The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure
Author: joloyolo
Originally from Sheffield, England. Can be found mostly in Phong Nha, Vietnam, or Dalyan, Turkey. Likes travelling, eating and drinking. Lives with Captain Caveman.
On Sunday 28th May Captain Caveman asked me where I wanted to go for breakfast and I decided that the best thing I could go for would be SP Chicken. On the way, Captain Caveman wanted to stop off at a cafe, called Sun Ray, for a coffee. I ended up getting hangry and moany as they had an inefficient system for seating people and I hate pretentious coffee places. This time at SP Chicken, we ordered the chicken (obviously), rice and 2 plates of veggies. I always give Captain Caveman the skin from the chicken and it’s been barbecued on a spit so is reasonably healthy. It was so delicious that I said I could eat it every day! It was extremely hot, compared to what we had been used to in Sapa, so we headed back to the hotel. On the way there, Captain Caveman met an astronaut and I took his photo. At the hotel, I managed to book in at my favourite opticians back in Vietnam for Tuesday.
That evening, wearing one of my favourite dresses from a Dalyan friend, we went out to Why Ribs and Rumps. A place with a terrible name but excellent pork ribs, which we shared. I really liked it there and can’t recall the prices as Captain Caveman paid and I didn’t keep a receipt. For dessert we went to another old favourite, Cru, for wine and a cheeseboard. Aside from there being far too many tomatoes for my liking, we enjoyed it. We walked via a shop for beers and water which we had when we got back to the room, tomorrow would be our last night in Chiang Mai.
Much to Captain Caveman’s dismay, we didn’t get to a cafe for breakfast in Chiang Mai until 10am on Saturday 27th May. He ordered coffee and a şakşuka type of dish, I ordered snow pea tea (as you do) and a banana pancake. I wrongly thought it would be a healthier option as it came with fruit but it was massive. It also had on it one of the worst fruits in the world (in my opinion) – papaya. If you’ve not had it before, I think it tastes like the smell of baby sick/gone off milk.
Back at the hotel, we decided we would perhaps check out the rooftop pool and Captain Caveman sent me off to investigate the situation. It was so hot that I burned my feet on the flooring round the pool and had to come back, quick sharp. There was no shade up there whatsoever so we decided swimming was off the agenda.
For a late lunch we went to check out one of our absolute favourite restaurants, SP Chicken. It was open and not too busy so we grabbed a table and started to complete the tick-style menu. Obviously we had the chicken, which they are well known for, but we ordered veggies, pork and rice to go with it. I had a Chang beer while Captain Caveman prefers the Leo beer and had a bottle of that. The food was so good, as it always is, and when we came to leave there was a sign saying that they had run out of chicken so we were lucky.
That evening I popped on my new dress again and we were off to House by Ginger for fancy cocktails and good food. Captain Caveman had an Espresso Martini and I had a Passion fruit mojito. We shared the chef’s recommendation of the mixed Thai sharing platter which was really tasty. For main course Captain Caveman had pork and rice, I had a pork stew – both were so good and we would definitely return. Our meal with 4 drinks came to a total of 2,165,000vnd (£71.45) which included the 10% tip and was definitely good value for money.
We were the first in to the dining room of the Silk Path Grand Resort and Spa Hotel at 6am on Friday 26th May. At breakfast we made up a sandwich to take with us for the long journey as we didn’t have long until our limousine bus was coming to pick us up. As I drank my cup of tea, I realised what was missing from our afternoon tea yesterday – the tea! I’d been looking forward to trying all the teas but had not noticed that they had never brought us any tea, nor even asked if we would like some. How odd, and even stranger that I’d not noticed! We’d already packed and checked out ready to make the journey to Hanoi airport which was just under 300km away. Unfortunately, the bus was over an hour late and we had to sit in the back seats which were more bumpy. At the service stop off along the way, we saw a cute dog with red dye on it and some very interesting ladies toilets.
We arrived on time for our flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand, checked in and got a beer which was $5.50. It was the busiest I’d seen Hanoi airport and we sat at a different gate to our one to eat our ham and cheese sandwiches. We arrived in Chiang Mai, got a taxi to the Deluxe Boutique hotel and quickly checked in around 6pm. We took a Grab taxi to Gekko restaurant where we were meeting an old friend of Captain Caveman’s for dinner at 6.30pm. Sid Perou has been a caver and film/documentary maker as well as having written a book – a very interesting man. We got there as they were arriving and sat with Sid, his wife and grandson. We all had beers and I ordered Pad Thai, Captain Caveman had a masaman curry. Both meals were great and we had a good laugh chatting with our friends. It wasn’t a late one as Sid and his wife had to be up early tomorrow and it was already past their grandson’s bedtime. We had a relatively early night for our first of three nights in Chiang Mai.
It was another great day on Thursday 25th May, but sadly our last one in Sapa. I only had a 15 day visa exemption for Vietnam so I had to be out of the country before the 29th May, I also was still waiting on my next visa approval. I had a bit of a lay in until 7.30am and was surprised when I looked out of the window to see it was raining. Captain Caveman and I went for the buffet breakfast just after 8am and it was delicious. We decided that as it wasn’t great weather we would book in some hotel things to do. The hotel manager was brilliant and so on his game as we booked me in for one of the spa packages and then afternoon tea. When we got back to the room I got an email to say my 30 day Vietnam visa was approved. Captain Caveman was glad to hear this as we were flying to Thailand tomorrow. My Thai massage with Cherry was absolutely amazing and I almost fell asleep at the end. I went to Cat Cat bar afterwards to meet Captain Caveman who had brought me Carol’s (ironically of Fat Club fame) dress to change in to for our afternoon tea with a bit of a difference (I will see if you can tell what the difference was from the photos)! I’d done so well to not have put weight on this week but now I found myself shovelling sandwiches and cake down a bit too greedily. As I was already dressed for the occasion, but wearing trainers because of the rain we booked the free shuttle bus in to to town.
We visited Saparis bar again for cocktails before doing the short uphill walk to Ganesh, the Indian restaurant. I tried to stay as healthy as possible with a chicken tikka (no sauce), rice and a spinach dish but I did have a couple of beers to go with it. The food was nice and filling, we walked back down the hill to the bus pick up spot and to say bye to Sapa town. Tomorrow we had another early start to what might be a long day of travelling.
Wednesday 24th May was another lovely day in Sapa, which started with me getting weighed and doing my measurements. Even though I was on holiday and knew I’d be veering off the Slimming World diet, it was important for me to still keep track. Miraculously, the scales showed I was 1.3kg lighter than when I got weighed 2 weeks ago on Steve and Michelle’s scales but, obviously, they weren’t Carol’s scales so we didn’t know if either of them were accurate. My measurements showed that I’d put 3cm on my bust but lost 1cm off my waist and hips. I thought I’d log on to the work system early so that I’d be free when Captain Caveman returned this afternoon. Unfortunately, the system wasn’t working and I couldn’t access anything. I sent an email to my boss but it was 4am where he was, and 2am in the UK, so nothing would be done until office hours started. I went for the hotel breakfast and it was so good, on the way back I took photos as there were mysterious clouds around the hotel – someone had stolen the mountain view. After breakfast I kept checking the system to see if I could do any work but I couldn’t. Over the next 4 hours I kept checking as I didn’t want to be working in the afternoon but I had no luck. My boss was grateful for the alert despite no output and told me I didn’t have to work for the rest of the week so that we could enjoy our holiday together instead. Captain Caveman returned having had a marvellous time shimmying up and down the mountain but needed a shower. He got weighed on the scales and was the same as he usually was so I assumed my weight was correct.
Photo credit – Captain Caveman for the Ngu Chi Son trek photos
We decided to spend the afternoon making use of the hotel facilities. We were the only ones in the swimming pool and it was lovely to have a swim for the second time on my trip, and since I left Turkey. I loved swimming in that pool but we soon got a bit thirsty and peckish so decided to head to the Cat Cat cafe bar.
Photo credit Captain Caveman
Captain Caveman had an Espresso Martini and I had a Margarita, both were good. The place was so beautiful and it was nice to see Captain Caveman relaxing but not playing bridge on his phone, for a change. We booked the free shuttle to take us in to Sapa town at 6pm so we went back to get ready, I was going to wear my new dress!
We had a fantastic time out in Sapa that evening. Captain Caveman took photos of me in my new dress from Rico, which I really liked. I took a video of the ride on the free shuttle bus in to town, trying to show how steep the streets are in Sapa. We had a bit of a wander round before deciding to eat at O Quy Ho, another recommendation from Hoa. We went upstairs where there was a nice view over the town and we ordered beers. We ordered a mixture of food to share; spring rolls, chicken and some pork which were all very tasty.
After dinner we decided to carry on our night with cocktails at Saparis. Captain Caveman had long island iced tea and I had a margarita, both were good. We had a walk back in to town where we waited for our shuttle bus back to the hotel. We made it back in time to have a nightcap in the bar at Cat Cat cafe, however, when we got there it had already closed early. We went back to the room and ordered room service which was funny. Two members of staff came to the room with a wine list to ask us which we wanted when we had already ordered the house red. The wine arrived with the two members of staff again and the main guy came in to open and pour it. We had some smoked stringy cheese to go with our wine to end a really lovely day.
While Captain Caveman was planning on doing a 2 day trek up Ngu Chi Son, I was happy to be working on Tuesday 23rd May. The peak that Captain Caveman was about to scale was almost as high as Fansipan (the famous one, the highest in Indochina) and shouldn’t be done alone so he had his trusted guide with him and had taken some emergency provisions. Here’s a link to info about the mountain range, for those of you who are interested in finding out more: https://vietmountains.com/destinations/ngu-chi-son-mountain-the-sacred-five-fingers-mountain/ Of course, Captain Caveman was up very early and left before breakfast but there was no way I was missing the buffet breakfast spread. I didn’t want to say it, but I actually felt a bit chilly when I stepped outside to a 21°C! The breakfast was spot on and the food and beverage manager was first class and so lovely. I had a nice table looking out towards some mountains, feeling quite smug that I wasn’t climbing one. The diet had gone completely out of the window as I had cereals, fruit, juices, detox shots, cups of tea, pho ga, bread, cheese, pastries, butter, waffle, bacon and a chicken sausage! Bugger it, I’d lose the weight again when I got back to Phong Nha!
I worked from 10am for most of the day but with a couple of hours breaks, and I sat in the lovely room at my handy desk. The outside temperature reached 27°C and I was reminded that it would still have been a tad warm for me to have done a trek. At 3.45pm I got a video call from Captain Caveman – he had already reached the highest peak of Ngu Chi Son (probably in record time)! He was so happy and even more pleased I’d not decided to try to do it, he said I wouldn’t have made the first 10 minutes! Back to work until 8.45pm but then I decided, instead of going in to town, that I would have a bath and order room service. This ended up being a Hawaiian pizza, which was pretty good but definitely not diet friendly and I bet I’d put weight on tomorrow, on Weigh Day. I got in the super comfy bed and tried to imagine how Captain Caveman must be doing, camping on the side of a mountain somewhere in the wilderness with just a Vietnamese tour guide to provide him with warmth and shelter. I set my alarm for 7am so that I could crack on with work before Captain Caveman returned, which was bound to be earlier than planned.
Photo credit – Captain Caveman for his trek to Ngu Chi Son
It was my first time, but not Captain Caveman’s, of visiting Sapa on Monday 22nd May. We were up too early to have any breakfast as the limousine bus was picking us up at 6.30am. The seats were comfy with massage function and there was plenty of space in the 9 seater air conditioned vehicle. Our journey was pleasant with a stop at a decent services after 2.5 hours, for a toilet break and to eat some fresh pineapple. I got talking to fellow passengers who had booked a rural homestay in Sapa and the wife was slightly concerned that she may be a bit too far out in the sticks. On previous holidays with Captain Caveman I’d also had the same concerns and knew how she felt, but not this time. We arrived at the Silk Path Grand Resort and Spa Hotel in Sapa after a 6 hour journey and I was so impressed with the look of it. Even the lady I was chatting to was impressed and wished us a nice holiday. Check it out here, Captain Caveman really had chosen well; https://silkpathhotel.com/en/Sapa/ Our mountain view room was ready early and, of course, I had to take some photos. We were booked in for 4 nights and I was really looking forward to that.
We were peckish, having only eaten a bread roll and the fruit so we got the free shuttle service in to Sapa town to look for food. Our friends, Phil and Hoa, had sent us some recommendations for eateries in the area. Sapa is incredibly hilly and it was very different to how I expected it, I loved that the temperature was so much cooler and I was impressed that my leg was completely recovered now. After a walk up and down hills we found Good Morning Vietnam restaurant and sat down inside with a menu. AC was not even needed but it was still shorts and t-shirt weather. We both ordered a Hanoi beer, Captain Caveman chose fried spring rolls and I asked if he was going to share. He agreed but didn’t want to have any of my tofu in tomato sauce. We both had another beer and I never got to try the spring rolls as Captain Caveman had snaffled the lot in record time. He often says he’s not hungry but then polishes food off quite greedily, today was one of those times. Our lunch with 4 beers came to 250,000vnd (£8.25) which wasn’t bad considering we were in a tourist town where beers were the same price as VRV.
We decided not to get the shuttle back to the hotel but to have a look around the town. We found Tag Beer, a nice bar with proper beer and a pool table. Although Captain Caveman had not played pool for over 6 months, he’d not lost his touch and proceeded to thrash me. After a couple of cheeky beers we walked up the hill to Little Sapa restaurant where we met Hoa for dinner. Unfortunately Phil had got Covid so he was isolating and couldn’t join us and we were all disappointed on his behalf. For dinner I had the sweet and sour chicken, Hoa had beef and Captain Caveman had pork. All the food was good and great value but, as Captain Caveman paid, I forgot to take a note of the price. Captain Caveman had arranged to go on a mini expedition tomorrow, while I ‘worked from home’ in luxury. Hoa had arranged for him to do a 2 day trek up a mountain with just a Vietnamese guide for company. After seeing Hoa, we sauntered back to the centre of town to get the free shuttle back up the hill to our hotel. It had been a great day and I was already quite taken with Sapa.
Foolishly, I’d hoped for quality time and extra snoozes on Sunday 21st May but, obviously, Captain Caveman had other ideas. As he had promised me a shopping trip, we had to get up early to get it done. I’m sure he gave a good reason why and it could’ve been due to the weather but I was too tired to note it. By 7.30am we were showered, dressed and in the hotel dining room tucking in to a shared fruit plate. We both had the chicken noodle soup (pho ga) and a hot drink before Captain Caveman insisted we look lively for today’s mission. At 8am it was already 31°C with a ‘feels like’ 39°C and the air quality was not good in the capital city. Just a couple of weeks ago, Hanoi had suffered a heatwave with the highest temperatures ever recorded. We got a Grab taxi, which are really cheap in Hanoi, to the shopping centre to find we had to wait for it to open. Once inside, we headed straight for Uniqlo where I’d been online to check the choices and had taken screenshots of a few items I liked the look of. It didn’t quite pan out as well as expected because the largest they had in stock for almost everything was an L (about a size 12). Captain Caveman helped me pick out a few practical items and I headed to the Fitting room a little too optimistic. I hate shopping anyway so I did get a little despondent when the first couple of things didn’t fit. I had to remind myself that this time last year I wouldn’t have even got in the XL (size 14 approx) if they had any. In less than an hour I had managed to spend 3,194,00vnd (£108.60) of Captain Caveman’s hard earned cash on 6 items and I was happy to have 2 pairs of skorts, which I’d never had before! We dropped my wares off at the hotel and I had a little fashion show with my new clothes while Captain Caveman took terrible photos of me in them, from the position of him laying on the bed. I’d not even been here quite a week and he was getting bored of taking photos on demand.
Our next stop was to meet two Phong Nha friends for lunch; Leonard, the old guy who stayed at Funny Monkeys from before the pandemic, now lives in Hanoi, and our good friend Kat, who divides her time between Hanoi and Phong Nha. Both were available on the same day so Leonard had chosen one of his nearby favourite restaurants, Pizza 4 Ps. Captain Caveman and I were the first to arrive and we decided to order a cider that came with some cheese as a pre starter! Leonard was the next to arrive with his arm strapped up after breaking his collar bone in a fall. Other than that he was on good form and it was great to see him. Kat arrived next and was only able to stay for an hour due to her having an upcoming painful dentist appointment. We were having such a good catch up that I almost forgot to take some photos and I had a weird incident in the toilets with the cleaner who wanted me to rate the toilets, on an electronic board, as ‘needing improvement ‘ and then comment on why. The toilets were fine, so I wasn’t quite sure what she was getting at but Leonard said a similar thing happened to him. The half and half pizza which I shared with Captain Caveman was fantastic, the salad was a bit too drenched in balsamic vinegar for me but I managed to get it down me with another cider (no cheese).
After lunch and walking Leonard back to his hotel, Captain Caveman and I walked to the gold shop to exchange some foreign currency and it was so hot that I was getting a bit moany. We had to make a refreshment stop at Puku cafe where, to my delight, they had the iced slushy drinks with passion fruit at 80,000vnd (£2.72) each. Just as I thought we were off back for a siesta or a rest, Captain Caveman announced we were meeting Lien, our old Vietnamese teacher and friend. We got a Grab taxi to Oliberry cafe where Lien was already waiting. We got chatting about clothes shopping and Lien recommended a woman’s independent clothes shop nearby called Rico Clothing. Within minutes, I was on the back of Lien’s Honda Cub heading to Rico, where I picked out a few dresses to try on. Captain Caveman walked it there and caught us up to give his opinion on the clothes I tried on. I bought a lovely dress and even tried a Size L which was too big for me, I also found a couple of pairs of knickers that fit me too. We said our goodbyes and I hoped we’d be going home to freshen up and get ready for our dinner date tonight – no, we were out out. Captain Caveman and I had arranged to meet Johan, a friend through caving and Andrea, for tapas with a bit of a difference at Pinchos. We were a little early so we called in to 7 Bridges for a pint of ale, as you do.
At Pincho’s we shared sparkling water and red wine but we didn’t go mad as Johan was on a strict regime and would be up early for boxing class before work tomorrow. Pincho’s was easily one of the best meals I’ve had and it was amazing to be able to eat so much meat and cheese. We tried quite a lot of the different tapas dishes and I only got a surprise chilli the once, luckily I could smell it. We were back to the Aquarius Grand Hotel by 9.30pm and were already setting our alarms for another very early get up. Our day had been an amazing one and when I got in I had to try my new dress on, which I liked more the second try on. The hotel room had cost 765,000vnd (£26) per night and well worth that price, which included breakfast. Captain Caveman paid our bill which also included the 400,000vnd car pick up service (£13.60) from Hanoi airport to the hotel. We also paid in advance for 2 bus tickets at 480,000vnd (£16.32) each as we were off to our next destination for 4 nights at 6.30am tomorrow!
I was woken up by Captain Caveman sneezing at 5.40am on Saturday 20th May. It was going to be another hot day and I didn’t get up until 6.45am. Even though Captain Caveman had a day off today, he still had to go to the Oxalis office to sort some work related things out. We cycled there for 8am and sat overlooking the river at Oxalis Home cafe. The views were beautiful and the river was busy with boats going to and from Phong Nha cave, as it often is on the weekend. We ordered Bo Ne for our breakfast which is new to the menu since my last visit. I don’t eat the eggs so I gave them to Captain Caveman and I had some of his sausage. I found it to be really tasty although I wasn’t so keen on the bread which has sugar in here. After breakfast, we went back home and made sure Bluey, my bicycle, was popped away safely as we were off on our holidays this afternoon. We got our bags (hand luggage only) and went on Trigger, the motorbike, back to Oxalis. Captain Caveman had booked us seats on the Oxalis bus to Dong Hoi, but we actually got to share a car with 2 of the staff. It was a pleasant 45 minute drive and we got dropped off at Tree Hugger, one of my favourite cafes.
They had some new iced drinks on the menu which were made of mint, lime and soda water slushy and I loved them. There’s plenty of fans at Tree Hugger, but no AC so the drinks were very much needed. We ordered some lunch and I was trying to be healthy so had the beef and vegetable stir fry with brown rice. It’s one of my favourite dishes, Captain Caveman had his favourite egg salad sandwich and we were given complimentary passion fruit and water melon. Next we decided that it wouldn’t be a Tree Hugger visit without a White Russian cocktail as the afternoon sun got very sweaty. Captain Caveman paid so I didn’t take a note of the bill but it’s very reasonably priced.
Our next jaunt was a short taxi ride over to see Stu and the boys at their new house. My ankles were swelling up from the heat so I drank water, while Captain Caveman cracked on with Stu, drinking beers. By 3pm I had my feet in the pond, letting the fish nibble my toes. At 4.30pm we got a taxi back in to Dong Hoi town to meet a friend and ex colleague of Captain Caveman’s, who’d had a baby since I last saw her.
We met Thao at a small cafe where I had a mango smoothie and we played with baby Anh. It was lovely to see them after all this time and the cafe near her house was good and cheap. By 5.30pm we were in a taxi, on the way to Dong Hoi airport where we were flying with Bamboo airways to Hanoi, I was hoping for a bit cooler weather.
We got good exit row seats on the plane and were in Hanoi by 8.30pm. Captain Caveman had booked us a room at Aquarius Grand Hotel near Hoan Kiem Lake for 2 nights. That evening he chose a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner. Aalishan was a small Indian restaurant with mainly all Indian customers so this was a good sign. We shared onion bhajis without incident but then my chicken tikka masala was so spicy I couldn’t eat it. I ate rice and nan bread, tried my chicken dish with loads of yoghurt in but my mouth was still on fire. Back at the hotel, I had a bad stomach because of the chillies but hoped the swelling would go down because we had planned to go clothes shopping tomorrow!
I was so hot that I couldn’t sleep and was still awake at 1.40am on Friday 19th May. I got up and drank a lot of water with Oresol in, to keep hydrated. At 3.15am I was checking out prices of my return flights with Scoot and they were quite pricey. I had about 6 weeks left until I was due to go back and I wasn’t quite sure how I would survive this heat. I also remembered I was meant to have applied for my next visa as I was only allowed to stay in Vietnam on the 15 day exemption until 28th May. I dozed off around 3.40am and woke up with the loud speaker at 6am, which was irritating. Of course Captain Caveman’s lost watch went off at 6.45am then I went back to sleep, despite the room being a bit warm already. I’d arranged to meet Veronika at VRV for lunch at noon, so I got myself ready for a cycle in red hot sun. I borrowed Captain Caveman’s trousers and a T-shirt to protect me from the 38°C sun and I took a dress to change in to. I have Factor 50 sun cream with me but I find it runs off quite easily. Veronika had been looking after her eldest grandson for a whole month, while Ben and Bich were in Australia. She was eager to get out and celebrate her freedom as they were back in Phong Nha now. When she arrived she had a bottle of our favourite fizz in the fridge and she asked for it with an ice bucket and 3 glasses. Another lady, Jenny, was joining us and we decided to order lunch too. I had the courgette salad, Veronika had the duck and Jenny had a pho. All of the food was good and we were having a lovely lunch when a customer started chatting to us. It turned out that the customer and her lively young son knew the Wiringi family and had come here on Melissa’s recommendation. Captain Caveman arrived back from his Son Doong tour and came to join us around 3pm at The Villa’s restaurant before he had to go to his Gala Dinner at 5.30pm. He was a bit cross with me that I’d still not got round to applying for my 30 day visa so he did it for me, he also brought me a backlight for my cycling home in the dark. Veronika had booked to stay the night at VRV so she went for a Nannan nap, Jenny went for a swim and I started work. I only had 2 hours left to work this week so planned to work 4-6pm and today I was working on something new. At 6pm, Veronika came back to join me, as well as Tatas, Jenny had returned to the Farmstay. I decided to be naughty and ordered my favourite Villa’s pizza, the Showstopper. It had salami, blue cheese, fig jam and spring onion on and is not in the least bit Slimming World friendly. It was delicious and we had a great night. Captain Caveman rejoined us after he’d finished work. I had some work queries and corrections which needed finishing so I had to do another hour’s work from 8.30-9.30pm so that the task wasn’t left until Monday. This meant I would only work 15 hours next week which was fortunate as Captain Caveman now had at least 2 weeks off, with a possibility of it being 17 days holiday. This was great news, as he had been working a lot recently and he really was ready for a break. He’d also planned a really great holiday for the two of us, including a trip to Thailand, starting from tomorrow!
My bill for today’s food and drink at The Villa’s restaurant was as follows:
On Thursday 18th May, after not much sleep as I was finding it hard to adjust to the heat, I cycled Bluey to Victory Road Villas (VRV) again. I had an orange juice, a pot of Jasmine tea and a litre of water to keep hydrated. I decided to have the beef noodle soup (Pho Bo) for breakfast today. It wasn’t quite as good as the chicken one but still did the trick. I got on with work but at 2.45pm there was a power cut to the whole of the town. I was very lucky that VRV had a generator so we didn’t have to wait long until the electricity was back on. I took a brief look outside by the river, it was hot, there wasn’t any breeze and I was struggling acclimatising. I ordered a fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli for a late lunch, with a Bang soda. The fruit salad had banana, watermelon, mango and dragon fruit in and was very refreshing in the heat. Even in the AC dining room, it was 29°C and I was constantly too hot. I went back to work until 7pm when I decided to relax with a fresh coconut juice and check my Facebook/messages etc. Rather than go home, I stayed at The Villa’s restaurant for dinner and a glass of red wine. I chose the penne carbonara and it tasted lovely but I suspected it had a bit too much oil in for it to be diet friendly. I then completely blew the diet by having the chocolate brownie with ice cream. I gave myself the excuse that I needed to try it again to check if it was still as good as I remembered – it was!
My bill for the day at The Villa’s was as follows: Orange juice 60,000 Pho Bo 75,000 Pot of Jasmine tea 50,000 Bang soda 25,000 Fruit salad, yoghurt & muesli 95,000 Fresh coconut 50,000 Glass of red wine 90,000 Penne carbonara 200,000 Brownie 100,000 Total cost 745,000vnd (£24.72).
I thought that was a bargain considering what I’d had, and I had been there all day. I got ready to cycle home, I had no bike lights and had not realised that the power cut was still happening. I was a bit nervous cycling with it being so dark and I went very slowly. I’d not gone far when a motorbike came up behind me and was following me really slowly. I tried to look to see what was happening, only to see it was the one eyed cleaning lady from Jungle Boss. She was riding passenger with her husband, holding a baby and was shouting me. There was obviously nothing wrong with the eye that had not been lost in a bomb explosion! We both got off our bikes and hugged, it was so good to bump in to Tửu like this. She speaks no English but was trying to tell me something, so beckoned over someone she knew from a property nearby and asked her to translate for me. They said that if I cycled slowly I would be ok, and not to be scared of the dark because the power was back on at the Glass House. Tửu’s husband then followed me a bit with the light of his motorbike to make sure I didn’t inadvertently cycle over a snake or into a cow (not common but it does happen). When I got home I was so sweaty that I had a shower, luckily the water temperature was cooler again now that it was dark. The tank on the exposed roof gets so hot that we have to time when to shower, when the water is not going to be scorching hot. My eczema was not liking the heat and humidity, it was definitely starting to flare up even worse. I went to bed early and was looking forward to Captain Caveman returning tomorrow.
So much for catching up on my sleep and enjoying a lay in, on Wednesday 17th May. I was woken up by a cockerel, who sounded like it had a sore throat, from about 4.30am. I had a pee and managed to get back to sleep, but only until 6am. The loud speakers were definitely working and the propaganda that they spout early in the morning was very loud. I still have no idea what they are saying and can only guess that the Communist party are encouraging people to get up and start their day in a positive fashion. If anything, it makes me want to do the opposite and I was already considering where we could move to so that we did not have to suffer the torture of the awful music which followed! It stopped after 10 or so minutes and I was going back to sleep when I got another wake up. This time, in the form of Captain Caveman’s Casio watch which he had lost years ago, somewhere in the wardrobe/shelves. It was still going off every morning at 6.45am and that was going to happen every day until I found that watch and threw it over the balcony! By 7am, all was peaceful and I drifted back off to sleep for 3 hours!!! It was already very sunny and I could feel the heat from the roof warming up the bed. It was 27.5°C in the room and the AC was starting to struggle. Where we live, is very much in the rural village part of Phong Nha and I don’t think there are any (or many) other non-vietnamese people living in the vicinity. The Glass House, where we are staying, has 5 rooms and the other 4 all have Vietnamese families living in them now. By 2.20pm it was 28.6°C in the room and I was feeling a bit peckish. I’d almost forgotten that it was weigh day so I got my tape measure out. We don’t have any scales here, in Phong Nha, so I didn’t know my weight. Unfortunately my waist was 3cm bigger, my hips had increased by 1cm but my bust had stayed the same. I decided I would work from Victory Road Villas (VRV) in the afternoon/evening when it was ‘cool enough’ to cycle there. Tatas had also suggested that we go for a curry tonight at Ganesh, the fairly new Indian restaurant, so I planned to finish by 8pm. For a late lunch, I ordered fried veggie spring rolls, a mango lassie and some peanuts. I drank water and the staff put the AC on straight away today, which was nice. I had a Bang soda, which is just soda water in a glass bottle, as I finished my work for the day. Tatas wasn’t able to come to meet me as she had work commitments so I stayed at The Villa’s restaurant and decided to treat myself to a glass of white wine and some pasta. The food was good and it didn’t taste spicy but then I found a chilli in the bottom. I did complain because I’m allergic to chillies and it transpired that, although the waitress had told the kitchen, the chef had forgotten.
Here’s the food and drink prices, for those of you who like a look and compare to how it would be in your local restaurant.
Mango Lassi 85,000 Peanuts 35,000 Spring rolls 85,000 Bang soda 25,000 Glass of white wine 90,000 Prawn & salami spaghetti 220,000 Total price 540,000vnd (£17.82)
Interestingly the Vietnamese Dong and the Turkish lira were similar in that 100,000 dong was about 100 lira. I noticed a glass of wine here was the same price as when I last was in Dalyan. Back home, it was still hot and I looked in the wardrobe of clothes I’d left here to see what I could put on to watch a bit of Netflix in. I picked out an old vest top and popped it on. To my amazement, it fitted me like a dress, albeit a rather snug one but I was pleased with that. I was desperately in need of some new clothes but our shopping trip hadn’t happened. Captain Caveman had planned a trip away at the weekend so I was hopeful to go shopping then.
I was working on Tuesday 16th May and, as there was no home internet available, I had decided to spread my hours over the next 4 days and work from Victory Road Villas (VRV). Captain Caveman had been awake and on his phone for almost an hour when I got out of bed at 6.30am. The tap in the bathroom was already annoying me as I struggled to undo the tie and replace it. There was nothing we could do now though as Captain Caveman was off in a few hours to Hang Son Doong, the biggest cave in the world, for a 4 day trip. We both went to VRV for breakfast where I had my first bowl of pho ga (chicken rice noodle soup) which I love and had missed, a lot! Captain Caveman had Eggs Benedict with bacon and we both had juices/hot drinks. It’s not the cheapest breakfast in town but it’s certainly got the quality ingredients and the staff are lovely.
I worked from 9am until 12.30pm then had a 30 minute break where I had some green tea and a fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli. I was conscious that tomorrow was weigh day but we had no scales so I was still noting a food diary and taking measurements. I got back to work and was glad of the fan in The Villas but, as there was only me there, they didn’t have the AC on. The staff did keep bringing me free filtered water though so I was doing ok. It was still cooler here than at home, where the sun heats up our top floor room pretty well and the AC struggles to cope. When it got to 2.30pm I was hungry again, a guest at the hotel had come in to the restaurant for lunch so the receptionist put the AC on. I decided to take an hour’s break and ordered a hot tea and a Margherita pizza – The Villa’s restaurant does excellent pizzas!
By 6pm, I’d finished work and was about to have an impromptu night with Tatas, who was on her way for a margarita! I’d already got a cold beer when she arrived but we got cocktails as well. She was looking good and was pleased to see me after 9 months away. Tatas ordered a Caeser salad as she was being healthy but it was covered in sauce. I had more food with a Nem Lui, a traditional Vietnamese pork dish from Hue. The dish has pork on skewers of lemon grass which are eaten in rice paper rolls with rice noodles and veggies, herbs and salad. It tasted really good too, as we ate and chatted then ordered a bottle of red wine. It was a good night and I was looking forward to seeing more of Tatas now that she had a day job in the office and wasn’t in the cave quite so much.
My bill at VRV for the whole day, with prices in Vietnames Dong (vnd) for those of you who take an interest…
1 Pho Ga 75,000 2 Fresh orange juice 120,000 1 Eggs Benedict 165,000 1 double espresso 60,000 1 fruit salad, muesli & yoghurt 95,000 1 green tea 30,000 1 jasmine tea 30,000 1 Huda beer 35,000 1 Margherita pizza 180,000 1 Margarita cocktail 180,000 1 Nem Lui 180,000 1 bottle of red wine 400,000
Total spent 1,550,000vnd (£51.15)
I didn’t think that was bad for the poshest place in town!
Back home the room had cooled to a more acceptable 29°C with the AC on at 11.20pm. I went to sleep for the first time in a while without setting an alarm – I decided I was having a lay in tomorrow!
I was in the reception of the Common Inn hotel at 5.20am on Monday 15th May, wishing I’d had more sleep and looking like shit! I was bobbing about with sea sickness symptoms which must have been caused by jet lag. There was no time for breakfast, not that anywhere was open, and we were checked in and sat in a busy Saigon airport at 6.15am. By 7.20am we were sat next to each other on the plane to Dong Hoi, which isn’t a given with Captain Caveman. I’d already arranged to not do any work today due to travelling and spending time with Captain Caveman before he was in the cave for 4 days. On the same flight was Captain Caveman’s friend, Phuong, who was returning to Phong Nha to do another Oxalis cave tour.
We’d arranged to meet friends in Dong Hoi for a very early lunch so we got a taxi to Buffalo Home & Chill Bar. I was already hungry so we ordered some spring rolls and a drink to keep us going, as we were early. Captain Caveman was happy to be back in his province of Quang Binh, while I was already having issues with the extreme heat. Dong Hoi is by the sea so there is some breeze, allbeit a warm one, so Phong Nha was definitely going to be more of a challenge for me. Jack was the first to arrive, we said hellos and he and Captain Caveman grabbed a beer. It was still too early for me to have alcohol though. Stu and Max arrived shortly after and they both ordered beers and, as they were in their lunch hour, we ordered food. Captain Caveman and I shared the pork ribs while the lads had burgers or curry. I succumbed to a beer with my dinner as it only seemed right for our welcome back lunch. Trang arrived shortly after and just had a drink with us while she was back in town. It was good to see everyone and even Captain Caveman was happy I was finally here. The food was great and I was enjoying eating pork in Vietnam.
We had a car coming to pick us up at 12.30pm because Captain Caveman had to get back for his Son Doong briefing tonight. He needed to go to the Oxalis office so it was decided that I would be dropped off at Victory Road Villas (VRV). It’s one of the more up market places in town, owned by Ben and Bich, halfway between town and where Captain Caveman was living now. He was back staying at the Glass House, our original place, because he was mostly in the jungle so didn’t need to be paying for anywhere fancy with a pool. Captain Caveman took my suitcase home while I had a light refreshment then he came back to join me. We had some drinks and even had a dip in the pool before it was time for Captain Caveman to go to work. I spent the afternoon at VRV, drinking beer and having a loll about on a sun bed – I may have fell asleep on one of the very comfy loungers.
By 6.30pm I was hungry so decided to sample dinner at The Villa’s restaurant. The menu was very similar to the last time I’d been here, 9 months ago, with just a few changes. I had the vegetarian fresh spring rolls for a starter which are 80,000vnd (£2.64) and very healthy. I left the soy sauce dip as I find it a bit too strong. For main, I chose the chicken and bacon sandwich (no mayo) forgetting it came with chips. At 180,000vnd (£5.94) it’s good value and a generous portion. I was still eating it when Captain Caveman returned from his briefing so he had another beer. Beers for 330ml were 35,000vnd (£1.16) which are the most expensive in town but do come with an iced glass, ice and are cold. Back home, via a short motorbike ride on Trigger, I was shocked to see the Glass House was lacking a bit of TLC, somewhat. There was no internet and the bathroom tap had broken so Captain Caveman had tied it up with string to turn it off. I was going to be roughing it a bit these next few days but I didn’t mind too much, at least I could catch up on some much needed sleep while Captain Caveman was away.
I landed at 5.45am in Singapore on Sunday 14th May, 6 hours ahead of Greece and Turkey (8 hours ahead of the UK). Even though I’d had some sleep, it had been a bit uncomfy and I was not looking forward to my lay over in Singapore. I would ordinarily have hammered the lounge but the thought of drinking any alcohol made me feel sick. My next flight wasn’t until 1.25pm which meant I had about 7 hours to kill. I had a little rest in a quiet spot but wasn’t there long as a load of people came and sat next to me, making a noise. The amount of people who listen to their phone on high volume instead of having earphones in makes me so angry! I do not want to listen to it! I decided that I would go to a lounge in Changi airport to pass the time on and for a bit of peace. I didn’t drink any alcohol though, which was a first for me in an airport lounge. I just did 3 hours in there and ate some nice food before finding a reclined seat for a nap. I set my alarm and was about to drift off when the guy next to me decided he would have a very loud conversation on his phone, in the quiet area! At the gate for my flight from Singapore to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), the staff insisted that I put my hand luggage in the hold because the plane was full. This was annoying as I didn’t want to be waiting for luggage at the other end. I decided to take out all my essentials, including my laptop, in case the luggage went missing – I didn’t take any spare clothes out though. My third flight was uneventful and took less than 2 hours, landing in Saigon at 2pm. It took me 2 hours to get through the very lengthy queues at immigration. I had a little wobble when the official asked where my visa was, I told him I was entering on the 15 day visa exemption, he said “no” and pointed to the visa area, expecting me to go to buy a visa. I knew this was not the case and stood my ground, maybe he was confused or maybe they were trying to get people to spend money on visas they didn’t need. Anyway, after a few minutes, he let me through but by then the carousel for our luggage had been stopped and my case was not there. Great!
At around 4pm on Sunday 14th May, I found a baggage handler, in Saigon International airport, and tried to ask him where the cases from my Singapore flight were. He said ‘finished’, which was useful! The queue for the lost luggage was rather large so I grabbed a man with a lanyard who looked official, to explain my predicament. He asked if I had checked at the other end of the airport, I hadn’t (obviously) so off I toddled. I found my case sat in a corner, by itself, 10 carousels further along. Brilliant, I would have fresh clothes to wear now! As instructed by Captain Caveman previously, I went to the domestic terminal to get the taxi and managed to be more assertive than I was last time at this airport. He tried to tell me to get in a different taxi and I said no and chose the one I would get, for myself. It was extremely hot in Saigon and very humid, I was still dressed in jeggings and trainers! The taxi cost less than 250,000vnd and took less than half an hour to get to one of my favourite hotels, The Common Inn, where Captain Caveman was staying. When I arrived he was already there and had been on a mammouth cycle ride with a brewery stop off! I had the luxury of a hot shower (I’d not had one since Friday afternoon) and popped on a dress as we were in a rush to go out. We went to Mad Wine in Thao Dien and Captain Caveman said how happy he was that I was finally here, little did he know I nearly wasn’t! Our friend Andrea arrived, who’d also been on the cycle ride and she’d been a little tired afterwards so wasn’t joining us for dinner. Valerie arrived next for just a drink and we all had a wine or two to celebrate being back in Vietnam. It was really nice to see Andrea and Valerie and I was surprised that Captain Caveman had thought to organise a reunion rather than have a quiet night in – he was even happy to take photos and I knew Steve’s sunglasses would come in handy! There’s always a method in Captain Caveman’s madness though; our flight tomorrow had been changed! It had been brought forward to 8.30am, we needed to be at the airport by 7.30am so it would be an early get up and the promised shopping trip was no more. To further smooth the disappointment of us not being in Saigon very long and Captain Caveman having to be back at work tomorrow at 6pm, he had chose somewhere nice to dine tonight. To be honest, I could quite easily have gone straight to bed but Captain Caveman was going to be away for the first 4 days of me being in Phong Nha. We went to a place called Arto House in Thao Dien, District 2, which had been recommended by another of Captain Caveman’s cycling mates. We shared a burrata cheese starter which was amazing, then I had duck and Captain Caveman had pasta with lots of mushrooms. The food and the bottle of red wine we shared was so good and it was a great first meal in Vietnam. Our bill came to 1,567,500vnd (£51.73) including the bottle of nice wine. I noticed that Captain Caveman must no longer be suffering with his gout, like he was in December, because mushrooms and red wine are usually triggers for it. I hardly remember getting back to the Common Inn as I was starting to feel a bit of jet lag. Captain Caveman ordered the car to go to the airport for 5am the next day and we set out alarms. Tonight I would probably dream about sleep!
joloyolo 