Thailand beyond solo backpacking: Kuala Lumpur

The Sri Mahamariamman Hindu temple along Jalan Tun H.S.Lee across the street from Kuan Ti Temple.
Visitors and tourists are allowed to enter,no entry fees needed.No donations required.
Built during the late 20th century,the temple's architectural structure was imported from South India.

The dramatic 22.9m (75ft) high pyramid-shaped gate tower is decorated with depictions of Hindu gods sculpted by artisans from southern India.

The design is very standardised similar to those found at Yishun Avenue in Singapore,Kon Zat Dan Street in Yangon and Silom Road,Bangkok Thailand. This impressive gateway into the temple is called gopuram.

There is a silver made chariot kept in this temple which is specially used during Hindu festival ,Thaipusam which normally falls in May/June every year.
During this festival,Hindus all over the country will congregate at this temple and a grand procession with kavadi dance performed by the devotees as a dedication to Lord Murugan, the Tamil God of War.

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads bald and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route right in the wee hours till Batu Cave which is about 13 km from Kuala Lumpur city.

Tourists can have a very good chance of witnessing this spectacular event and join the very extremely huge crowd of devotees walking up the 272 steps at Batu Cave where the statue Lord Murugan is located.

Getting to Batu Caves:
Batu Caves is 13 km from Kuala Lumpur City. The easiest way to reach Batu Caves is by Komuter train from KL Sentral station. It costs RM 2 for one way journey. You can also take a taxi, which would cost 20-25 RM from KL Sentral (insist for meter ride).
You can also reach Batu Caves by bus 11/11d Buses from Bangkok Bank Terminus or Bus U6 from Titiwangsa(near Kuala Lumpr General Hospital).

The main prayer hall.This is the inner sanctum (gabagraham) where the chief deity Sri Maha Mariamman(Uma Devi), is installed.
The priest stands in front of the garbagraham when performing the puja (prayers).

Hinduism is a very rich and complex religion.

The puja altar.

The eight female figures adorning the pillars inside the temple are of Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth).

The one with the yellow dookmalai round the neck is God Ganesha.
He is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu icon.

His image is found throughout India and Nepal.

The Erawan Shrine with God Ganesha in Paknam Municipality near Bangkok in Thailand is also being worshipped by the Buddhist.

Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations.
Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India. Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.

Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles.

Beside Ganesha god is Lord Vishnu who is the Supreme God in the tradition of Hinduism.
Vishnu is the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of—and beyond—the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within.
Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called 'Preserver of the universe'.

KRISHNA: One of the most popular Hindu Gods, a dashing, daring blue-skinned hero who drove women wild and demons into despair.

INDRA: Deva leader and Supreme Ruler of the Vedic Gods. He's in charge of War, Storms and Fighting, and also invented the curious practice of drinking water.

SHIVA: The Destroyer. He is Lord of the Cosmic Dance. Around the outside of temple walls at also indian gods in glass casings.

Laxmi sitting position imparts a divine and prcision looks to the ambiance. The lotus sitting position is a cross-legged sitting posture originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs.
It is an established posture, commonly used for meditation, in the Hindu Yoga and Buddhist contemplative traditions.
The position is said to resemble a lotus, to encourage breathing proper to associated meditative practice, and to foster physical stability. Famous depictions of the lotus position include Shiva, the meditating ascetic god of Hinduism, and Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

The Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one god; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed.
It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more.

Indian fortune teller. There are instances where a small parrot bird is being used to pick a number from some playcards.From the number the fortune teller will start forecasting your fortune and your inner-self.

A small fee is required.
The Chinese people here also approach the Indian fortune teller foe consultation.

"Xin Sze Si Ya Gong" Chinese temple is less than 300 metres after the junction from Thailand's premier bank,the Bangkok Bank Berhad Malaysia's branch office near the Central Market.

Most people will just bypass this temple as you won't notice it from the main road.At times cars parking within the temples compound might block your attention.

The main signboard which was crafted out of cement depicted a Chinese dragon.while another crafted signboard is the picture of a pair of phoenix(ferng huang).

The phoenix of Chinese legend is a symbol of heaven’s favor, virtue and grace, luck and happiness.
The male phoenix is named "ferng" and is the yang, solar, fire bird, but as the female "huang" it is feminine, yin, and lunar.
The feminine aspect denotes beauty, delicacy of feeling, and peace.
The Feng and the Huang together symbolize everlasting love, and as a bridal symbol signifies "inseparable fellowship."
The Feng symbolizes a duality, the yin-yang, mutual interdependence in the universe.

The temple is average in size lodge in between high rise building and old shoplots.
The temple was built from construction materials and design architecture mostly brought from China during the olden days.

Colorful lanterns, flowers and red banners with auspicious couplets were blended to the temple's settings.
The main altar with the deity whose name is similar to that of the temple.

Red dominates as the choice of colour as it suggests prosperity and joy.
The presence of dragons, phoenixes, tortoises and lions is also significant as such animals represent strength, justice and power.
Decorative embroidery red banners are mostly stitched and imported from China.

Devotees will be praying for “longevity, prosperity and fortune” amidst white, spiralling smoke from joss sticks and smouldering fragrant incense.
Those small plastic containers are fragrant oil for oil lamps.

Candles are a traditional part of Buddhist ritual observances.
The light of the candles is described as representing the light of the Buddha's teachings, echoing the metaphor of light used in various Buddhist scriptures.

Worshippers seeking history and legends will appreciate the ambience and setting of Sin Sze Si Ya Temple at Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur.

The God of Warrior is standing beside the yellow robe deity.

Xin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya pair of deities.

Ancient time Chinese weapon armoury.
The oldest military weapon in China, the spear was originally developed as a horse soldier's weapon.

"Hua Guong Da Di" is the deity for artistes and craftsmen.

The chinese worship various types of gods.Among the top 10 gods are:

1st : MONKEY

2nd : GUAN-YU

3rd : JADE-EMPEROR

4th : YEN-LO-WANG

5th : GUAN-YIN

6th : EIGHT-IMMORTALS

7th : FENG-DU

8th : AO-CHIN

9th : QI-LIN

10th : AO-KUANG

Photo of temple's founders and pioneers
The olden days Chinese brought along their Manchurian costume as seen on the right photograph.
According to history it was during the Qing Dynasty (1644--1911) where the emperor ordered that "All Hans should change their clothing into the Manchurian ones, any disobedience should be executed".

Today Han Chinese are spread all over Southeast Asia.
This unassuming Chinese temple tucked between old shophouses was founded by Kapitan Yap Ah Loy in 1864 to honour Kapitan Shin Kap of Sungai Ujung (now Seremban).

According to popular belief, when Kapitan Ship Yap was killed in a battle in 1859, white blood gushed out from him.

Later, he appeared in Yap Ah Loy’s dream, advising him to seek his fortune in Kuala Lumpur.
Thereafter, when Yap Ah Loy was embroiled in the Kuala Lumpur Civil War (1870-1873), Shin Yap again gave him invaluable advice by appearing in his dreams several times.

When he emerged victorious in the war, Yap Ah Loy also installed an effigy of his general, Chong Piang, in the prayer hall.

A statue of Yap Ah Loy was also erected in the temple when he died in 1844 at the age of 44. Every year, remembrance ceremonies for Shin Kap, Chong Piang and Yap Ah Loy were held on the 15th day of the third lunar month.

A bronze statue of Kapitan Yap Ah Loy in a glass showcase.

He was the pioneer who started the development of Kuala Lumpur as a commercial and mining centre during the mid-19th century.

Yap Ah Loy was born in the Guangdong Province of southern China on the 14 March 1837.

He arrived in Lukut,near Port Dickson in the state of Selangor, in 1856 at the age of 19.
He spent his early years in the peninsula as a miner and petty trader, but in 1862 his fortunes improved when his friend Liu Ngim Kong succeeded Hiew Siew to became the second Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur, a position not only of leadership within the Chinese community but also of liaison with the Malay political system and, after British intervention in 1874, with British officials as well.

In 1879, the first British resident (government advisor) was assigned to Kuala Lumpur, and from that time the power of the Kapitan began to be undermined.

Ceremonial urn with a lion on top.

Devotees queing up to register their names and birthdate to get the joss paper offerings.
The joss papers had a different design and came in different sizes, with the biggest up to 12” x 17”.
In addition to that,devotees also burnt pieces of red paper imprinted with court official figurines in various poses of obeisance.

These pieces of joss paper, also known as guirenzhi (贵人纸) were offered to deities in the hope that they would assist the devotee to have a prosperous and blessed life.

The burned paper incense may be intended as a sacrificial offering to various deity or to serve as an aid in prayer.

Who is Tai Sui?
Tai Sui actually refers to Jupiter which is the biggest among all planets.
As the course of Jupiter aligns itself to the Earth at a particular degree each year, it is believed to influence the affected Zodiac signs that are within that scope on the yellow path.

In Chinese Taoist beliefs, the 12 Zodiac animal signs are further classified according to five elements into 60 individual categories (5 x 12 = 60) and each category is also represented by a Tai Sui of that year.

They are named after the individual Tai Sui deity who will be in charge of that current year’s matters over all other deities.

Those whose Chinese Zodiac signs clash with the Tai Sui of a particular year are advised to go through a “smoothing” session, in the hope of obtaining peace of mind and good fortune for the year.

It is also to minimise unhappiness at work and home, conflicts in relationships, and at the same time to bring in greater happiness and wealth. So as a belief,those born as seen in the drawings should go through the prayer ceremony.

Antique drum and bell.

Wooden crafted mace head.

Another antique sedan chair .
Normally the sedan chair will be used during the festival of of Xin Sze Ya where the deity will be placed inside and to be carried around the compound and onto the main street.

This Xin Sze Ya's sedan chair was dated back to year 1893.

A sedan chair with fine artwork and craftmanship.

A wooden crafted Palace of Gods hanging near the ceiling.

A woman devotee praying to Tai Sui with the joss paper with her birthdate written on it.

Back entrance via a small lane.

In terms of layout, a temple is always rectangular, and faces south in accordance with feng shui principles.

A wall usually surrounds the structure, and the gates are guarded by statues of warrior deities or mythical animals to fend off evil spirits.

In the courtyard stands a pagoda-like structure that serves as a furnace for the burning of paper offerings. Bigger temples have more than one courtyard.

There are variations in architectural elements between Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew and Hakka temples.

A saddle-shaped roof is usually Hokkien, while a straight horizontal roof is typically Cantonese.
The Hakka roof is similar to the Hokkien but has less adornment.
The Teochew roof is less steep as compared to the Hokkien counterpart.
Cantonese temples frequently favour square pillars instead of round. However, these elements have been diluted in newer temples due to cost of materials and construction.

Chinese temples with their ornate architecture and air of mysticism,make an interesting place to do a spot sight-seeing.

Xin Sze Si Ya Temple was built by Yap Ah Loy's workers.
The information board at the front entrance says "The Xin Sze Si Ya Temple was founded in 1864 by KapitanYap Ah Loy, it was dedicated to patron deities of Sin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya.
The deities has guided Kapitan Yap Ah Loy to defeat the enemies and defend Kuala Lumpur during the civil war (1870-1873).

The temple has witnessed the birth and growth of our great city Kuala Lumpur."

The burned incense may be intended as a sacrificial offering to various deity or to serve as an aid in prayer.

The inner spaces are scented with thick coiled incense, which are either hung from the ceiling or on special stands.

Worshipers at the temples light and burn sticks of incense in small or large bundles, which they wave or raise above the head while bowing to the statues or plaques of a deity or an ancestor.