Wednesday 9th June was the date of my visa expiring, we had a lay-in and Captain Caveman had a bit of a hangover after last night’s party. There was no shopping trip today, it had been moved to tomorrow this week. For breakfast I had the gluten free cake from Ly Ly and some crispbreads because I was still peckish. News about my passport, was that my visa was ok and that I would get my passport back, probably in a few days. I was relieved that I wasn’t leaving Phong Nha today or tomorrow and Captain Caveman was glad too – finally I might shut up about it!! I made prawns with rice noodles for a late lunch and it was very tasty, the prawns from the organic shop are definitely great quality. At 3.30pm Tatas arrived at Elements and we were off out to celebrate being allowed to remain in the country for one more month. We walked to the Lake House which took about 24 minutes and it was still hot and sunny. On the way we bumped in to Andrew and his son so we invited him along and when we got there it was just a few minutes before the other guests arrived; Shannon, Craig Davis, Momma D (and Kevin the dog), Trang, then later the owners, Tham and Tony, joined us too with their dog, Snowy. Tatas and I had promised Ania and Hamish that we would celebrate them having left Vietnam with the Polish vodka she had left with me so I had took it along. Momma D was excited to be celebrating being given her 2 year work permit and had ordered some nibbles, we also took full advantage of the happy hour cocktail menu and the shoddyness of the long island iced tea which was unbelievably strong but a bargain. Of course it turned into an amazing night where I couldn’t remember getting home! I only vaguely recalled eating, and getting others to try, my steak which is always a favourite meal of mine. I do remember insisting on taking selfies with everyone and then a slight recollection of some tequila shots – I think we did Hamish and Ania proud with a wild night out!
With just a couple of days left until my visa expired and my passport at Dong Hoi immigration, I double checked flights and PCR test logistics, on Monday 7th June. Captain Caveman was not worried at all and had every faith in the immigration department agreeing to give me another stamp – I hoped he was correct but I didn’t share his confidence. While he headed over to Phong Nha at 7am I had a cheeky lay-in and then had orange juice, a banana and some gluten free biscuits for breakfast. There were a few little sparrows who were nesting in our roof and had decided to destroy some insulation foam and chuck it in the pool and on the balcony – I watched them drink from the pool. It just so happened that there were no flights out on the 9th but one on the 10th so this then lead me to checking out how much overstay fees I would get charged and if the spare dollars Captain Caveman had given me would cover it, if needed. Because of all the faffing about required I would probably have to leave Phong Nha on the Thursday or Friday and then fly from Saigon, which was also 1 week in to a lockdown because of the rise in Corona cases there, but that was another issue I didn’t need to worry about, just yet! Captain Caveman called at the Lake House to collect bread on his way home and then made me a bacon sandwich for my second breakfast/first lunch. I received a message asking for the payment for the visa extension which was excellent news and meant that I should be getting the visa extension stamp on the 9th. I refused to get too over-excited until I at least saw a photo of it but Captain Caveman paid the money and assumed that was the end of that and maybe I would finally stop mentioning it!!! The weather was nice and cloudy so after a couple of (not quite) celebratory cold ones and some homemade Baba Ganoush we had time in the pool. Our day finished with a rather tasty dinner made by Captain Caveman; chicken, pumpkin, garlic, green beans and salad and all seemed to be going well.
At 6am on Tuesday 8th June the loudspeaker was back with a vengeance and playing incredibly loud music. Captain Caveman went off to Oxalis, I had a banana sandwich and some gluten free cake for breakfast and watched a bit of Netflix. Captain Caveman returned having paid 1.6 million vnd (£50) for our half of the electricity, which was a big bill due to the pool pump and use of Aircon this last month. He also had a few updates for me; the old Easy Tiger building was reopening as a pool table place, Phuong from Little Leaf was extending his homestay, little Ha from Bamboo Cafe was enjoying being a mom to her second kid, and (most importantly) positive changes to the Son Doong schedule were afoot. I had crisps and cider for lunch and a bit of swimming was had before Captain Caveman had to leave for the Oxalis 10th anniversary party, at Oxalis Home. I created a Facebook event for a night out tomorrow at the Lake House which would either be for me to celebrate another month here, or my impromptu leaving do. I made myself a prawn and rice noodle dish for dinner and Captain Caveman managed to come home drunk from his Oxalis party on his bicycle with a flashing red light tied to his backside because he has no backlight on the bike itself!
We stayed in bed until 8am on Sunday 6th June because Captain Caveman didn’t get up and go to Oxalis today, he did get up and make us a great breakfast, though! I had bacon, mushrooms and brown sauce on the fresh baguette and it was fantastic. Captain Caveman and I decided to roast some veggies so that we could have them for lunch and dinner later, I made a tray of roasted pumpkin with garlic then Captain Caveman did aubergines for his Baba Ganoush. We ate some of it for lunch and it was pretty impressive on toast, so much so I demanded a second helping. I had a couple of Tootsie Roll cocktails in the afternoon at home by the pool and did a bit of swimming as it was cooler today after some rain yesterday. It was a joint effort on dinner as we had chicken, lettuce, cabbage, spinach (which was actually amaranth), radishes, and gerkins in a baguette with roasted pumpkin and garlic. It was delicious and the amount of bread I’d eaten today hadn’t affected me badly at all. Our conversation after dinner was mainly around what I’m going to do if I have to leave next week and where I will go. Given the risks and restrictions in England, it looked like the sensible option for me would be to go to Turkey. We shared a couple of mangosteens for a dessert and then changed our plans for tomorrow. We were meant to be going to the Lake House with Tatas and Hanh but moved it to Wednesday instead, as that was the day I would know if I was leaving or allowed to stay 1 more month.
Captain Caveman was up at 6.30am on Saturday 5th June and cycling to Phong Nha once again while I did some blogging. I agreed to be ready at 9am, though, with a bag full of Captain Caveman’s clothes to be altered by Thao’s mom, as we were off to Dong Hoi. In the meantime Veronika and the rest of the Farmstay family were on an Oxalis family tour. The news reported that Vietnam has now had 53 Corona deaths but the daily new cases seemed to be calming down slightly.
We went to Co-op Mart first and I always find it so frustrating shopping with Captain Caveman because he has the shopping list on his phone but won’t shout anything out for me to help. When I eventually got him to tell me some vegetables or fruit to select I was getting one or two at once, then taking them to the counter, next to the stinky durian, for the assistant to stick the price on. I went there more than 5 separate times because of this and it was a bit ridiculous. In the end I just walked up and down each isle pushing the trolley and letting Captain Caveman look for everything himself. While he was at the checkout I went over to the Minigood shop to look for some easy to get on and off shoes for kicking about in, I found some excellent shower shoes in a strange colour but they would do the job. It was too warm for trainers and I had nothing else that was comfy, even my porter sandals give me blisters these days. Next we went to Toan Viet Gourmet where Captain Caveman again didn’t say what he still had on the list and so I went round asking ‘do we need this?’ to which he didn’t answer so I left him in there and went back to the car. Our next stop was the Vincom shopping centre where I stayed in the car while Captain Caveman went on a mission to get every item I had missed from Thursday’s shopping trip.
We decided to have lunch at Earth Cafe so we could give the sewing to Mo, to pass to Thao, but when we arrived Mo was just closing up for the day because it was quiet. We had a little chat then walked to Tree Hugger where I had one of my favourites, beef with veggies and brown rice, and Captain Caveman had a cheeseburger. I had a cup of my favourite Tree Hugger tea as well as a cup of the complimentary herbal tea and then the delicious free fruit.
We walked back again to get the car from outside Earth Cafe, in the rain, then Captain Caveman went to the sports shop to buy a headband to stop the sweat from going in his eyes when he’s cycling. Next was the wine shop where he bought Vodka and Kahlua which I’d said to leave off the shopping list, seeing as it wasn’t really essential. The last shop was the organic shop where Captain Caveman completed the rest of the shopping except for a few out of stock items. We drove back, I was dropped off with all the shopping, then Captain Caveman got dropped off at the Glass House so he could cycle back. Duyet helped me carry the shopping in, I stocked up the fridge, freezer and cupboards while looking at what we had. I couldn’t fit everything in the fridge so I ate 2 bananas and an apple then had some of the gluten free biscuits from Ly Ly. That evening we had steak for dinner with mushrooms, green beans, garlic, onion and potatoes and we washed it down with a cheap bottle of red wine – fantastic!
Here’s our extensive list of shopping items, 32,300vnd is £1.
Co-op Mart 1 white cabbage 9,672 2 green peppers 11,780 1 bag of garlic 12,524 1 lettuce 13,090 Tissues 16,000 1 box of tomatoes 18,250 2 avocados 23,972 Mints 27,200 5 onions 30,536 Tin foil 39,900 Tweezers 41,000 3 toothbrushes 41,400 6 cans of tonic 45,600 1 packet of bacon 55,500 2kg of potatoes 56,713 Deodorant 78,000 1kg of chicken breast fillets 90,000 4 apples 98,000 2 cartons of orange juice 107,000 Olive oil 188,000 24 cans of beer 234,000
Minigood Shop 1 pair of sandals 139,900
Toan Viet Gourmet Shop 250g of salted butter 73,000 2 bottles of red wine 620,000
VinMart Supermarket 1 bag of spinach 12,705 2 baguettes 18,000 4 cans of Strongbow 74,000
Sports shop 1 X sweatband 70,000
Wine shop 1 bottle of vodka 230,000 1 bottle of Kahlua 290,000
An Nong Organic Shop 400g of mangosteen 52,500 2 beef fillet steaks 76,500 200g prawns 129,150
This time Captain Caveman was in charge of the money and receipts and he did well to get most things and spend just less than 2.8m vnd (£88) on shopping and 180,000vnd (£5.60) on lunch. The bargains of the day were cabbage and steaks, what’s missing that you would have added to the trolley?
I woke up on Friday 4th June to the sound of a mooing cow sounding like it was in distress so I asked Captain Caveman to investigate on his way out to see if there was anything he could do (he’s really good with cows, as it happens). I had 2 bananas and some gluten free biscuits for breakfast but then had a bad stomach, it seemed to be from eating fruit now! In the news today Vietnam reported their 50th Corona death since the pandemic began, he was a 67yr old male with lung cancer. Captain Caveman came back from Phong Nha so I checked with him why the cow next door had been so vocal this morning and it turned out the cow had needed the toilet but hadn’t been let out of his gated garden so was trying to tell someone to open the gate – how clever. Friday night is pizza night and so Ben had sent a message saying we needed to wear masks at all times and then picked us up at just after 6pm. Shannon was already sat at the table, Veronika had gone in earlier on her motorbike and was by the river, Hanh and Tatas also joined the table, then Ben a bit later. I had 3 glasses of red wine and 6 slices of pizza, all of which were great and I realised I missed coming to The Villas on other occasions, like breakfast or for other kinds of food and Happy Hour and a half.
On Thursday 3rd June Captain Caveman had gone to Phong Nha by bicycle and I had my phone on do not disturb until 8am, hoping for an extra bit of sleep. At 7.45am Veronika was knocking on the door to tell me we were getting picked up for the Phong Nha Farmstay shopping trip in 15 minutes and I’d missed calls from her and Bich. I rushed around to be ready and let Captain Caveman know I was going without him because we were having an earlier than usual trip. The shopping trip participants today consisted of me, Veronika, Bich, Ben, Michael, Howie and the Farmstay receptionist, Maya. By 9.40am we were stopping at our first shop, The Red supermarket, I bought just 3 items and was at the checkout first, followed by Mai, then Veronika. The organic shop was next where I grabbed radishes and green beans. At gone 10am we were at the VinMart and by 10.40am I had done all my shopping and had quite a few bags, I did notice that some usual items were out of stock though. We sat in the cool Aircon of the Vinpearl hotel foyer and waited for Ben to finish a meeting while his eldest son walked around reception in a Trump supporter hat. I had an expensive Pepsi at 50,000vnd (£1.55) while we waited and then it was time for lunch at Geminai. I wasn’t very lucky today and although I ordered first and went for a tofu in plum sauce, I was told a while after they had no tofu so I asked for beef fried rice instead. At 12.20 I was still waiting and most people had almost eaten their food, there was also a kitchen next to where we were eating and they were burning some oil and chillies which made me, Veronika and Mai cough and our eyes water. While I was eating my food, which tasted nice but just had beef in, no vegetables, I started to get a bad stomach and was ill as soon as I had finished it. Mai mentioned she thought it could be that they had fried the rice in butter and I’d never thought of that – she could be on to something there! On the journey home I read in the news that the UK/India mutant variant wasn’t a new variant as Vietnam had initially thought, it is just another version of the Indian variant, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210603/who-rules-out-new-hybrid-covid-variant-in-vietnam-nikkei/61305.html Corona cases here were continuing to increase quite quickly in this latest 4th wave now and authorities were planning for a worst case scenario. After I had put all the shopping away I had a couple of gin and pink grapefruits by the pool. We had chicken sandwiches for dinner and had an early night.
As usual I made a list of all my shopping items and their cost in VND. £1 is about 32,300vnd and I got a few bargains this week;
Red Supermarket 1 can of Ginger Ale 32,000 2 bottles of Grapefruit 110,000
An Nong Organic Shop 1 bag of green beans 32,500 1 box of radishes 38,250
VinMart Supermarket 1 chopped pumpkin 6,090 3 aubergines 6,605 1 baguette 9,000 1 bottle of chilli sauce 11,000 1 packet of rice macaroni 12,000 2 cans of diet Coke 19,000 1 dragon fruit 19,632 6 bananas 24,100 1 packet of rice noodles 26,000 10 eggs 27,700 1 packet of mushrooms 35,500 2 cans of Strongbow dark fruits 37,000 1packet of salami 38,300 500g chicken breast fillets 47,900 1 box of toothpicks 52,900 2 packets of M&Ms 70,000
This week I spent just over 620,000vnd (£20) on the shopping and 250,000vnd (£7.75) on a drink and lunch! I didn’t get any of the expensive fruits or wine this week. What items do you cut out when you have a tight budget?
Des, in Danang, updated me that he had set up an online English teaching business, the link is here; https://www.italki.com/i/reft/GFADfA/GFADfA/english?hl=en In the afternoon we went in the jeep to the Farmstay for a drink and I arranged to send my passport to immigration in Dong Hoi to request the visa extension. I started looking into flight options more seriously because I could have only 9 days left in this country. I also had to weigh up where I would go and via which country I would choose to transit through, as there were no direct flights to England or Turkey available. We stayed at the Farmstay for sunset and had a couple of happy hour drinks while chatting to Steven and his girlfriend who had returned from Hanoi. We didn’t eat at the Farmstay because we were on a budget and I’d already got the prawns out of the freezer for dinner. When we got home I cooked the prawns with onions, garlic, cashew nuts and rice noodles and we had a bottle of red wine between us.
On Wednesday 2nd June Captain Caveman headed over to Phong Nha, I had gluten free cake and a pot of jasmine tea for breakfast while catching up on the Corona news. There was an interesting article on the consequences of not wearing a mask in public in Vietnam: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210602/maskless-woman-berates-police-at-ho-chi-minh-city-convenience-store/61275.html Unfortunately death number 49 was reported and plans were made in Saigon to build a makeshift hospital to house 1000 patients if required: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210602/ho-chi-minh-city-plans-to-build-1000bed-makeshift-hospital-to-treat-covid19-patients/61287.html While Captain Caveman was having coffee with colleagues at Tree House I took a call from Bich to say there would be a shopping trip to Dong Hoi tomorrow and would keep me posted on the arrangements. When Captain Caveman got back I was already in the pool and the weather was pretty scorching hot! I had a couple of rum and ginger ales, he had gin and tonics and we swam for a bit, before having some crisps. For dinner Captain Caveman made a lovely meal of chicken, potatoes, courgettes, green beans and carrots which I really enjoyed. Graeme, the gecko, came out to say hello and Captain Caveman met him for the first time.
There are many reasons that, when I have to leave Vietnam, I would look forward to returning to Turkey. I left in January 2020 and if it wasn’t for the Corona situation I would have been back there by now. I made a ‘Pros and Cons’ list (in no particular order) starting with the cons.
– I would need to travel via Istanbul airport. – I wouldn’t be allowed to work in Turkey. – I don’t know when I would get to see Captain Caveman again, but there is a chance he could visit Turkey in the winter. – I can’t go to the UK from Turkey because of the red status. – Captain Caveman could lose out on more rental income because I am living in the apartment instead of renting out.
+ I might be able to see my parents if they are allowed to visit Turkey. + I will be able to see my friends once I’ve been vaccinated fully or had a test and isolated. + I can reapply for Turkish residency which lapsed because of the pandemic and me not being able to visit Turkey until now. + I might be able to get a vaccine, possibly quicker than I would in Vietnam. + I can see a Doctor to have a second opinion on my leg and stock up on medicine. + Unlike the UK, I won’t have to do quarantine at a cost when I arrive in Turkey. + Flights are not too expensive to Turkey. + I have the funds to support myself in Dalyan. + I can sort out my banking + I have a Turkish health insurance policy. + I have a load of clothes (bras included) already in Turkey which means I will have lots of choice and won’t have to take a big case back. + The cost of living in Dalyan is similar to Phong Nha, maybe cheaper. + I can treat myself to a haircut with Emrah after 18 months away from him.
There are many reasons that, when I have to leave Vietnam, I would look forward to returning to the UK. It has been almost 3 years since I left and if it wasn’t for the Corona situation I would have visited in the last 18 months for sure. Unfortunately ‘coming back home’ without any plans in the middle of a pandemic with no end in sight might not be the best option for me at this time. I made a ‘Pros and Cons’ list (in no particular order) starting with the cons.
– I will probably have to do self isolation or quarantine at a cost when I arrive in London. – I would need to travel on public transport to Sheffield without a vaccine and people not wearing masks. – Flights are expensive and would possibly need to go via Moscow, Doha, Dubai, or Singapore to London. – I don’t have the funds to support myself and my bank card is about to expire. – I would need to find a job, which won’t be easy in the current climate. – I don’t know when I would get to see Captain Caveman again. – I can’t go to and from Turkey easily, from the UK, because of the red status. – I have very few clothes or belongings in the UK so would be another expense to consider. – I have nowhere to live in the UK and don’t want to risk moving in with parents who have rarely left the house since the pandemic, when I could bring the virus to them. – the cost of living will be too high for me. – to get fully vaccinated I would need to stay in the same place in England without resources.
+ I might be able to see my parents after 1 year and 8 months apart. + I might be able to see my friends in Sheffield after 3 years away. + I might be able to see all my other family and friends around the UK. + I can re-register at a Doctor’s and get a vaccine. + I can see a Doctor to reassess my ever changing allergy issues, have a second opinion on my leg and stock up on medicine. + I can sort out my banking and get new cards. + I can get a new Driving Licence. + I’d be able to go to Marks & Spencer. + Bras!! I would be able to buy bras that fit!
I made an alphabetical list of the top 10 things I will miss when I leave Vietnam.
• Bluey, my bicycle • Buffalo • Captain Caveman • Elements Collection • Friends in Vietnam • Geckos • Having a private pool • Rice cooker • Shower shoes • The food
Trying to decide if I would go back to Turkey, if I have to leave Vietnam, I made a list of 10 things I could look forward to if I went back, to Captain Caveman’s apartment, in Dalyan:
• Boat trips • Fire Opal Apartment • Hair appointments • Having access to money • Having more choice of clothes • Reapplying for residency • Still having a pool • Seeing friends • The food • Volunteering
Trying to decide if I would go back to the UK, if I have to leave Vietnam, I made a list of 10 things I could look forward to if I went back home, to Sheffield:
• Seeing Family and friends • Celebrating missed occasions • Cooler weather • Renewing my driver’s license • Sorting out my pensions • Fish and chips (it’s been 3 years)! • Being able to change my bank account and get a new card • Tap water • Possibly finding a job • Cake
It was extremely hot on Monday 31st May so I had a very relaxed day. For breakfast I had gluten free biscuits with peanut butter from Ly Ly of Funny Monkeys which were so delicious. The news I read this morning was unsettling as more info on the UK/India mutated variant of Corona was being reported: https://vietnamtimes.org.vn/how-dangerous-is-new-hybrid-coronavirus-variant-found-in-vietnam-32332.html Information from various places on Facebook stated that Vietnam was cracking down on illegal workers on tourist visas and unfortunately this included people we knew. Captain Caveman’s Son Doong briefing for that night did not go ahead as planned and the tour tomorrow was cancelled, later there was news that all Oxalis tours would be cancelled for 14 days, aside from any customers who were already in Quang Binh province, due to the increase in cases in other provinces. I started to get messages from friends in England who were really worried about us in Vietnam from the news they were hearing, which was very interesting because it had been a while since the UK had such low numbers and they didn’t seem to be worried at all, in fact the UK was still getting ready to take the last steps in the reopening and ‘getting back to normal’ while the number of cases were still relatively high. Captain Caveman gave me the previous day’s cases so I could show a bit of perspective; The cases in the UK for yesterday were 3,240 and the cases in Vietnam were 214 (which was a big number for us), we’d had no deaths in Vietnam for yesterday but the UK had 6. We can’t access the BBC News sites here so we have no idea what drivel and spin the people of the UK are being given. For lunch Captain Caveman and I shared a bag of crisps and I had 2 gin and ginger ales by the pool. I’d noticed my bikini had shrunk in the wash a little and so I probably needed to shed a few kilogrammes next month. It would be difficult with Chef Captain Caveman back in the kitchen for a couple of weeks though. He made chicken with spaghetti for dinner and we shared a bottle of red wine.
Overall May was still a good month despite some disappointments; we started the month getting to spend time with friends who were visiting Phong Nha, Captain Caveman had less work with only 2 Son Doong tours and a Tu Lan 4 day tour and so we got to spend some time together. My blog (https://joloyolo.com/) was doing well and better than the last few months, which was good. The top countries for where people were reading the blog from were changing again; 1)Vietnam, 2)UK, 3)Australia, 4)USA, 5)Ireland, 6)Singapore, 7)Turkey, 8)Hong Kong, 9)Sweden. I was even surprised to have a reader from Costa Rica for the first time! As the UK opened up more and more friends were able to do much more and where previously people were stuck at home with more time to read about my life, now they actually were getting back their lives and that was no bad thing. My phone had started playing up a bit in May and was unable to give me screenshots which was annoying for keeping data. Thanks to all who are still reading and, although I can’t promise June to be any more exciting, I can tell you that I won’t even know where I will be! Will it be Vietnam still, back to the UK, or off to Turkey? I don’t even know yet!
I decided not to have any breakfast on Sunday 30th May because I had arranged to meet friends at East Hill for lunch. I read in the news that the church related Corona spreaders in Saigon were facing criminal charges, info here: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/hcmc-religious-mission-faces-criminal-charge-for-spreading-covid-19-4286287.html I cycled with Captain Caveman the 5 minutes to East Hill and on the way I noticed that my bangle had started to bubble and appeared to be struggling to cope in the heat. As we pulled in to the path Hanh was arriving on her motorbike and when we got up the steps to the seated area Tatas was already there and had ordered BBQ chicken, sticky rice and extra cucumber. I was beginning to think Veronika was right to stay at home because it was too hot to go out but at least there was a bit of a breeze where we were. The food was, as always, delicious and we moved seats when the natural breeze stopped, to sit near a fan. Hanh and I had a couple of ciders, Tatas and Captain Caveman had a couple of Tiger Crystal beers and we shared a chicken combo which I’d told Captain Caveman not to be too greedy over, this time. We invited the girls back to our place so we could have a dip in the pool but Hanh had to go to an appointment.
Video of the BBQ chicken arriving at East Hill
Tatas was at Elements before us, the cycle back was brutally hot and I was desperate to get in the pool, the water was so hot though. Captain Caveman got word from a customer on his next Son Doong tour that he had cancelled his trip from Saigon later today because he was an F2 case and was having to self isolate at home. We should have been coming back from our holiday today but I’d managed to forget about it by having a nice day in Phong Nha, instead.
At 5.15pm Captain Caveman and I headed off to the Farmstay in the funky new Elements Collection jeep. We took advantage of the Farmstay Happy Hour with gin and tonics for Captain Caveman and Tatas while I went off piste with a rum and diet coke for a nice change. Captain Caveman and I shared a chicken quesadillas and Tatas had fresh spring rolls which she liked so much that she ordered a second portion of. She didn’t have the Sunday roast but we did and the Farmstay family joined us. The food was fantastic and I had trouble saving some to take home. I even had 2 pieces of crackling this week so I was very pleased with that. Back home we read the news together in bed; from midnight tonight HCMC was going in to a type of lockdown where some locations would be under directive 15 and others directive 16. This was not good news for Vietnam who have been keeping the virus under control quite well, but it was necessary to protect what medical resources and healthcare workers they did have, as well as doing everything possible to prevent the spread of this new mutated version of the virus.
Tatas took a video of our first trip in the Elements Collection jeep
Captain Caveman’s time lapse video of our first trip in the jeep
On Saturday 29th May, it was all kicking off with the religious group in HCMC who had been spreading the Corona virus expecting that God would save them. The news told everyone who had been in Saigon to check a big list of where they had been, to see if they may be F1, F2, etc. Captain Caveman checked the list and had not ventured anywhere near in the short time he’d been in Saigon, luckily. There was also the first discovery of what looked like a new hybrid variant, between the UK and Indian viruses, this would later turn out to be very important. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-discovers-new-coronavirus-variant-with-uk-indian-mutations-4285878.html Captain Caveman headed over to Phong Nha and in to work in the morning, followed by picking up some homemade cookies and gluten free biscuits from Ly Ly at Funny Monkeys. When he returned I sampled them and they were absolutely delicious and a great idea for snacks or a breakfast item with peanut butter, which Ly Ly also sent a cute little jar of. I’d already unpacked my bag but when Captain Caveman unpacked his, he had some treats for us which I was excited about; gerkins, pickled onions, 3 bags of Naturals crisps (no longer available in Phong Nha) and a lovely gift from his customer, Thien. I made rice with egg, courgette, garlic and sweetcorn in for our lunch and Captain Caveman was going to cook a nice dinner. I updated Captain Caveman of how hot it had been in the pool these last few days by demonstrating the elbow test, which had meant the temperature of our pool was too warm to bath a baby in, but I wasn’t complaining because most cities with Corona had insisted on the closing of all swimming pools – we were lucky to have our own private one. I’d had a can of strongbow by the pool (classy, I know) but we decided we would drink the bottle of white wine from Thien with our chicken in a homemade tomato sauce. I had my chicken with rice, Captain Caveman had pasta with his and the chilled white went down a treat. The day was a lot calmer than recent days and, although we weren’t having a great night out in Saigon with some of our favourite people, we made the most of being together – safely in Phong Nha. I was just upset that it meant I wouldn’t see a few people for quite some time as they were leaving Vietnam pretty soon. We decided that our day out tomorrow would have to include a bit of cycling to one of our favourite lunch spots.
joloyolo 