We were due to check out of Little Lies pool villas at 12 noon, however Mondays are generally quieter than other days so we were in no rush on Monday 24th August. There was 2 more Corona cases, 1 death and 5 recoveries in Vietnam which was looking like it was improving. I had pho again and Captain had sausages for breakfast, sat by the pool. We decided to stay for one more night but I left Captain Caveman to entertain himself while I headed off to Dong Hoi for physiotherapy. After my session Phuong drove me back to Little Lies and I had my left over Sunday dinner with a bit of Captain Caveman’s eggplant dish. Veronika brought some wine round and we had a good evening, we even had a sweet wine with ice as a dessert.
There were 6 more cases, 20 recoveries and no deaths reported on Tuesday 25th August. I had pho for breakfast at Little Lies and we were definitely checking out today. I had mastered crutching about in accupressure shower shoes which was helping my foot and leg a bit and I was, as always, sorry to be leaving the Farmstay. We went over to the bar and pool area for some lunch (fresh spring rolls for me) and Captain Caveman had an idea for us to go for a curry at Namaste that evening. Ben offered to call Raj and ask him to put the oven on for us so that we could have naan bread and tandoori meals, as long as we got 10 people to go. In a jiffy it was posted on the Facebook group, Phong Nha Visitors, and a random gang of curry lovers volunteered to make up numbers for the evening. The food was great, Raj was welcoming and we had a lovely evening with new and old friends – a bit of an impromptu event!
We had arranged to go for breakfast at The Villas on Wednesday 26th August between 9 and 10am. I was still looking at the Corona stats at 9am and hadn’t got ready yet. There were 7 more cases, 4 recoveries and no deaths in Vietnam. Worldwide the cases had exceeded 24 million now with no signs of letting up. Worryingly my Facebook showed so many more of my English friends now meeting up in lots of different groups and it wouldn’t be long before the kids went back to school so it didn’t look likely we would get to the UK this year, if we wanted to be allowed back to Vietnam. I had bacon and beans for a change while Captain Caveman had eggs Benedict. For lunch I didn’t fancy anything too heavy so I just had 30 grams of cheese and water. Phuong picked me up and I went to physio but I didn’t feel too well when I got there, my stomach was bad again. It was very muggy and hot and I felt ill through most of the therapy session as I tried not to get through as best I could. My ankle was certainly improving and my knee felt pretty good, though.
When Phuong and I arrived back at The Villas Caroline invited Phuong to come to join us for margaritas and popcorn. Captain Caveman ordered a pizza and I had the rather tasty smoked duck salad. I got on the back of Captain Caveman’s hired motorbike from Thang to go home and managed to be fine getting upstairs after my 2 margaritas. We were home early and in bed for 9pm, so much for Wine Wednesday – it had turned in to Water Wednesday.
On Thursday 27th August I was pleased to wake up without the hangover I had been expecting as I checked in on the NCOVI app. There were 5 more cases, 2 more deaths and 40 recoveries reported in Vietnam. Captain Caveman was off on his last customer Son Doong trip of the season and so was up and about early, he brought me a fruit salad from Oxalis Home for breakfast. I packed my bag as I was staying in Dong Hoi – even though I can now get up and down the numerous stairs to our room it is still difficult where getting food is concerned so it’s easier to stay at the Nam Long Plus Hotel where I can order meals and have help. Because of the unpredictableness of my stomach I decided to just have a snickers for lunch and I was fine for my physio session. Thuy, the boss had decided to buy me my dinner and as I was leaving she had got me a roast duck with rice and salad for dinner. I got back to the hotel and ate my dinner which was one of the best things I’ve tasted in a long time. I spent the evening watching Million Dollar Beach House on Netflix after my bath and thought myself lucky.
joloyolo 