This is my biggest and most personal post yet in my blog. Hahah! Not trying to write an epic here but just to document my journey as detail as possible. I have to break them up in several smaller posts for easy perusal.
Each year, I would do something or go to the places that I have never done or go before. Something crazy. Something out of the ordinary. Something that challenges me. This happened to be IT, this year – The KL-Maran Marathon 2009.
The walk was basically an annual Hindu pilgrimage, a 204km walk from Batu Caves to Sri Marathandavar Temple, Maran to pay homage to Lord Murugan in the Panguni Uthiram festival. En route, we visited a few smaller lesser known Hindu temples for rest, food and shelter.
Panguni Uthiram festival is observed by the Hindu devotees over a 10 days period in March-April every year. It is not as grand as Thaipusam at Batu Caves, another grand festival for Lord Murugan but it is not less fascinating.
The journey was even though was long and arduous; it was a humbling yet enriching experience for me. I met new friends. L learned new things. Enjoyed the richness of Indian culture without having to go to India.
Saw things with my very own eyes which otherwise I could only see on TV. Only in Malaysia! Malaysia BOLEH! Heheh!
First and foremost – Julie Wong for introducing this walk of faith to me. Thank you for the well written do and don’ts list for the walk. It saved lives! Thanks to Amelia and Wai Mun for walking the long journey with me.
Organisers and sponsors – Tamil Nesan, various temple committees, Sports Toto, Milo and also the villagers along the way to provided food and refreshments! Thank you for your generosity and hospitality.
Volunteers – RELA, Police Force, St. John Ambulance, Medical officers who look after our welfare during the walk. Couldn’t have done it without you guys! Thanks!
To me fellow Indian friends. Too many to name here but you know who you are. Thank you for accepting us with open arms. Thank you for allowing me to eat, bathe, sleep and walk with you guys. Thank you for taking the time to explain the rituals and “silly” questions from me. Thank you for the encouragements to complete the walk. Thank you for your friendship!
A special thank to Uncle Shunmugan for being my pacer..LOL! This 80 years old man can sure walk. I had to catch up most of the time. Also, thank you for allowing me to photograph the prayer ceremony and be part of the milk carrying procession.
NANDRI!!! (Thank You in Tamil)
Disclaimer:
I am not an expert in Hindu culture and I am not a Hindu for that matter. The information and views on post is based on my own personal experiences and also from varying sources like the internet, the people I met etc with varying levels of accuracy. Please inform me if you find anything that is inaccurate, incomplete and in error.
I also would like to apologize if I ever unintentionally offended anyone with my jokes in the post. This is not an educational piece. It is a personal observation and I do add liberal doses of “spices and sauces” or jokes to this one as my other blog posts.
Pictures and video clips are all taken by me (except some were from Amelia). Should you want to use it in your blogs, please ensure I am credited and provide a link back to my blog. Thank you.
So you have walked 200km? What is another 4km, right?
It could be the longest 4 km I have ever walked!
Not only walk, we had to carry palkudam (milk pot) filled to the brim with milk. It was covered with a piece of yellow cloth. The palkudam is an offering to Lord Murugan.
We had to ditch our shoes. No footwear allowed! So, it was another test on the already blistered and battered soles of us.
Despite all that, it was the final moment everybody was looking forward to. We endured 3 days of ultra distance walking for this. We changed our diet to vegetarian. We blistered. We burned. We also seriously needed a bath!!! Heheh!
Conveniently, there was a river located at our stop. :)
So, everyone jumped and dipped their heads in the milk-tea-coloured river. Weee....
After cleansing ourselves, we changed into another set of clothes. Most of the devotees worn yellow, an auspicious colour. I didn't know about this so, I was stuck with my white Sport ToTo T-shirt. :)
Then, we got our forehead "decorated" (I can't find another word for this..can't use "make-up"...Heheh!) with holy ash and red dots by the priests.
There was a prayer session led by Uncle Shunmugan. Everyone prayed and chanted "Vel! vel!"
Hey...What's the firecracker doing there?
Very Chinese, eh? No, I should say - very "muhibbah" instead. Isn't amazing how each other's culture is assimilated in our lives? 1Malaysia, anyone? ;)
A string of firecrackers was let off prior to the procession. Yup! The palkudam procession was literally set off with a BANG!
Everyone was walking slowly, carrying palkudam on their heads, shoulders or hands while chanting, Vel! Vel! Vetri Vel!
For those uninitiated, The Vel (Tamil: வேல்) is the divine javelin/spear of the Hindu deity Murugan.
Me? I was quite ambitious actually. I was carrying a milk pot with my left hand and my brick for a camera on my right! I don't wanna miss a moment of this walk! Moreover, Uncle Shunmugan already gave me the green light to be the unofficial photographer for the whole procession!
My balancing skill was put to the test for this. On one hand I had to keep the milk from spilling (cause it's no use crying over spilt milk, you know. Heheh!), and on the camera hand, I had to keep hand really steady for sharp images.
I almost forgot to mention at the same time I had to look out for traffic on that narrow road and tried my best not to step on other people's toes too! Remember, everyone was all barefooted! Phew!
I walked back and forth of the line to catch the actions. My strategy was machine gun shooting! Just shoot! Anyway, I couldn't use my manual zoom as my hands were full...I am glad the photos turned out alright. :D
Aren't these two a lovely couple? They met while doing this walk few years back and love blossomed. Now, they are engaged to get married. (Insert awwwwwww...how sweet here!)
I saw some devotees pierced their cheeks/ tongues with tiny vels.
It is quite common to see devotees go into trance I was told. Indeed. I saw two devotees went into trance right in front of my own eyes! It was exciting yet intriguing!
There was a man who walked in a peculiar way. He was bobbing his head up and down with a pot of milk on top of his head. The amazing thing is – no spillage of milk from his action! See if you can spot him in the video later. :D
And a dancer who hissed like a snake as she swirl and twirl around the line of devotees! I didn't have her picture here but I caught a glimpse of her in my video. I couldn’t get close enough for a good picture. I was quite scared actually...Heheh!
Anyway, these were just the tip of the ice berg.....More trance story later at Sri Marathandavar Temple.
"Vel! Vel! Vetri Vel!"
"Arogarra!"
About 1hr 15 minutes later....We arrived at the Sri Marathandavar temple. I was in awe with the sheer size and beauty of it!
We were received by two men, one was playing the drum and the other some soft of clarinet(?) Sorry, I don't know the name of the Indian instrument.
We had to circle the temple three times, clockwise.
During the first circle, a sami was kind enough to hold my milk pot so that I could go around snapping photos. He was carrying two milk pots - his own on the head and mine on his shoulder! Thank you so much, sami!
See the tree above the temple? It is not behind the temple. The temple is actually built around the tree. I will tell you more about the temple in my later post.
I retrieved my milk pot back from the sami after the first round. After that I put away my camera as I have already got the shot that I wanted.
The temple surrounding was super busy! Lot of noise. Lots of people. Very festive like.
We couldn't enter the temple immediately after we have circled the temple three times. There was a massive line at the entrance. So, we had to wait for our turn.
My neck felt like snapping and my head was like going to burst. The milk pot seemed to be getting heavier by the minute!
Inside the temple, loud drums were playing. People were singings and clapping. I was amazed with the interior of the beautiful temple. It was like glowing in gold! Too bad photography is not allowed inside. So, you just have to take my words for it. Heheh!
I passed my milk pot to the priest and in return I was given a half coconut, containing a packet of holy ash and red dye, a banana and some flowers. The milk was poured over the Murugan shrine inside the temple.
Then, we were ushered out from the temple. Outside there were still thousands of people waiting to go inside the temple! What a crowd!
Check out the video of the palkudam procession! It took great effort to shoot this, with one hand holding the milk pot and the other a camera that weighed almost a kg! So pardon the shakiness of certain scenes!
CLICK PLAY!
That was the end of our journey from Batu Caves to Maran but not the end of our Walk-umentary. There is so much more to share. Please come back for updates!
We have been informed by Julie (in a very detail email) on the do and don’ts, what to bring and other useful tips as early as February. So, we get plenty of time to plan and pack.
I stuffed those essential things (cameras, phone, umbrella, raincoat, wallet, chargers) in my back pack and the rest (clothing, extra pair of shoes, slipper, and toiletries) into a duffle bag. Everything was wrapped in plastics. I was all prepared for all conditions. Julie told us to get prepared for blazing hot weather and heavy downpour on the same day.
The walk seemed like a well kept secret in the Indian community. It has been around since 32years ago! There is hardly any information on the walk in the Internet. I do not have much info on how it started and who were in the first walk. It would be interesting to find out…Maybe I will dig more info next year. LOL!
We gathered at Batu Caves around 11:00pm on Saturday night (4 April). Julie had registered and collected T-shirts There was launch and prayer ceremony earlier in the afternoon.
We had supper at around 1am - Fried beehoon, bread, vade (yummy!) with teh tarik.
The night was hot and humid. No wind. Jue, Wai Mun and Amelia were sharing spooky ghost stories while waiting for the walk to start. Yikes! Not at this time at the night! Heheh!
I do not have an official participants figure for this walk, but I guess it was around 300 walkers. There were a few children as well. Generally children were prohibited unless they were accompanied by and adult next of kin.
A simple prayer ceremony or pooja was conducted after the briefing to the participants. Then, we were all set off to the walk of our lives! The mother of all walks in Malaysia! (Insert squeal of excitement here!)
This is the Midnight Express. A van that played Murugan devotional songs (in high decible) and kept the spirit high with its bright siren lights. It was basically a disco on wheels! Hahah! You could hear and see it from miles away! Love it!
I walked slowly within the group while recording some video clips. The ladies had already walked far ahead. Anyway, this was not a race!
The road led us to the KL-Karak Highway. It was pitch dark with the occasional lights from the passing vehicles. So, torchlight is a must item to bring.
Anyone care for lemang? LOL!
I was walking alone before I strike up a conversation with Sathiya. He was a regular in this walk. I remember his advice not to wear underwear for the walk. Let it all hang loose to avoid chafing! Hmmmm....
So I asked him if Dhoti (long Indian loincloth) a better choice of wear? He said it depends on how you tie it. It might just drop off if you didn't tie it correctly! OK, I'll stick to my sportwear then. LOL!
I also met Ayya who kept us entertained with his classical Indian songs.
Time passed fast. Soon it was daybreak.
I hated the stretch before the Genting Sempah Tunnel. The highway was built over ravines and snaked over the Banjaran Titiwangsa. I usually enjoy the scene here when I travel this route via bus, on my way back to my hometown on the East Coast. But on foot, it was a nerve-wrecking experience.
The fear of getting knockdown by the speeding cars had intensified with every step I took. The trailer-car crash scenes from Final Destination movie was playing repeatedly on my mind like a bad Astro commercial.
It didn’t help when the whole highway ramp vibrated and shook each time a heavy vehicle passed by. Luckily I didn’t pee in my pants! LOL! I kept going. My consolation - if I die there, my insurance compensation was going to be double since it was a public area.
I am not happy with litter-bug problem among the walkers. From my observations, most of them tend to throw rubbish conveniently into the drain, into the bushes and on the road itself. The organizer also didn’t provide proper rubbish disposal.
I walked miles with an empty mineral bottle because I refuse to litter around. When I arrived to the next refreshment stop, I passed the bottle to one of the volunteers for disposal. My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I saw she casually took the empty bottle from my hand and flung it into the monsoon drain.
So, from then on, I carried all my rubbish with me until I see a garbage bin in the town area. Come on people! Love the Earth. Keep Malaysia clean!
Warning sign on the digital display board. "Beware of KL/ Maran Walkers".
I grabbed some Milo and cream crackers at the rest area before the Genting Sempah Tunnel before continuing my journey.
After the Genting Sempah Tunnel, the highway was wider and not as many ramps as before. But the route was still undulating. Ups and downs! Check out how tiny the people were along the highway.
The heat of the sun began to bother me. So I quickly reapply my sun block. My backpack became heavier and heavier. My shoulders and legs hurt.
Medical problems were attended to promptly by the St. John Ambulance plying the route. (Insert thumbs up here!)
There were not many shady areas along the highway. It was all concrete and tar. Some managed to find a tiny shady spot to catch a nap. :)
We spotted an accident along the highway. Freak accident - a trailer carrying iron bars went into a ditch along the highway.
Thank God no walkers were harmed. I think the accident must have happened before any of us reached that place. Otherwise...many double insurance payouts would have to be done! Hmmm....where does all these mordid thoughts come from? (Insert Final Destination crash scene playback here! LOL!)
I reached Hutan Lipur Lentang at around 12:30pm. Hutan Lipur Lentang is a recreational area popular among the locals for picnic and its cascading waterfalls.
The ladies were already at the rest stop.
Lunch was served - vegetarian curry rice. I wolfed down the rice using my fingers - the Indian way of eating! So hungry!
I was tempted to soak my feet into the waterfall but I was too lazy to take off my shoes. LOL! After a short rest, I continued the journey with Julie, Amelia and Wai Mun.
The heat from the sun was unforgiving, coupled with the heat that rose from the tar road. It was hot hot hot. The last time I experience this was in the Ocean to Ocean Run a couple of years ago. But that time, we only spent like 1 hour under the sun since it was a relay of 8 persons.
I used a face towel; draped it over my head before I put a cap on. At least it shielded my cheeks from the sun. Step by step I plodded on...
These must be Ayya's shoes. I saw these on the grass next to the highway. He tried taping his "opened-up" shoes with duct tapes. I guess it didn't work. :(
I was trailing Uncle Shumugan right up to the Karak Toll. It was easy to identify him because he sported a ponytail. :)
Not too long after we passed the toll, raindrop started to fall. The sky was still sunny, mind you.
Smaller drop became huge one as if we were machined gunned by the clouds. In no time, I took out my umbrella and wrapped my camera in plastic bags. Must protect my baby first. Then I looked for shelter…which was obviously none since we just passed the highway and not reached the town area yet! So, I wore my back pack in front of me and walked in the rain.
Pungent acidic smell began to rise as rain water came in contact with the hot tarmac surface of the road. It was simply awful.
Later, I found shelter at an overhead bridge. Soon came the rescue truck! Yay! I decided to hop into the truck with a bunch of others walkers.
The truck took us straight to our next stop – the Sri Balasubramaniar Temple in Karak.
Julie was already at the temple when I arrived. Amelia and Wai Mun was walking. They insisted to walk in the rain! Mighty persistent women, eh?
Uncle Shunmugan pointed a place for me to sleep in the temple. It was behind some kind of platform, behind a stage made of plywood. I placed my mat and sleeping bag there. I have a little bit more privacy compared to the rest where they have to sleep in the open on the temple floor. Suddenly I missed home. LOL!
A place to sleep had been found, it was time to clean myself. I was stinky, sweaty and sticky from the all day walk. The temple bathrooms could hardly cater for all 300 of us! So how?
Take bath in the public! LOL! It was a culture shock for me. I admit that was the first time I bath in public like that.
I took off my t-shirt and joined the rest of the guys at the water tank. The tank was located next to the temple and was barely shielded from the public eyes with a piece of cloth hung on a wire.
We took turn scooping water from the tank while others were soaping themselves. It was quick but refreshing!
According to the regular walkers, Day 1 was the toughest. The course was mainly on highway – lack of shades and place to rest. The course was also hilly.
Amelia and Wai Mun finally arrived at the temple. Congrats! They walked 100% of the journey on the first day!
Medical check-ups were provided free of charge by the local health authority. I asked for some painkillers from the doctor. They gave me paracetamol.
Dinner was served around 8:00pm after pooja. Simple but delicious vegetarian food. Rice, curry and papadom on banana leaf! Hmmmmm..I could hear my tummy growling now as I type. LOL!
After dinner some of the walkers sang praises to Lord Murugan in the temple. The songs were very catchy. My..My..They still have lots of energy after a long day of walking, eh?
Me?...I just wanna curl up in a fetal position and sleep! LOL!
Lights off at 9:30pm.
Here's a video summary of Day 1. Enjoy!
Day 2 post coming soon! The day of blistering heat and blisters.
I woke up around 2:00am. I slept Ok despite the fact that the temple was located right next to the KL-Karak highway. So you can imagine the traffic noise from the heavy vehicles. Here zoom there zoom everywhere zoom zoom!
Finding an empty toilet could be a problem. Usually the queue was long. Thank God 300 people didn’t have to go at the same time; otherwise the sewage system would explode. I did my morning business near at the toilet in a petrol station behind the temple. Less people. Less suffocation! Heheh!
Supper was simple – crackers and very dilute coffee and tea. I ate a little just to prevent walking on an empty stomach.
After a briefing, we started the walk at 4am. While the rest of Karak population were in dreamland, we braved the chilly morning and chanted, “ Vel! Vel” as we moved East towards Maran.
Just like the day before, we had to walk in the darkness. The road was narrower as we had already left the KL-KARAK highway. So, we had to rely on our torch lights.
At 6:30am, I reached the breakfast station. I had no idea where that was. It was dark. Hot putu mayam (stringhopper) was served with dhal curry! Instant energy! Yummy!
I didn't rest long there as I knew I still had a long day ahead of me.
The morning was misty. The walk was quite enjoyable actually. What a beautiful morning. Misty mountain ranges in the distance. Rustic but serene villages along the way. Seemed like a road heading towrds home.
In fact it was - if I were to walk along this road till the end, I would reach my hometown, Pekan. (Insert John Denver's Country Road here).
The road was flatter compared to yesterday's stretch, but it was still undulating.
Chatted with Mr. Naga, a regular from Johor Bahru. He brought a whole "troupe" from JB including his son.
Refreshment stop. Time for some home made ginger tea. The tea was sponsored and prepared by an old lady in the picture below. The tea was sweet but I think her gesture was even sweeter.
I feel very blessed throughout the journey. We were showered with generosity and kindness from total strangers.
About 9:30am, I reached a hall in Lanchang were the second breakfast was served - fried bee hoon. I rested for a while and reapplied my sun block. The sun was beginning to get hot.
Still a long way to go still.....my feet already aching. My skin was burning. My shoulders were hurting. My camera felt like a brick in my hand. I could feel blisters were developing. My count - three blisters. One on my left sole, two on my right toes.
But I kept walking under the blistering hot sun.
12:30pm. I caught up with Julie, resting at the refreshment station serving watermelon. Ice cold watermelon! I gobbled up a few pieces.
I decided to perform a minor "operation" to my foot. Got myself a safety pin from Julie and burst the blister on my left sole. Drained the liquid out and slapped a plaster on it. Felt much better.
We were way behind time for lunch at the next stop. So, we were "cordially invited" up onto the truck. Heheh!
Hahah! Wai Mun also "kena sapu" (being swept) by the truck!
Amelia? She was a real trooper. She was already at the temple when we arrived in the truck.
This is the Sri Maha Subramaniar Temple in Mentakab.
Yay! Lunch! Banana leaf rice.
Seemed like everybody got some sort of foot problems. All of us got blisters. We were lucky that at each major stop, we would get some medical officers to help us.
After lunch, I got the rest of my blisters drained out. This time, no safety pin involded...:) See the video. Heheh!
We left the Sri Maha Subramaniar Temple around 2:30pm, after some sort of token of appreciations presentation to some VIPs.
The sun? Hot! Hot! Hot!
The road? Hot! Hot! Hot too!. I could feel the heat rising from the tarmac.
Somehow, there were people who walked barefooted on the hot tar road! I must find out their secrets! Heheh!
That was Julie, being interviewed by a reporter from China Press.
Yours truly also got interviewed. I was told the article was published in China Press but I didn't managed to get a copy because I didn't know when it was published. Oh well!
I was "ambushed" by the following woman at the next refreshment stop! She was throwing some yellow water (I think it was tumeric) at the guests! I ran for cover and thank God it didn't splash on my camera! For blessing, she said. :)
At that refreshment station, I was introduced to a special drink Moru which I will talk about it in the food section later. :)
The next stop was another temple which was under going heavy renovation - the Sri Mariamman Temple, Mentakab.
Tea was served. I must say that the food here was DELICIOUS!!!! :D Thank you to all the volunteers!
After tea, four of us decided that our feet couldn't carry ourselves further. We still have around 18km before the next destination. We hopped into the St. John Ambulance shamelessly. LOL!
The last stop of the day was Sri Subramaniar Temple in Temerloh. A tiny temple in the middle of a palm oil plantation.
Bathing time! Splash! Splash!
Yup! This was how we bathed, at least for the guys. Heheh! Out in the open....
Suddenly it rained very heavily. We told ourselves that we were lucky that we took a ride in the ambulance otherwise we would have been caught in the heavy rain.
I was quite amazed with this little temple. Check out the snake shrine! :)
I didn't have much time to explore around the temple as it was already dark.
The small temple hall could hardly accommodate all of us. The organiser decided to send fourty people back to the Sri Mariamman Temple in Mentakab where we had tea just now for the night. Four of us agreed to go.
After dinner, we packed our stuff and hopped into the truck.
What a ride! We were pacled like sardine behind the truck. I could hardly see my own hands as it was so dark. Luckily no roaming hands! Heheh!
We arrived at the destination safely aound 10:30pm. The sleeping place was much cleaner and spacious. Time for zzzzzzz......
