We got picked up for white water rafting this morning. I still wasn't happy about going and kept worrying about falling out. I can swim very well so I wasn't worried about drowning but I was worried about scratching myself or bumping my head against rocks if I did fall out of the boat and then not being able to get back in. I felt really nervous and our driver told me not to worry. He said he was scared on on his first time and he couldn't even swim! I asked him if anyone ever falls out but apparently no one has before, that made me feel a little bit better.

It took about an hour to get there driving through a really nice village with rice terraces and old houses. We stopped at a coffee plantation along the way but we really wished we hadn't. They had a type of wild cat locked up in a very small dingy metal cage. There was nothing else inside except a tray underneath to catch its waste. The poor thing was curled up in one corner and looked absolutely miserable, it was very sad to see. A guide showing us around the plantation was very proud to have the cat and told us they keep it for people to see. The cat is special because it eats the fruit containing coffee beans, poos them back out and they make a special coffee (and very expensive) called Kopi Luwak Coffee. I wasn't happy about it at all and it played on my mind the whole time we sat down for a coffee. We tried Bali coffee, coco, ginger coffee, ginseng tea and lemon grass tea. We both liked the lemon grass tea the most. We also got a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee just to try it. It was ok, smoother than normal but nothing special and it sells for £50 a cup or $70 in Oz! People do pay for s***, literally! They took us to the shop on our way out and I asked the manager if I could make a suggestion about the cats living arrangements. I wrote down on a rough piece of paper he gave me that they should build a bigger cage with a tree and bushes so customers could appreciate the cat in a more natural setting, plus it would be much better for the cat itself. He basically didn't give a s*** and said people want to see the animal up close! I argued they didn't and said less zoos are caging animals this way. He argued only in England which really pissed me off. I said he should take a look at their own zoo in Bali but he was just a inconsiderable c@nt and didn't give a toss. Chris pulled me away then and we left.

We got to the rafting place shortly after. I was still moaning about the cat and got myself so worked up about the rafting I was unsure about going at all! I felt so silly but it was like the bungee jump all over again! After calming down I agreed to go but only if I didn't have to paddle, Chris thought this was typical of me and took the piss.

We started going down the Telaga Waja River just after our safety talk. It was twelve km to the end and would take two hours. There were four of us plus our guide. After only a minute I realised how wrong I was to be worried and really enjoyed myself! I was giggling away at every splash and rapid we went through, it felt like being thrown about on a bouncy castle! I still gripped on tight though. Chris sat at the front and was loving it! It was only class three rapids with one five meter drop waiting for us at the end. I wasn't sure how to feel about that just yet.

After twenty minutes the rubber seat that Chris and the old man next to him were sitting on suddenly broke off! The old man kept falling onto his back every couple of minutes which was hilarious. In the end we had to paddle over to the side so the lady next to me could get into the other boat and Chris could move back with me. The old man still wanted to sit in the front but was useless at paddling so he just held on tight.

Chris was now the only person (besides our raft guide) in the boat with a paddle. We carried on down the river bumping off rocks, spinning around and going down the rapids backwards. It was really good fun and I actually enjoyed it! We had to lay flat a few times to get under extremely low bamboo bridges, I didn't have to do anything except hold on but the whole thing still felt like a bit of a work out! I was relived when we stopped half way at a waterfall to have a beer each. I told Chris I was looking forward to the five meter drop now and all he did was take the piss and tease the hell out of me for being scared before. I have to admit, I did feel pretty stupid.

We finished our beers and got back in the boat. On our way down we saw some really nice scenery, we were in the middle of a gorge with small waterfalls all around us. Our guide took us under one of them so we all got soaked! The water was freezing! Then there it was, a little further down river, the big five meter drop. We paddled to the side and stopped just before the drop so Chris could put his paddle down and then we all had to lean right back. Our boat slowly drifted with the current right to the edge of the waterfall then we all screamed with excitement as we fell over, then bounced at the bottom, it was wicked!

Unfortunately we were at the end of our rafting, so we got out and walked up five hundred steps to a restaurant to have lunch, we were starving by the time we reached the top. One of the couples bought a photo of us all in the boat going down the big drop, Chris being a pikey quickly took a photo of it on our camera so we didn't have to pay for it ourselves lol.

It took just over an hour to drive back to Ubud, we were shattered when we got in but it was so worth it. Tomorrow we hope to join a cooking class, I've seen a really good one online so we will try to book it first thing in the morning.