More Google searches of mine revealed in this cheeky alphabetical list – I always Google less when Captain Caveman is away as there is no need to argue or fact check conversations!
1. Amoxicillin dosage 2. Books by Malala Yousafzai 3. Can spiders see in the dark 4. Can you recover from gluten intolerance 5. Dermovate cream 6. English to Turkish 7. English to Vietnamese 8. Everything tastes sweet 9. Gluten free sausage rolls 10. Harry Potter 11. Hurricane, London 1987 12. Infected Eczema 13. Jade face roller 14. Jasmine tea benefits 15. Kids who can’t sit still 16. Molave storm 17. Orgran gluten free products 18. Palm off 19. Quang Ngai 20. Rice pudding 21. Storm tracker 22. UK antibiotics for skin infections 23. Vinpearl hotel, Dong Hoi 24. World Life Expectancy 25. Weather
Friday 30th October was one of those days where we did practically nothing. It was raining all day, Corona cases globally had exceeded 45 million and we didn’t even eat a proper meal. When Captain Caveman had been in Uniqlo in Hanoi he had found bras that he thought might fit me but I was reluctant for him to buy them as I thought they wouldn’t, but now the bras I have are really needing replacing. I found that although I had only reduced 1 cup size my bust measurement was down 4 inches!!! The next time we went to Hanoi I might be able to get some bras to fit me – this was highly exciting news. Unfortunately in Turkey there was bad news of a big earthquake in Izmir which had resulted in buildings collapsing and people being trapped and some killed or injured. Dalyan is 300km south of İzmir so there was no damage there but they did feel the tremors. My gluten intolerance issue was a mystery because I seemed to be able to eat bread and not be affected which was weird – I’d not eaten bread for about 2 years and now I had started to eat it more often. For breakfast I had 2 slices of buttered toast which was great and didn’t make me sick. Captain Caveman had started watching house renovation TV shows on Netflix and so I had lost my chef to the TV. For lunch we shared some M&Ms and I carried on doing Duolingo languages and blogging. In the afternoon I made popcorn, this time with butter and salt and we ate a whole tub between us while watching some terrible house programme with a very annoying Caroline Quentin as one of the presenters. I got some news from my mom that PayPal were going to start charging if you had not used your account in the last 12 months, from December. I looked into it and they would charge whichever was the less of £12 or your balance if it had been inactive for a year. The problem was that neither me nor Captain Caveman could log in to PayPal as our phone numbers had changed and it wanted to send a code to our registered numbers from way back. For dinner we simply had 2 white russians each, my cold had almost gone and I just felt a bit tired so had an early night. Ruth, the gecko, had decided she liked to hide in the bathroom door and so we didn’t close the door at all for risk of her getting squashed. Tomorrow we had a very busy day planned and there was also another typhoon on the way to the Philippines which was likely to affect us a week later!
On Saturday 31st October Captain Caveman made us some beans on toast for breakfast, always a favourite of mine, but it did mean we were now out of baked beans and they aren’t too easy to get here. We didn’t bother with any lunch but I wish I had later. At 2pm we were picked up by Phuong (of Phuong’s Transfers) and Remy, our neighbour, came to Dong Hoi with us. Our first stop was Co-op Mart where, because I didn’t have access to the list (on Captain Caveman’s phone), I got the job of pushing the trolley up and down the aisles instead of going on the massage chair. Captain Caveman bought groceries including snacks, fruit, veg, ketchup and spaghetti. I spotted what I thought was Carnation evaporated milk and insisted we buy that at a bargain 19,000 vnd. At the next stop, Tuan Viet Gourmet, I pushed the trolley again and we still couldn’t get everything on our list. We got red wine, crisps, dark chocolate, gluten free chocolate cookies, pasta sauce (in a jar), orange juice, (expensive but impressive) walnuts and some meat. We don’t normally buy much meat to cook except for bacon and salami but this week we got pork and beef to make casseroles in the rice steamer! Next we went to the Vinmart and I was getting a bit tired but we still managed a decent shop on exciting treats like salami, Strongbow cider, and salted lemon to go in my gin! Back at the van I thought we might be calling it a day and Remy looked like he had done too but he still needed a couple of things. Alas, Captain Caveman pointed out we still needed multiple items off the list so our next stop was the organic shop where I completely lost track of the purchasing and stayed in the van chatting to Phuong about how hungry we both were. Captain Caveman definitely got asparagus at this shop and I think some chicken from the freshly stocked freezer section before heading to another small shop to buy beer. When we got to the last supermarket I didn’t bother going in and left Captain Caveman to pick up dates and grapes from the list, unfortunately they were out of stock and we had to leave without any! Earlier that day I had arranged to drop off my passport with an agent so that I could, once again, have my visa extended. For those of you who have more to think about than the Vietnamese visa rules, it has changed that immigration will now only extend visas in UK passports by 1 month (it was previously 3 months) and so now this is a bit of a costly inconvenience. Not only does the agent end up having my passport in their possession for between 14 and 19 days, the cost is an astonishing $120. This is only for people, like me, who arrived before 1st March. Anyone after 1st March gets free visa waivers as they are deemed to be stuck here because of Corona. I did have the opportunity still to leave before 1st March but I chose to stay in Vietnam and therefore I am at the mercy of whatever the price is – last month it was $85. There is also no guarantee of how many times I will be able to extend it so if the boarders open, even to a country I don’t want to go to, it may be possible that I will have to get out (Thailand did something similar in September). So here we were in Phuong’s minibus heading towards Kimmie’s (the agent) house after 5pm on a Saturday to give her my passport. Captain Caveman gave my passport to her and that was it until I pick it up on the 19th November. On the way back to Phong Nha we made one last stop at the Lake House where Captain Caveman had ordered 5 loaves of bread, 3 for us and 2 for Veronika!!
When we got back Veronika was already on the bubbly and so we joined her for a drink, then we all had fresh bread and butter for dinner – we know how to live it up on a Saturday night! I noticed that it was Halloween and quite a lot of my UK Facebook friends seemed to be really into it, including my sister who had decorated her house and the family had dressed up for a party at home. Here in Vietnam it’s not a thing and I don’t remember it being as popular as it is now when I was living in England. The best I could do was a couple of photos with Snapchat filters to ‘join in’!! I also saw a friend’s post on Facebook, a memory from 5 years ago; I’d said ‘yes’ to a request to go to see Iron Maiden in Berlin and that was the start of the Berlin 10 and what would be a great trip with some great new, and old, friends. It made me both happy and sad – I hoped I would be lucky enough to be able to join more trips with the Berlin 10 in the not too distant future.
The last week of October started on Monday 26th with me having an actual cold – great!!! Captain Caveman made me the best ever breakfast of beans on toast with jasmine tea and I wolfed it down then went back to bed to keep warm. Even though it wasn’t too cold I felt really chilly and so I tried to rest up a bit and keep away from everyone. I did manage to do some Vietnamese and some blogging but I couldn’t really concentrate on it. I started watching The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix which was kind of strange but I downloaded the second episode for another day. I wasn’t sick from the gluten at breakfast so I decided to really put the gluten to the test again and I had cheese on toast for lunch. I did well and wasn’t affected for at least an hour and even then it was different to gluten belly and I think the cheese was at fault. Captain Caveman had already watched Harry Potter 7 when Michael and Howie arrived with Ben asking if they could watch it. Ben and Veronika were having a coffee so Captain Caveman sat and watched the film again, Howie gave up after less than 10 minutes and all the neighbours were sick with sore throats so didn’t come over. I stayed in my room and had a bit of a siesta. I only managed to do the first set of exercises for my bad leg and had thought I had a second zoom call with Ruth but she was on holiday for a week. I booked in to go to physio in Dong Hoi but was too sick to go and had to cancel – I also didn’t want anyone to catch my cold. My skin infection on my good leg was definitely getting better and the antibiotics had done their job. By dinner time my cold was worse and I had been relying on the lemon salt sweets to sooth my throat quite a bit. I managed to carry all the ingredients to make fried rice down the stairs in a box, with a pepper in my pocket! This time we had salami in it but I think I had put too much water in the rice. I abstained from any alcohol and went back to bed. I hadn’t actually ventured outside but the massive forecast storm had still not arrived so we were very lucky.
Typhoon Molave had caused quite a bit of damage in the Philippines and it was on course to hit central Vietnam this week! On Tuesday 27th October people were genuinely worried that the storm to next hit could be a big one and were doing all they could to prepare for the worst. Meanwhile, in our ‘ivory tower’ and privileged position we were doing ok. Except for the fact that I was now definitely sick with this incredibly snotty cold, sore throat and a bad head everything at our home was pretty tickety boo. Captain Caveman made breakfast and I had bacon, mushrooms and 2 slices of buttered sourdough with a pot of jasmine tea while Captain Caveman made himself a huge omelette in a sandwich!!! The people of Danang had been warned to prepare for the onslaught of storm number 9 and a curfew was implemented from 8pm! I watched more of The Haunting of Bly Manor and still thought it was a bit strange, Captain Caveman brought me dragon fruit for lunch, to keep up the vitamins, and I downloaded episode 3. It was rainy out and we were just deciding what to have for dinner when Veronika said she was off to The Villas and did we want to order any food for her to bring back. We both decided on a pizza; mine was the showstopper which has blue cheese and prosciutto on while Captain Caveman had a One Upper, no bacon but with extra salami and chillies. I was hungry when I got it but, despite it being the most delicious pizza, I only managed just over half and then saved the rest. I went to bed early, still feeling unwell and cold so I slept in all my clothes and told Captain Caveman he needed to get my scarves and hat from the Glass House next time he went.
Wednesday’s proposed shopping trip on 28th October was cancelled on account of storm Molave coming. There was a text message from the authorities at 9am in Vietnamese, which we translated to English, warning everyone of the situation and what to do. The cleaners were here and were doing a full fettle of the whole place, including making sure we had spare towels for any leaks. Captain Caveman warmed up my leftover showstopper pizza for my brunch as I was still taking it easy because I wasn’t feeling too good – hopefully I think I might have been coming through the other side now. Captain Caveman was laughing at me wearing a pair of lounge wear trousers (they aren’t pyjamas, honest) that used to fit me. He took a photo and I looked like one of those slimming photos with the extra big trousers. I decided it was time to throw them away as they no longer stay up. The rain and wind was steadily increasing each hour and Captain Caveman had to rescue the deckchairs on the balcony as they were blowing about but it didn’t seem too bad where we were. Tonight was meant to be when the worst of the storm would happen so we would see but we were quietly confident we would be fine. We had some fizz that night and had just opened it when Ben popped round to see Veronika, he showed us his premier amateur film of his experience of this last flood and it was pretty good. Captain Caveman asked me if I wanted him to make me carbonara, which is one of the best things he cooks but I said it was too late to mess about. He shocked me by saying he would do anything for me, including cooking a carbonara later at night! How sweet, so that’s what he did and it was delicious!!!
Before 8am on Thursday 29th October the tropical storm Molave had passed and, once again, we were extremely lucky. There was some damage in Phong Nha and flood water had come in at certain places but it was not the devastating results that had been predicted. Obviously our place was absolutely fine except for Ky, the dog, now had nothing left of his shelter and the odd plant pot had blown off and broken. The Farmstay water levels were high but the building had not flooded and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Elsewhere in Phong Nha town, where the market usually is, it was flooded again and some of the people who had vulnerable properties had some damage but on the whole people had been evacuated and considered themselves very lucky. In Danang and Hoi An they had been battered by Molave with significant damage, trees blown over and wind damage to property. In Quang Nam a whole roof had blown off the central hospital and there had been an horrendous landslide burying 53 people of which 15 bodies had already been recovered and a dangerous search continued. Captain Caveman made me a bacon sandwich with mushrooms for breakfast and he had his with eggs and brown sauce. I had 2 pots of jasmine tea and, feeling lucky to have missed the typhoon (now only a tropical storm), I had crisps for lunch while watching another episode of The Haunting of Bly Manor which I couldn’t decide if it was extremely badly cast or just odd. I suggested to Captain Caveman, who was now doing nothing but scrolling on his phone all day, that he might like to make us a Spanish omelette for dinner and he rose to the challenge – it’s another one of his signature dishes which he cooks really well. We had some for dinner with cheese and pickles and I saved a small slice for my breakfast the next day. I abstained from alcohol hoping to completely be rid of my cold by the weekend.
On Saturday 24th October it was another lovely sunny day here in Phong Nha but the next storm was forecast! I had jasmine tea in bed and did a puzzle – Captain Caveman had kindly brought me up a pot before he made breakfast. I ended up having fresh bread with butter and I noticed Captain Caveman had started with a cold. For lunch Captain Caveman did us cheese on toast which was fantastic even if I did have a bad stomach after, but that meant I missed Harry Potter 5. I had made the popcorn beforehand but less people came for the film today. I started watching Interior Design Masters on Netflix in the bedroom while Harry Potter was on and I got quite in to it. After the film finished I asked Captain Caveman if he wanted to go for a walk with me but he said I couldn’t walk anywhere. This annoyed me because I hadn’t really tried and I wanted to, only to the bottom of the road and back. When he realised I was serious he agreed and I got all wrapped up because I thought it was a bit chilly out.
The walk to the bottom of the road would be 162m so I had planned to try to complete both ways, a total of 324m. I was very slow but a lot more confident and I could walk better than I had before. Ky, the dog, tried to warn us about some pesky puppies but we ignored him and then they tried to scare us off! Captain Caveman suggested I could try walking around the block as it wasn’t much further than walking the same way back and I decided to have a go, I could see he was concerned he’d have to carry me back if I didn’t make it. Towards the end of the walk I saw that my favourite flower was back and that it had not been destroyed in the flood as I’d thought, it had just been hiding. I tried and I was so happy that I made it, almost 500m of walking. When we got back home we chilled out with a bit of wine and the last of the beef and lentil soup. Before bed I saw on Facebook that there had been lots of posts of photos where the locals were getting help after the flood damage – some cleaning up, others supplies of food packages. People were trying their best to get back to normal.
I woke up feeling like I had a sore throat coming on Sunday 25th October and I had a bit of a headache. During the night my ankle had hurt a little and had kept me awake but now the pain had gone. The storm we had been expecting, which had started as a typhoon and caused damage in the Philippines, had not hit Phong Nha. It was raining but it was nowhere near the heaviness of the last lot of weather – we were very lucky this time. Captain Caveman brought me a pot of tea in bed and then went down to cook breakfast. I had just started drinking my jasmine tea when I was called to come down for my bacon and mushroom breakfast. Trying to be healthy I also had a banana after breakfast and then went to write some blogs while eating gluten free and sugar free chocolate cookies. I spent most of the morning resting up and I finished Interior Design Masters on Netflix which I really enjoyed, even though I didn’t think the winner was that good. By lunch time I was coming round a bit and my throat was much better so Captain Caveman made one of his specialities, carbonara (with gluten free pasta for me, spaghetti for him) and we opened a bottle of red wine from Puglia. It was ok but I wouldn’t buy it again, just as we were tucking in Ben and Bich arrived bringing provisions for the kids and they laughed at our indulgence – well it was Sunday!!! Michael was giddy because he was ready to watch more films and went over to invite Melissa and her family. While Captain Caveman got involved with Harry Potter 6 I went to do my Vietnamese on Duolingo but fell asleep. At 5pm the Ministry of Health sent everyone a text (in Vietnamese but it could be translated easily via Google translate) giving some useful post flood advice. Captain Caveman borrowed Veronika’s motorbike and went to the Lake House to collect some sourdough bread and when he got back we had it for dinner. Strangely, I wasn’t ill after it and I started to wonder if my intolerance to gluten was being replaced by an intolerance to dairy – could this even happen!?
Although I still had no driver or physio session booked for Friday 23rd October we decided we probably needed to get some essentials as we were running low. Captain Caveman booked a car through Thang who he hires his motorbikes with and our alarm was set for 7am. I’d been awake since 4am because of the dog barking again and had trouble getting out of bed! There would be no Harry Potter today as one of the kids had to go to school but it had been promised for over the weekend so we needed more popcorn! The next storm was on its way and was meant to be likely to cause more wind and rain in our area. Our first stop was at Co-op Mart where I headed straight for the massage chair while Captain Caveman did the shopping. It was a fairly warm, dry day and so I decided not to take my crutches at all, for the first time. The supermarket was so quiet, I had 12 minutes for 20,000 vnd (66p) on the chair and loved it – this time I was better prepared and took jewelry off. I was quite proud of myself at getting on and off the escalator without a crutch too. Our next stop was the new supermarket, Tuan Viet Gourmet, so I could restock the gluten free sugar free chocolate cookies. The organic shop was next and they were still stocking the shop, they apologised that they were out of beef because they had been flooded. Captain Caveman, never to be beaten on top trumps, showed the assistant a video of the Phong Nha floods and she was completely stunned in to silence – we still didn’t get any meat! At the Red supermarket they had some late 90’s pop music in the form of the Venga Boys blaring out to an almost empty street and a very quiet shop. I had a little dance on the way in, had to be helped up and down the steps where they had a safety carpet. We found sweet corn and tuna (requested by the neighbours) and on the way back to the car I had to have a dance and a sing to Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! At the pharmacy near the hospital there was a bit of a queue so I waited in the car listening to dance music while Captain Caveman stocked up on all the essentials. I thought we were going to grab breakfast at Tree Hugger but unfortunately Captain Caveman got a call to pick up a tool from the place near to the physio instead.
Dong Hoi shopping
On our return to Phong Nha Captain Caveman took the tuna and seaweed to Melissa and asked if he could borrow her motorbike to head to Phong Nha to deliver the tool and a couple of brooms while I caught up with some tasks. On the way back he called at the Lake House to buy another couple of loaves of fresh bread. In the evening we had White Russians all round and agreed that we were probably the luckiest 3 people in town. For dinner we all had soup and was pretty grateful for homemade food and fresh bread. We had added potatoes, red cabbage and good old Henderson’s relish to the remaining beef and lentil soup – that sorted it out!
On Thursday 22nd October we got up to lovely sunshine and it looked as if the bad weather had disappeared. The dog in the house opposite our bathroom had been barking all through the night and I think it was because it had been left alone, when the owner returned it was quiet again. Captain Caveman went over to Phong Nha with Ben to help out at Victory Road Villas and then checked on our home at the Glass House.
Captain Caveman’s photos of the flooded paddy fields from the highway
Captain Caveman’s photos of the road to, then the clean up continuesatVictoryRoad Villas
I had egg fried rice and jasmine tea for breakfast then tried making something new – beef and lentil soup in the rice cooker! I made loads of popcorn and Harry Potter 4 commenced. The beef and lentil soup for dinner was a bit disappointing, it lacked flavour and was a bit fatty in parts so I picked out most of my meat and gave it to Captain Caveman. Veronika had made a point of not drinking while in charge of the grandchildren but had an evening to herself, so the three of us shared 2 bottles of fizz. Captain Caveman and I also had a glass or two of red wine to go with the beef and Veronika shared some cheesecake with us. When I got to bed I realised I had forgotten to do my leg exercises for the first time since I started my plan and resolved to do an extra set tomorrow. I messaged Thuy to book a physio appointment in for the next day, we were hoping to go to Dong Hoi and to also stock up on provisions in readiness for the next forecast storm.
I chilled out, ate fried rice and enjoyed the sunshine
The neighbours’chickens and fridges had been evacuated to the Glass House and were safe – Captain Caveman’s photos
I made popcorn and soup
Ben had made 2 more short films which showed the clean up efforts and the mess the flood waters had caused. It was unbelievable how hard the staff worked to clean up all the mud, all with a smile on their faces – inspiring.
Captain Caveman is going to be taking part in a 3 day cycle event soon, which you can find out more about below – you can even join him and donate to help those affected by the floods:
The Phong Nha clean up was well underway on Wednesday 21st October and I saw loads of Facebook photos which showed just how bad the muddy flood waters had been in people’s homes, and businesses. Yesterday Captain Caveman had been to help Ben and Bich with some clear up jobs and he headed off again to see if there was anything else he could help with. He sent me photos back and I was so amazed at the progress the staff and other helpers had made. Ben was like a Phong Nha reporter with his paddle cam style filming and it really let us, in our fortunate position, see how things were in the villages and town around Phong Nha.
Check out Ben’s two clips (episodes 3 & 4 out of 6) on Facebook to give you a really good glimpse of how high the flood water had been and imagine the cleaning up:
While I sat safely indoors imagining the clean up catastrophe out in various locations in Phong Nha and feeling slightly guilty that I wasn’t even helping, Veronika and I had managed to get invited on a lunch date. Co had invited us, via translating with Michael, to join him for some fried rice at the staff house and, because we had already turned down the offer of a beer the day before, we thought we should accept. We speculated that it may be a thank you for putting the neighbours up during the floods so we took some snacks and a bottle of sparkling wine. Captain Caveman made it back just in time and we all sat and watched Co cook, it smelled lovely and even though I’d had a significant amount of breakfast I knew I could always eat fried rice. Mr Ky, the dog, was there and Captain Caveman was able to pet him but because of being unsteady on my leg still, I didn’t. We had some really tasty pork with fried rice, we used Google translate to chat a bit with Co and Duyet. The food was really good and we left believing the reason we were invited was because they were worried we weren’t getting enough food! So now, not only were we the most privileged people in Phong Nha we had the staff feeling sorry for us and making us a meal – how embarrassing! We would find out much later that this was not the case but it was no less embarrassing.
A surprise lunch invitation
When we got back next door the cleaners were in and I looked up how to apologise in Vietnamese for the mess of the place. When they had cleaned, Veronika was eager to take everything back downstairs, Captain Caveman moved some things but we were reluctant because another storm was due at the weekend so it seemed premature to move everything back just yet. In Phong Nha town the electric came back on after 4 days of no power and we got word from friends that they were ok but just busy with tackling the clean ups. Of course we had been so fortunate to have the generator most of the time. Harry Potter 3 commenced, popcorn was made, 2 minute noodles were prepared and 4 of the 5 neighbours came to watch the film with us. Remy was out helping Ben and Bich with clean up stuff. When Harry Potter finished everyone left; the neighbours went back home, Veronika and the boys went to have dinner with Ben and Bich at the Farmstay and Captain Caveman decided to cook the last of the veggies we had with some beef that had been thawing out. We shared a bottle of wine and sat at the kitchen table to enjoy the wine, smell the delicious food cooking and appreciate a bit of quiet! We decided to eat 2 pieces each and chop the rest up for a stew – because the fridge freezer was on and off we didn’t want to risk keeping it any longer. The meal was lovely and the best meal we had eaten since Friday’s pizza night. We drank the rest of the wine and went to bed.
We were all up very early on Tuesday 20th October, having not really slept much during the night. The sound of the heavy rain, even in a well-built villa like this, was disturbing enough but I can only imagine how worried the locals, with less robust properties, would have been. We also slept with the curtains open so that the bottoms of them didn’t get wet with the rain water coming under the slight gap in the bottom of the door! Captain Caveman was out on the balcony with a powerful head-torch at 5am and reported that the water in the garden had gone. I didn’t believe him as it had not stopped raining and there was at least half a metre worth right across the front of the properties. By 7am when I looked out in the daylight, he was right, it had completely gone and our ground floor flood water had also drained away. There was still no electricity and the generator wasn’t on yet so I had a couple of walnuts and some cheese with a slice of focaccia bread for breakfast, Captain Caveman had peanut butter and marmite on bread. Everyone was hungry but not enough to eat the boiled eggs and only 1 was consumed. The kids got bread with a choice of butter, peanut butter, marmite, cheese spread (or a combo of any of those) or dried noodles. When the generator started up I had the remains of my Phong Nha Underground oolong tea which I shared with Remy, Veronika and Melissa had green tea on the go and the kids got their 2 minute noodles. By this time Remy started packing up everything so that they could all go back home, since the water had gone, but not everyone in the family was as enthusiastic to leave. Aaliyah helped me make the popcorn, later joined by the 3 youngest boys who all wanted to have a go! Harry Potter 2 commenced, I had a hangover so it was good to just watch the film. Afterwards the neighbours went home but not before agreeing that they would come back to watch the rest of the Harry Potter movies each day. Ben and Bich came over later and had a shower at the house up the hill because our water was off, they were cold and had been sorting through the damage at the Farmstay and then going to The Villas to check out the result of the flood there. They, and their helpers, had a big job on their hands to get cleaned up again and it was hard to even imagine how much mud and damage there was.
Collecting rain water
Popcorn made
Flood water gone from the kitchen
Pull out stairs
Cleaning up has started
While Veronika had sausages for dinner with the kids I did us a fried rice with some of the leftover rice we had and we shared a bottle of red wine. Melissa and her family decided to order a takeaway from the Lake House who were lucky to be high up and open for business, so she asked us if any of us would like to order anything, including freshly baked bread. Veronika declined but Captain Caveman jumped straight in with an order for 2 loaves of their bread! When Melissa came round with the bread I sliced it up and offered some out. I saw on Facebook just how lucky and privileged we were to be in a safe and now mostly dry house – it really did make me feel extremely lucky to be here right now.
I didn’t even leave the house, and had no plans to, until it was safe but in the meantime this was what Ben and the gang had been up to at the Farmstay and his new lakeside resort!
Luckily our neighbours were able to use the L shaped sofa for two of them and the other three (including the adults) put up a makeshift bed with cushions on the mezzanine floor overlooking the lounge. While the ten of us didn’t get as much sleep as we might have wanted, or were used to, we were certainly a thousand times luckier than some of the locals in Phong Nha, Tan Hoa and nearby Le Thuy. A lot of Phong Nha residents, we would find out later, did not sleep all night but stayed awake trying to protect themselves, each other, their property, and their animals. The property we were staying in was on high ground with little likelihood of flooding, we even said on Sunday night that if we were flooded tomorrow then a lot of people would be in serious trouble!!!
The neighbours made their own beds in the lounge area
View of the rice paddies
View from the bathroom
The kitchen we didn’t think would get flooded
Captain Caveman collects rain water
Electric on rice cooker on
Fresh water collected by the men
I woke to the sound of Captain Caveman’s snoring at 4am on Monday 19th October. I went to the bathroom using my emergency light but didn’t look out of the window so wasn’t sure how bad the weather was, only to know it was still raining and we had no electricity. The whole house was up and about before 7am and we were all shocked to see that the flood water was about a quarter of the way up the garden gate, water had come in to the kitchen downstairs and we had to make our first house rule. It was mainly for the safety of the younger children, the elderly and the disabled; permission from Veronika was required to go past the top step of the stairs to the kitchen. All pans, bowls and containers were assembled outside for collecting rain water and once we had the generator on we put a huge load of rice in the rice cooker. Veronika made 2 minute noodles for anyone that wanted them, mainly the kids, while Captain Caveman made me and him bacon on the hot plate – it was such a good job Co and Duyet had insisted on moving our kitchen appliances upstairs. I had my bacon with steamed rice and some focaccia bread – who cared about gluten now, I wasn’t going to go hungry! Veronika made tea for everyone and I had a cup of green then she decided to boil some eggs for if the power went off again. Melissa and Remy were easy going, luckily, so just went along with whatever was suggested food-wise. Amazingly Melissa had a hard drive with all of the Harry Potter films on so we decided to get all of us on the sofas and watch the first one. We were all so glad of the popcorn maker because, with help from Aaliyah, we made a big tub of popcorn for everyone to share. After the film Captain Caveman collected in the full rain water receptacles, this was my first taste of drinking rain water which Captain Caveman seemed surprised by. I’d already cracked open a bottle of red wine during the film and the rainwater did taste a bit chalky and slightly sweeter than filtered water. Later he and Remy braved a walk through the flood water to collect some fresh water so that we had enough to keep us going for how ever long the storm and floods would last. The running water hadn’t been on and so another rule was implemented to not flush for wees but to use rain water for poos. Thankful for modern flushing toilets and running water I looked outside and saw a boat approaching us, across the flooded paddy field and car park. As the boat got nearer it was clear it was Ben, Bich and Chien who had come from Phong Nha Farmstay with provisions, meant to be for their kids! It was good to see them but rather scary when they described how the water levels were at the Farmstay and The Villas. Duyet came out, stood up, on a home-made raft and using a big metal pole as his oar – it was amazing. By the time dinner was being discussed the options were 2 minute noodles, boiled eggs, soup or rice. Most of the kids went for noodles, Veronika, Melissa and Remy had chicken soup and the rest of us had veggie fried rice which I made while tipsy and with an eleven year old sous chef doing all the chopping. I felt it was a bit like camping and we were all getting on fine, when Uno (the card game) was suggested I was excited to join in – I’d not played it since a holiday to the Maldives and Sri Lanka with friends. The electric went off and we finished the game by emergency lights which made it feel later than it was. It went on a bit but in the end I won because a 10 year old didn’t say Uno when he had one card left but apparently he thought he’d still won. We all went to bed early, outside it was still raining and I commented how lucky we were to Captain Caveman.
Harry Potter – we were all ready! Is it a bird? Is it a boat?
Ben, Bich and Chien pay us a visit, with provisionsDuyet makes a cameo on a homemade raft
On Saturday 17th October I still hadn’t heard back from Thuy and so didn’t go to physio. Instead I ate some of the veggie rice I had in the fridge but the asparagus had made it soggy and I had to throw the rest away. The rain and wind was pretty hard and it blew the outdoor balcony furniture in opposite directions. The temperature had dropped considerably, for the first time in ages I had to put another layer of clothing on. Elsewhere in Vietnam photos showed terrible flood scenes and some sad ones emerged of lots of livestock getting stuck in the mud. Captain Caveman decided to make a Spanish omelette which we would be able to eat if the power went off. We stayed in that evening and I cooked fried rice with veg and salami. We shared 2 bottles of fizz and mentally prepared ourselves for the 6 days of ‘bad’ rain that had been predicted – tomorrow was going to be a bit of a shock to me!
Veggie rice
Tortilla in the making
Tortilla by Captain Caveman
Cheers
When we got up on Sunday 18th October I realised that the flood situation in our wider area was going to get bad. We could see that it looked like it may even turn out to be worse than 2010. Where we were staying was amazing and we were certainly very lucky, maybe of the luckiest people in Phong Nha. The banana trees in the garden outside had seen some movement, some were blown over, a local man was moving his cow to higher land and the paddy field opposite was becoming a lake. People were posting more and more photos of their circumstances on Facebook – these were now becoming people we know and friends. Captain Caveman made me bacon and beans for breakfast and then I had some grapes because I was still hungry. The rain didn’t stop and there was talk of moving our kitchen stuff on the ground floor up to the first floor. The neighbours didn’t have a first floor and they were also worried in case they became flooded so we offered space at our’s if they needed it. We had a picnic lunch and had made short work of the Spanish omelette when the power went off. Luckily we have the use of a generator and so it wasn’t long before it was back on. The new lake opposite us now had ducks visiting and by 4.30pm the rain was getting heavier. Captain Caveman got the emergency lights at the ready, the fridge got moved higher and we even decided to move the wine and empty all the bottom kitchen cupboards, just in case. I had a snack of cashew nuts and we opened the red wine earlier than usual before I cooked us some egg fried rice with salami. On Facebook emergency phone numbers were posted for those in Phong Nha who needed evacuating and all residents were warned the flood was here and would continue for a couple of days at least. Cars and motorbikes were moved to higher ground and even animals were being moved indoors. We were in bed when I got a message at 10.15pm from our neighbour because they were being evacuated – we had left them the door open!
Phuong picked me up at 7:30am on Friday 16th October and we headed to Dong Hoi airport to pick up Captain Caveman, I’d also requested a physio appointment from Thuy but had not yet heard back from her. When we arrived at the airport Captain Caveman was already waiting and got straight in to the vehicle, this time without the bicycle which would have to be posted back. We went straight to Tree Hugger for breakfast where I gulped down a Gastropulgite so that I could have the amazing cheese and ham toasties with my herbal tea. Captain Caveman had coffee and egg sandwiches which he absolutely loves. I’m not sure he was too pleased to see me as he happened to drop a book from the bookshelf on to my back, which hurt (it was the Lonely Planet guide to Southeast Asia)!
Tree Hugger
Back home Captain Caveman had managed to cheer me up with lots of goodies from Hanoi, including a beautiful gift from Phil and Hoa in Sapa and some seamless knickers from Uniqlo. The rain was getting quite heavy and this would be what we now know to be the first day of the rains which would flood Phong Nha. Captain Caveman had some bad news that he had spent all his wages and we were now on a tight budget until payday so he wasn’t too happy that I had bought the new dress when I don’t go out much anyway. I had been pretty frugal this last week and only spent 2,455,000 vnd which is around £80 – I only went out once to eat and I didn’t pay for any alcohol all week! Captain Caveman reassured me that we would be ok we just needed to tighten our belts and maybe not spend almost £12 on grapes and walnuts (they were so nice though).
Captain Caveman was back from Hanoi and Sapa with treats!
By 4.30pm it was very wet out but word came from Ben that The Villas were going to have another ‘all you can eat’ pizza buffet tonight. Captain Caveman of course can’t turn down pizza and so off we went. When we arrived Momma D and the 3 cavers were already seated at a table for 4 and were munching away on pizza. I joked that Captain Caveman had come all the way back from Hanoi just for pizza night and then I went to sit at the big table. I chose a seat between a polite Polish lady and Veronika, Captain Caveman saw there was 20% off wine and got us a lovely bottle of red to share. We each got served a slice of whichever deliciously topped pizza came out and they just kept on coming for just over an hour. My medication worked and they were going down so well, even the ones I wouldn’t normally try were just so tasty. Ben and Bich were there to make sure everyone got well fed, the kids were all seated together and were mainly getting on and behaving. The food and service was outstanding and we were very pleased we had been able to eat so much pizza – the wine wasn’t bad either!
Here’s an insight in to my simplistic life in September through the things I googled, listed alphabetically:
1. Alpha pristine 2. BBC news 3. Dragon fruit vitamin C 4. Drinkable 5. English to Turkish 6. English to Vietnamese 7. Elodie Alice 8. Frederich Engels 9. FTSE 100 10. Funniest UK stand up clips 11. Gerard Butler 12. James Caster 13. Katie Price ankles 14. Kevin Bridges – Bus Stop joke 15. Lentil recipes UK 16. Maoris in New Zealand 17. Marcus Rashford 18. Natalie Jenkins missing 19. Nasi Goreng 20. Oxalis Adventure 21. Prince Charles speaking Welsh 22. Postcode finder UK 23. Queen Accommodation Services Dalyan 24. Tran Manh Dan 25. Using herbs 26. World Life Expectancy 27. Weather
After 3 days off from physio and only 5.5 hours of therapy last week I had managed to get booked in for an 8.30am appointment on Monday 12th October. Phuong picked me up at 7.15am and I shared the car once again with Shannon, Stu and Jack who were off to the airport and flying to Saigon for a few days. The journey took a bit longer due to it being incredibly wet on the roads and when I got to physio it was ankle deep water that I had to walk in. That was the easy part because inside, on the lino floor, it was very slippery in bare feet and I was sliding a bit. Phuong helped me with the doors and told me to keep my shoes on but I managed ok. More flood photos were appearing on Facebook and there was news of hydropower plants facing landslides. Back at home I had a dragon fruit and an orange for lunch and shared a pot of green tea with Veronika. My visa still wasn’t ready but I was assured it would be in time for Captain Caveman to bring back at the end of the week, on his way back from Sapa. My good leg and the eczema was getting worse and I think it was infected so I was putting cream on but now the shower gel seemed to be irritating it and it was definitely infected. I had a zoom call with Ruth, a friend of Captain Caveman’s and a physiotherapist in the UK, she asked me to tell her what happened again and then she asked some questions, it was tricky without being able to fully translate word for word my MRI results in to English but we made do. I was keen to be able to supplement the physical massage therapy with some exercises and so she said she would send me some exercises to do in addition to my sessions in Dong Hoi. I felt a bit more confident having spoke to Ruth that I would be able to make more progress and hoped it would be beneficial to do some exercises which she would recommend. That evening Veronika asked if I would like to share her wine gift, I agreed and I ate my falafel and veggies for tea. Veronika had soup and offered me some which I enjoyed, it was a veggie one with a good tasty flavour. Back in the bedroom I put my returned laundry back and got ready for a good night’s sleep – I had planned a lay in!
Dong Hoi was quite wet
Soup and wine with Veronika
I woke up so early on Tuesday 13th October and didn’t get to sleep in at all because my good leg was in pain and my eczema looked quite infected. I decided to put apple cider vinegar on it and it did make it less puffy. I did my bad leg exercise plan from Ruth and most of it was very hard to do (She did advise it could be challenging)! For breakfast I had 2 apples and then did a bit of blogging before lunch. I had hummus, red cabbage, red pepper, carrot and olives for lunch. Captain Caveman had 3 lots of bread in the freezer so I took out the smallest box of sourdough and defrosted a couple of slices for me to have with lunch and free up a bit of space as the freezer was crammed full. I found a gluten free Facebook group which was based in Hanoi and sent Captain Caveman some requests for supplies. For dinner I had a couple of slices of the sourdough and another apple then went to bed really early because I was still feeling rather tired!
My first time on the floor
It was very blustery on Wednesday 14th October and Veronika, Bich and I were off to Dong Hoi. I’d experienced another small bit of progress and had got my shoes and socks on for the first time this year. I was wearing my black volleys which were a gift from our Aussie friends, Amanda & Greg, we should have all been in Dalyan together right now too! Our first stop in Dong Hoi was the organic shop where we stocked up on vegetables and fruit, I also bought some cheap peanuts. Our second stop was at Bibi’s clothes shop where Bich was picking up Marmot raincoats which really looked the business, I was tempted to replace my (donated by Josh) Oxalis raincoat which isn’t waterproof. They were great value but cash was tight until payday and so I didn’t think it a good idea to waste money on something I would rarely use on account of me not going far. I saw some amazing dresses which were made from silk and had pockets but was sure they would be too expensive or too small. I tried a couple on and they both fit, actually one was too big, but the one I really liked was nice, slightly baggy and comfortable. I decided to splash out and spend the 500,000 vnd (about £16.50) and buy it, it would look great with black tights or leggings on a wintery night. I was ecstatic to buy a dress off the peg in a Vietnamese dress shop! Our next stop was at a newly opened supermarket called Tuan Viet Gourmet which was fantastic because it sold gluten free stuff as well as British stuff. I bought crisps, gluten and sugar free chocolate cookies, beetroot wafer crackers and baked beans. They sold McVittie’s chocolate digestives which Watto would be shoving in the trolley like a kid in a sweet shop if he was here. Our last stop was for brunch at Tree Hugger where I had herbal tea, a peach tea and veggie spring rolls. The weather was fine, in fact it was warmer than expected and we sat outside. Tree Hugger had been closed for a bit of renovation and it looked even more cosy than before. It was great to see Anna, the owner, who is so lovely and very welcoming. On our way back to Phong Nha we called at the chemist near the hospital and stocked up on a load of stuff, I got amoxicillin for my infected eczema and started taking it straight away. When I got home I did my exercises which were tricky as my good leg was now a bad leg too. I got confirmation my visa extension had been done and that my passport would be getting returned to Captain Caveman – a relief I was now able to remain in Vietnam until the 9th November. That night for dinner I was feeling too lethargic to cook and so I ate the rest of the sourdough with butter and took a cup of jasmine tea to bed.
A successful shopping trip to Dong Hoi
When I came down in to the kitchen on Thursday 15th October the cleaners were here and so I took my pot of jasmine tea outside and I got talking to Co and Duyet. They introduced me to ‘con cháu chấu’ which means grasshopper – they are pests to the beautiful orchids which are in the garden and Co picked it up and threw it away. Time was cracking on by the time I went back indoors and so I had gluten free cookies for breakfast and then added some grapes for lunch. While the weather wasn’t too bad, where we were, it had continued to be pretty awful in our neighbouring provinces and it looked like we were definitely in for a very wet weekend. Veronika had made a bowl of tomato salsa which she was having on toast and I had some with rice crackers. I also made myself some veggie rice in the rice cooker and had that and shared Veronika’s left over wine. Tomorrow Captain Caveman was due back so I had the alarm set for an early get-up.
I woke up at 4.30am on Friday 9th October because of a storm, there was a little bit of water coming in from under the balcony doors as the wind blew the rain in that direction. The bathroom window was not watertight and so a puddle was forming as the rain pelted against the glass. I checked my messages from Captain Caveman to find he’d not got on the train to Hanoi until 1am! I wouldn’t have been too happy with that when the train was due to leave at 7.40pm but at least he could drink beers while he sat in the train station. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I got up and did some Vietnamese practice. The cleaners came in early, mopping up, taking the wet towels away and generally making sure all was ok. I didn’t go to physio as it was a bit stormy still and I had an apple for breakfast. At lunch time I had grapes and peanut M&Ms and we popped another bottle of fizz in the fridge for later. That afternoon I saw various posts on Facebook showing that some people in Phong Nha had muddy flood water in their homes and some had no electricity. Further away some towns were having some really bad storms and it looked like the flood season had started. I watched Love on the Spectrum on Netflix which was brilliant. I finally had a message from Captain Caveman that he had arrived in Hanoi, 10 hours later than planned. That evening I had falafel, yoghurt dip, red pepper and red cabbage for dinner – it went well with half a bottle of Lindeman’s each. The wind was really getting stronger and I wondered if I would be able to get to sleep, this would be my first experience of the wet season here in Vietnam.
Saturday 10th October the world reached over 37 million reported cases of Corona virus and the rain here was heavy. Having not slept much I was up early and the cleaners were in again, mopping and ringing out towels. Veronika’s room was the worst and the shared sitting area between the bedrooms was a big puddle. Of course Veronika was able to slosh through all the water but I was hesitant due to my leg as I didn’t want to slip – the trusty shower shoes were a big help. Water had leaked on to the staircase too making it a bit slippy and tricky for me to get to and from the kitchen. When I got downstairs Hien had brought us treats from the bakery in Dong Hoi and they looked delicious. I had a chocolate and custard one for breakfast even though it probably had gluten in but I was fine after it! She tried to warn us the weather was going to get bad and to stay indoors. Photos and videos were being posted on Facebook showing bad floods in Hue, Danang and Hoi An – a few hours south of us. For lunch I had some hummus and veggies and I did an interview for a Turkish Facebook page. For the evening there was a banquet dinner on at Phong Nha Farmstay which we decided to go to. We shared a bottle of our favourite fizz by the fire, the first open fire of the year, and it felt all cosy and festive. The buffet was fantastic and I really enjoyed it, by the time we had finished we were stuffed and needing our beds.
I was awake by 4.30am on Sunday 11th October and because it was still rainy out I stayed in again. By 10am I hade made popcorn, impressed myself by carrying laundry down the stairs and treated myself to a red dragon fruit and an earl grey tea. Although it was still raining we were ok and photos from other provinces were gradually showing more flood situations. Phong Nha Farmstay decided to do a campfire stew instead of a Sunday lunch but I didn’t fancy going out in the rain so had a healthy dinner of hummus and veggies with a tortilla and a rice cracker. I wasn’t feeling too well and decided not to bother with any alcohol! The news in Vietnam now showed the number of dead and missing due to floods or landslides and it was many more than affected by the Corona virus in this country!
Thursday 8th October would be our last day together before Captain Caveman went on holiday to the north for a week by himself. I would only be a burden as I can’t walk yet and he had planned to have some days in Hanoi, some days in Sapa visiting friends and doing some treks. I really wanted to see Sapa but the terrain there is too steep for someone who can’t yet manage much more than 5,000 steps on a good day. We got up for breakfast and noticed the rain outside was pretty heavy, the winds were very blustery, even the Vinpearl hotel had towels at windows catching the leaks and the dining room was virtually empty. The river was looking like it was about to overflow but Captain Caveman was already looking up the tide times and pointed out the tide was changing and it wouldn’t overflow. There was no buffet service so we were given a very extensive menu to pick anything we liked off – and we did! I had taken a Gastropulgite so that I could have croissants and cheese!!! I also had pho ga, bacon, sausages, and fruit so I was very full. Captain Caveman made me 2 cups of earl grey tea to wash it all down with and I messaged Thuy at physio to see if I could come for an earlier appointment.
The Vinpearl hotel staff had very kindly given us a free late check out and so I went off for physio, managing to get down the steps and in to a taxi with Captain Caveman’s help. He went to run a few errands and nip to the ATM so that he could give me some money as my funds were now depleted due to all the physio and transport costs. My physio became a tag team of three therapists all giving me what for and it was difficult for me to tell which bit was the most painful, I think it was the foot on the bum which clinched it.
Captain Caveman’s video of the river in Dong Hoi
I got back to the hotel and was so pleased with myself that I managed to get up the very wet marble steps in a blustery storm, Captain Caveman had come down to meet me but I was already at the lift when he got to me! We checked out but the weather was getting worse so we decided to have a hot beverage in the cafe area where the cute receptionist chatted on to us for a while, practicing her English on the few remaining guests. I contemplated booking an extra night at the Vinpearl hotel but we thought I might end up stuck there.
Captain Caveman’s clip of the weather from the Vinpearl hotel
When we realised the weather was not getting any better we decided to get a taxi to 7th Heaven for some food, leaving our bags at reception. We were the only ones there and both ordered a delicious steak, with a bottle of wine, as our last meal together for a while. All the time we were eating the rain was getting worse and the road outside looked like it might be flooding. Phuong was coming to pick me up to take me home and we drove to the Vinpearl hotel where Captain Caveman got soaked picking up the luggage, then we drove to drop him at the train station. By now the weather had got worse and we wondered if the train might be delayed but when we checked, it was still on time. Floods had started in Hoi An, Danang and Hue and it was on the news, saying it looked bad this year. We said our goodbyes and I was pleased Captain Caveman would be able to pick up my passport in Hanoi once my visa was renewed.
Phuong drove me and another suprise passenger, who had jumped in at the train station for a free lift back to Phong Nha. I was getting dropped off first because my drop off was at Veronika’s where she already had the wine chilling. It was very wet and I was glad to be high up in case the rain got bad, I felt very lucky to have somewhere nice to stay and with good company while Captain Caveman was away. The storm I had just been out in was going to seem like a bit of a light shower to what was to come but at the time I could not even imagine it. Before bed I spoke to Captain Caveman who was still in the train station, his train delayed and he was several beers in! He was already delayed by 5 and a half hours by the time I fell asleep.
Captain Caveman’s video as Phuong drove us to the train station in Dong Hoi
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joloyolo
The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure
joloyolo 