Ah... Meet the Ninja Turtles in Perak!

Well, not exactly the pizza-chomping katana wielding turtles with a rat as the grandmaster in question here... But still enough to incite similar excitement, enough to turn 38-year-old dear me back into a grinning 5-year-old for at least an hour or so....

If the posting The origin of the name Beruas. is rather serious and gloomy, now let us cheer up a bit... Still in Pasir Panjang, Perak, here is a place I've seen before from the outside but only this time I managed to have a look at what's available inside and the glee it stores...

Welcome to the sea turtle hatchery and management centre in Pasir Panjang... If I'm not mistaken it's the only such place in the northern parts of the peninsular West Coast...

I came in not expecting much except the place was there... So let's just check it out...

My early impression was, this is just another government building... After all the centre falls under the ambit of the fisheries department or so and government equals boring... That's what I thought...

Seeing this pool for the first time managed to provide the initial spark of glee. But who would have thought what's actually in store...

You see, I can't remember when was the last time I saw sea turtles anywhere. Perhaps I've seen it somewhere in one of the zoos I've visited, perhaps but I sure can't remember...

What I do remember though is this... Upon seeing these turtles live swimming about, my mind was totally blown out... I mean wow!!! Just look at them... I never thought I would get so excited and savour such a sight, in a government building some more!

Just look at this little fella... If only you could see the way it glide...

Mind you, these fellas are pretty big and they are supposed to be the kids! I'm sure their shells are about 2 feet wide and more than 3 feet long...

Looking at turtles, tortoises and their sorts have always got me in awe since I was a little kid. Now, at 38-year-old, I'm being turned into a gawking kid grinning wide with happy blissful twinkles in my eyes!

If only you could be here too... If only you could see for yourself how the turtles would take breaths of fresh air every now and then...

I could have sworn, they sound just like humans gasping for air... I mean, really, they do make a sound like that of a human gasping for air... Its funny, eerie and uncanny at the same time! That's how I would describe it...

Also you should have seen the way some of this turtles lie down when not moving around... The way they fold their front flippers inside is almost human... Just like a boy would fold his arms with elbows on the table or on the ground and hands supporting the chin...

And just look at the way they glide along or against each other... Perhaps this is too much of a cliche but it certainly is poetry in motion...

To sum it up, watching the turtles live swimming around is an opportunity one should take at least once in a life time... What more, this place is open to visitors for free...

And that's just at the smaller pool... Wait till you see what's at the bigger pool!

But before that, let's have a quick look at the smallest pool... For the record there's three main pools in this area...

For here lies the terrapin, astounding creatures in their own right...

It's just that they were too inactive... Once one have seen the turtles in action, the terrapins seem very pale in comparison...

And so without much further ado, we go to the bigger pool which is also the biggest pool.... The size I believe is at least 70 feet long and 20 feet wide, sort of like the size of a luxurios swimming pool in a private home.

And the turtles are much bigger, adults they are... At least twice the size of the "kids" at the smaller pool!

What is more astounding is the power they displayed when any one of them got restless and practically "shoots" through the water! Powerful swimmers they are. I saw one restless Ninja turtle that power-swim its way from one end of the pool to the other in about 2 seconds or less! I thought it would have gone straight and crash into the wall or perhaps shoot out of the water and flew off the pool!

In between, the whole lot, I think about 12 to 15 of them would just relax and glide around... Again, poetry in motion...

I really enjoy watching the turtles that as you can see for yourself here, I've put a total of 23 pictures just for this posting!

Whatever, it's time to go as I still have to attend to my other blogspots. For the record, this would be my 3rd posting tonight for this blogspot and it should be enough for now... I hope you dear readers enjoy this piece. And perhaps the newly-formed Perak government would find it useful in promoting the place. Take care! Nite-nite! :]