Cave racers mating

In 2000, in Dark Cave at Batu Caves in Malaysia, I saw 3 cave racers mating.  I put some photos on my cave website -

The cave racer used to be classed as Elaphe taeniura but is now known as Orthriophis taeniurus. It inhabits limestone caves all over Asia ranging from China, down through the Asian mainland to Malaysia and Borneo. It is commonly seen in caves. There are around 10 species.

I wrote a note on the mating racers in The Malaysian Naturalist, 2002, Dec, 56(2)8 -

In 2023, on 25 Oct The Thaiger (in Thailand) published this article "Explorers ‘rattled’ with excitement as rare Blue-tailed Cave Racer snakes spotted mating in Krabi". It records two Blue-tailed Cave Racer snakes mating in a cave in Ao Luek district, in Krabi province, in southern Thailand. 

The article describes these snakes as endangered and a rare protected species listed in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). However when I looked on CITES, Elaphe taeniura is not listed in the CITES Appendices, nor are other species of Elaphe genus. Orthriophis taeniurus is not mentioned either.

Batu Caves now part of a new Geopark

 In March 2023 it was announced that the new Gombak-Hulu Langat Geopark had been established. This is in Selangor, Malaysia. The Geopark includes Batu Caves and Damai park, as well as Bukit Takun, and the Klang Gates quartz ridge.

The Gombak-Hulu Langat Geopark (GHL) was certified as a national geopark on 13 March. 

See article in The Star 23 April "Malaysia's new geopark is a geological wonder that's just an hour from KL". 

It is the 7th national geopark. Others with karst area are Langkawi, Kinta Valley and Lenggong.

Thaipusam 2021

Thaipusam was 28 Jan 2021. But this year it was more or less cancelled, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysia was under a lockdown, so the MCO (movement control order) meant there could be no celebrations. In Kedah the State government cancelled the Thaipusam public holiday. 

In Kuala Lumpur the famous Thaipusam chariot was allowed to travel from the Jalan Bandar temple to Batu Caves but without a procession. 

Photo from The Star -

I don't know what the entry fee is, I assume it is for a car.

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See my 2007 blog on Thaipusam.

Batu Caves on McDonald's OOH campaign

In 2019 McDonald's came out with a very clever marketing campaign. It showed various billboards featuring iconic Malaysian attractions and places, made out of McDs products. The billboards use food to highlight what each Malaysian state is popular for.

For Selangor, Batu Caves was shown, using just fries. Menuju Tangga Batu Caves - to the stairs Batu Caves

In Ipoh, the billboard cleverly recreates the iconic "Ipoh" sign using fries and nuggets, but adds on "Mari Tak Sombong", "let's not be arrogant", to represent the state's famous tagline.

See more on this site. And on marketing-interactive.

Lower Ganesh or Ramayana Cave, Batu Caves

Lower Ganesh is part of the Ganesh System at Batu Caves. This system is the most extensive and with the greatest vertical range at Batu Caves.

Lower Ganesh is now called Ramayana Cave. It is at ground level, the entrance is behind the large green statue of Hanuman and the gate to Batu Caves station.

When I first visited in June 1991 it was a 'wild cave'. Although it was gated one could squeeze through and was used by people for things like smoking and courting couples, and to pray for lucky numbers, hence there were a couple of altars.
1992 view of the entrance

2010 view

2012

Inside there were no paths at that time. A climb up at the back leads to Upper Ganesh Cave. The main chamber is quite large and you can climb up to 2 separate chambers. There is a big pillar at the top.

On my next visit in May 1993 we found the cave was being fitted out as a temple. The outside gate was still the same. Inside was full of statues being made and painted. And parts of the cave wall had been painted blue for background scenes.

The place was all lit up and looked so different.

We went back in Sept and the workmen let us in. There were 15-20 scenes from the Ramayana, but most of the statues were unpainted. One was huge, a reclining figure. These are the 1993 and 2012 photos -

By 1993 the cave was fitted out with electric lighting, paths and stairs and filled with brightly coloured statues, and called Ramayana Cave. According to the plaque, the cave was opened in 1995.

I didn't make any more notes until 2001 when the cave was closed. It was still closed in 2004. In 2010 I noticed it was open and there was a man selling tickets at the entrance.

On my most recent visit on 29 Jan 2012 I noticed the gate was open and people were going in so I followed. The cave was brightly lit and the statues all very colourful.

There was a JCB parked in the cave.

Steps lead up to the back chamber

In this back chamber there is now a staircase under construction up to the pillar at the top.

I'm not sure what the steel structure is that runs around the cave above the tableau, almost looks like a monorail support

Looking towards the entrance

This passage leads on and is used as a dump, the passage is nicely carved

When I left the gate was closed, so I had been lucky as it was probably only opened temporarily by the workmen.

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic from the Hindu faith. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata. It depicts the duties of relationships, and features ideal characters such as ideal father, servant etc.

The Ramayana Cave presents a concise but comprehensive narration of Lord Rama's history.

Lower Ganesh register number Sgr 01/07

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Dusky leaf monkeys at Batu Caves

Everyone who has visited Batu Caves in Malaysia knows about the long tailed macaques. These opportunist monkeys are always around, hoping to be fed by visitors. If not fed, they will probably snatch offerings from devotees, or snatch items from visitors in the hope it is edible.

A much nicer and less aggressive species of monkey lives on Batu Caves hill, but is not often seen. This is the dusky leaf monkey, also known as the spectacled langur, or spectacled leaf monkey. This primate is in the genus Trachypithecus .

These langurs are often called leaf monkeys as leaves form the bulk of their diet.

I don't often see it at Batu Caves. It is found in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, in a wide range of habitats. It is called lutut in Thailand.

This photo was taken in the Penang botanic gardens

The monkey is name 'spectacled' due to the bold white uninterrupted rings around the eyes. It also has a white patch over the mouth, which sometimes appears like a horizontal bar or moustache.

Also in Penang gardens

This photo is from Batu Caves in 2002

And in Nov 2011 I saw a small troop of monkeys above the shop at the entrance of Cathedral Cave

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Hanuman statue, Batu Caves

The main deity at Batu Caves is Lord Murugan.

One of the ground level caves, Ramayana Cave, celebrates Lord Rama.
Ramayana Cave is on the extreme left of the temple complex, close to the entrance to the train station. It is known to cavers as Lower Ganesh Cave and connects to Upper Ganesh and is part of the Ganesh Cave system.

Outside the cave is a 15 m tall statue of Hanuman, the noble monkey devotee and aide of Lord Rama. The statue stands at the back of a small temple.

The statue of Hanuman in March 2004

On a visit in June 2010 I saw the statue had been painted green.

Aug 2010, the temple

In Nov 2011 I found there is a new temple behind Hanuman and before the cave.

It was consecrated on 27 Nov

Temple pillar

Over the following years the Ramayana Cave has been open and closed. In Nov 2011 it looked closed again.

Ramayana Cave register number Sgr 01/09.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission