It's time for us to leave the tranquility of Candidasa and head south. Bean have already booked their final four nights at the 'Febris Hotel and Spa in Tuban, just south of kuta.

Once again we barter with the drivers to find one to take us at the right price. It's a much easier drive back to Kuta, passing through the slightly more upmasrket resorts of Sanur and Nusa Dua. We find Kuta very busy when we arrive, it's the main holiday week of the year, several religious festivals are taking place and families return to their home towns. We settle in to our hotel, managing to get the last room as it is quickly filled with families ariving from Java and Jakarta. Chem are happy to find a hotel in the centre of Kuta which suits their budget. That evening we meet in Kuta for our evening meal, the town is bustling, it has an atmosphere similar to that of a British seaside town on a bank holiday Monday.

Whilst we are in Kuta we visit the site of 'Paddy's Bar' to pay our respects at the memorial to the victims of the 2002 bombs. When you see how busy the area is you can start to imagine the horror that took place. This event has had devastating effects on the people of Bali, many have been pushed back into extreme poverty as the tourism industry has been decimated and the lucrative Australian market lost. The Balinese are wonderful people, so desperate to provide a good service for their guests, they deserve to be given another chance.

Tuesday 24th, Jean decides to take advantage of the facilities at the hotel and indulges herself with a full three hour Balinese massage (the bruises are just beginning to fade). She tries to talk the rest of us into having one but we decline. We meet again that evening for a meal, this time it's the Thai next door (so much choice). We wake up in the night to try to find a channel that's showing Chesterfield V West Ham, but have to make do with news of the famous victory on BBC world service.

Wednesday 25th. is very much a chill out day spent around the pool, before we return to Kuta for a meal at the famous 'Poppies' restaurant. On our walk back through one of the many alleyways we discover a temple with the full costume dance taking place, very impressive!

Thursday 26th. Our final full day. We spend much of our time on the beach, bartering with the locals for a few last minute gifts and souveniers. In the afternoon Chris decides to go for it and book himself a surfing lesson. We watch with bated breath each time he attemps to stand on his surf board. We burst into applause and embarrass him with whoops of delight when he finally succeeds, after providing Emma with some great picture opportunities of his dive off.

After our meal that evning we say our goodbyes, before our journey home early on Friday. We spend another wonderful day in Singapore, visiting Raffles Hotel and the Quayside bars before boarding the midnight flight for our 13 hour journey back to Manchester, taking with us the memories of a wonderful holiday.

We were sad to leave Chris and Emma as we had shared so many special times together. We wish them well as they head for Australia and hope they continue to enjoy every moment of this adventure. We now hand the responsibiliy for this journal back to them! Hope we did OK.