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Thaipusam 2010 at Batu Caves

January 30th, 2010
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From Thaipusam 2010

Its Thaipusam, the religious festival to celebrate Lord Muruga!

Like most of the previous year, we planned to visit Batu Caves. We left home at 6.10am and arrived at Bat Caves at around 6.40am. Parking took another few minutes and there traffic jam was after taking the roundabout from Jalan Kuching.

While driving past the entrance (on MRR2), we can see that the crowd was more than last year, since we usually go to Batu Caves early morning around the same time. In fact the stairs were packed with people.

From Thaipusam 2010

An ugly sight greeted me as I was looking for parking. Few youths and adults were chatting with beer bottles in the hands while waiting near their car.

Parked car on the flyover. The slip road leading to Petronas after Batu Caves was closed.

The stalls were located below the new dedicated ramp which crosses the river and railway track. The ramp was closed to vehicles to allow the kavadi and kudam bearers walk through. If not, the devotees have to take a risky (but shorter) route crossing the railway track.

The venue where Brahma Kumaris and Nestle stalls were usually located was replaced with the cancelled state government’s Fiesta Deepavali banners. Brahma Kumaris stall is now located beneath the ramp.

Did the mudi kanikai at one of the stall below the new ramp, and proceeded to walk back to the temple compound.

From Thaipusam 2010

Lots of nursing colleges set up booths, providing eye candy for the youths. I saw Winfield, Nirwana (with Putera MIC), MAHSA and MAsterskill (if I’m not mistaken).

We started walking into the temple compound at 7.35am. Compared to last year, there were not ropes to demarcate the lines. So, it was a bit of free flow.

Lots of rubbish around and its not even 8am! All rubbish bins were overloaded.

Police moved in groups of 2,3 and 4. But I don’t think there were 1000 policemen there. There were also RELA and FRU, apart from the St John members and temple volunteers.

Took us 40 minutes from compound entrance till the top of the stairs. The middle lane was allocated for kavadis, while the left lane for people going up. However, since the top was crowded, many people were coming down using left lane, thus making the journey more difficult.

The signboards for Paal Kudam, Archanai, and Kavadi were only found at about 50 metres in the cave. And the paal kudam queue was long! It would have been better if the notices were put up earlier along the cave or even from the compound itself so that the crowd could be segregated earlier.

From Thaipusam 2010

We prayed for around 30 minutes or so and made our way down. The trip down was slow since the crowd was huge and lots of kavadis were going down the stairs after fulfilling their penance.

From Thaipusam 2010

Something else that’s make a comeback this time is beggars. I saw a family that looked like foreigners sitting near the cave entrance.

Read the bottom of the stairs at around 9.15am. We spent another 15 minutes taking some shots and watching the kavadis. It was getting hot, and as usual, we didn’t waste time milling around the stalls.

From Thaipusam 2010

Left Batu caves around 10am, using MRR2 towards Sentul/Gombak. The other side of the highway was jammed. There’s the new DUKE highway along MRR2 that gives you access to Jalan Duta, Jalan Kuching etc (Toll is RM2). Reached Puchong within 40 minutes.

BTW, the management office looks new (and expensive). I wonder if its really necessary. Maybe the money could have been put to better use, like giant LCD display screens, proper signages and more dustbins.

From Thaipusam 2010

And quite a few banners mentioning Nadarajah’s name in a weird way. It kind of separates him (as the chairman) from the committee. Looks like exercise in self-promotion.

News coverage on Tv2 (Tamil news) and Tv3 (Buletin) showed the visitors quite happy with the improvements done this year. Those interviewed said that it was easier to fulfill their vows.

Read about last year’s Thaipusam article here: 2009.

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Posted in Events, I Was Here, Indian, Religion

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Holiday at Cameron Highlands

January 21st, 2010
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We hatched a quite last minute plan to visit Cameron Highlands during the year end holidays. Booked an apartment from a friend’s friend. This time, Saro, Bavani, Ashok and their baby Ashvani joined us.

Day one started slow as we left home around 10am with Saro. Managed to catch up with Bavani, Ashok and Ashvani at Tapah R&R around 12pm. Spent some time at Baskin Robbins (it was 31st Dec!) and then continued on our trip.  Exited the toll at Tapah and took the road towards Cameron Highlands.

We stopped at Lata Iskandar waterfalls to take some pics.
From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

About 15 minutes before reaching our destination, we stopped at Bharat Tea Shop. I ordered the brownie with ice cream topping, but I feel the dish tasted better last time.

Finally reached our apartment in Tanah Rata around 4pm.

From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

After freshening up, we went out to Brinchang town. The area was quite crowded and some of the roads have been converted into one-way streets to accommodate the traffic. Brinchang is know for its night market (pasar malam), which is nothing out of the normal for us Malaysian. During public holidays and school term holidays, the night market occurs daily and starts in the afternoon itself. You should try the sweet corns, ayam percik (kind of charcoal roasted chicken), fried mushrooms (make sure its fresh from the wok), and some strawberry based food stuff. Other than that, nothing much to do here.

From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

We then took our dinner at Restoran Sri Brinchang (Indian restaurant). Food was OK. AS it started to get cold, we returned to the apartment around 9pm, just in time to watch Varanam Ayiram on TV. So, new year eve was spent watching TV, playing with Ashvani and chit-chatting.

Day 2 (the first day of 2010) began with a visit to the nearby Murugan temple at around 9.30am. Then we had breakfast at cafe located in Equatorial Hotel compound before heading towards Kea Farm. Spent some time walking around the stall, and then we went to one of Then’s favorite places – Raju Hill Strawberry Farm, which is just across the Equatorial Hotel. Had the customary strawberry milkshake and bought some strawberries.

Next stop was Butterfly farm in Brinchang, which is on the way to Simpang Pulai, about few kilometres from Equatorial Hotel. There are two farms next to each other, and we visited the one on our right. It had a collective of insects and small animals as well. Took some shots of the friendly butterflies.

From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

It was quite tiring day, so we returned to apartment around late afternoon, after having late lunch in Tanah Rata. The roads were quite jammed between Brinchang and Tana Rata, so if you are not well prepared, can expect up to 5km of slow moving traffic! It was raining, so we didn’t venture out till night for a quick dinner at Restoran Sri Brinchang (again). We were among the last customers and the shops close up around 10pm.

Day 3 – We checked out from the apartment early, had breakfast at Restoran No 14 (I think).  We made our way to Sg Palas Boh Tea Centre, but somewhere along the way, Ashok and Bavani missed a turn, and they ended up at the Bharat Tea Shop which is about 8km after Brinchang. So, Saro, Then and I made our way to the top of the hill. The car park was packed to the brim. The centre too was packed. We managed to get a good seat near the windows. Had some delicious cakes and tea.

From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

Shopped for some tea bags and mixtures for souvenir, and left the place, heading towards Tringkap. We met up with Bavani and Ashok over there. Did some shopping (veges and plants). Then it was back to Brinchang for lunch. The restaurant is across the road from KFC (YES, Cameron Highlands got KFC now!) and food is cheaper than the other Indian restaurant located in the same row.

It was already 4.30pm. Ashok and Bavani decided to head back home while the three of us made one more stop at Big Red Strawberry Park (aka Taman Agro Tourism). The place has grown bigger since our last visit. Its expanding like nobody’s business. I just hope the hill doesn’t collapse! Anyway, spent nearly one hour there enjoying the flowers and plants.

From Cameron Highlands Selected Pictures

Finally, we also started our journey back down to Tapah at about 6pm. Caught up with Ashok and Bavani at the Tapah rest area. Chatted for a while before returning home to KL.

It was an enjoyable 3 days with Saro, Bavani, Ashok and little Ashvani! Till the next trip….

Read about previous trips to Cameron Highlands (1, 2, 3, 4)

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Penjara Wanita Kajang

January 18th, 2010
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Managed to visit the Women’s Prison in Kajang (and sorry, no photos allowed inside the building). Some interesting facts I learnt from the officers there:

1. There’s between 1000 and 2000 prisoners at any one time, but the capacity is about 400 only.

2. Most of the inhabitants are foreigners who commit crimes like overstaying, misusing visa/permit etc. There were nearly 80% of them at the time of the visit.

3. Most prisoners are in for short term (6 months and less) due to the type of the crime committed. Example of crimes: drug use, permit misuse, overstaying, stealing, etc.

4. The locals are allowed to study (MLVK Tahap 1 is being taught, started recently).

5. There are various activities like cooking, cleaning, tailoring, food processing, saloon and spa service ,batik making, handicraft making, etc. to occupy the prisoners’ time. The prison earns about RM7 million in annual sales from the products made by the prisoners.

7. Children up to age of 3 are allowed to accompany their mother in the prison (there’s a nursery). After that, the kids are given to next of kin or sent to welfare homes.

8. Being female, there’s less problem with the prisoners.

9. Those being remanded are also held in this prison while waiting for the case to be mentioned.

10. Overall, the prisoners looked well treated, and nope, I did not visit the cells.

Well, I can’t provide exact numbers and specifics of the place, but I hope the above gives you some idea of the prison.

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Iniya Ponggal Valthukal

January 14th, 2010
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Ponggal Wishes to all Tamil readers! Managed to reach home in time to celebrate Ponggal today:

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Posted in I Was Here, Indian, Personal

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At SJKT Bukit Darah building fund dinner

November 9th, 2009
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Came back from the Majlis Jamuan Makan Malam Tabung Bangunan for SJKT Bukit Darah at Dewan Sri Menanti, Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh. Attended together with Muru on behalf of UMIC. UMIC gave RM1001 for the building funds.

Event started quite late due to VVIPs being late. A first time effort by the school, so can forgive the hiccups. I was interested with the school history. It started in 1969 with 3 classrooms, and 40 years down the lane, it has 6 classrooms. Is that a proud record?

The school has been doing well in recent year, and I guess UMIC played a tiny role in that. The school have been linking up with various NGOs and being independent in sourcing for help. A good HM with strong PIBG support saw the improvement of science lab, toilets, addition of mini arena and so on.

The school is also starting pre-school classes in 2010. Currently 230 students are registered, and UPSR passing rate is more than 60%. Really commendable for a partially-aided school.

Anyway, the schools hoping to collect RM120,000 to add 3 classrooms and improve their science lab. Want to help? Contact the school at 03-60381335.

Meanwhile, it seems EXCO Xavier had promised RM5000 (which was prominently displayed on the projector so that people won’t forget the promise). Three politicians were in attendance. Two from ruling coalition (MP Subang Sivarasa and MP Selayang William Leong) who each donated RM1000. ADUN Kuang Abdul Shukor from UMNO pledged RM3000 of his own money, and also said that he will help to make the building a realisation. However, he clarified that he can’t promise the amount.

Sivarasa mentioned that the state government is “committed” to solve the land problem for Tamil schools. He mentioned that those on state lands are easier but those on private land like plantation companies need longer time and negotiation.

Sivarasa mentioned that Selangor government gave RM4 million each to Tamil, Chinese and Agama schools from their RM1.5 billion budget. So, he hoped the Federal government will give a similar ratio from the RM190 billion budget allocation for 2010. If we calculate the percentage, RM4 million of RM1.5 billion is  0.267%.  That would mean RM506.67 million just for Tamil schools in 2010!!! I think can buy over many of those private lands that these schools sit on.

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Posted in I Was Here, Tamil-Schools, UMIC

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