often at this sacred site because they seem to find it hard to bend down and pick up their rubbish.
The place stunk bad and there were chickens everywhere and rosters crowing while pecking through the crap to find food.
Outside there were macaque monkeys looking to find a fresh peanut or banana from passing travellers. Inside, the cave was dotted with a lot of religious iconographic statues in interesting tableaus.
Did I mention that the cave is big? Real BIG! 400m long and 100m high.
Imagine that full of 800,000 devotees with hooks in their backs and milk on their heads.
Lastly I would like to give a few examples of interesting forms of spelling in phonetic English. This is common place here and often amusing.
Ok, the last one was a bit of a joke but believe it or not, this is splashed around town on giant billboards everywhere. He he!
Till next time, Jumpa lagi (see you later)
Salamat Tingal (Good bye)
George
xxxooo