TripAdvisor's Pick of 10 Spectacular Statues

Hey, whaddaya know, the 42.7 metre (140-ft) statue of Lord Murugan made it into TripAdvisor's 10 spectacular statues around the world.

Having taken 3 years to construct, it is the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world, located at the foot of Batu Caves, a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples. 272 concrete steps will lead you up to the caves.

Strange that I always associate Batu Caves as a KL attraction but actually it is located on the outskirts of the city in the state of Selangor some 13 kilometres (8 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur.

Batu Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of the Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.

If you are a tourist and don't mind crowds, best time to visit Batu Caves is during Thaipusam where thousands throng this holy place of worship where you will get the chance to see first-hand Hindu devotees carrying kavadis or metal carriages or structures of milk for offering. Some devotees will have skewers pierced through their body or even their tongue. This is a ritual of repentance, sometimes thanks. Priests attend to the kavadi bearers. Consecrated ash is sprinkled over the hooks and skewers piercing the devotees' flesh before they are removed. No blood is shed during the piercing and removal.

But I digress, making TripAdvisor's list of 10 include

The Big Buddha also known as the Tian Tan Buddha in Lantau, Hong Kong.

As well as this bronzed statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha, also in Hong Kong.

Guan Yin at Nanshan Temple – Sanya, China

‘The Motherland Calls’ Sculpture – Volgograd, Russia

This 87m statue is the tallest non-religious statue of a woman in the world.


The Kelpies at The Helix – Falkirk, Scotland

The Kelpies are 30m high horse-head sculptures that are a tribute to the horse-powered heritage of Scotland.


Anonymus Szobor – Budapest, Hungary

This eerie statue of what looks like the Grim Reaper is supposed to be good for those who want to be better at creative writing. Word has it that you need to touch the fountain pen he is holding for that to happen.


Also making the list is Singapore's 37m Sentosa Merlion at Sentosa Island - not to be confused with the original statue found in the centre of Singapore.

You can view the others here at TripAdvisor’s 10 spectacular statues on Star2.com


Source: Star2.com