Our flight over from Singapore was fairly short, there was thunder storms in the distance as we flew out from the airport....matt was desperately hoping we wasn't going in that direction.....lucky enough we didn't!! It was a great feeling knowing that when we landed a familiar face wouldn't be far away!....we couldn't wait to share our experiences from the past couple of months...and was excited about the next 10 days and what was to come! When we landed we knew that a transfer to sorga cottages had been arranged and it was a matter of finding our driver.....we grabbed our bags and headed for the exit....there standing tall with a big grin on his face waiting for us was Geoff!....it was unexpected that we met there but an emotional greeting!...Jen felt herself well up but just managed to hold it in! After it being just the two of us for so long it was strange but nice to have someone else around! We left the airport and headed to sorga cottages our hotel for the next 6 nights....it was good to get a little insight into kuta from Geoff....telling us about the food....good bars....and the surrounding area!!....we checked into our room...balinese culture shone through the hotel.....excited to catchup we went to a nearby bar...one of which they already new Geoff....we shared some stories whilst knocking back a the local beer (bintang)! It was a bit surreal that Geoff was there with us! A great feeling to have someone else to share the experience with you! Ideally you would want everyone to go through your experiences so they can grasp how special certain moments can be! We called it a night excited talking about what was to come! The next day was spent getting our bearings....this was the longest we had stayed in the same place.....it was good knowing we didn't have to move on any time soon!.....I think we was treating our time in kuta more as a holiday! It was easy to get lost through the streets of kuta everything looked very similar....there was plenty of street stalls selling knock off goods at bargain prices if ur bartering skills were up to it.....Geoff had already been caught short getting some t-shirts....they target the fresh white tourists so we were all good coming in dark skinned! We decided to partake in Geoffs favorite holiday activity and went to the bar for a few ice cold beers! It became obvious that there was a big aussie influence in kuta.....walking around you could see Aussie bars....Aussie rules football playing....n all the knock off aussie sports shirts!...pretty much anywhere we went night n day there was a mass of aussies...we soon came to realise it was the Aussies Ibiza!! The weather in Bali was amazing it didn't have the sticky sweaty heat of thailand n malaysia there was a cool breeze through the air which we hadn't felt since we left England..... we had a swimming pool which was rather refreshing after a few hours walking around in the heat!! At night we could finally utilise our jeans....a bit of variation was great! We had a shipment of resources that Geoff had brought over.....our faces lit up with lil home luxuries!!....not forgetting a huge jar of marmite that Jen was sooo desperately craving!!...Jen couldn't wait till breakfast the following morning!! Surprisingly england were still in the euro's so we decided to watch the game.....only problem was that we would have to stay up till gone 2!.....hmmmm what was we going to do?!....yep!..u guessed it!....We went for a bit of a bar crawl with Geoff showing us some of his favorite bars!....jumping between the happy hours!....Balinese currency was in thousands which was pretty hard to get our heads around paying 15,000 for a bintang beer!?.......after spending a few thousand on a table full of beers we were getting closer to kick off.....we thought a bit of food would go down well and get us ready for round two!....after walking up and down the main stretch debating what quick snack we could eat we all agreed on a pizza!....large beef pizza with chilli!.....wow it was hot!!.....Geoff had found his food Mecca! We snaffled the pizza and headed for the opposing bar.....big screen...front row chairs...and more ice cold bintang's.....sorted, let the game commence!......it was probably a good thing consuming so many beers as we truly drowned our sorrows! The following day was a late getup....we pretty much spent the day getting over our hangovers by the pool!.....we had done some local research and found there was a night market on....after seeing a few whilst in Asia we were excited to show Geoff some of the cheap lil gems you could bargain for!!....we set off with our map in hand....walking through the dark backstreets of kuta.....10 mins past......hmmmm we seem to be getting further away from the main strip........20 mins past........urhhhh theres some dodgy dark streets n people around here......are we heading the right way?!.....yep it's gotta be at the end of this street!!........25 mins past!!....... Ay this is the right street.....but no sign of any market?!.....just a square of grubby food stalls and a bunch of people staring at the tourists!!... damn!!....that didn't go to plan......right let's get off these dodgy back streets!!!.....dinner and beers sounds good!!.....we ended the night at an Indian.....having a feast!! Since being in Bali matt had wanted to get some surfing lessons.....as it was the surf capital of the world and super cheap he thought he'd give it go!!....Jen and Geoff wasn't as keen so matt booked up his lesson alone..... The following morning he got up ate a quick breakfast and headed for his induction!!....after some safety tips a board was in hand heading for the beach!......we practiced the essentials on the beach before we entered the water.....paddling and popping.......we then paddled out and waited for a decent wave ......paddling hard then waiting for the right moment to pop up.....then balance all the way to the shore!!.....2 hours of this had matt knackered....Jen and Geoff watched from the beach taking some shots of matt riding the wave!! It was all very exhilarating until you came crashing into water getting churned up by the surf....as you could imagine....beers were soon to follow......that evening on our way out to find some tasty food we decided to choose one of the many tour operators and book a white water rafting trip and our onward travel to Ubud!....we got our haggling skills out and ended up getting good value for money!!!......the next day we were picked up early for our rafting trip......we flew around kuta and then out into the unknown somewhere inland......after 30 mins we parked up and was ushered out the car and into a house in the middle of nowhere...the customary asian sales pitch started.....on offer was a pair of waterproof plimsoles and some photos.....no no no we know what ur up to...trying to rinse us of every last 100,000....nope were good thanks......so on we went......an hour went by....at this point we were in jungle like terrain......we had pulled up along the side of a huge crevasse..... Tea time......we walked down to a cliff side cafe and was presented with a selection of Balinese teas......another sales pitch and a refreshing break and we was back on the road!!....our final ride to our destination!....we got out the car and met up with a group of other people......after a glance around we soon noticed the rest of the group all had trainers on!!!......hmm so I take it flip flops are not a good idea!!.....what?!.....there probs gonna be swept off with the current!! What happened next could have been a moment of genius or possible madness......a lightbulb went of in Geoffs head.....the emergency plastic bag came from nowhere after some pulling...stretching.....and tying....a secure waterproof river rafting flipflop was ready to get put through some demanding tests!!....matt and Jen in fits of laughter thought they would take a chance!....we headed down a trek of steps and ended up at the bottom of the valley by the riverside....the 3 of us and our guide enter one of the many rafts....the river at this point was fairly calm....once everybody was in a raft we was off....it didn't take long before we were unable to keep direction the current was pushing us......left to right....occasionally spinning us around!....we made up lots of ground on other rafts....bumping into them and rocks at the narrow parts of the river!....the surroundings were amazing...lush green grass...towering trees and the cliff side mixed in with a bright warm sun!....it was awesome!!....we were all buzzing from the adrenaline kicking in....with rafts flying racing around us....water was getting splashed everywhere.....Geoff decided splashing other rafts would be a fun idea....the next min we was getting bombarded with oars of water!!....flying through the rapids we eventually came to a huge waterfall falling down onto the river....with one eye on the landscape and one on the oncoming hazards we took in the experience.....occasionally getting flung back into the raft!.....we were ending the course but was hearing the impending roar of a waterfall up ahead!.....we were being told to prepare to go down it.....the drop must have been at least 8ft.....at this point matt, geoff and Jens flip-flops were all still on there feet....this was the ultimate test....we all held tightly onto the rope attached to the raft and leaned back.....we approached the drop.....3, 2, 1........we smashed into the water below....we flew around the raft.....Geoffs legs flew in the air.....and boom onto his back!.....we had survived and just as important so did our flip flops.....Geoffs binbag flipflop tie soon coming to a store near you!.....we then had a huge climb to get up to the restaurant where a huge Balinese buffet feast awaited!....an amazing day and such an adrenaline rush!....we crashed out that evening opting for only a couple of quiet beers! The following day was to be our last full day in kuta so we made the most of the swimming pool and decided to take it easy....we took to the crazy kuta night scene for our last time managing to grab a hot chilli pizza in the process (to keep Geoff happy!)....we had all had a great 6 days in kuta but was looking forward to seeing some of the true Bali and escape some of the madness!