When I lived in Bali, there was one unique part I adored. The lizards. Growing up in England, the only wild creatures that would get into the house uninvited would be spiders, mosquitoes, flies, mice if you were really unlucky. But in Indonesia, it was something a little different.
Houses in Bali would have little vents at the tops of windows- ornately carved. And the Cecaks would creep in. Cecaks (pronounced Cheh-Chack) were tiny little lizards, of not more than about 5cm long, who would sit high up on the walls. Their name appears to be onomatopoeic since the sound they make is a "Chak, chak, chak". I was utterly delighted by these shy little creatures. No worry that they would come and crawl on you, they lived high up on the walls and would eat the bane of my life, those awful relentless Nyamuk- or mosquitoes to us!
One of the cutest rhymes I was taught by a child there was this:
Cecak, Cecak, di dinding
Diam-diam merayap
Datung seekor nyamuk
HAP! Gagal/Lalu ditangkap!
"Lizards, geckos, wall
Silently creep
Suddenly mosquito!
HAP! Failed arrest
(apparently according to Wiki!)
They were so sweet- always there. I always longed to hold one of them but they were very shy. I told my neighbour Ayu I wanted to hold on and one day I came home from school to find a very disgrunted-looking Cecak in a clear plastic bag with air holes. She'd caught me one so I could hold him! I did so and he ran off immediately.
The other type of lizard, I heard before seeing. The Dokeh or the Gecko in our language! You would hear this:
Gudugudugudugudugudugudugudu
DOH- KEHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH-----KEHHHHHH!
Children used to joke that you could tell the time with a Doh-keh! He's winding himself up like an alarm clock and then he chimes!
When I finally saw one, they were much larger than the Cecak and would camoflage against a tree. Less cute-looking, a bit more Crocodilish but still handsized. darker skin. I never managed to hold a Dohkeh!
I learnt to perfect my impression of a Dohkeh!
The other type of lizard that I never saw was the Komodo-dragon. You could see these in the zoos in Bali (which I never went to) but I met a few people from the Indonesian Island of Flores where the Komodo-dragon comes from. I'd have loved to meet one.
My friend Va'clav said that there was a larger lizard in our garden there but I never saw it.
The lizards were one of my favourite parts of life in Bali. Something about having such a completely harmless animal sitting around on your walls, keeping you company.
Have you ever fallen in love with a creature indigenous to a place you have stayed?
Do share any foreign animal stories!
xxx
Houses in Bali would have little vents at the tops of windows- ornately carved. And the Cecaks would creep in. Cecaks (pronounced Cheh-Chack) were tiny little lizards, of not more than about 5cm long, who would sit high up on the walls. Their name appears to be onomatopoeic since the sound they make is a "Chak, chak, chak". I was utterly delighted by these shy little creatures. No worry that they would come and crawl on you, they lived high up on the walls and would eat the bane of my life, those awful relentless Nyamuk- or mosquitoes to us!
One of the cutest rhymes I was taught by a child there was this:
Cecak, Cecak, di dinding
Diam-diam merayap
Datung seekor nyamuk
HAP! Gagal/Lalu ditangkap!
"Lizards, geckos, wall
Silently creep
Suddenly mosquito!
HAP! Failed arrest
(apparently according to Wiki!)
They were so sweet- always there. I always longed to hold one of them but they were very shy. I told my neighbour Ayu I wanted to hold on and one day I came home from school to find a very disgrunted-looking Cecak in a clear plastic bag with air holes. She'd caught me one so I could hold him! I did so and he ran off immediately.
The other type of lizard, I heard before seeing. The Dokeh or the Gecko in our language! You would hear this:
Gudugudugudugudugudugudugudu
DOH- KEHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH- KEHHHHHHH!
DOH-----KEHHHHHH!
Children used to joke that you could tell the time with a Doh-keh! He's winding himself up like an alarm clock and then he chimes!
When I finally saw one, they were much larger than the Cecak and would camoflage against a tree. Less cute-looking, a bit more Crocodilish but still handsized. darker skin. I never managed to hold a Dohkeh!
I learnt to perfect my impression of a Dohkeh!
The other type of lizard that I never saw was the Komodo-dragon. You could see these in the zoos in Bali (which I never went to) but I met a few people from the Indonesian Island of Flores where the Komodo-dragon comes from. I'd have loved to meet one.
My friend Va'clav said that there was a larger lizard in our garden there but I never saw it.
The lizards were one of my favourite parts of life in Bali. Something about having such a completely harmless animal sitting around on your walls, keeping you company.
Have you ever fallen in love with a creature indigenous to a place you have stayed?
Do share any foreign animal stories!
xxx