Turtle or Tortoise?

All of us have heard the story of the Rabbit and the Tortoise a number of times over our growing years. And as we grew old, there came Turtles. Turtles? Aren't they the same as the Tortoise? Or just the plural of Tortoise? Or a new species?

Long long back, the Chordates Phylum - animals having vertebrates or backbone, evolved and formed the Reptiles Class, who in turn evolved into Testudines Order. Both the Tortoise and the Turtles belong to the Testudines Order in the Animal Kingdom with 300 known species dating back to 250 million years ago - much older than evolution of lizards and snakes in the reptile family. So how do tortoise and turtle differ then?

In general, the Turtles are water dwelling - Marine Turtles whose primary habitat is the sea or ocean, and Aquatic Turtles whose habitat is fresh water bodies - river, lakes, ponds, etc. Then there are land dwelling testudines - the Tortoise. There's a third category called Terrapins, which are found in Brackish water. Turtles are also classified on the way they retract their necks - Cryptodira: those who draw their necks in under the spine, and Pleurodira: those who contract their necks to the side.

As all other reptiles, they are cold-blooded (ectotherms), they breath air and do not lay eggs under water. They come in all sizes - largest ones grow up to 6.6 feet in length with more than 900kg of weight, to smallest ones measuring 8cm in length weighing 140gms. Turtles and Tortoises are believed to have very large lifespans ranging from typical 50 - 60 years up to 150 years. There have been records and claims for longer lifespans too ranging up to 250 years. They have a color vision and are though to have excellent night vision too. They have rigid beaks with knife-sharp or serrated-edged ridges to cut and chew food. The tortoise have short sturdy feet to walk on land, amphibious turtles have webbed feet with claws, while sea turtles have flippers to help them move in the water. Turtles actually fly in the water - they use the front flippers like birds to generate the lift and the thrust, the rear flipper are used as pitch, yaw and roll. :)

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrapin

Bali, Day +7

Woke up with a deep sigh, actually we never slept. Still making list of things we wanted to do, places we want to visit, and those which we want to visit again, and finally convincing ourselves that we would definitely visit again. There's always a next time. Despite all odds, visiting Singapore again lures us out of the bed. Getting ready was short and quick, grabbed a quick bite at the breakfast and we were waving goodbyes to Aston Bali from our cabs on the way to the airport. Going through airport check took a while - only a few immigration counters are manned - and there's a airport fee of IDR150k per person (better to bring cash with you) - and picking up a souvenir to cash in on the remaining IDRs.

Make attempts to get a window seat on the north side with a clear glass as the take off leads you to the amazing scenic views of the Bali island - couple of volcano craters look fabulous from top - and you can also see two lakes high up in the mountains (I can't actually locate them on Google Maps). A quick in-flight snack and we caught up on the lost sleep. The flight from Bali to Singapore is a short one and soon we were gazing at the beautiful islands and the landscaping, and numerous vessels in the sea, just before landing at Changi. Passing through the airport formalities was a breeze, and we headed to Ikea on the Tampines road. Ikea is one of her favorite destinations wherever she goes; it's always on the must visit list. Walking through the huge store was an adventure in itself - you can practically find everything you need for a house under one roof. Picked up a couple of things, pack them tight in our rucksack-cum-cabin-baggage; went to the Courts right across the street for a quick lunch. Back to Ikea to catch a taxi to the airport.

Back at the Airport, caught up with the rest who had been to Mustafa. Went around the Changi Airport, checked out various shops - most of them with overpriced stuff; Do people really shop here? Fortunately, the drinks were quite cheap; they picked up a couple of bottles; Starbucks coffee, a bit of waiting for our flight back home, boarding and we are flying home now. Though being nastiest of the cities, being back in Bangalore does feel nice. Our gold fish, fighter, plants and Monu-Jumbo were as eager to see us as we were to see them.

Bali, Day +6

Yipeey! Its the Sports day! The time was fixed for 10am - an excellent opportunity to snore for a while more in the bed. Woke up lazily, had a light breakfast and waited for Ketut to come. He had arranged to take us to a contact of his who runs the local adventure sports on the Tanjung Benoa beach. In a few minutes he arrived with his cab, as enthusiastic and eager to take us to the sports site as we were to reach there and get into snorkeling and para-sailing. It took as around 15 minutes to reach there from our hotel. The beach was less of a beach, more of a mini harbor, with as many boats tied to it as there were those racing out in the sea. The place was lively with lots of people enjoying different activities - para-sailing, jet skiing, flying fish, banana boat ride, etc. Lots of people were wearing the diving gear which took our enthusiasm to the next level in anticipation of the snorkeling that we had planned. The tide was high and it was a good time to start our adventures.

After a short discussion with the adventure club representative - Uede - we learnt that the waters had become a little turbid compared to few days earlier. And it may not be very good idea to go in for snorkeling or the glass-bottom boat considering the not-so-good visibility of the sea bed at 6m to 9m. So what do we do now? Simple, suggested Uede - go for the scuba diving! Diving? We hardly know how to float in swimming pool water, and diving? What about the sharks? Piranhas? Crabs and all of those creatures? Well, not here, not in this part of the sea. The the Master Diver with us is over 25 years experienced, and will ensure our safety in all aspects. And we remembered - "Risk to Spiderman ko bhi lena padta hai, hum to sirf software engineers hain." And we were game for the dive. The Master quickly made us aware of the under-water sign language, breathing techniques and few tips; we put on our diving gear and were off in the boat towards the vast sea. I think we were quite away from the coast, there was no land around in any direction. The Master picked up a spot and dropped the anchor. Next we had our weight belts on, and I was the first to jump in. It looked pretty easy at start, but once you are in the middle of the sea in the water, waves splashing you against the boat, only your head above the water, and the water itself tasting salty, breathing is difficult indeed. Its the first time in your life you release that breathing which we take for granted, no not for granted any more. All of your life you have practiced and learnt to breath from your nose, involuntary, and now you have to change that in a minute - you have to learn and adapt to breathing from your mouth. Its not easy to start with - take a few long breaths under water and suddenly you realize the the air is not enough, and you try breathing little harder, and the face mask sticks to your nose, you cant breath any longer, you panic and wooh! There goes the breathing regulator out from your mouth and the salty water literally shakes you up inside out! I need a break. And climbed back on to the boat. Haah, I am safe now, for the time being.

We had limited time on our diving trip, and she was next. It took only 5 minutes at max for her to get used to the all the stuff that I tried for 10 mins, and before I could realize, she disappeared with the master in the water. I waited, and waited, and waited a bit more, it was 5 mins and she had not surfaced. Another 2 minutes, and she surfaced for couple of minutes to tell me how beautiful and calm it was under the sea, and went back in. I was amazed at the speed she adapted to the water, and ready to go at it again for the second time. Well, that definitely pepped me up. I went in after she came out. This time two breaths for practice and I was in with the Master. Every word she said about the world beneath the surface was so true. Its amazingly calm under the sea; all you can feel is your own heart beat, and hear the escaping bubbles your own breathing. The water was clearer than I expected, at first nothing was visible, but as I descended further I realized that I was already 6m down under. The whole world suddenly comes alive - the sea floor made of beautiful colorful corals all around you, and schools of different color and types of fish - small to large - just swimming past you as if nothing has changed. There are no words to describe the over whelming experience, you have to be in there to feel it alive. I wanted to stay there for ever, but I had a good 10 minutes under the sea. Back to the surface, back in the boat, and wished we had done diving daily for at least 4 hours for each day that we stayed in Bali. :)

Back on the shore, a quick shower with fresh water and ready for the next venture. Para-Sailing. This time, it was only her. The instructor quick got all the gear out, 5 minutes of instructions, still little hesitant but finally went up in the sky in a flick. It was a 10 minute long hovering over the sea and the coastal area, before exhibiting a precision landing at the designated spot! The joy of the flight along with the thrill of the adventure and happiness from the act was reflecting all at that very moment on her face. Wrapped up our things reluctantly at the adventure club, as we had to carry on to our next destination - the Turtle Island. It was a 10 - 12 minutes boat ride, arranged by Uede, to further north and north west of the Tanjung Benoa. Its a small island, funded by the government, primarily for the turtle conservation. They have a good collection of turtles - most of them come across to the island to feed during the high tide. There are separate tanks, I guess for breeding purpose or special care of injured / rescued turtles. What amazed us was the sheer size of turtles - though have seen it on Discovery and NatGeo - this is the first time we touched them and experienced them in the same water as us. Pretty inquisitive by nature, they all start squirming around you the moment you step into the water - small ones from the size of a hand to huge ones over 100 years in age and I guess around 50kg in weight. Try feeding them some sea weeds (the island authorities keep that) and they snap it right from your fingers. Note of caution: turtles have very strong snapping jaws, you and only you are responsible for your fingers! :)

Besides turtles, the place also has bats, python, osprey or the fishing eagle, one or two birds - mainly to attract tourists and spread awareness. You may see lot of school going kids on outing here, getting themselves familiar with the nature and the various species. The care taker staff is very polite and hospitable, and encourage you to touch and feel the different species, and built trust and confidence in conversing all wildlife around us. You may also donate if you like; the funds would be used for the upkeep of the place. There are various options - the payment can be done right there against a receipt, or you can get a receipt and go back to your hotel to leave the donation in a sealed envelop at the front desk, which the staff comes and collects against the issued receipt number. In all we spent an hour and a half there; tired, hungry, thirsty, but still full of enthusiasm to go on and experience more Bali. The were already getting the feeling that its our last day here, and were wishing if we could stay more. Anyways, we jumped in our boat to be back at the adventure club where Ketut was waiting and more than eager to find out if we liked the island. He dropped us back to our hotel, and was hesitant to accept any payment for the whole day he had spent taking us out in his cab. It was more of his kind gesture which he, in lieu of our association with him over all these days of our stay and outings in Bali, politely extended to us.

Back at the hotel, straight to the bar, ordered some amazing lunch, couple of drinks, cool breeze blowing right across your face, and it feels like heaven again. She decided to visit the hotel Spa for some relaxation therapy massage; I whiled away the time over pool (pool table!) and darts board. Went off to our room, rested for a while, freshened up, and back on deciding the dinner venue. We had tried almost all good looking places in the same lane as our hotel except one - The Tree. And that was the venue. No one else had return from their day trip till now, so we headed for the restaurant, located around 100m from our hotel. The food was simple - beef curry and vegetable curry - well cooked, low on spices, and fantastic. The live music made the place a lot livelier and turned the simple dinner into quite and experience. Started feeling a bit low, walked our last-leisure-walk back to our hotel, settled the hotel bills - part in USD - part in SGD - part in IDR and the rest in INR of the CC, booked the taxi for the morning ride to airport, and went for the last view of the sea shimmering under the moonlight. Sat there for quite a while, watching the endless expanse and never ending waves, the subtle sound of the breeze and cold sand beneath our feet. Back to the room and were busy wrapping up things, packing up luggage, and off to bed in the wee hours of the morning.. wished we don't have to wake up to go back! :)

Bali, Day +5

There are no excuses today. We did wake up early. More importantly, all by ourselves; got ready and headed for the breakfast. RM, who had joined us yesterday night from Singapore, were not in for the trip we had planned for today. Little confusion over the the taxi reservations, and soon we were heading towards the Besakih Temple, also know as the Mother Temple of Bali. Kintamani Volcano, or the Mt. Batur was next on the agenda, followed by evening at Luhur Temple at Uluwatu. Ketut was as usual our driver, guide and consultant for the trip. As we hurled out of the city limits and ventured into the hills, beautiful scenic landscapes ran throughout our journey till the temple. After paying up the entrance fee of 10k IDR per head and 5k for Cameras, you reach the parking lot. The temple association has had problems with locals from other areas of Bali over earnings from tourists, and thus do not allow anyone except them to be your guide to the temple. Going to the extent of telling you that you will not be allowed entrance at places inside the temple, they would give their best shot at negotiating their fees as well as a donation for the temple. Regardless of the fees, which is usually be around 50k IDR, it is a good option to hire a guide to explain you the history and parts in the temple, which otherwise is left to your homework on history lessons and relating it to the monument. We hired one. The donation is voluntary and we decided against it as the up-keep of the temple is covered by the government (as per our sources) and there is no shortage of funds.

Ketut had though well in advance for us and brought with him sarongs and belts that one needs to wear before entering the temple. He even helped us wearing them in the traditional style, which came out looking very funny on us indeed. The temple entrance looks grand - a flight of stairs running up to a huge gate - every inch has idols on either sides of the stairs - every one unique. A few steps on the stairs and you start realizing the beautiful view of the valley behind you, lush green and tantalizing your senses. Though I did not hear much of what the guide was narrating, but for sure the temple was complex, with many different sub-sections, different levels connected through stairs, each level with its own set of wonderful spires. Unique idols are spread all over the place - each adding a distinct attraction to the place. The main prayer area has three idols based on the Hindu mythology - Bhrama, Vishnu and Shiva - the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. Recommended by the guide, we offered prayers in traditional style to the almighty, and took couple of shots of the place before proceeding. As you climb to the higher premises of the temple, the view keeps getting better and better. We saw a couple of more sub-sections of the temples before deciding to head to our next destination, rather quickly, as the it seems that the clouds had a big time plan to cover up Mt. Batur, and we did not want to delay things further and land up in the same situation as Tanah Lot temple letting the sun hide behind the clouds just at the time of the sunset!

Back on the interesting twisting road, up and down between the hills, and we were looking at the majestic Mt. Batur in no time. Clouds have achieved what they wanted, or what we feared; but we soon learnt that the it was not unusual for that place to receive a bit of rain during the day. The nature has molded the landscape in such a way that Mt. Batur on one side and a a continuous chain of small hills on the other side, separated by the Batur Lake in between, all form a kind of channel to drive in the clouds from one end and gather them up to do a fly-by over the cliff side restaurant - Lakeview - where we were standing right now - showering nice cold droplets all over. The restaurant serves only buffet lunch, no breakfasts, no snacks, no dinners. The food is Indonesian, and pretty good, though the service was a little slackly. The best part of Lakeview was the view of Mt. Batur and Batur Lake it offered from the open seating area - its right on a cliff standing on the Batur lake with Mt. Batur on one side and the chain of hills on the other - forming a closed end. The paths of the lava flow from the last time the volcano went active can be clearly seen as relatively darker areas than the surroundings. The crater was visible but not clear, even with our 300mm lens, due to very less ambient light from the ever-growing cloud cover. We gave our cameras another chance to shoot a couple more times at the mountain and the crater on our way to Luhur Temple at Uluwatu.

The drive was long, but beautiful and scenic - most of the times running through paddy plantations. We passed through the Seminyak town - from the glimpse it looked relatively posh than the rest of Bali - good branded shops on the roadside - also known for its stylish bars and legendary clubbing scenes. May be next time, we would put this town on our agenda too, for now lets rush to Uluwatu. The drive was made interesting by our cab driver Ketut, with information on the naming tradition of kids in the family. Balinese do not have a surname, and the first name is either Woyan (first child), Made (the second), Nyoman (third) or Ketut (the fourth). The second name is usually the given name; in Ketut's case, it was Suryawan - Surya referring to clouds, Awan means the clouds - since he was born on a cloudy day. He resides with his parents and wife and is blessed with twins - a boy and a gal - 8 months old now. We learnt couple of other day life things typical of Balinese culture from him too. And thanks to him, he did warn us to beware of Monkey Business at Uluwatu - a practice very common at the temple where the monkeys snatch any accessories you have - your hat, glasses, earrings, slings, etc., and a local helping you out in retrieving the same from them in return for some money. The arrived a bit late and hastily went in after paying up for the entry tickets and free sarongs n' belts which we needed to wears as a tradition in the temples. Sun was again behind the clouds, but the orange gleams piercing through the clouds in the background of the temple's silhouette was amazing sight.

The Luhur temple also features a Kecak dance, if I remember correctly, on all days, which is more like a very alive play of the Hindu scripture - Ramayana. Almost all the people who visit the temple gather around to see this performance by beautifully dressed local performers. There are separate tickets to enter the performance area, an open auditorium with multi-level seating arrangement all around the center stage. A handout is available along the tickets to read about and follow the sequence of events in the mythological story enacted by the performers. The performance was great - carried out in parts - each signifying an important part of the scripture. A fire-dance sequence is also a part of it and was done with live fire to give a very dramatic effect to the whole act. A must see if you are visiting that temple. It had gone dark by now, we roamed around a bit in the temple complex, before taking the cab back to the hotel.

While others headed to a dinner at Nusa Dua area, we headed straight back to our hotel. Asked Ketut to take us for the water sports tomorrow. A nice cold shower is such a relief after a long day. For the first time over our stay, we tried the local cuisine at our hotel itself with some good Mojito and Long Island Ice Tea. Both the food and the hospitality was great, so was the live musicians who played "I cant help falling in love" by our table side. Overall a well set evening, better than expected. Spent some more time talking a walk along the beach, couple of night shots, and dozed off dreaming of the wet sand under our feet, the touch of the sea waves and shimmering ocean under the moonlit sky..

Bali, Day +4

Ok.. Let me put the blame on my wrist watch this time - the alarm did not sound at all! When I woke up, the watch was in the running in the India timezone. I guess the timezone button must have got pressed while I was asleep and switched over from Bali local time to India time. And, we woke up late. For the third consecutive day, her dream - to jog on the beach in the early morning - got shattered. And we missed to go for the water sports. But what the heck! We enjoyed lazing around in the comfy confines of the bed. Missing the breakfast was not a big deal for us who are not used to having breakfast for quite some time (I mean in years).. But the thought of missing out the fun did provoke us out of the bed and hurry downstairs to start living another day in Bali. Grabbing a quick bite at the breakfast table, we went straight to the travel desk and the coordinator was more eager and enthusiastic than us to plan our day. Where in today's world do you get to meet such genuine people? In no time we were all chalked out for the Bird Park and the Bali Zoo for the day and back to square one after a quick stop-over at Kuta.

I have never been to a Bird Park before, but definitely have been to a zoo even though it was long back over my childhood days. At the most I have seen birds kept at home by some of my friends, and also seen them at the pet shops. Two things were very common at such places - one, the beautiful birds themselves, and two, the stink from their feathers and the poo they leave behind, which unfortunately, does not even go after regular up-keep of the place or the enclosure. I would relate all that to the big bird park now, and was sure to get both of them in a much amplified way - the beauty and the stink. All pepped up and ready to step in, we arrived at the bird park, got ourselves entry tickets which included an entry to the adjacent Reptile Park too. Our entry was greeted by a big and beautiful blue-golden Macaws, sitting on a small tree directly in front of us. It seemed to be not bothered by our presence at all even though we were just a few feet away - perhaps got used to people coming in and going out and has stopped giving any attention anymore. Soon there were more of the same spices, scarlet Macaw, a white Cockatoos, sitting on the surrounding flora, busy in their own activities, chirping and fluttering in a free world. A little ahead and you are in a whole new world of birds - some never seen before - some only seen on discovery - some just heard of - and all are there, right in front of your eyes. A few are in open, and the others in a range of enclosures - small ones, medium ones with little vegetation to create the natural environment effect, and large with complete trees and bushes and water bodies inside. Though the walkways are well defined, you can walk up to the enclosures to take a closer look. My camera could not be happier if it wasn't due to these birds; and of course, us too! The park is full of surprises - you find yourself walking along an small lake - coming to life with lots of pelicans, herons, egret, hornbills, and similar species - all in open, right in front of you - that you can stretch and touch them. No sooner had we formed our opinion of the best experience in Bali, we had another surprise in stock - Aviaries - not one, but a couple of them - organized as per the regions to where the birds inside belong to. Africa, Borneo, Papua, Java, Bali and others - spreading over huge spaces, perfectly landscaped with water bodies, trees and small hills with raised walkways above the ground to experience the rain-forest aviaries from above, with the birds flying and whizzing past your heads. No, I am not scaring anyone, it indeed is an exciting experience!

Almost everywhere around the enclosures, even within the aviaries, there are placards with detailed information on the birds - their scientific name, common name, habitat, preferred food, etc. And you have no difficulty in recognizing them throughout the park. In case of doubt or clarification, there is plenty of staff in the bird park whom you are ask all your queries. At places, the staff even promotes holding birds in your hands and getting familiar with it. We did it for the big preying birds - Great Horned Owl and the Brahminy Kite - the owl being almost 60cm in height, perfect yellow iris, as majestic as anyone could be, confident, bold and firm. The kite was more eager, responding to even the slightest sounds in the surroundings, constantly analyzing everything around. A truly amazing experience of a lifetime! Mandarin ducks displaying their beautiful plumage, Yellow Flanked Skinks sun bathing on the pathways, lead us to the restaurant section in the park. It semi-enclosure with three sides open to the park, and gave us the opportunity to have our (late) lunch with Peacocks which come on and off and roam around the tables in the seating area. The park also holds regular shows at fixed timings and we happened to sit through one of such programs - Meet the Bird Star - where a collection of birds are showcased with information on their behavior and specialties. If you get a chance to witness any of the shows in the park, they are definitely a go.

Right adjacent to the bird park is the reptile park - a comparatively smaller area - has one dark and humid alley or rather tunnel to walk through along with a guide from the park. I guess that maintained to provide an environment natural to the reptiles. A lot glass enclosures feature different reptiles found in and around Indonesia - from snakes, to tree frogs, to skinks and lizards. Similar to the bird park, there are placards with every enclosure to read and learn about the reptiles showcased. The tunnels lead you back to the open area housing Iguanas and a variety of Crocodiles in fenced enclosures. Holding the Iguanas in your hands is a cool thing - contrary to our beliefs of the slimy, slippery and yucky reptiles, they have a dry, rough and patchy skin, relatively cold, and are very silent and calm in your hands; perhaps they are used to it. Learning and seeing couple of more enclosures with different species of Crocs and a few pythons, we had finally finished touring the park. The whole trip to the parks is no immensely involving, that we hardly realized using up all the time - even the one we had planned for the zoo. What else? Though a bit sad about it, we had to skip the zoo; but eventually were happy on the fact that at least not even for a single minute in the trip around the park was in any way wasted - it was all worth it.

We are on our way back now.. all the way looking back the snaps we have clicked at the park.. Recalling the birds and the reptiles.. I guess we did not care whether it was Kuta that we were going to or Aston Bali. Arrived in Kuta well in time to catch up with other friends who had been to Ubud for some more shopping, only to learn that they were delayed by 2 hours or so. Planned to go to the local market which, unfortunately had closed early by that day due to local celebration for full-moon nights. Well, shopping never stops, whether one market is closed or not. And we found ourselves in the Discovery Mall, with a good coffee as the first thing on our agenda. The mall is well organized with almost all major brands as well as small shops and stalls retailing local products, mainly dresses and accessories, wooden artifacts, footwear, souvenirs, etc. The back side of the mall opens up on a beautiful west facing sea shore, giving us another chance to witness a beautiful sunset. Sat there for a while, I tried a few clicks and we were back in the Mall. By the time she picked up a new dress, and few accessories, and few footwear, and few living room decorations, and, ok ok, and nothing else, our friends had arrived. Dinner was next on the agenda, and Ifiori Ristorante was a good choice. An Italian restaurant with good food, good cocktails, good service, and I don't remember anything after that as I had Kamakazi running though my veins.

I think by default but involuntarily we have fixed on the our pre-sleep activities - the moon, sea, sand and beer in hand - comes naturally. And today was no different. Spent some time watching the endless sea.. waves shimmering in the moonlight.. with plans to visit a volcano and the mother temple tomorrow, we slipped into the comfy confines of the bed in a perfectly air conditioned room - the same place we woke up from. :)