Phong Nha – 21st April

On Sunday 21st April Captain Caveman was due out of Son Doong but I’d already arranged to see Amanda and Greg in the afternoon. For a late breakfast I had another fruit salad with yoghurt and granola from Tree House and 2 litres of water to set me up for the heat.
I’d been in touch with Bich to check it would be ok for the 3 of us to go to The Villas for lunch and then use the pool. I’d already mentioned this to Amanda and Greg, saying that if we were eating and drinking plenty they wouldn’t mind. When I arrived they were sat outside looking like 2 kids ready for a trip to the swimming baths. I laughed and then said we could go inside to eat. I asked how Amanda was after eating pork which she’s allergic to and she wasn’t too bad, considering. I ordered a mango lassi and a pho ga, while the Aussies decided to have fried spring rolls for Greg and fresh veggie ones for Amanda.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the pool, talking to Multi and his kids who were also there to drink and use the pool. I had a soda water with ice and lemon then Captain Caveman arrived back from the cave and in desperate need of a beer and pizza. This year the boss had banned all alcohol on tours so Captain Caveman is often a smidge thirsty when he gets out after 4 days underground. I had a couple of white wines which are 90,000VND (£2.76) each. I’d only been in the pool once and Captain Caveman didn’t have his swimmers or time for a dip as he got picked up at 5.30pm to go to Chay Lap, we said we’d meet him in town later.

As decided yesterday, the Aussies and I went to Lantern restaurant for our dinner. I was happy to give it a try and I decided to see how the veggie Vietnamese pancake was. Amanda decided to order the same and a portion of onion rings. Greg wanted to compare dishes he’d had before so went for fried spring rolls and a pork noodle dish. My food was good but, if I’m honest, I preferred the one from Phong Nha Vegan.
After his gala dinner, Captain Caveman met us at Tree House for drinks where we had the following;
1 water 10,000
1 coke 15,000
1 Huda beer 20,000
1 ginger tea 30,000
1 watermelon juice 35,000
1 Mango Lassi 45,000
1 Strongbow cider 50,000
1 Carrot, Orange & ginger juice 60,000
Total spent 265,000VND (£8.17).
We said our goodnights as Amanda and Greg rode their borrowed bicycles back to Mountain House. Tomorrow was their last full day and night in Phong Nha, so we had plans.