After falling asleep straight away on the overnight train from Dong Hoi to Ninh Binh we arrived at the train station at 9:30am on Wednesday 26th February. Captain Caveman was in charge of booking the accommodation for the first night and had organised a taxi pick up. We drove for about 20 minutes from the station towards our accommodation and then turned on to a series of very bumping single lane tracks across some watery paddy fields. When we arrived I could see some thatched bamboo huts and a big, half started, building site and what looked like 2 empty swimming pools.
The homestay manager at Ninh Binh Panorama Homestay greeted us and apologised for the building mess and noise and said they were going to finish at 5pm. She also told us the kitchen was only open for breakfast (which we had missed) and dinner between 6 & 8pm. We walked towards the bamboo huts, where we were staying and she mentioned we would be in the quieter area, furthest away from the new build. The bungalow was nice with two big double beds but Captain Caveman had been a bit tight and booked the one room for all three of us. I really didn’t fancy using the free bicycles to cycle to the tourist attractions but I was so hungry and only had a few crisps and some emergency raisins to last me the whole trip. I pushed my bicycle for the first 10 minutes and we found the Mona Lisa cafe where we decided to have brunch. Most of what we ordered they didn’t have yet so I ended up with chips and some rather strange fresh spring rolls with unwashed lettuce, rice noodles, warm tofu and very cold pineapple in.

We then cycled to the boat station where Captain Caveman and Trouble were very excited to do a three hour rowing boat ride which went in to 9 caves. I, on the other hand, felt sorry for the old man who had to row us and really did not want to be sat on a small rowing boat, in a tight life jacket for 3 hours but they wouldn’t let me go back to the Mona Lisa cafe to drink wine. Don’t get me wrong it was very beautiful and we saw some temples but it just wasn’t for me – that poor old man! Captain Caveman also knows I’m not a fan of caves, especially claustrophobic bits, but had managed to pick one of the three tours where this featured the most. When I complained I wasn’t enjoying the putting my head between my legs to go under some parts he said it wasn’t that bad, right before he hit his head on the rocky cave ceiling above him, scratching and popping out the lense of his sunglasses which were on his head. Relieved to be off the boat and after giving the boat man a big tip we cycled back to the Mona Lisa for wine, the road was busy with cars and I didn’t feel confident so I took it slower than the others. I stayed at the café while the other 2 went to another sightseeing spot which closed in an hour so they had to cycle faster than I could. I had a glass of white wine but when I ordered a second they were out of that one so I tried a different one, which was better. On ordering a third glass and some food, they didn’t have either of what I ordered. Instead I had a red wine and some pork with rice noodles, both were excellent. Captain Caveman and Trouble returned and we cycled back to the Panorama homestay so we could get ready for dinner. They cycled the tricky path while I pushed my bicycle most of the way and made it back before dark.

There was no one else staying at our accommodation and I wasn’t surprised given the state of the place because of building works, everything was covered in a layer of brick dust. Still, we had dinner in the dining area where I had some pork fried rice and a pineapple juice (there wasn’t any wine), my fellow diners had chicken lemongrass skewers, before going to bed really early. The next day we were off on another road trip via a National Park.

The views from Ninh Binh Panorama homestay on the morning of Thursday 27th February were pretty and I had slept well. I had pho for breakfast and wasn’t bothered by the building work that was going on. They were building a new pool which looked like it was going to be great and ready by summer. Captain Caveman said that the homestay had been in touch prior to our visit to let us know there would be building going on in case we wanted to cancel. We had a car booked to take us to Pu Luong via Cuc Phuong National Park where we were planning to visit the pangolins at the rescue centre.

Phong Nha is not all about the caves and so while Captain Caveman and our guest headed off on an Oxalis caving tour for a couple of days I got to relax a bit on Monday 24th February. I had rice crackers for breakfast at home but then decided to go sit by the river and do a bit of blogging at Lucky Lucky. I also decided to organise a group BBQ dinner for the following evening as a get together for Trouble, it also being a farewell to Dianne and the end of an era drinks with our housemate, Veronika, who was moving out at the weekend. My lunch was BBQ pork with fried rice and a coke sat by the river with a nice breeze at Lucky Lucky and there was very few people around with it being so sunny.
For dinner Josh and I decided on Chao Vietnam where we he had the mushroom clay pot and I had some rice pancakes, both were very nice. We had a cheeky pudding at Phong Nha Underground after where I ate just the cheesecake but not the biscuit so that I could have a gluten free treat. I had a couple of red wines when we went to Momma D’s afterwards but once Josh had drank as much water as he could manage we went to the Shop and Go then cycled home, having arranged to meet Aussie Pete the next day for lunch.

The noisy carpenter next door had me up early on Tuesday 25th February as he planed wood from 7am so I popped in some washing as it looked like the last dry day for a while. I also packed my bag because later that evening we were off on another little break, up in the north of Vietnam. I had breakfast of bacon, beans and potatoes at Capture Cafe and did a bit of blogging before cycling home to get my washing out then off to meet Josh and Aussie Pete for lunch.
We had decided to try the Phong Nha Eco Mountain Farmstay as I’d not been this year and it was quite a hot sunny day to say our farewells to the legend and beer monster of Phong Nha. He was leaving for Danang this weekend, heading back to Australia earlier than planned and so I wouldn’t see him until next year. I cycled from home the 2km (ish) away from town on the quiet road until I reached the homestay, a little bit sweaty. Josh and I stuck to the soft drinks while Pete drank cans of Saigon beer and we ordered some food. My pork fried rice was very good and the portion size just right for the price – it even had beetroot in it! We said bye to Aussie Pete and he headed off on his motorbike while Josh and I cycled back home. I got invited to Chrissy and Watto’s for balcony beverages where Veronika had brought a rather lovely wine for us to share. The BBQ meal at Mountain House could be seen cooking and by 6.45pm even though the meal was booked for 8pm and we were waiting for Captain Caveman and Trouble to return from their Hang Tien 2 day trip. They actually arrived back from the Oxalis tour a little earlier than expected and so Captain Caveman and Trouble joined for a beer before dinner.
The BBQ was coming along nicely, the booze was flowing and I’d arranged veggie and meat options for the set price of 150,000vnd each – pretty great value for a private party cooked especially for you and it smelled amazing. The food was really tasty and we had a good time but then it was time to say goodbye. The three of us had a car picking us up to go to Dong Hoi to get the 00:45 train to Ninh Binh, where none of us had been before.

Captain Caveman had booked us two bottom bunk (soft) beds in a sleeper carriage on the 09:57 train from Danang to Dong Hoi on Friday 21st February. Our friend, who we affectionately call Trouble, had previously been arriving in Dong Hoi at 09:20 but her flight from Hanoi had been changed to an evening one, giving us a bit more time. We checked out of the lovely Sincerro and did a quick stop off at La Nonna sandwich place so we could get a takeaway for the train, more useful for Captain Caveman than me as I did order a sandwich only so that I could eat the filling. On the train I ate my gherkins, camembert and salami and left the bread while my train buddy snaffled his sarnie in what seemed like three massive bites. The food was lovely and I so wished I could eat the soft fresh (full of gluten) bread too. We were also very lucky to find that there were no passengers booked on to the top bunk beds so we had the whole berth to ourselves. Of course this mattered not one bit to Captain Caveman who immediately put on his noise cancelling headphones and immersed himself in his phone with Netflix or whatever, without so much as a glance or a word to me for the entire journey – and we hadn’t even had an argument! I had a bit of a nap and watched an episode of The Pharmacist on Netflix which I really enjoyed. Six hours later we arrived in Dong Hoi and were getting in the taxi to go to Tree Hugger. Although the train hadn’t been full the balcony at Tree Hugger was and so we had to sit in the downstairs seating right at the door. Captain Caveman had his usual white russian and an egg sandwich (there’s only so many photos you can take of the same thing, so I didn’t bother) and I had some fried spring rolls and a juice. We also walked to nearby Geminai for another drink before we got our taxi.
At Dong Hoi airport Captain Caveman was back on duty and was picking up 4 guests on Tatas’ next Son Doong tour plus Trouble and we had let friends in Phong Nha know we would meet up for a late dinner once back home. Trouble had already been to Phong Nha before and was going to be staying with us so as soon as we got home we dropped bags off, grabbed our bicycles and headed to Namaste for a curry. I had my favourite dish there, the bhuna murg with garlic rice and we had a few drinks to welcome our friend back.

On Saturday 22nd February we got up early and went to Oxalis Home for breakfast where Captain Caveman had a bacon sandwich, I had pho ga and Trouble just had a juice. Captain Caveman and Trouble had planned to go off to Ozo Tree Top park for some adventure while I was happy to give it a miss, so they rented a motorbike and off they went. I’d booked a Di Di Thoi sunset boat trip for later so they promised to meet back at Ho Khanh’s for 3pm for our pick up.
I busied myself with some chores and blogging before heading to lunch at Veggie Box with a few mates. We had just ordered when Captain Caveman and Trouble arrived because the Ozo place had been closed due to rain. They ordered a smoothie but didn’t eat then we headed home to get ready for our sunset cruise. An ex Jungle Boss colleague and friend, Lana, had started work as a tour guide at Di Di Thoi and was to be our guide on this trip, she told me she was nervous because we were all more knowledgeable than her because most of us lived here or had visited many times but I told her to just carry on as if we were regular customers and she did a really great job. The tour just had our six on it and it had forecast rain but we were lucky for it to stay fine. There was vegetarian Vietnamese snacks provided onboard but we also took gin, tonic and wine so we could make a bit of a night of it and we certainly did. Captain Caveman got incredibly drunk due to him not eating and getting on the gins, then wine – I had to insist he ate half a sweet potato at least. It was a lovely evening despite arriving at Chay Lap well before sunset as we thought it too cold to swim. Three of the group went kayaking and said it was so peaceful and relaxing out on the water. We sat on the boat until late just chatting and drinking until it was time to get the minibus back. We finished the night with a nightcap at Ho Khanh’s and we were in bed by 10pm. The next day Captain Caveman had planned a day of adventure and he and Trouble were insisting I come along.

Some photos by Captain Caveman & friends

On Sunday 23rd February we went for breakfast early at The Villas.
Captain Caveman and Trouble were keen to visit a secret waterfall which our friend had told us about. Being completely risk averse I really didn’t fancy it but I agreed to go. I booked a car for the day and off we went. I took some crisps in case there were no lunch options for me, Tatas took a loaf of bread and some condensed milk, Captain Caveman took a Banh mi from the bakery in town but Trouble didn’t need any lunch. We drove for about 40 minutes then the driver pointed out where we needed to walk in to the jungle. All the other 3 were like mountain goats and were able to navigate the rocky path easily while I found it more tricky. When we got to the top of the waterfall I decided I was not going to risk climbing down to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall as, even though I could probably slide down on my bum, I still wasn’t confident I would get back up. Instead I sat on a rock and ate some crisps, drank my water and was going to do a bit of writing for my blog. It was a warm day but cloudy so I wasn’t in the sun and I also spotted a place to take pictures of the others. It was quite a drop down to the water and we couldn’t hear each other because of the sound of the waterfall. After about 1 hour everyone came back to the top and they decided we would go to Ozo Tree Top park, which was now open – I hoped there may be somewhere to sit and blog, or have a drink, when we got there.
When we arrived at Ozo it was pretty empty and the toilets didn’t have any soap, which given that there was so much talk of Corona virus around, it was disappointing. There was a weight restriction for the tree top walk of 75kg so Captain Caveman was told he was too fat to take part, which was highly amusing. We walked along a wooden path around the park, passing a cafe which was closed, until we reached the zipline. I was more than happy to stand holding the bags while the others took part. Captain Caveman went first, then Tatas and Trouble – the zipline is obviously made for Vietnamese customers because there isn’t much height between the landing platform and the wire – even the man operating stuff looked worried and his young kids had come to watch the fat man! It turned out that the tree top walk was closed because it had rained the day before and it would be ‘not safe’ so we headed back over a suspension bridge. The others loved it and kept jumping up and down on it while I was very uneasy about being on the bridge while posing for photos.
Back in Phong Nha we dropped Tatas off so she could get to her Son Doong briefing and we got ready for happy hour and a half at The Villas. We watched the sun set over the mountains and had a couple of drinks with free popcorn.We had dinner at Bamboo Cafe where I had two different meals because I forgot to ask for the first without chillies in but the meals were good and the wine flowed. It turned in to one of those nights again as we decided to try the bar at Central Backpackers with the gang. Josh was (remarkably) still on his dry veguary mission and so was slightly irritated at us lot being on the tequilas! We cycled home in convoy and Bluey, my bike, was pretty whizzy! I was looking forward to having a lay in the next day while Captain Caveman and Trouble went on the Hang Tien 2 day Oxalis tour.

I do love a random trip away and as I only have a 3 month single entry tourist visa this time it means I would have to spend our ‘holidays’ in Vietnam. Captain Caveman is fortunate enough to get some days off during his working season so we try to optimise the use of these to our best advantage. On Tuesday 18th February the alarm went off at 05:45 and we were picked up at 06:15 by Mr Toan the driver. We drove first to Chay Lap to pick up several of Captain Caveman’s Son Doong customers then on to Dong Hoi train station ready to get our (soft) seats to Danang on the 07:57 train. We had lots of leg room, the seats were comfy and I managed a nap despite the loud Vietnamese TV shows that were playing, without anyone watching them. After 5.5 hours we arrived in Danang on time and headed straight to one of our favourite restaurants for lunch. Olivia’s is a steak house and was due to close at 2pm so we ordered our food and drinks quickly. We both had fillet mignon with jacket potato and asparagus (Captain Caveman also had a side of mac and cheese). Having had no breakfast we only had a glass of red wine each and plenty of water. The staff were excellent and didn’t rush us despite the closing time and the food was probably the best I’ve eaten so far this year. To finish off we were given a couple of the Olivia’s chocolate vodka shots which is unbelievably moreish. We headed to Seven Bridges bar next so that we could enjoy another drink (or two) and were met with the smiliest of security guards and welcoming staff. I had more red wine while Captain Caveman had some ales and we couldn’t resist the buttery popcorn.

Eventually we headed over to Hoi An by taxi so we could check in and go meet our friends. Hoi An Trails Resort and Spa was very impressive and the welcome tea very refreshing. The room which our friend had booked was massive and stylish with a connecting door to their room and a terrace. We headed to meet our mates, one of whom had just arrived from Australia that morning and we got on the cocktails at Tiger Tiger bar. After a catch up and a few cocktails we went to White Marble for wine and a bite to eat – it was the busiest I’d ever seen the place and we only just got a table upstairs. We got the electric golf buggy back to our hotel for 50,000vnd between the 4 of us and were feeling a bit merry.

Captain Caveman was feeling a little woolly on Wednesday 19th February and, as we left our hotel room, I pointed out he hadn’t dressed himself properly. Our breakfast of fruit, pho, juice and tea was very nice in the dining area of the Hoi An Trails Resort and Spa. After breakfast the girls went for a massage and we got the free shuttle taxi service in to the old town for a little walk around. We called in to the Oxalis office, which looks really inviting and professional, where we had a chat with Tham, the sales girl who works there – we’d not seen her for awhile and it was nice to catch up and take a few photos too. By lunchtime we were in the Pasteur Street Brewing Company admiring a river view and ordering an alcoholic beverage and a plate full of sausage (as you do). It’s the first time I’ve visited this place and really enjoyed it so will be going back again next time. I thought that the town still seemed busy but Captain Caveman reckoned it was definitely down on the number of tourists around. We had a walk along the river, taking photos as we went, until we reached an old favourite, The 3 Dragons, where we found it was happy hour so had more drinks and a plate of spring rolls to nibble on. The girls were going to join us but decided to lounge by the lovely pool and we still had our second happy hour drink to get down. We didn’t go back to the hotel and instead wandered back to town to the Gemstone Art Gallery and Museum, where I had previously been with Louisa a few visits ago. This place has a (not so) secret bar inside, amazingly good value wine and a constant supply of free peanuts. The place is fantastic for people watching too and so we sat outside and waited for the girls and their friend to arrive.

It turned in to ‘one of those nights’ when someone thought it would be a great idea to all have a tequila shot with our vegetarian meal at Am restaurant (also very good). Back in town we couldn’t resist the lure of the Tiger Tiger bar which had drink offers (buckets/free shots/cocktails) and music to really dance to. We made friends, had so much fun and I fell off a speaker next to the DJ area (without injury). We went the distance until they kicked everyone out and it was taxi home time. Captain Caveman and I did the sensible thing and walked to the taxi rank while the others had a great idea to get individual motorbike taxis home, even though a taxi for all of us would be cheaper!

Our Hoi An break was coming to an end as we met for breakfast on Thursday 20th February, some with worse hangovers than others. I hadn’t been drinking when we got to Tiger Tiger bar as I was too busy dancing so I felt fine, except for my achey limbs. We enjoyed the hotel breakfast once again and then we ordered the taxi so that the girls could get their train from Danang to Dong Hoi, while we had another night booked in Danang. It had been such a good trip with lots of laughs and we were looking forward to chilling out a bit in Danang before our friend from Germany arrived for 10 days.

We checked in to a small studio apartment at Sincerro, in the An Thuong area of Danang, chosen because I finally had an appointment for some waxing at L’Spa, nearby – it was definitely getting too hot back in Phong Nha to not be able to wear shorts. We also were looking forward to catching up with our friend, Diana, who used to live in Phong Nha. After saying goodbye (well, see you back in Phong Nha) to our Hoi An chums we checked in and then headed to a trendy vegetarian cafe called Mud Bistro where the food was amazing! I had a kale, beetroot and vegan cheese salad which was sprinkled with raisins and pumpkin seeds followed by a portion of fresh (vegan) spring rolls. Captain Caveman had some version of avocado and toast but it was mighty fancy for a brunch meal. The staff were on it with top ups of cold lemon water and we sat outside as the weather was nice.

As it was our last day of holidays it would be rude not to squeeze in an extra meal, so after a thorough waxing Captain Caveman and I went to Oasis Tapas bar for a glass of wine, only to indulge in a few fantastic tapas dishes. We had beef, ostrich and Spanish omelette (even though I don’t like eggs) which were all so tasty and we had to stop ourselves being too greedy as we were off to meet Diana for dinner (number 2).

While our German friend confirmed she had arrived in Hanoi and her flight to Dong Hoi the next day had been moved to later we wandered over to The Kneipe restaurant. Captain Caveman ordered a pizza, Diana had a pork dish with 2 sides from the specials and I ordered the chicken wings (having checked they were gluten free first) with a side of red cabbage – we all had a red wine too. My chicken wings came deep fried in a coating which looked like flour so I pulled it all off and ate them and my side of red cabbage was delicious but massive. We all enjoyed our food then headed over to The Craftsman Cocktail bar where the cocktails went down very well and we met an ex Jungle Boss colleague, Smiley Fox, who was now working there.
Diana had some friends who were at an open mic night just down the road at The Trip so we decided to join and there was some really great musicians playing, including the organiser, his partner and a few other friendly types, we drank cocktails and ciders and even bumped in to the woman from The Kneipe who was still apologising for giving me too much red cabbage! By 12:30am Captain Caveman and I were begging for mercy and had to leave the younger ones to it!

The week started with rain and so I decided to have a snickers instead of going out for breakfast on Monday 17th February. By lunchtime it hadn’t stopped raining and so I decided to wait until Captain Caveman came back from Son Doong to go out. In the meantime I’d checked the bus and train times for a rather spontaneous trip to Danang and Hoi An with friends. We decided to have some food at Phong Nha Underground in the afternoon, even though Captain Caveman had his gala dinner at Chay Lap that evening, he had chicken pasta alfredo and I had the tamarind chicken which was a big portion and really tasty. As Captain Caveman left in a car I was joined by Ally and we had some wine before heading up to Momma D’s for a drink with quite a few people. Captain Caveman joined later and we had to say farewell to Ally who would be back later in the year. I inadvertently managed to drink 5 red wines but then the new staff at Momma D’s were certainly on their toes for making sure I wasn’t left thirsty! I wasn’t planning on a late night as we had to be up fairly early on Tuesday for our little trip away from Phong Nha.

On Friday 14th February I had a hot date for Valentine’s Day and I’d already booked a table for the special set menu at The Villas for that night. But first Captain Caveman and I cycled to Oxalis Home for breakfast – he had a bacon and egg sandwich and I had the traditional pho ga. Back at Ho Khanh’s I said goodbye to him and then was meant to get on with some work. Before I knew it the morning had gone by and I was joining the lads at Yummy’s for a lovely lunch. Three of us shared the veggie meal deal and I enjoyed the tomato and egg soup again, the veggie tofu dish was excellent, as was the cabbage. I had a couple of bowls of rice and a spring roll.

I had arranged to meet Tatas for cocktails at The Villas during happy hour and a half so I popped on a dress and cycled down there early. On my way I saw our housemate Veronika, walking, and stopped to say hello, she didn’t realise it was Valentine’s Day and decided she would join us. Tatas turned up looking very glam and then Ally arrived and asked if he could join. Those margaritas and free popcorn were going down a treat as we chatted away in a quiet inside table where the staff were most attentive and polite.
The food was just as good as usual and we got a free glass of wine with our dinner which was a great double date. After dinner Tatas insisted she and I went to Momma D’s where we met up with Josh and D-Dub. Tatas bought us a bottle of red wine, which we clearly didn’t need, and we had about half of it before cycling home to finish it off at Chez White’s Balcony Bar.

Tatas and I were woken up early on Saturday 15th February when her boss called to say she had to go on tour that day! We were both hungover, probably still drunk and there was no way I could have gone in to work. Just as she’d got dressed she got another call to say a colleague would go instead. We were both relieved and then decided to go to Coffee Station so Tatas could have breakfast and Coffee. At Coffee Station Tatas didn’t order any breakfast and I just had a pineapple juice as couldn’t face food.
On the way home I didn’t even make it back before needing another drink of juice so stopped at Oxalis Home where Josh and Tatas later joined me for lunch. I had chips which looked terrible but were quite tasty. We had arranged a second Valentine’s dinner with Ally, Tatas and me at Phong Nha Underground in the evening because they had their set meal on for the weekend (Veronika couldn’t make it unfortunately). It was also the 2nd birthday of Momma D’s so we had also promised to go to her party. We had a wonderful evening, the three of us, and we were so engrossed in conversation that I forgot to take photos.

The valentine’s weekend finished on Sunday 16th February with me going over to Ho Khanh’s homestay for a fruit salad breakfast and to see Josh off on his next trip to Son Doong. It just so happened that most people were in a cave on this day but I did manage a rare and impromptu lunch with Watto, Chrissy and Howard at Oxalis Home. I had chicken and cashew nuts with rice which was delicious, the others had egg & chips, chicken pasta, and steak & chips. In the afternoon I watched a bit of Netflix and then went to The Villas for happy hour and a half (4.30-6pm) and had a nice catch up with Bryce while munching on fresh popcorn.
With Tatas away for 4 days Ally and I rounded off the valentine’s weekend with a night out at Capture Cafe. We shared a good bottle of red wine, he ordered a Hawaiian pizza which smelled so good. I had my favourite plate there, the cheeseboard (no bread) which comes with olives, apple, walnuts, honey and fig jam. The 3 cheeses were brie, emmenthal and a stilton which were generously portioned – it’s not the cheapest item on the menu but it was great value and ideal for a gluten free, cheese and wine dinner. We also got to have a good laugh with Ben, the co-owner of the place, who happened to be having his favourite pizza too. I miss pizza a lot!
After dinner we were stuffed and so decided to cycle straight home for a rest – it had been a very good weekend in Phong Nha, with excellent company, but maybe I had eaten and drank far too much!

Our pick up was due at 8am on Wednesday 12th February and I had to take more Imodium just to make the journey while one of the Geckos said hello! Captain Caveman had arranged for us to share a car to Dong Hoi where we had plans for an early valentine’s treat. We went to a nice little place, called Sherlyn Coffee, next to the Vincom centre to wait for the cinema to open as we were off to see Harley Quinn at 09:45am.

We shared a popcorn and I had a coke to try to help my stomach and it seemed to work, the film was ok and I really enjoyed the comfy seats – we were the only ones in there too. We intended to drop off our bags at the hotel after the film but when we got to the Vinpearl (next door) they were able to check us in early. All the staff were wearing masks to prevent catching the Corona virus, we had to complete a form which asked if we had had any symptoms in the last 2 weeks and as we went to the lift there was a guy taking our temperature with one of those gun things pointed at our foreheads. I read 35.5° and Captain Caveman 35.8° so I was officially cooler than him! The hotel room was lovely and this time the pool was in working order but I didn’t take my swimmers.

For lunch we had our usual trip to Tree Hugger, easily the nicest cafe in Dong Hoi and, while Captain Caveman engaged in a white russian, I stuck to fruit juice and herbal tea. He devoured the egg sandwiches while I took my time over my stir-fry. We spent the afternoon at the museum of Quang Binh which was surprisingly interesting and big, it took us a couple of hours to get round it. We walked back, calling at the wine shop for a few bottles to take back to Phong Nha.

In the evening, after dosing up on some medication from the pharmacy, we went to our favourite restaurant in Dong Hoi. 7th Heaven has the best Australian beef in the area and we had a lovely valentine’s meal sat up on the terrace, as it was a warm evening. It’s definitely worth a trip there if you’re visiting Dong Hoi – it’s our favourite restaurant. We shared a bottle of red wine and I had my steak with sweet potato fries and no dressing on the salad – it was delicious.
Back at the hotel we decided to watch Netflix and drink some of our newly purchased wine. By the time the first episode of Hannibal was halfway through Captain Caveman was snoring away and he hadn’t even drank his wine!

I slept so well in that massive Vinpearl hotel bed with its comfy pillows and the blackout curtains. On Thursday 13th February we ate the buffet breakfast on the 6th floor, where all the staff were wearing masks but none of the guests (including us) were. My stomach was feeling much better so I managed to eat pineapple, pomelo, pho ga with bamboo shoots and extra pickled onions, bacon, cheese, a yogurt and some seafood fried rice. I had mint tea and lots of detox water to make sure I would be ok for the journey back to Phong Nha. Captain Caveman looked concerned that I was eating prawn fried rice in case they had slipped in a mollusk! Back in the room Captain Caveman had a bath while I packed my stuff as we were getting a car to take us back to Phong Nha.
When we got back we finished off our early Valentine’s celebration with a curry at Namaste with Josh. I had my usual bhuna murg with garlic rice and shared the chai masala with Josh, always a good meal there and we went early so that Captain Caveman could get to his Oxalis briefing for 6pm. Tomorrow, actual Valentine’s Day, he would be in Son Doong so we finished off the wine we had brought from Dong Hoi to end our celebration.

Watto was off on his first Son Doong tour of the year on Monday 10th February and so Captain Caveman and I went over to Ho Khanh’s to join him and Chrissy for breakfast. I took my own gluten free cornflakes and had a ginger tea.
We decided to go to Little Leaf for lunch seeing as it was just the two of us and I was going to have the BBQ prawns but they had ran out. Instead I ordered spring rolls, sweet potato leaves and steamed rice. Captain Caveman ordered scallops and would also share my choices. The spring rolls are really tasty at Little Leaf and when the scallops came I couldn’t resist to try one, even though I know I’m allergic to them – it’s the best seafood in Phong Nha, I’d say. The lunch was great and we chatted to the owner, Phuong, before heading for a drink with him and Josh at Diep Le homestay, just a little way along the river side. The day had started fairly cool and cloudy but by the time we headed back home it was sunny again. Unfortunately it wasn’t long after being back in the house that I had an allergic reaction to that one scallop and was in a bit of a state until 7pm when we had to meet friends.
We had arranged to meet at Co Diep, a Vietnamese restaurant selling local food, which we had not been to before. The others were kind to me and ordered beef hotpot without chillies and some beef fried rice. It was delicious and the food was served very quickly.

After a terrible night’s sleep because of me being allergic to scallops I skipped breakfast on Tuesday 11th February. By lunchtime though I was starting to feel hungry and went to Coco House with friends. I ordered the sweet and sour pork and some sweet potato fries which was very nice but had chillies in and so I didn’t even leave the restaurant before needing the bathroom (another allergy which I forgot to ask for the dish without chillies). For the rest of the day I was in bed sick and had left Captain Caveman at Ho Khanh’s beach, drinking for the rest of the day. When I got to The Villas to meet Tatas and Captain Caveman he was really drunk, they had food while I just stuck to a couple of cups of chamomile tea. Captain Caveman was too drunk to go out after dinner so we came home and I packed for the next day as we were off on an early Valentine’s celebration – that’s if my stomach would allow the journey and he wasn’t too hungover.

On Friday 7th February I started the day well with a vegan soup for lunch at Veggie Box with Tatas (she had the veggie taste and the mushroom taste) but then we decided to lounge in hammocks at Ho Khanh’s in the afternoon. This meant we had an alcoholic drink but I did keep it to just the one strongbow. In the evening we had planned to go to Little Leaf but it was Taylor’s leaving drinks at The Villas so we stopped by for one at Happy Hour. Looking back only having a bowl of vegan soup may have been my downfall because, after 4 margaritas and a ton of popcorn I was a bit merry and it was too late to go to eat elsewhere. Instead we had potato, artichoke and edamame salad followed by half a bottle of red wine and a delicious dessert. We were about to go home when the owners and manager joined us and offered us a couple of nightcaps on the house. By this time the leaving girl had left and it was just me and Tatas drinking with the guys. It was a good night but I would definitely be feeling it the next day.

I have not felt as rough as I did on Saturday 8th February when I woke up after 3 hours of sleep, coughing and thirsty as hell. I couldn’t really function much and I was wishing I had eaten more during the day. Tatas had gone on tour and miraculously didn’t even have a hangover! Caroline and Taylor had to bring me a Lantern takeout for lunch, I was that bad. I didn’t even go out for dinner either but ate rice crackers and raisins when I woke up too late to venture out for food.

I decided my Sunday breakfast on the 9th February would be at Capture Cafe for my usual bacon, beans and potatoes and a mango smoothie. The bacon there is always super crispy and, in my opinion, the best in town. Josh and Tatas also joined and as we were about to leave the rain came down pretty heavily so we took shelter with a drink over at D’Arts. It’s usually the perfect place to eat bun cha but we just had a drink, tried out the dartboard and sat on the comfy sofas inside.
For lunch I met with Josh and D-Dub at Phong Nha Vegan where they had tofu dishes and I had the fresh spring rolls which is my favourite dish there. By the time we had finished Captain Caveman was back from Son Doong and so Josh joined us for balcony drinks – I had a cider, Captain Caveman had Laos dark beer and Josh had water. Usually they talk about caving straight away but this time they managed a solid 15 minutes discussion of the names of the full moons, prompted by the mention that Momma D’s had a snow moon party that night.
Captain Caveman went to his gala dinner at Chay Lap while Josh, D-Dub, Tatas, Chrissy and I went to Nguyen Shack for dinner. It was still a bit rainy and the wind had got up making it less appealing to be at a rooftop event. Chrissy and I chose a bottle of white wine called Excellence which turned out to be badly named. It was cheap at only 220,000vnd and warm but the waitress did her best by bringing us a well used jug with water and ice to put it in. The cork also broke half way but they managed to get it out with only a couple of bits in the wine. The colder it got the better it tasted but I wouldn’t have it again. The food though was great and I loved the chicken lemongrass skewers.
We all went to Momma D’s for the snow moon party afterwards where we used the blankets to keep warm and just had the one drink before cycling home together.

I do love a bit of dragon fruit so on Monday 3rd February my week started with a whole one for breakfast, along with a woolly head and an annoying cough but I had slept in until 7am. It was a lovely sunny day so after a few chores at home I went to lunch with Josh and Tatas. We decided to try another new place along the river side called Google House which had been open a while but had made some improvements to make it look attractive at the water’s edge.
Josh and I got there first and decided to venture down the steep makeshift steps to the seated area, we joked that we were lucky to both be wearing porter sandals as he helped me on the last bit. The joke seemed much funnier when Tatas arrived in more fashionable footwear which were not ideal for the gradient. I decided I would order a beer and french fries, Josh had pop and veggie noodles with chilli sauce and Tatas had a beef noodle soup with a soft drink. It was a lovely setting, the food was cheap and worth a lunchtime visit and I thought the ‘proper’ chips were good. There was a seat in the river which Josh posed on for some photos and we definitely got back up to the road easier than I got down – I made a note not to attempt it when drunk.
Back home Captain Caveman came back from Son Doong and was hungry so all four of us went to Capture for a second lunch (or first dinner, depending on how you see it). While Josh maintained his no alcohol rule the rest of us shared a bottle of our favourite red wine, Santa Digna. The boys had pizza, I had a cheese board (no bread) and Tatas had peanut butter with toast. I was a bit envious of their meals – how I miss being able to eat food like that!
At 5.30pm we left Josh and got a lift to Chay Lap where Captain Caveman was having his end of tour Gala dinner while Tatas and I sat at the bar with margaritas. I had a mushroom curry with rice which was excellent and Tatas had a satisfactory spaghetti bolognese. We had a good night and were home for a reasonable hour too. Captain Caveman had the next day off so we had a little outing planned.

There’s a filmmaker in town so on Tuesday 4th February he had a car booked to go from his homestay, Lucky Lucky, to Phong Nha Farmstay and me, Tatas and Captain Caveman had cadged a lift. Firstly we went to Coffee Station for breakfast where I had bacon, beans and cheese with a fruit smoothie. I also got to pet the owner’s dog who is so cute.
It was a warm day but the sky looked like it might rain and so I didn’t bother taking my swimmers but that turned out to be bad idea. I was still guzzling ginger tea down me like I really believed it would cure my cough and I ordered the fresh spring rolls for lunch. Captain Caveman had pizza again and Tatas had the same as me but with chillies. The food was well presented and really tasty and we said we would come visit again and maybe even stay over. The owner, Ben, gave us each a VIP card which gives a sticker for every 100,000vnd spent at three venues (Farmstay, The Villas and Capture). A full card can then be redeemed for 300,000vnd at the Farmstay – wonderful. The poolside WC has the most amazing views of the rice paddies, in fact I can’t think of a better view from being sat on the toilet (there’s no photo of it, it needs to be experienced).
In the evening while Josh went off to do a briefing for his Son Doong tour we went to Bamboo Cafe for dinner. I had pork and veg kebabs with barbecue sauce on and chips, Captain Caveman had a Shepherds pie and Tatas ordered vegan soup from Veggie box which they brought over (it’s owned by the same guy). The food was really good and I noticed they had added more new dishes to the menu since last year too. I also had a couple of glasses of white wine which were palatable before heading over to Phong Nha Underground for a lovely, more expensive wine.

At Phong Nha Underground on Wednesday 5th February I decided to try one of the smoothie bowls but with a few changes to make it gluten free. It had banana, peanut butter, coconut flakes and chia seeds in and tasted fine but I’m not sure I’m cut out for smoothie bowls. Captain Caveman had a tomato dish with egg and bread and an espresso then we cycled to the mechanics. Bluey, my bicycle, had been suffering with a chain problem since before Tet and we had promised to get her a new one after the holidays. We left her there and had a wander to Funny Monkeys for a drink. While we were there it started raining but not for long and we had our rain jackets with us. We walked in to town again and went to the ‘Thang Nhung, the best spit roast and pork noodle shop in the world (probably)’ for lunch where I had BBQ pork, rice and greens and Captain Caveman had pork noodle soup.
When we went back to collect Bluey she was covered in greasy black hand prints but she was working so much better – she was really whizzy to ride now plus it only cost 80,000vnd too (less than £3)!
For dinner I welcomed a night on my own while Captain Caveman was at his briefing. I chose Chao Vietnam where I tried the dumpling starter for the first time followed by the pork belly. Both were great and I was also served free peanuts with my wine so I was rather full after such a big meal. Nevertheless I still managed a drink at Momma D’s to finish the night off while Aussie Pete had a little snooze.

Captain Caveman went on his next Son Doong tour on Thursday 6th February for 4 days. I skipped breakfast but then ate crisps later on so the diet was going swimmingly! The weather was back to hot sunshine so I was pretty warm when I arrived for lunch with D-Dub at Lantern restaurant. I ordered the pork ribs which they claim are the best in town while D-Dub had a rice flower pancake with veg and tofu (he was still doing dry veguary). I have to admit the meal was excellent and really good value for money. For dinner I ate at The Villas with the girls and we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine (or two), great food and had a really fun but civilised evening.

I went vegetarian and alcohol free on Friday 31st January, mainly by accident. Captain Caveman was off in to Son Doong on his first tour of the decade so I went over to see him off from Ho Khanh’s. Back home I had a snickers and some raisins as a mid-morning snack – the Shop and Go here sells boxes of raisins for 53,000vnd which isn’t bad, the western chocolate bars are 25,000vnd and you sometimes get free bananas. For lunch I met friends at Little Vietnam where I had a massive portion of veggie fried rice, which I couldn’t finish but was less than 50,000vnd.
That night I ate at Veggie box, by myself, where I had vegan soup with mint tea and loads of water then went home to watch Netflix and eat crisps. I’d started watching The Stranger which was really good.

The weather forecast didn’t look too promising on Saturday 1st February however, as is usual, it wasn’t accurate. I didn’t bother with breakfast as I was still feeling under the weather (despite managing almost 5 hours sleep) but for lunch I had a really good time eating at Funny Monkeys with the lads, sat outside overlooking the river. My pork fried rice was very tasty and just the right sized portion, the tofu in tomato sauce looked good but was a bit on the small side. All but two of us at the table had agreed on a challenge of no alcohol or meat for the whole month – it would be termed Dry Veguary!
Josh and I ate dinner at Veggie Box (again) where we shared the stuffed tofu with orange sauce and the veggie taste with rice, neither of us had any alcohol and the food was really tasty although wasn’t quick and it was disappointing to see that the eggplant and rice takeaway we ordered was packaged in polystyrene containers and a plastic bag.
At Momma D’s I had a marmalade martini which was really well made by the bartender, but as only I was drinking we didn’t stay long and I was in bed early that evening.

I’d been invited to a wedding on Sunday 2nd February which I planned to go to however I was unable to drink beer (because of the gluten) I didn’t fancy the rice wine (because of my cough) and I was trying my best to avoid smokers (pretty hard to do here). My cold had gone but my cough was still there and so I was trying to be as healthy as possible to fight it off, I really didn’t want to spread it either. I was also expecting a visit from Katie, who was on a whistle stop tour of Vietnam and would have just one night in Phong Nha. In the morning I went over to Ho Khanh’s with my gluten free cornflakes and had those with a ginger tea for breakfast.
At lunchtime Josh and I went to Yummy’s for the special menu which we had as a veggie option and had soft drinks with it – there was loads and it tasted delicious. During the afternoon I tried to sleep a bit more in an effort to get well before meeting my cousin. Josh and I chose to eat dinner at Nguyen Shack, I had a pork and eggplant dish which I had never tried before so I gave that a go – it was incredibly garlicky but tasty and Josh had a massive portion of veggie fried rice. The food was good value and the staff were attentive and friendly, we both said we’d go again. We went up to Momma D’s after where I said I’d meet Tatas who was back from her 4 day trip and I had also arranged to meet my cousin, Katie. It was so good to see her, she looked well, was happy and we had a couple of drinks including the free bellini shots. We facetimed our relatives together and made a huge amount of noise in front of the other customers at the rooftop bar but we didn’t care. We got some photos and had a good old laugh before it was time to leave. Josh and Tatas came with me to walk Katie to Saigon Phong Nha hotel, where she was staying, and we said our goodbyes. Her next part of the tour was to see the show caves (Paradise and Phong Nha) the next day and then they were leaving for Hanoi.

Monday 27th January was the third day of the Tet holiday and we had 4 parties booked in, between 8:30am and 5pm. I hadn’t slept much but I was convinced I should be getting better now and decided I would wrap up warm and attend Mr Nguyen’s house to celebrate with the caving lot. We were served green tea which I welcomed and even drank spare ones, there were some menthol sweets on offer which were like a miracle cure and I shoved them in. Hieu and Hoan hosted us well and brought out so much food and drink and were so generous to us all. Banh tet is one of my favourite dishes so I managed several pieces – it’s rice with pork in the middle and made into a sticky roll then deep fried.
In the afternoon, while everyone went to Sexy Quang’s, Landlord Phuong’s and Happy Hoa’s I stayed home and decided to have a tidy out of my possessions which were still here from last year. Having watched a Marie Kondo series on Netflix I was into the methodology and had already started to store things better. I’d also been following posts from my friends decluttering business which made it easier for me to be tidy and a bit more minimal in some ways.
In the evening it had dawned on me that I had cabin fever and so I joined in a meal at Namaste with Captain Caveman and friends – I even had some wine and sodas and bought some local cough/throat sweets which were like menthol Werther’s originals.

The 4th day of Tet fell on Tuesday 28th January and it was a fairly quiet day for me. I joined Captain Caveman and friends at Coffee Station where I had a smoothie bowl, without the granola, for breakfast. Later I rested in bed and just had crisps for lunch but went to The Villas for Happy Hour and a Half and dinner. I love the margaritas there and the free popcorn – who can resist a happy hour too! For dinner we shared a bottle of red and I had one of my favourite dishes again, the confit duck leg. The meal is 180,000 vnd, is tasty and filling too – less than £6 in English money is pretty good value. Back home Tatas came back for a drink and we opened a nice wine we had been saving – it wasn’t that nice though!

The last day of the Tet holidays, Wednesday 29th January, and Tatas was going to be on TV at 7am so we had all assembled at Ho Khanh’s to watch the show. I had my gluten free cornflakes and a ginger tea, Josh tried to get the TV working and Tatas didn’t make it as she had to go on tour at the last minute. When we finally got the TV working it turned out they didn’t have that channel anyway.
For lunch it was a local affair at Phong Nha Vegan where I had mushroom porridge and fresh spring rolls. We also said goodbye to Dan as he left to return to the UK for a bit. In the evening Captain Caveman and I went to Phong Nha Underground early-ish because he wasn’t feeling well either. I doubled up on herbal teas and lime juice, had a lovely pork dish for main while Captain Caveman ate pasta, then went home to bed. I waited for Tatas and she ate a taco and I had hummus with carrot sticks – no alcohol though!

On Thursday 30th January we had breakfast at Oxalis, it’s not the best pho ga in town but it does the trick and the ginger tea is good.
I rested up again and just had snacks for lunch but later we had dinner at Capture, I had a breakfast because you can order it at any time and their bacon is the best in town. Captain Caveman had his first Son Doong briefing that night and wasn’t sure he would come out afterwards so Josh and I went to Momma D’s where we met a lovely couple from Rugby, Angela and Nick.

The lunar new year holidays were about to begin in Vietnam, Friday 24th January was Tet eve and we had a busy weekend planned. Unfortunately I was feeling pretty terrible and had a bad cold and cough so didn’t really do much. For dinner we went to Phong Nha Underground where they had a special Tet menu and some live music playing. We shared a hummus plate starter and I ordered the Wild Route Chicken for main while Captain Caveman had a pasta dish. All the food was pretty fantastic and the singer was really good but because I was coughing so much we decided to leave at the interval so that I could hope to be better for the first of the Tet celebrations the next day.

Lucky Home (previously called Lucky Lucky) had invited us to join their Tet day on Saturday 25th January at 9am but I was unable to go. I was pretty rough and I also didn’t want to spread any germs to the lovely family there, or their guests, so I stayed at home. I had not slept and while all the cavers went to the Vung Hue for an amazing Tet meal I rested in bed. We’d managed to get some Australian cough medicine from the pharmacy which was helping but I could only take 3 lots per day, when I found a half packet of cherry flavoured fisherman’s friends I actually cried with relief. By 2pm I was pretty hungry so Captain Caveman and I went to The Villas, luckily this was one of a few places to remain open throughout Tet and the staff there are really good. I had ginger and honey tea, loads of water and popcorn while Captain Caveman had a cocktail and I ate the veggie spring rolls to start. For my main I had the potato, artichoke and edamame bean salad (without tomato) which was even better than I remembered it tasting last year. For desert I added a Jameson’s to my ginger tea and it stopped the coughing temporarily.
We went home and I spoke to my parents in Sheffield, England, who were cold and jetlagged after their holiday but it was good to catch up with them as we hadn’t been in contact for over 2 weeks. By the time I came off the phone Captain Caveman was asleep so I popped my headphones in and watched more of The Fall on Netflix.

The second day of Tet, Sunday 26th January, was also Australia Day but I wasn’t well enough to do anything. We had breakfast at The Villas (our usual of pho ga and smoked salmon) where we ended up staying for lunch as we were joined by Josh and a couple of people from Ho Khanh’s who were already on the booze so Captain Caveman joined them. I decided that Cameron’s amazing chocolate mousse cake was going to be my treat – I’d not eaten this for about 6 months and it was still just as amazing.
For dinner Captain Caveman and I went in to town early and visited Phong Nha Underground again, intending to listen to the singer for a bit longer this time but now Captain Caveman had caught my cold and felt too ill to stay long. We shared starters of garlic purée and hummus plate and of course he ate the bread. He had his spaghetti bolognese down in record time while I took my time with my tamarind chicken, another firm favourite of mine. Back home we had a whisky and water and then tried our best to sleep.

One week after leaving Dalyan, Turkey, I was back in Phong Nha, Vietnam, enjoying the food and drink around the area. Where we live is about 3km to the town centre and so on Monday 20th January we decided on breakfast at Coffee Station. Captain Caveman loves a double espresso and eggs benedict and always has that – I don’t drink coffee or eat eggs, which is considered somewhat strange here in Vietnam. I used to have the herbal tea at Coffee Station but there was no longer tea on the menu so I had water and ordered fruit salad with yogurt. It was very fresh and a sizeable portion and a fairly healthy start to my week.
For lunch Captain Caveman and I joined two of the cave experts at Phong Nha Vegan, another great place to eat which is also near to home. The food is well presented and very cheap but is only for people who like their veg! I shared mushroom Lalot with Captain Caveman and had fresh spring rolls to myself. The others had mushroom tempura, veggie skewers and veggie noodles. All of it was very tasty and healthy, again.
In the evening Captain Caveman, Josh and I went to Capture Cafe so they could have their favourite pizzas while I had a cheese board (without the bread). I shared a bottle of good red wine with Captain Caveman and to finish the night off we had a Gin and Tea for two at Momma D’s.

By Tuesday 21st January I didn’t bother with any breakfast and tried to get more sleep and rest while an extra day of work was done by Captain Caveman and Josh. For dinner I joined the boys for a rather filling and delicious meal at D’Arts where I had the big bowl of Bun Cha and Captain Caveman had the ultimate Bun Cha. Josh stuck to a vegetarian omelette and we all had a drink. Our, now regular, visit to Momma D’s resulted in me having a whisky sour while Captain Caveman shared the Gin and Tea with a friend plus a whisky sour – Quan, the bartender, does make a great cocktail!

Two weeks ago on Wednesday 22nd January Captain Caveman and I went to Victory Road Villas for breakfast. I was suffering with a cold and so had a green tea and a ginger tea because they are meant to stop a cough and ease a sore throat. I had a pho ga too which is one of my favourites in town as it doesn’t already have chillies in it and the chicken is of good quality. Captain Caveman always enjoys the smoked salmon and scrambled egg there with an espresso. On our way back home we called in at Oxalis Home and we found out that there was a new shuttle bus which was going to be running between Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – really convenient for customers and Phong Nha residents too.
We met Josh for lunch and decided to go to Yummy’s. I’ve not been here for some time and it was good to see the owner back after having her baby as she’s a really good cook. Luckily there was a special on which we took advantage of while Josh just ordered normal menu items. We all agreed the special was very much worth the money and all the dishes were really good – I even enjoyed the tomato and egg soup!!
In the afternoon we rented a motorbike and headed over to Karst Villas to meet friends and possibly see the sunset. Only Josh made it as the others had to work and couldn’t get there so we headed back and decided to have an early curry at Namaste. I couldn’t face any wine due to coughing so I tried a masala chai – why I had not had one before I’m not sure, but it was fantastic! We successfully shared a fish pakoda without incident and I ordered a butter chicken with garlic rice. The boys ordered medium spicy and I forgot to say ‘mild’ so mine was hotter than I could cope with and I only managed half. We didn’t stay out as Captain Caveman was driving so we headed home and had a whisky for a nightcap.

After a week of being back in Vietnam, reunited with Captain Caveman we had a lovely day for Tet Eve eve. On Thursday 23rd January we went for breakfast at Oxalis Home where I had a pho ga, a mango smoothie, ginger tea and a water. Captain Caveman had coffee and a bacon sandwich smothered in mayonnaise. My cough and cold was getting slightly worse and I was tired from not being able to lay down or sleep at night. Because we had the motorbike on hire still we decided to head over to the Phong Nha Farmstay for lunch. We met Ben and Bich, the owners – he was whizzing about on a Segway, she was decorating for Tet. I really wanted the pizza that Captain Caveman snaffled down but I stuck to my nem lui which is grilled pork on a lemongrass skewer eaten in rice paper with green leaves, mango and banana flower – delicious. I had a ginger, lemongrass and honey tea and then a glass of white wine. We got shown around some of the new buildings that were already making great progress and I loved the look of the new villas with their own pools.
We rode back home and dropped the bike off with Thang’s Phong Nha Rider who lives nearby and I had a rest and ate the rest of my cough sweets. In the evening we went to Victory Road Villas to meet Tatas for a cheeky Margarita while it was still happy hour. Captain Caveman and I both had the confit duck leg (one of my favourite gluten free dishes there) and we all shared a bottle of red wine. Back home we had a whisky and water before bed and Captain Caveman updated me on all the times and dates of the various Tet parties we were invited to in the coming week.

I was back in Vietnam on a 3 month tourist visa and I was on my way back to Phong Nha on Friday 17th January. Captain Caveman and I were having breakfast by 6am at the lovely Vinpearl hotel in Dong Hoi. I enjoyed the various fresh fruits and pho with a cup of tea before we had to check out and get our lift to Phong Nha. Captain Caveman was off to work in Son Doong, the largest cave in the world, that day and so we had managed to get a couple of seats on the Oxalis staff bus at 6:30am. We were dropped off at our home, the Glass House, and quickly dropped our bags off before heading over to Ho Khanh’s where the other cavers were having breakfast. Captain Caveman went off with two of his colleagues to the exit of Son Doong to do some work with ropes while I headed home to unpack. We had no WiFi because nobody could remember the password and I still didn’t have a sim card. Luckily I had already arranged to meet a friend at Victory Road Villas for lunch and margaritas and so headed down there after giving bluey (my bicycle) a quick pump up. We got on the cocktails and ate nice food; duck with lentils for me, spaghetti with salami and prawns for her. In the evening we had a lovely curry at Namaste where I had my favourite dish of bhuna murg with garlic rice and it was good to be back.

My second day back in Phong Nha, on Saturday 18th January, was a fairly typical day for me. Captain Caveman and his two colleagues had gone off to work at the exit of Son Doong while I did the washing and tidying. We had some more enquiries for the Fire Opal apartment back in Dalyan and I caught up on some blogging. My cold was still there but now I had developed a cough and I felt ill. I’d brought some gluten free snacks over from Turkey so I had those for brunch along with some rice crackers.
After a beer with the caving contingent at Lucky Lucky we all went to Chao Vietnam for dinner. Captain Caveman and I both had pork dishes which were excellent and we shared the very tasty spring rolls. They also sell (almost) gluten-free beer there too so I had to have a couple of those. After dinner Captain Caveman, Josh and I popped over to Underground and I had a white russian to finish off the night! We cycled home and I noticed that this year the street lights were on all the way to our house.

I’d managed to bring some gluten free cornflakes from Turkey with me to Vietnam so on Sunday, 19th January, we headed over to Ho Khanh’s for breakfast and I took my own. Captain Caveman and his two colleagues were once again off to work in Son Doong again while I took up my lady of leisure duties. At lunch I ate at Oxalis Home where I had a rather tasty chicken and cashew nut dish with steamed rice. My throat and cough was getting worse so I ordered a mango smoothie and a ginger tea. I met a 5 year old child who hates mangos but loves bananas and was from Saigon, on holiday and travelling by car – his English and politeness was fantastic. When my meal came he even said he would let me enjoy my lunch and went back to his parents. When Captain Caveman returned we went to Phong Nha Underground for dinner where I had one of my favourite meals, a smoked pork with green beans and rice. I had 3 cups of ginger tea in an attempt to stop the cough and then we went to Momma D’s for a nightcap.
Captain Caveman loves the Gin and Tea for two there so ordered that but I found it dry on my throat and had a whisky instead, purely for medicinal purposes. Back home Captain Caveman was sound asleep but I was struggling to nod off at all, when I did I was waking up at 2am with the sounds of the cockerel.