Batu Caves Hindu Temple in Kuala Lumpur

Before going to the Batu Caves, just north of Kuala Lumpur, we heard a lot about the 272 steps and not to touch the monkeys. The caves are a sacred place for Hindus, and Hindus see monkeys as sacred so let them run wild and free on the steps up. What we didn't hear about was how there are temples for Hindus at the bottom and in numerous spots in the top. In these temples, the Hindu priests were topless, with white paint on, performing rituals with much incense, singing, and playing instruments.

The monkeys were bored by us on the way up. The kids made it up the steep steps to the top where they were rewarded by beautiful, wet, dripping caves filled with incense, natural skylights, and the main temple.

On the way down, Ken asked me to help one of our kids down the steep steps. My kids ended up helping me down, since I was barely keeping a panic attack at bay over how steep and long the drop down seemed to me.

Elephant Sanctuary

At first, Boom was completely scared of the incredibly tame orphaned elephants at this Conservation Center outside of Kuala Lumpur. Even before we left the hotel, he dropped to the floor and threw a tantrum, "I don't like Elephants!" You can see his pulling away from the elephants above. But, after numerous attempts by me to get him accustomed to my feeding the elephants, with no success, Ken did his magic and somehow coaxed Boom to ride an elephant with him.

The Center is funded by money from visitors and private donations; elephants are driven out of their Malaysian jungles by overdevelopment, especially of palm and rubber plantations. After the farmers or poachers attack the Elephant families, they are often brought here. One elephant's foot was amputated by a poacher trap and he limped around until a donor got him a proscetic limb, which was so touching.

A handful of the elephants have to pay the price of our riding and bathing them daily. And, feeding them cucumbers, watermelon, grass, and peanuts, as you can see from the video of Griffin feeding them. I put the cucumbers directly onto their tongues and, let me tell you, their tongues feel as soft as wet silk.

While us Americans, Australians, and Middle Easterns watch the elephants, the local kids living in the jungle, above, watch us.