Phong Nha – 27th May

Our week started on Monday 27th May with Captain Caveman suggesting a bit of a cycling mission. I (mistakenly) thought the weather was suitable to agree to take Bluey all the way over to Greenfield Ecostay to visit René and Ngan. Along the way we had to stop at Lotus restaurant for brunch where Captain Caveman surprised me with his meal choice. He ordered a jacket potato with cheese, bacon and fried egg while I had a huge portion of pancakes with mango and pineapple. The food was good and I had a pot of lotus tea to go with it, as well as some water. Here’s what our bill looked like, prices in Dong;

1 water 5,000
1 iced black coffee 25,000
1 pot lotus tea 30,000
1 coconut coffee 40,000
1 passion fruit soda 40,000
1 potato with bacon, cheese & egg 50,000
1 pancake with fruit 50,000
Total cost 240,000VND (£7.46)

It’s a great place, a little out of town but ideal for a stop along the way when out for a cycle and the prices are very reasonable.

Back on the road, I was so hot cycling to Greenfield that I had to drink a Revive when we got there. Captain Caveman was cheeky and asked for a swim, I was that sweaty that I would not have been able to change in to swimmers. We missed staying at Greenfield as it’s just so beautiful and it was very calm and quiet, until we turned up! On the way back from René’s, the sun was hot and we had to stop at Lotus again, this time we each had a cold beer but I couldn’t finish mine.

Captain Caveman was glad to be going on his next Son Doong tour with Tatas so off they went to Oxalis for the 6pm briefing. I spent 3 hours and 15 minutes at the Vegan where my Vietnamese certainly got tested that night as it was absolutely rammed full. The owner was away, Chung was at her busy homestay so I had to help Ha, the only waitress and drinks maker there. In the kitchen they were also short staffed (4 less people than usual) with only Hanh, the chef, and Yen the 16 year old helper. They managed to get through it but I was absolutely knackered by the time it reached 9pm so I can only imagine how the staff felt. I got to Tree House at 9.30pm where I had 2 slices of Captain Caveman’s Hawaiian pizza and a Strongbow, before going back home for a much needed shower.