Malaysia (Happy Deepavali, Kuala Lumpur) Oct 2019

" My 4 hours (08.30>12.30) visit to Kuala Lumpur during the Deepavali Day, Sunday 27th Oct 2019 by Rapid KL LRT trains from SS15, Subang Jaya (my home place) to KL Sentral & Pasar Seni, Kuala Lumpur City Center - Deepavali is the biggest religious celebration for Hindus in Malaysia " 

Total expenses incurred: Rm14.70 (US$3.50)
LRT trains: Rm5.20
Lunch: Rm9.50

1) Deepavali decorations in KL Sentral Station, Kuala Lumpur

2) NU Sentral Shopping Mall, KL Sentral 

3) Press & social media publicity on Deepavali festival in Malaysia; major shopping malls hold promotional activities relating to this religious event eg. traditional Indian dances, Bollywood performances, stage performances, hanging of colored paper lanterns, Muruku making demonstrations, Saree styling demonstrations so as to heighten the festive mood of locals & tourists during the Deepavali day & for this year, the following Monday was declared a public holiday too ! Many took the opportunity to visit famous & ancient Hindu temples throughout the country. In Kuala Lumpur, Hindu temples like Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple & Batu Caves were filled with Hindus (and tourists as well) as they see Deepavali as a time to honour Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of Prosperity & light clay lamps at their homes so she can find them & bless them . 

4) Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) in Little India Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (09.30 Sunday 27 Oct 2019) in conjunction with the Happy Deepavali Day ! Pretty quiet in the early morning but expect more visitors in the late morning when all the eatery shops are opened for business as this place has a large concentration of Indian populace ! 

5) Retail Shops, Indian Restaurants & Food Stalls in Little India, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

6) A bazzar was set up in Little India, Brickfield, Kuala Lumpur selling mainly Deepavali festive goodies, snacks & food; as most of the last minute shopping was done on the eve of Deepavali ie Saturday 26th Oct or days before, only a few stalls are opened this morning hence business is less brisk but hopefully by mid day this popular tourist place in Little India will be filled up with more people and become more vibrant towards the late morning  ! 

7) Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple - after the Little India visit, I took a Rapid KL LRT train from KL Sentral > Pasar Seni to visit Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Jalan Bandar, Kuala Lumpur. 

" The Sri Mahamarianmman Temple (one of the 6 most beautiful Hindu temples in Malaysia) is the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Founded in 1873, it is situated at the edge of Chinatown in Jalan Bandar. In 1968, a new structure was built, featuring the ornate 'Raja Gopuram' tower in the style of South Indian temples. " 

" Batu Caves is a limestone hill that has a series of caves & cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It take its name from Sungai Batu, which flows past the hill. It is the 10th limestone hill from Ampang. Batu Caves is also the name of a nearby village. A gigantic & majestic statute of Lord Murugan located at the entrance of Batu Caves can be seen from the highway that runs parallel to this famous stretch of limestone formation "

8) Due to rain, I forgo a visit to Batu Caves after the Little India Brickfield visit, a limestone hill in Gombak, Selangor. This popular tourist place has 3 cave temples (Cathedral Cave, Art Gallery Cave & Museum Cave; the Cathedral Cave is the largest & most popular; the other 2 cave temples contain many Hindu statutes & paintings) & throng by the local Indian populace during the Hindu festival ! But in Sept 2018, I took a KTM train from KL Sentral & visited the Batu Caves & caves temples and I am pleased to share with you some of the pictures I had taken on this Batu Caves visit !

9) Hindu statutues & temples inside the Batu Caves

10) Limetone formation in Batu Caves, said to be 400 million years old ! 

11) Jalan Jalan (Walkabout) in Pasar Seni (Central Market) & Chinatown area after the Little India visit in Brickfield - one LRT stop from KL Sentral station 

12) Makan Makan (Eating) - bought a takeaway pack of  roasted duck meat rice (Rm9.50=US$2.26) as lunch from Restoran Wei Kee (Hong Kong Sham Tseng Roasted Goose & Duck), USJ10/1E, Taipan Business Centre, Subang Jaya - a simple yummy tummy meal to reward myself after this meaningful morning visit to Little India & Pasar Seni / Chinatown !