Blue Tongued Skink (pet lizard) seen on my travels

 

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I had not planned to see a lizard the size of my hand, or the size of a human lizard, on my holiday overseas. The blue tongued skink, like a lizard, was in a friend's house. I was staying there for two nights. No escape. Australians and New Zealanders call the creatures blueys. 

You never know what you will see travelling to visit a friend. People I have known for years.

The lizard is kept in what looks like an acquarium with a sliding glass door.

This creature is fairy sleepy during the day. Unlike the geckos we had on the walls indoors and outdoors, in Singapore, which, after a rest, watching you, would suddenly race off.

Greek Geckos

I recall the tiny ones on Greek islands at hotels with remote bedrooms. I was scared shocked, when the little things leaped off the wall onto my bedding or pillow, disappeared under bed clothes. Another alarmed me when it jumped out of a shoe under the bed, then disappeared behind or into another shoe.

Other guests and hotel management could not understand why I was alarmed. They attempted to assure me, 'They are harmless.'

How To Use NLP To Conquer Fear

Having studies NLP (neuro linguistic programming), I know to talk to the creature, indirectly to my own brain, telling it, 'Don't worry, the big lady human won't hurt you.'

However, the little lizards are reminders of larger ones.

Komodo Dragons

Komodo dragons, (don't let predictive text turn then into kimono dragons) are much larger, are another thing. Tourists are taken to see them, on Komodo Island, in Indonesia. They are reptiles, monitor lizards.

My host saw them on a tour with a guide, from about ten feet away. 'You don't wander around on your own.'

Whilst a small blue tongued skink might be held in the hand of its owner, Komodo dragons, like crocodiles and alligators, are unfriendly more like monsters. I was going to call them unpredictable, but as any paranoid tourist can tell you, their nastiness is predictable. 

You might see a Komodo dragon from a more safe place, in a zoo, in the UK, USA, Singapore or elsewhere. Check your national zoos and those of the countries you are visiting.

A blue tongued skink, however, makes its trusting owner happy.

Wikipedia informed me that these short legged creatures are slow and friendly. The pets are nicknamed the dogs of reptiles.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-tongued_skink

https://www.quora.com/What-do-Mediterranean-geckos-eat-Can-you-keep-them-as-a-pet?top_ans=214911130

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Camping, on Brownsea Island Enid Blyton"s Famous Five Setting, Amid Wildlife - Recalling Squirrels, Snakes & Dragons

 I visited Brownsea Island with the tourist board to see the red squirrels from a hide. Just a side trip from Poole harbour, where we had previously visited Poole Pottery. 

No camping necessary. But, apparently, some people like the idea of camping overnight, not to save money, but because it evokes memories of Enid Blyton's books about the Famous Five.

The Joys Of Camping

I tried camping once as a teenager. It is one step worse than hiking. I discovered to my horros, that instead of the mere inconvenience of walking carrying your water, looking for a bush to go to the toilet, when camping overnight, you have to trek in the dark, stumbling over the tree roots, which might make you wet yourself with shock, to a smelly communal toilet. 

Modern camp sites with spaces for caravans, and swimming pools and toilet blocks are another matter. I have enjoyed those. For no more than one night for the novelty. I am not typical, even within my own family.

My husband is enthusiastically off camping. Putting up his own tent in the garden for practice. He stays three nights in splendour, then goes camping. Whilst I am jealous of the three nights in splendour, I think I'll be grateful to stay home. Reading about him and others. 

Enid Blyton & Brownsea Island

Here's today's good read, which I enjoyed, about the island immortalised by Enid Blyton in her books about the Famous Five. It's Brownsea Island in Poole, Dorset. It has red squirrels. 

Okay.  I'll watch a video of red squirrels. I have foxes and grey squirrels in London. 

Singapore Wildlife - Starting With Snakes

In Singapore, after seeing the snakes in the first six months, for the next thirty years I was cautious and never saw a snake. I lived in a high rise. 

My husband went running in the jungle..He saw snakes regularly. He entusiastically approached them with his camera. 

Whilst his retreating companion shouted to him, "Back off!" 

Larger than snakes are the crocodiles in the sea. And the komodo dragons on land.  

He also had a video of a hissing, long tongued, dragon, like a crocodile. Not a komodo dragon, from Indonesia, but the common or garden kind you get in Singapore in the Botanical Gardens - roaming freely. 

It was behind a chain link fence, the height of a tennis court, outside the Ministry of Defence buildings, inside their grounds, behind a chain link fence. I don't think the monster was an official part of the defence. They had signs warning about soldiers with machines guns, but no warning signs saying, beware of the dragon.   

At home, we were protected by a team of gardeners and security personnel who walked or cycled about.

American Wildlife\

I saw snakes in America. On trails through national parks. Forget that idea that snakes scuttle away. These were laying across the paths. warning signs were every few yards.

London Wildlife

I already have more wildlife in my life than I need. I had a nasty insect bite. I slept in pyjamas in summer heat for a fortnight. (For the enlightenment of any Chinese readers who don't knw the word Fortnight, it's short for fourteen nights, and days. It means two weeks It's a British everyday expression.)

Other Blyton Locations

You can see a plaque to Enid Blyton in south London. 

A model of a house connected to her is in Beaconsfield Model Village in Buckingham shire, a short trip from London. 

Should you be in Singapore and want to see a Komodo dragon at a safe distance, investigate what can be seen at the zoo. More are in zoos around the world, in the UK and USA at the Bronx zoo, the Smithsonian in DC and several more places.

Useful Websites

 Recapturing the joys and sorrows of camping, famous five style.

Video of Brownsea Island

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/brownsea-island?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Enid_Blyton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

https://www.slow-travel.uk/post/historic-writers-houses-you-can-visit-in-england

w.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/dorset/brownsea-dorset-famous-five-blyton-wv7wccfwh

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Which Animals Are Unique to Asia? Anteaters, Komodo dragons, monitor lizards and pangolins. Where can you see them?

You can see monitor lizards in zoos such as the Washington DC zoo, and London zoo, in England. More alarmingly, you can meet and monitor monitors in the wild in Singapore.

I stick to protected places like the Sheraton Towers hotel where you do not encounter monitor lizards. Most of the wildlife which I encounter turns up cunningly concealed in batter on my plate. However, my jogging family have encountered all sorts of creatures, in Singapore (as well as Malaysia and Indonesia) whilst roaming around remote paths, as I shall explain further on in this post.

Monitor Lizards
In Singapore you can see monitor lizards roaming freely in places such as the Botanical Gardens. Signboards joyfully alert you to the presence of the alarming lizards as if seeing them is a twee treat.

I am glad to say I have never encountered a monitor lizard, despite visiting the Botanical Gardens many times. I do monitor my surroundings carefully for monitor lizards, photo opportunities, dangers, and escape routes.

Komodo Dragons
To me, a monitor lizard looks like a small komodo dragon (found on the island of Komodo in Indonesia. You can also see a Komodo dragon in London zoo, in England. A cross between a blown up lizard and a shrunken dinosaur. Twice the size of any member of your family and far more unpleasant than even your worst relative.

How can I remember to link Komodo and Indonesia (not Malaysia). The letter o which appears twice in Komodo and once in Indonesia.

Photo by Mark Dumont of a Komodo dragon in the Cincinnati Zoo, USA in 2013. Photo in Flickr uploaded to Wikimedia article on Komodo dragon.

The komodo dragon is dangerous. To humans and animals. A very nasty creature.

Monitor Lizards?
Monitor lizards aren't always friendly, either.

 My husband took a video of what he thought was a very angry monitor lizard the other side of the perimeter fence around a Singapore army base. My husband was walking along a path when the monitor lizard appeared. It did not run away but ran ahead and when he caught up alongside it, the creature was fearsome and furious, hissing and waving its tongue around and thrashing its big body about.

So much for the idea that they are shy creatures and only get aggressive when cornered. Maybe it was territorial, maybe it was protecting babies nearby. We will never know.

Photo by Trevor Sharot, photographer. Copyright.

Blow up the picture and you can see the black tongue. This is a screen capture still taken form a video. I've also seen some horrid videos of komodo dragons circling an animal, biting it with poison, waiting a day or two, surrounding it, until it drops to its knees and they launch in for the kill and eat it.

Free look at wildlife
Entry to the Botanical Gardens is free. But no guarantee what you will see. You are more likely to see fish and birds. I am glad to say.

Photo by Piekfrosch in the German wiki and copied into an article in the English wikipedia on Pangolins.

Pangolins
This month, March 2019, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are promoting care of pangolins. I saw an advertising poster beside a bus stop.

Poster about pangolins. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Next day I received an email inviting me to the zoo. Children are encouraged to do a series of activities and pledge to protect pangolins and at the end are rewarded with a pangolin pin.

Pangolins, covered in scales from head to toe, curl up into a ball for protection. Their name means roller in Malay.

The pangolin, altogether friendly, has no teeth. On the other hand, it has an enormously long tongue. the tongue is used for scooping out ants. The pangolin eats thousands of ants every year. If you are not a fan of ants, you might give pangolins credit for disposing of ants.

Now, there's a clue. I looked up anteater. I recognize the pangolin as an anteater.

Pangolin activities (must book)
March 2-March 31, 2019, weekends only.

Useful Websites
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/dos-and-donts/animal-advisories/monitor-lizards
singaporeair.com
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/make-a-date-with-pangolins
https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/conservation/together-for-wildlife

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater

togetherforwildlife.sg

Botanical Gardens:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/SBG

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Fun Photos, French Dragons and Wine Stories From London Wine Fair - Domaine du Dragon - the Dragon's Domain

London Wine Fair was a trade show held in London in May. Other wine trade events coming up include a Vinexpo Hong Kong wine fair in Hong Kong, 24-26 May 2016. More fun, food and wine events for your diary, even if you are not in the wine trade but a member of the public who likes food and wine:

Taste of London 15-19 June, 2016, in London, England. This one is open to the public. Website at the end of this article.

BBC Good Food Show at Excel London, Friday 20 May, Sat 21st and Sunday 22nd 2016. Open to the public.

Here's a picture of Domaine du Dragon wines at the London Wine Fair. Lisa is English. Her husband is French. The wine company is named after the mythological dragon in the area. Why would they have a mythological dragon in France? Well, we have George and the dragon in England. It makes a memorable logo for their wines. Myth says the dragon terrorised local people but was despatched.

If you must see a dragon, much larger than a little lizard, and quite dangerous, we have a komodo dragon in London Zoo. If you want to see a dragon in real life, Komodo dragons are in Indonesia.  Singapore Zoo  + Night Safari (see both on combined ticket) has a komodo dragon or monitor lizard given to Lee Kuan Yew by an Indonesian leader. Frankly, a dragon on a bottle of wine is quite enough excitement for me.

As you see from the picture, a French rosé wine with a pink dragon. Lisa Nezam and her husband are a jolly, friendly couple, as you can tell. In my picture Lisa seems to have a salmon pink jacket and red hair to match the wine in the distinctive broad-based bottle. Côtes de Provence is the Provence area. Appellation d'origins Protégée means name of origin protected.

More information from their website listed below:

This is their new rose wine. I asked about wine visits for the public and she wrote back to remind me:

 Here is our website link below with lots of history about the domaine; we welcome visitors and have gite accommodation and a shop; so feel free to send your readers down to see us!

Kind regards,

Lisa Nezam

Domaine du Dragon

On their website you can read amusing stories about the legend of the dragon, the record of the dragon story by historian Jean Nostradamus, the younger brother of Nostradamus (famous for predictions of the future).

The website also shows you the ruined church nearby whose remains you can see pictured. You can read about the man who ran off with the church's money and valuables.

Coming to modern times, you can also read about the award winning wine, which won the Gold award at Avignon. I recall the song we learned to practise French as children. I thought it went, 'Sur le pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y dance, tout en rond ... ' As a child I always wondered why they were dancing on a bridge. Now, as an adult, I wonder whether they were dancing in circles on the bridge of Avignon before or after having a glass of wine? Maybe to celebrate a summer wine festival, or harvest festival? However, I looked up the song on Wikipedia and found the dancers were sous or under the bridge, not sur or on it.

Back to the new wine and the winery. The Domaine du Dragon winery shop is open all year, from ten to twelve Monday to Friday in low season and Saturday as well in high season, afternoons three to six in low season and until 7 pm in high season. If you want to visit the winery, phone ahead. The phone number is on their website. You can also buy their wines all over France and several foreign countries and on line.

You can have a weekly rental in their g î  t e  which is a guest house.
After some debate with my English family as to whether a gîte was in the countryside I found this explanation in Wikipedia:

Gîte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

accommodation. A gîte is a holiday home available for rent. Gîtes are usually fully furnished and equipped for self-catering. Many owners choose to handle their own rentals, and one can find these by searching online on the multitude of listing sites or by checking with the local tourist information office.

Technically, to be called a gîte, the owner must live close by in order to provide help, assistance, and a warm welcome to guests.

More Information From:
http://domainedudragon.com/en/the-domain/

www.domainedudragon.com

vinexpohongkong.com

http://london.tastefestivals.com

bbcgoodfoodshowssummerondon.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Follow me on Facebook, link to me on LinkedIn, watch me on YouTube talking about etiquette in France and England at table in restaurants, and read excerpts of my books or buy them from Lulu.com . Look for me at writers' holidays and food and wine fairs and I won't say no to a glass or wine or taste of delectable food.