Cave Temples

20th Janurary

I lay in a bit - wrote up more of my blog - this is quite time consuming but I am really enjoying doing it!

Went for coffee at a cafe by the river, CJ12 in People's park - they are quite into their coffee in Malaysia

.....not sure what Bungalow style coffee is.........

I had the slightly sweet one with condensed milk - the coffee is so good here! - and a pastry called 'Kaya puff' - which is a flaky pastry filled with a sweet brownish coconut jam. We had these on the Bike ride too - they have some spices in the jam and the one I had today was cooked fresh and was hot - I ate most of it before I took the photo!

I caught the bus to the caves - as you approach them it is quite stunning as they tower above the road - the pictures don't really capture the beauty and height of them

The first one I visited is called Perak Guanyin Cave. These limestone cave temples originated from Chinese monks discovering the caves in the 1800s and using them for meditation, evolving into vibrant Buddhist sanctuaries with statues and murals reflecting Chinese cultural roots. They remain as places of worship.

I went round to Da Seng Ngan temple which they were doing repairs on so I couldn't go inside

and then I found the Tasik Cermin Valley and 'Mirror lake' .........I took too many photos but I was just in awe of these massive limestone cliffs, which were once under the sea

They used to mine the cliffs for iron ore.

I was reminded that limestone is formed from the remains of coral reefs shells and other organisms accumulated over millions of years called sedimentation and then shaped from water erosion and that marble is limestone subjected to more intense pressure and temperature, deep within the earth, to become harder and smoother. And iron ore forms when iron rich water flows through the limestone and the iron settles and hardens inside the limestone through a process called chemical deposition........every day's a school day!

at the mirror lake:

I then walked round to some more cave temples after visiting the loo - these girls were making their 'tik tok' video I'm guessing - they did about 5 takes!

Then I had to walk along the road to Nam Thean Tong Temple which wasn't pleasant as the road was very busy. It made me laugh because there was a sign up saying 'safety first'....well not if you want to visit the temples by foot! I was looking for Sam Poh Tong Temple but I inadvertently walked straight past it.

Nam Thean Tong

This garden & trees were pretty

There is story that the face of Buddha has appeared on the rock face above this temple that was obscured before by vegetation. It is said that if you see the face it will bring you luck. This poster has more information.

I could kind of see the face .........

but the holes above don't look like elephant eyes & trunks to me.

I love the way the limestone seems to just be 'dripping' over the temple

A rounded belly is supposed to represent wisdom, which is why the Buddha statues always have round fat bellies,  so we can all feel good about ourselves!

The inside of the temple was nice and peaceful 

A Malay man asked to have his picture taken with me. This is the first time in Malaysia.....unlike Indonesia. 

Ling Seng Tong was less impressive inside and Sam Poh Tong was now shut.

I was hot & tired by now & had to risk life and limb to cross the road to get to the bus stop. I waited for ages then saw a bus sail past and wasn't sure if it was mine or not - the A34 - they are all bright pink.

I decided to walk to the next bus stop in case this one wasn't in use and as I was doing so another bus sailed past - the A34. I was getting more & more hot & fed up, trying to walk beside the busy traffic, and google maps was giving me confusing information. In the end I conceded and got a GRAB. It was annoying......I know the Grab is only £1 or 2 but its the principle......plus every bit adds up on a tight budget & the bus is pence. ...this bear sort of summed up my mood.....

Anyway,  the taxi driver was nice - chatting about how he'd visited his Nephew in England & been to Liverpool so now he supports the football team. Apparently Badminton is the big sport in Malaysia. 

I took the taxi straight to a cake shop, Yohan Cake House. Its supposed to be famous for its speciality cakes and I wanted to try the Tiger skin cake which incorporates many flavours.

It was really good, with many subtle flavours. I had two pieces with a coffee that I made using a brand new kettle that had appeared in the room - more on that later!