The more they suffer, the more devout they are

This festival, which looks painful just by watching, is the moment they connect with the divine. After hesitating about whether to go to Malaysia during my trip planning, I found out that Thaipusam was happening just then. Looking at the photos, oh my goodness, I decided right away: I'm going! 🌟 Thaipusam A Hindu festival celebrated by the Tamil people, it's now less common in India itself but still a major annual event in Malaysia. Devotees start abstaining from indulgences and eating vegetarian a month in advance, and on the day they trek a long distance in an almost 'self-torturous' way to repent and atone for sins. 🚶‍♀️ Route Starting from an Indian temple in the city center, they walk barefoot to the Batu Caves, over ten kilometers away. They set off in the early morning carrying the heavy 'kavadi' and aim to arrive by noon. As a tourist, you don't have to walk along; you can take the subway directly to the Batu Caves in the morning and wait at the destination. 🎭 Connecting with the Divine Upon reaching the Batu Caves, you find a crowd of pilgrims gathered at the entrance. Despite expectations, the various extreme forms of devotion are still shocking. Piercing tongues and cheeks with silver needles, hooking backs with iron hooks, the most devout carry the kavadi weighing tens of kilograms in full regalia. Having fasted for 24 hours and after a night's trek, their physical and mental strength is at its limit, and at this point, they are mostly in a trance or even a frenzied state. Thus, a person who was quiet just a moment ago suddenly shouts and transforms! Eyes bulging, tongue sticking out, hands and waist bending like a peacock; one guy suddenly grabs a passerby and seems to transmit energy head to head?! After it's over, the passerby has to express gratitude. Maybe at this moment, they have connected with the divine! 🎉 Closing Ceremony At the cave entrance, the final ceremony begins with rapid drumbeats: spinning and jumping with eyes closed. Those who complete the ceremony will play with fire and smear their faces with lime in a frenzy for a while, finally settling down at last. What a magical world indeed. ⛰️ Batu Caves After completing the long journey and climbing up 300 steps to enter the cave, the final redemption is done. Devotees carry milk on their heads, offering it to the temple and the deities. Priests scoop up the milk in buckets and pour it over the bright red statues of the deities inside the shrine. At this point, the entire ceremony is complete. It's unknown whether the people are satisfied, in a trance, or just exhausted, but they must feel solidly happy. 💃 Indian Girls After exiting the cave, the focus turns to photographing Indian girls. The Indian descendants in Malaysia are mostly of Tamil ethnicity, with dark skin and thick lips. A red dot in the middle of the forehead and a veil covering the face. In this half-day experience, the devotees seem to enter a parallel world: here, gods exist, humans can communicate with gods, and the goal is to show repentance and redemption to the divine. The more self-torture, the more sincere the devotion. These are the rules here, which may seem incredible to tourists, but are accepted and believed by the locals, even achieving a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. And in different places around the world, with different customs, religions, and cultures, people live different and even completely opposite lives. This is the life imposed from the outside, but perhaps it is also a lifestyle we can choose. The world is so colorful, and our lives are thus filled with infinite possibilities. I am King Lele, sharing about niche small towns, ancient buildings, local customs, and travel tips. Every small town has its highlights.