Rugby is one of those games that you can like even if you’ve never seen it before and you don’t understand the rules.  Currently the Tri Nations Rugby are in full swing and this afternoon South Africa vs. Australia.

The reason I say anyone can like it is simple. It’s action packed, fast paced and brutal.  Everyone likes this, male and female alike.  The players are in top shape. They’re fit, they’re large and they’re often good looking with ridiculously cool hair (except the front row, why are they often bald?).  Men and woman alike find this attractive, sometimes, but not always, for different reasons.

Anyway, last weekend the Springboks (how the South Africans are known) narrowly beat the All Blacks (aka New Zealand).  The victory was in fact much bigger than the mere 2 points difference in the score, because up until last weekend the All Blacks had prevented the Springboks from winning on the grounds they played at for the last 85 years. For 85 years the Springboks couldn’t win on this ground.

LIttle surprise really, because the crowd was entirely dressed in black.  The Springboks scored a try and you could hear a pin drop, when they kicked for goal the boo’s must have made the ball and posts vibrate.  It was so anti-Springbok that I’m sure Percy Montgomery’s hair lost volume when he ran onto the field.

But, in spite of these it-looks-like-the-boks-can-never-win circumstances, a rugby game the likes of which I haven’t seen in decades ensued, and the Sprinboks triumphed by two points.  Two huge, in-your-face-sit-on-this-all-blacks points. Ha.

Of course, we lost in the ugliest game I’ve ever seen the weekend before, but we won’t talk about that.

Swiftly moving on: in a few hours, 5 to be exact, the Springboks will play against the Wallabies (Australia).  It will be a tough game, because prior to the All Blacks showing the Springboks that they’re not unbeatable two weekends ago, the strong contenders were thought to be South Africa and Australia.

I’m watching the game, but I’m a place where almost everybody is Australian.  During the two previous games, which I watched with friends, I was fairly excitable and vocal, so I’m going to have to contain myself if I watch this game in a public place.

Anyway, if you’re in to rugby and even if you’re not, make sure you find yourself a spot where you can watch South Africa play against Australia this afternoon in the third game of Tri Nations Rugby Tournament.  The game takes place at 10am GMT.  They’re actually playing in Perth, but that’s a handy reference for you.

Updates, beaten(up) or not, will follow after.  Perhaps not immediately after, but soon after.

Update 080720 - I don’t want to talk about it. The Bokke lost, ok?

Fine, I’m talking about it. Never mind the fact that all the places around here said that the game was on at 8pm and I ended up missing half of it, but wow - half of Perth is South African and the Boks couldn’t win.  Last weekend, in a literally all black crowd with not one cheer for the Boks, they won. Yesterday, they didn’t.

I looked for a place where to watch the game and all the boards said 8pm.  I double checked with the staff from the one restaurant and they said yeah, the Aussie League Games will be showing at 6pm, so they’re showing SA vs. AU at 8pm. Fine.

I strolled a long way down the beach and had myself a sunset beer, only to discover the game on a big-screen in a restaurant neer the beach.  Mother…  But having missed half the game already I thought it better to go back and watch the re-broadcast.

As I got back and walked past those restaurant though, they had all changed their boards to 6pm.  Mother…

So I watch the last 30 minutes of the game, but what a disaster.  It reminded me of the first game against the All Blacks. As if they were playing this team (and rugby) for the first time. Fumbles, bad passes, omg.  The only saving grace is the Boks’ defence, which is so great because their attack is so poor - they get lots of opportunity to practise their defense.

Anyway, the Tri Nations Scoreboard looks like this: Springsboks played 3 lost 2. New Zealand played 2 lost 1. Australia played 1 won 1.

I think I see a loser emerging.

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I just got back from Bali, which would explain the lack of updates of 1Earth.

Actually, I got back on Thursday night late, but my clock has been running on Bali time until this afternoon’s Frisbee session, so hopefully things are back to normal now.

I’ll update from the bottom up, so if you’re interested in some Bali adventures, start reading from April 30th, which is when this adventure started.

Bali is a place full of character and history and the people are possibly some of the friendliest I’ve met anywhere.  It’s overrun with tourists, but the culture is strong enough to shine through.

That said, it’s quite difficult to find true Balinese culture and food, unless you know where to look.  I’m not sure I know where to look, which might warrant a return visit.  I certainly have enough Rupiah left, because it really is cheap.

And I didn’t get to surf.  So another thing left on the to-do list.

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Ubud is a spiritual place, full of painted art, wood carved art, revered monkeys and yoga.

Yoga Barn in Ubud

Our on-tour yoga guru, Phyllis, had been waiting for Ubud for exactly this reason.  The yoga scene in Ubud is big and Phyllis is big on yoga, so it was a perfect match.  I got up early with John and Pip this morning and drove out to the Yoga Barn.

The Yoga Barn is just off Ubud’s circular road at the dead end of a quiet street that overlooks serene paddy fields.  I might have to get Pip to write a bit about the rest, because we dropped her off and went back.  I really just did want to drive the bike and I love getting up early.

Back at our accommodations Julia had awoken and our breakfast was waiting. Banana omelet and a side-dish of various fruits, which turned out to be surprisingly filling.

Ubud Market

After that we were off to the Ubud Market where all sorts of trinkets, carvings, shirts and textiles awaited us at whatever bargain price we good negotiate.  The morning at the market is apparently the best time to be there, as everybody desperately want to make a sale to bless their wares with good luck for the rest of the day.  Wield that to your advantage.

The only thing I bought was cute, hand painted works of art for TLG’s bedroom. Let me just say, to make the first sale of the day is a big deal, and I only paid as much for it as I initially wanted to.  Julia bargained for many things, but in the end came away with only a bag.

Across the road was Pura Agong, the Presidential Palace and, as a tourist attraction, John’s attraction too.  The temple is an ancient, relatively well preserved structure and the architecture is immaculate.  The significance of the structure escaped us a little.

Just before check-out time we went back and picked-up Phyllis. We needed accommodation again, but as it turned out we walked 3 doors down and found the perfect place.

Ubud-Sensasi - new, clean accommodation in Ubud

Ubud-Sensasi is a private residence with 4 new accommodation units.  It’s set in about 20m back from the road and overlooks a beautiful padi field with with a strip of tropical jungle.

Ducks worked their way up and don the padi field, clearly contributing in a significant way.  The rooms were very clean and tidy and we knew we had found a gem.  The initial offer of Rp 120,000 was negotiated down to Rp 100,000 and we were set.

Babi Guling in Ubud at Warung Ibu Oka Babi Guling

Lunch was next, and our gracious new hosts directed us to Warung Ibu Oka Babi Guling, right opposite the Presidential Palace, where Bali’s famous traditional dish, Babi Guling, was served.  Babi, meaning pig, and gugling - literally translated as rolling, but probably meaning spit-roasted - is one of the must-try dishes in Bali.

Rp 35.000 each later, we had a large bowl of spit roasted pig on a bed of rice, some pickled veggies, fried pork skin and what resembled a blood sausage.  Not one for innards of any kind and defo not a fan of pork skin, never mind fried, I enjoyed the meat, veggies and rice tremendously.  The restaurant was constantly brimming and the turnover was fast.

Monkey Forrest

On our full stomachs we went to face Julia’s fears - long tailed Macaque monkeys - in the Monkey Forrest.  Monkey Forrest is a forest enclave where there are loads of monkeys.  The monkeys are revered and they walk around fat, playful, naughty and content.  “Beware of your classes, keys, money and jewelry. And don’t hide food from the monkeys - they’ll find it” warned the sign as we went inside.

After a short walk we found loads of monkeys hanging about, eating loads, feeding their young, playing in the water and conducting monkey foreplay in a very colourful way.  Julia got assaulted by monkeys when she was young and now has a phobia, but she controlled it beautifully whilst we were there.

A text from work requested some urgent help with something on our website.  We easily found an Internet cafe not too far from the enchanting Monkey Forest. I must have picked the slowest Internet cafe in Bali and after trying fruitlessly to log onto my work website, I gave up.  In the end couldn’t get onto any websites.

Skype worked fine however, so I spoke to my colleagues and walked them through what they needed to do.  I think the Internet connection in Kuta are quite decent.

Mas Village for Wood-carvings

Next was some giraffe shopping in Mas village, a precinct of Ubud, known for their wood cavers.  Actually, it’s easy to find wood carvings all over Ubud, but we were looking for something at a good price, so we thought going directly to the suppliers would be cheaper.

We didn’t shop too much, as we’ve been gunning for giraffes from the moment we arrived in Ubud.  We found a nice tall one and wondered how we’d get it back to Kota Kinabalu.

Jelatik Spa & Beauty Treatment Centre

Earlier in the pay Pip and John had booked a proper spa treatment for us, and the time had arrived.  Jelatik is on Monkey Forrest Road (as is a great deal of Ubud) and is a decent Spa and Hair Care centre, which, judging by the Guest Register, is hugely popular amongst Japanese and Koreans.

I opted for a short Balinese Massage whilst John and girls went for a 90 and 120 minute treatment.  To my own spite I fell asleep during the treatment.  Such a waste of money when that happens.

Two hours later we were all as relaxed as gum on a hot tar road.  John and Julia were positively radiant, and Phyllis stayed behind to continued her prolonged relaxation.

Cecak Fire Dance in Ubud

The rest of us were of to the Cecak (monkey) Dance for some cultural education.

Several vendors wanted to offer us their show, but all the prices were Rp 50,000. It includes transport to what the guy told us was a venue 1km away.  Turns out the venue is more like 10km away and it took us about 15 minutes to reach it.

The Cecak Dance is an epic about a local fairy tail that involves monkeys. Cecak, named for the sound of a chattering monkey, is the main character in a traditional story of good vs. evil.  About 20 toursts witness the spectacle performed by the members of a local village - a worthwhile experience.

Following the dance we looked for Phyllis who we couldn’t find.  We went to the Jazz Cafe, hoping to try them for dinner.  It was Monday, however, and much to our dissapointment, they were closed.

Dirty Duck Restaurant

We went to an Ubud ikon, Dirty Duck Restaurant, instead.

We tried their signature dish, Crispy Duck, as well as Bali roasted chicken and the house special fish.  A large bottle of Bintang was also spotted.

The Dirty Duck is a restaurant sprawled out across what must have been a padi field.  Along the massive grass area that is Dirty Duck, there’s several individual, raised huts with sit-on-the-ground tables and lots of pillows.  The waiter seemed to be giving us a guided tour of the restaurant, because we walked all the way to the back before he told us it was full.

We walked back to the front of the restaurant and sat at a vacant table there.  We ate loads of food for a rediculously low price.

On the way home we collected Phyllis from Kafe, a cafe belonging to yoga barn located right opposite Ubud-Sensasi.  Bed was our destiny and we met it shortly after.

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Taxi to Ubud

On the beach in Sanur an eager taxi driver met us in the water and had followed us so relentlessly that eventually we gave in. He started at Rp 150,000 for the drive to Ubud, but endless negotiations later he accepted Rp 100,000 - very reluctantly.

The Magic Bus, as Julia called it, was a little van that seemed to have been nurtured since the 70’s.  It was spacious and relatively comfortable for the 4 of us.  The drive to Ubud was scenic and uneventful until a police car pulled up behind us and flashed their lights.

Our driver seemed nervous and stopped his car and the police car stopped in front of us.  He got out, stuck his head in their window and returned to the Magic Bus putting his wallet back in his pocket.

We’ve heard of police asking for bribes for all sorts of reasons, but we’ve not come across anything like it until then.  We asked him if he had to bribe them and he reluctantly said yes, Rp 20,000 each. We felt bad and decided to tip him Rp 40,000.  He was ecstatic when we paid him after he dropped us off in Ubud after a 40 minute odd journey.

Frisbee in Ubud

Julia had read that on the sports field in Ubud they play frisbee every Sunday from 4 - 6pm.  We stood on the only sports field in Ubud at about 5pm and only a few kids were playing around.

Not a group to be discouraged by details as minor as this, we whipped out the frisbee once again and started throwing it about the field, me playing with my big back-packs front and back.

Quickly kids who had been playing nearby joined us.  A boy with and Irish mom said they knew frisbee as they do sometimes play on this field, however, today there was nobody.  As it go dark we realised we hadn’t yet arrange accommodation and should probably do so before it was pitch dark.

Accommodation in Ubud: Dewa Ayu Two

From the field we walked down Jalan Dewi Sita and down Jalan Hanoman where there was a lot of accommodation choices.  We had a look at several and finally settled on Dewa Ayu Two as it was already dark.

Once again, cheap (Rp 70,000 per night) and cheerful, the accommodations where modest, but clean and tidy with breakfast and hot water.  We dumped our stuff, plugged in our chargers in the only plugs in Bali (it seemed) that didn’t have the sunken hole in which we couldn’t fit some of our two-pin plugs and went out looking for a massage.

Ubud Inn & Spa: Spa Heaven

When in Rome… and thus we looked for a Balinese Massage.  By now it was quite late and we had a beautiful pizza at equally beautiful bungalows at Artini 2 Cottages & Spa.  The accommodation was well beyond our budget, but the food was not and the pizza came topped with generous amounts of mushrooms, bacon and ham.

We purposefully kept the meal light as we were gunning for a massage and didn’t want to do it on full stomachs.  But, did we find out, many spa’s close at 8pm and we were on the wrong side of the clock.

A little past Monkey Forest we stumbled upon the Ubud Inn and Spa.  Julia and Pip cajoled the manager into arrange a massage for us and 20 minutes later we were experiencing our first Balinese Massage in Bali.

We also met Neoman - a burly bloke who said he’s security, masseuse, driver and pretty much anything else the hotel needed him to be.  He was the man who could organise motorbikes for us. Rp 30,000 per bike later, we zoomed out of the Ubud Inn & Spa.

Jazz Cafe Ubud

Julia got a tip from the guy who had arranged the massages that apparently the Jazz Cafe in Ubud was the place to be for a chilled night and good food.  We effortlessly found our way around the easy streets of Ubud and moments later drove down Jalan Sukma and found Jazz Cafe.

Jazz Cafe is bar / lounge / restaurant with traditional tables around a dance floor and raised platform for on-the-floor seating and dining around low tables.  Stretching towards the back in the luscious gardens where more raised platforms for small intimate settings, a truly enchanting venue.

We were just too late for dinner so enjoyed drinks instead, listening to the last set of a pretty decent Salsa Band, watching Ubud’s expats and tourists-in-the-know enjoy the wine and dance.

Hunger pangs drove us to look for food.  At past midnight it seemed Ubud had shut down and there was no more visible life.  A drive to the edges of town revealed a loud-sounding venue, but none of us were in the mood for loud music.

At Hibiscus Restaurant, where there was lights and music, but no customers, 2 giddy waitresses made us the centre of their attention and literally cooked up some snacks for us.

After that, the only alternative was to head home and sleep.

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Lynda’s, our modest-but-comfortable accommodations on Nusa Lembongan had a great breakfast.  Pip had a Bacon & Egg Roll, I had an American Breakfast and John had the Aussie Breakfast.

To my surprise, the Aussia Breakfast outclassed the American Breakfast. I guess that was on purpose, it’s Aussie owned after all.  Anyway, Julia opted out of breakfast all together, too afraid she’d end up feeding the fish on our dive.

Diving off Nusa Lembongan

Our first diving news of the day was bad. The seas where to rough to go to Manta Point, one of the main reasons we chose Nusa Lembongan to dive.  Also, we were too early for Mola-Mola season, and although some had already been spotted, chances of us getting to see any where slim.

We had two scheduled dive, the irst of which took us a place called Toyapakeh and the second to SD Point.

Toyapakeh

This site is located in the straight that seperates Nusa Lembongang and Ceningan from Nusa Penida and as a result is known for strong currents in various directions.  It was to be my first drift dive and as such quite exciting.

Turn out, it was quite tiring.  Although we didn’t see anything spectacular or unusually amazing, the endless ridges of prime coral reefs where a true sight to behold.  Visibility was endless it seemed, and the coral reefs stretched off into the distance.  Lots of smaller fishes abound and a few big ones lurked further away.  A school of big Trivali came really close to us and would have to be the highlight of that dive.

I burned through my tank in less than 30 minutes though as I struggled with the swaying current and the bouyancy of the 5mm full-lenght divesuit we got - so far I’ve only dived in shorties.

SD Point

SD Point is paralell to the beach with significantly less current, but still current. Again, the dive was rather unremarkable, so I took the opportunity to concentrate on boyancy control and conserving my oxygen.

The healthy hectares of coral and endless visibility amazed me once and I couldn’t help but feel that usually life abounds here and that perhaps we had just had luck against us.

We returned to shore not exactly awed, but vowing to return for Manta Point and to see Mola-Mola.  Next time, did our dive operators suggest, we should go and spend at least 3 or 4 days there to allow a better chance for conditions to be in our favour.

We had left Pip, the non-diver, at the Mainski Inn - the only hotel on the cheap side with a pool.  She paid Rp 30,000 for the day to use the pool.  We had lunch at Lynda’s where they had giant chicken skewers, which we shared along side Thai green curry and chicken & banana leaf.

Although we had planned on two days in Nusa Lembongan, we felt conditions dictated that perhaps 1 days would suffice this time around.

Fast Boat to Sanur

Julia was adament to avoid the nausia of the slow boat and the rest of us also felt a faster journey was in order.  We went around to scout and haggle for the best price, but everywhere did people start high and only go as low as Rp 150,000.

“Union price”, somebody had told us.  Some or other association on Lembongan dictated that the price could go up from there, but not lower.  Scoot appears to be a reputable operator with new boats, but, were we told, if you didn’t come to the island with them, you couldn’t go with them.

We ended up taking a fast boat back that took about 15 minute faster than the slow boat.  The only saving grace was the this boat was smaller and open and thus it minimised the discomfort we had.

50 minutes after we got onto the boat, we were on the black sand at Sanur, surrounded by taxi drivers who had come into the water right up to the boat to offer their services.

We were heading to Ubud.

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