Travel
A Garden Beyond A Cave
Kek Lok Tong Cave Temple
I've wanted to write about this since August. In fact, I have several things I'd like to write for fun here on Medium. But, well — life…
I don't think I've mentioned where I'm from. But I am actually from Malaysia! A country of multi-culture and multi-beliefs.
And recently, in August, I went on some mini-road trips. One of them that was especially memorable to me was Ipoh. It's the capital city of Perak, a state in Malaysia.
Ipoh was a refreshing change of pace from living in a hectic city. I didn't know how much I missed cruising down the streets of old shops and enjoying nature until I got there.
Ipoh is known for limestone hills and temples built within caves. And I had the pleasure of visiting one of them!
I wish I had more time to explore the other temples because the architecture is magnificent.
Oh well. Maybe next time.
Kek Lok Tong Cave Temple
So the temple I went to was Kek Lok Tong Cave Temple, which is the cover image of this post.
As the name implies, it's a temple in a cave.
The entrance fee is free! But feel free to leave a little donation (any amount will do) to aid with the maintenance of the temple.
Kek Lok Tong is quite spacious out of the very few temples I've been to. The cave temple is on a 12-acre land and was used as a place of worship in 1920. Then, in 1960, the cave was turned into an iron mine.
The grand limestone interior put me in awe. It was absolutely stunning! I wish the photos do justice, but you have to be there to take everything in.
As I walked inside the temple, I could feel the cool breeze coming through from the other side of the cave.
And on the other end of the cave is a garden with a lake in the center, statues of Buddhists and Chinese mythical creatures, and a paddle boat lake.
There was also a troop of monkeys waiting by the lake, hoping to be fed. But feeding them is unadvisable because they'll follow you around, wanting more. No worries, they are fed regularly by the temple keepers.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of those monkeys to show you.
Random fact about me, I was attacked by a monkey named Johnny as a child…
Yeah, you can laugh. 😂
So I've kept myself as far as possible from that species ever since!
A Trip I Didn't Know I Needed
My trip to Ipoh was something I didn't know I needed. It was a breath of fresh air to see mountains and waterfalls on our way there instead of tall buildings and — oh look, taller buildings!
I plan to write about another place I visited in Ipoh. I'm not sure when that will be, but I hope to get to it as soon as possible.
What kind of places do you enjoy most to go for vacations?
