Hanoi – 10th April

I slept in until pretty late on Wednesday 10th April and my cold had got a lot worse. Captain Caveman and I walked to the nearest shoping centre for breakfast and he had coffee and a cheese and ham toastie. He bought me a croissant and an earl grey tea but I could hardly taste it and kept coughing a lot. I was running out of underwear so we went to Rico where I bought 2 pairs of sensible knickers for 200,000VND (£6.38) and Captain Caveman thought it was a bit of an unnecessary expense. I rarely spend any money on clothes and when I do it’s always for practical reasons, but these were essential. I’d had my eye on one of the cute dresses they had for 400,000VND (£12.31) to take on our trip to Thailand but I was too sick and the budget didn’t include clothes to make me look pretty. On the way back to Aisha hotel we called a the shop for more essentials, here’s what we got and the prices in Dong;

Winmart Supermarket
1.5l water 10,600
Revive isotonic drink 11,800
Lays crisps 12,100
Japanese Crisps 19,000
Fridge cost 500
Total spent 54,000VND (£1.69)

Once back, I decided I needed to get back in bed and Captain Caveman was going to meet a friend for lunch, without me, but bring me something back to eat. As it was weigh day, and the 5th Fat Club in Dalyan that I’d been away for, I did my measurements. We had no scales but I’d put 1cm on my bust and waist, my hips had remained the same – maybe I didn’t need clothes in a smaller size if I was going to fill my baggy clothes again!
When Captain Caveman returned from a nice lunch at a yoga retreat with Cuc, he had brought me back a beautifully presented takeaway box. He told me they were fresh veggie spring rolls with a pesto dip. I bit in to one and it was super slimy and I had to spit it out. Unfortunately, he had brought me avocado rolls with some guacamole dip and had forgotten I hate avocado. Instead I ate crisps but I was still hungry.
That evening we were meeting our friend and Vietnamese teacher, Lien, for dinner but she had to rearrange plans and we met at Oriberry cafe. They do food but there was nothing I liked on the menu so I had a herbal tea and a slice of banana bread which Captain Caveman had half of and it was more like cake. It was only a brief meet up with Lien but it was good to see her, she looked really well. Captain Caveman decided we were going to go to an old favourite, Dalcheeni Indian restaurant, for dinner but Lien didn’t want to join us. I was a snotty mess and took ages to decide what to order. My eyes were streaming so I could hardly see the menu. I wasn’t having a good day where food was concerned as the samosas and my chicken tikka were too spicy so I ate the rice, naan bread and some of Captain Caveman’s chicken starter. Luckily Captain Caveman was able to eat what I had ordered without any complaints.
We walked back to the hotel, via the same shop where we bought the following;

Winmart Supermarket
1.5l water 10,600
Tissues 30,500
Total spent 41,100VND (£1.29)

Strangely, there was no extra cost for drinks from the fridge this time. Back at the hotel, I took some medication and went to sleep, hoping to feel better in the morning.