I was woken up on Monday 4th January by one of the housekeeping staff who had brought back our laundry so I decided to do my exercises early and get ready for a party we had been invited to. The Phong Nha Farmstay was having a staff end of year party at 11am which Bich had invited all the staff, Matty, Veronika and I to. At 10.10am I decided to try, for the very first time, to walk the 2.2km to the Farmstay, using my crutches like walking poles. The furthest I have managed to walk so far is 500m and so it wasn’t easy but I just kept going. Veronika set off later than me and then caught me up because I am so slow, even though I thought I was going quickly. It took me 53 minutes to do 2.2km and I was knackered when I got there but extremely grateful to have made it. The next challenge was having to sit on the floor for our hotpot meal and of course I used to be so flexible, could cross my legs and sit for ages on the floor but not any more. Veronika and I had to sit at one end so we could stretch out a leg. The hotpot wasn’t really for me as it had both chillies and fishy stuff in, lots of squid in particular, which I can’t eat. Regardless to allergies I still had to try some so I mainly ate the sweetcorn and the mushrooms at first, until Ha arrived and sat beside me giving me the prawns, which were good. We also joined in on the shots of rice wines and I did well to have 3, Veronika got off lightly with 2 and Matty was drunk, having had plenty more. Ben took a video of the party and we all had a great time, it was nice to see the staff being treated and then having the afternoon off to go to karaoke. Veronika walked home but I decided to stay and try out the sauna with Ben, Bich and Matty. It was very nice but I didn’t have my swimmers with me and had to go in naked, just with a towel round me. By 6.30pm I was ready for dinner so I decided to go for a salami pizza and really enjoyed it. Captain Caveman let me know he had been delayed but would be back, from Hue, around 9pm so I went home, by the time I was meant to be sleeping my gluten intolerance was back with a vengeance!!
I fully intended to go back to sleep for a while on Saturday 2nd January, after Captain Caveman had got up at 5am, drove his motorbike to Oxalis Home (about 12km away) to get the staff bus to Dung’s wedding, south of Hue (a few hours drive away). He had packed a bag and decided not to get the bus back the same day and would stay a couple of days in Hue for a short break. It was 12°C again and I stayed in bed but didn’t get back to sleep at all. On the news the first case of the new Corona virus variant had arrived in Vietnam from the UK, the 45 year old repatriating Vietnamese woman had already gone straight in to the compulsory 14 day quarantine upon arrival. I had buttered toast for breakfast and then got an invite to go to The Villas with Bich and Veronika in the afternoon where Ben would be with the yoga retreat group for a late lunch. I was grateful for the lift over and to enjoy a trip out for a nice change. I had an oolong tea and treated myself to a sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream which is absolutely delicious. Back home, Veronika and I had time to get ready for dinner and we had a very civilised meal at Phong Nha Farmstay, our home from home. Veronika had pumpkin soup with garlic bread and I had beef in bamboo with steamed rice and vegetables and only 1 glass of red wine. Matty returned from East Hill, where he had been to celebrate his birthday, they do an amazing BBQ chicken with sticky rice. The Phong Nha Farmstay surprised him with a birthday cake and so we all had to have a piece of that to finish off the night – my diet was going well and I decided to try not to eat until dinner tomorrow!
Sunday 3rd January was a quiet day, Captain Caveman was still in Hue and was planning to pick up some sausages to bring back. I stuck to my not eating a meal until dinner and, instead, got on with my massively increasing To Do List and catching up on Vietnamese language learning. One of the fantastic things about where we are is that the Phong Nha Farmstay is like our ‘local’ and so it feels good to have the opportunity to go for the Sunday roast dinner each week. It’s strange really that I have started to eat, and look forward to, more of the western traditional foods now that it’s colder and I think it’s a sign I’m missing home – I hardly ever ate a Sunday dinner in the UK, though. To keep me from getting too hungry I had plain popcorn as a snack but then I was so hungry for my Sunday dinner that I could hardly wait to order it. Veronika ordered her meal without all the extra gubbins whereas Matty and I ordered it as it comes; pork (with crackling), lamb, roast potatoes, vegetables, smoked duck and veggie pasta bake, bread and gravy! The carrot cake was fresh, moist and delicious, as always – enjoyed by the fire. Veronika had a cup of tea but I shared a bottle of red wine with Matty before getting a lift back home.
I started the year on Friday 1st January, hangover free, knowing that I would be spending more than a year without leaving Vietnam, this was the longest I had been in the country since I first started visiting regularly about 6 years ago. I had also managed to accidentally put a bit of weight on over the festive period, even though we didn’t do a lot of the traditional celebrations we may have done if we had been in Turkey or the UK. Since arriving in Vietnam I had managed to lose just over half a stone more and I was pleased to see that I was still less centimetres on all my measurements. This blog was going really well and, despite 2020 being a terrible year for most, it was surprising that I had a lot more views than previous years. I was really grateful to find that December had a 21% increase on November and now the top 5 viewers by nationality had changed; Vietnam was first by a big number, followed by UK, Australia, USA, Canada and Turkey. It was reassuring to me because I had not really been able to write about too many exciting things but I was very happy to be in a safe country. Vietnam had handled the pandemic well (a 2 week national lockdown in April plus city specific lockdowns in July/August) and the numbers were very low here, life was pretty normal and we could go about our business quite easily in Phong Nha. It was 12°C in the morning, which is not as cold as it can get here but it felt so much colder than I was used to – maybe I was finally becoming acclimatised to living in a hot country. Captain Caveman was at Oxalis Home early, catching up with the rest of his work colleagues over a coffee, he even got a last minute invite for a lunch at the Vung Hue with all the cave experts. I had gluten free cereal with UHT milk for brunch followed by homemade popcorn as I needed to save myself for pizza night. Captain Caveman, Veronika and Matty were also regular frequenters of the ‘all you can eat pizza’ on Friday nights at The Villas restaurant and tonight was no different. We really enjoyed the pizzas and this time my favourite one, The Showstopper, was served in the middle of the night rather than at the end so I still had enough room to enjoy it better. Back home, so full of pizza, it was an early night for us as Captain Caveman had to be up before sunrise on Saturday.
On the morning of Thursday 31st December the Phong Nha Farmstay started a 4 day yoga retreat for a group lead by Marzena, a yoga teacher from Poland who lives in Hanoi. I had been invited to give the first yoga class a try and was ready at 6.30am, on my way to the 7am session. Captain Caveman left for Oxalis a little later and it was quite a cold, rainy day. There was a big Countdown to 2021 party going to be held in the town centre with some DJs and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) blasting out. I wasn’t going to any of that and was quite happy to do my own thing, probably involving wine, food and the Phong Nha Farmstay. The yoga was challenging for me, because of my injuries and poor fitness levels but I survived the 2 hour session without too much pain or further injury and I actually really enjoyed it. I had pho bo and orange juice for breakfast at the Farmstay and then came home for a shower, via the scenic route.
At lunchtime Captain Caveman and I went by motorbike to the The Villas in the rain, when I could have had a lift with Bich, Veronika and Matty, so I was soaked and cold when we arrived and I went straight to the fire to warm up and dry off. Veronika and Matty were already sat with Momma D who was drinking a glass of champagne and was having lunch before getting ready for work at her pop-up bar that night. Captain Caveman ordered a beer and the rest of us ordered fizz too, with our food. Veronika and I went for the special festive menu of confit duck leg for main and the others had the tomato soup with cheese toasties, which looked fantastic. We had more fizz, I had a sticky date pudding for the first time – oh-M-G, it was so good! We ended up having about 2 bottles of the champagne and we were tipsy when I said goodbye and an early Happy New Year to Captain Caveman. He was going to go help Watto with some electrics then go to the Oxalis party, planning on staying in Phong Nha for New Year’s Eve so he could have a drink at the Countdown party. Back home I managed to have an afternoon nap as I didn’t need to be at the Farmstay until 7.30pm for dinner.
After napping for a bit too long I was more than slightly reluctant to get out of the nice warm, comfy bed to go out for New Year’s Eve at Phong Nha Farmstay. Veronika and I got a ride with Duyet, both feeling like we had peaked too early on the fizz at lunch time. The yoga retreat guests were booked in for an 8pm dinner, after their evening yoga and they were a really fun group who were not your stereotypical yoga types at all. The night started with a glass of wine for me and Matty while Veronika stuck to her cup of tea. Just before 8pm Captain Caveman called, it was a bad line and I only got part of the conversation, saying his plans had changed and he was on his way back to the Farmstay. I sat at the end of a long table with Matty, who was the first to the buffet dinner, followed by me, where the food was fantastic (and plenty of it). Captain Caveman arrived and had already eaten so just had a drink while I scoffed meat and veg skewers and fried rice. The amazing brownies were for dessert and I managed two lots as they were so nice. By 10pm, though, Captain Caveman and I had overdone it and were back home and in bed! Quite a lot of people went in to town for the countdown and said it was a great night however we were already fast asleep well before midnight.
It was a glorious sunny day on Monday 28th December, Captain Caveman and Veronika had gone for another day of walking and I stayed at home doing my usual daily tasks. My breakfast was sourdough, I had cheese, crackers and walnuts for lunch and I got some chicken out of the freezer and decided I would cook a chicken curry for dinner, even though Captain Caveman had been to the Pub with Cold Beer for a chicken lunch with Veronika, Matty, Ben and some Farmstay guests. When he got back he wanted to go to the Farmstay for sunset and drinks so we went along for one and we got to see a farmer washing his buffalo after a hard day of ploughing in the rice paddies. I came back to start cooking, leaving Captain Caveman to have some more beers and talk walking routes with Veronika and Matty. The recipe I followed said to put 2 teaspoons of curry powder in but it didn’t taste strong enough so I put 6 in and it still wasn’t very curry-tasting. At last I managed to speak to my parents to wish them a ‘Happy Christmas’ as we hadn’t been able to match times to call on actual Christmas Day and the 7 hours time different can be a pain! Speaking to them made my day and I was relieved to hear they had a good time despite restricting their movements over the festive period. The curry was edible but was more like a creamy sauce than what I expected so I wouldn’t have it again.
Captain Caveman had caught a bad cold and was very snotty on Tuesday 29th December but still went to do some work. I had buttered toast for brunch and kept using a bit too much hand sanitizer! For dinner we had booked in for shepherd’s pie night (again) at Phong Nha Farmstay, this time with extra veg and a bottle of red wine. One of the organisers from Saigon Children’s Charity was back with his family and so we had a chat with him. Captain Caveman was due to go to Ho Chi Minh later in January and if I could find a way to have my passport back in time, I would go too.
Wednesday 30th December was pretty much a duvet day for both of us. The temperature had dropped again and we were both now under the weather. Captain Caveman was quite bad and didn’t speak all day except for when made to. I now had a sore throat and kept going hot and cold so we both stayed in bed as much as possible. I made Captain Caveman cheese on toast with the last of the cheese and I had the last of my gluten free cereal for a late breakfast. We each had a Snickers for lunch then for dinner Captain Caveman braved a trip out of bed to the kitchen. Because we had not had a shopping trip in a while we had hardly anything in and the sausages we were going to have were off, so we went to the Farmstay for dinner again. Captain Caveman had a salami pizza which looked amazing but he’d had it with extra chillies so I couldn’t have any. I decided to have the pork casserole with steamed rice and vegetables because I felt I needed some goodness, something healthy. It was really tasty and I managed to eat it all and started to feel a bit better. I was meant to have gone to physio but I’d felt too sick and didn’t want to pass on my germs to anyone! It was an early night as Captain Caveman had a busy new year’s eve to go to, with 2 parties, so I hoped we would both be feeling better.
Captain Caveman was working on Saturday 26th December, Boxing Day, and was off to Hang Va for 2 days. I had set my alarm for 8am and Tatas was already awake when I went in to the living room so we headed off to the Farmstay for breakfast – I had pho bo. I needed to get back for some important tasks so I left, armed with a box of wine, to take home and said I would be back later to see Melissa and her family off – they were leaving for Phu Quoc. I got on with my work in the afternoon and chilled out at home before going back to the Farmstay around 3pm for the goodbyes. I decided to have a cider and went out to the pool to watch the sunset and chat to some of the other guests. The workers were out doing the tough job of working the rice fields, either with a buffalo or a machine, either way it was very muddy and looked like extremely hard work. Bich and some of her helpers were busy planting lettuces and were getting stuck in with it in the beautiful sunshine. We were lucky to be still drinking cider as one of the famous Farmstay sunsets started and so I managed a few photos. Soon enough it was time to go to the all you can eat pizza night, which had been moved from Friday to Saturday, at The Villas. There were quite a few of us at Pizza night and I had a good laugh trying to keep up on the number of slices and ciders with Luc. As it was Ben’s birthday we went back to the Phong Nha Farmstay for birthday celebrations and a bit of cake, which I couldn’t manage a full piece of.
It got as hot as 27°C on Sunday 27th December, here in Phong Nha, which was lovely after the cold spell. I had cereal for breakfast and I didn’t bother with lunch as I knew, with it being Sunday, we would be having a big Sunday dinner at the Phong Nha Farmstay later. I went to the Farmstay to say bye to Annette and her friend as they left for the airport at 4pm and we all hoped for a return visit, having had such a good laugh together. Captain Caveman had returned from his Hang Va trip and came straight to the Farmstay where we had a starter of fresh veggie spring rolls for me and chicken quesadillas for him. The Sunday roast dinner was as satisfying as usual and we left full and happy to have had a rather civilised evening with Veronika and her family.
Although Christmas Day fell on a Friday this year, there would be no pizza night at The Villas and so we booked in for the Christmas Dinner buffet at Phong Nha Farmstay that evening. We had decided not to celebrate Christmas and so hadn’t bothered with any gifts or cards for each other or anyone else. The Corona situation had meant Christmas was cancelled for most people and, although not specifically virus related, we had no spare money. Instead we would hope for a time where we could spend time with our family and friends back home, once the virus had gone, and we would celebrate everything that we had missed since we had last met. Like most years when we have been abroad over the festive period I wouldn’t even see a mince pie, a Terry’s chocolate orange, pigs in blankets, turkey, Christmas pudding/cake or even a cheeseboard, but I could cope with it! Captain Caveman and I went by motorbike to The Villas for our Christmas Day breakfast, I got dropped off and ordered a hot chocolate with cream while Captain Caveman went to the Oxalis office to take some biscuits we had picked up from the Shop ‘n’ Go in Phong Nha for the staff. Christmas Day here is just another day and so everyone is at work as normal. Captain Caveman came back from work and we ordered breakfast – him the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and I had bacon, sausage, beans and buttered toast. I’d not had the bread at The Villas since my intolerance to gluten had disappeared and was going to enjoy my breakfast.
Christmas Day breakfast at The Villas
Unfortunately the bread did affect me but we had a house party to go to, we went back home to get some drinks to take to Shannon and Stu’s. Even though I wasn’t feeling well I managed a glass of fizz on arrival. Captain Caveman had a plate of food and a couple of drinks, we had a chat with a few guests as well as the hosts, who kindly gave us a tour of their amazing house.
Christmas Day at The Belafonte
That evening we had a glass of sparkling wine to welcome us to the Farmstay with friends and then sat at a table for our buffet dinner. It was busy and at our table was me, Captain Caveman, Matty, Tatas, Bich, Michael and Ben. Melissa and her family were on the table behind us while Veronika made a middle of the room table of 3 with Annette and her friend. The food included a delicious selection of pork, lamb, duck, chicken, pasta, salad, roasted veggies, and spring rolls and I managed a couple of plates before going for the brownies which were lovely. Back at our place, Veronika gave Tatas a spare blanket as she settled in for the night on our sofa and we had a bit more wine – overall it was a fairly sensible and early night.
For Christmas Eve we were lucky to still have choices as to what we might do, here in Vietnam. I wanted to do something simple and nice, without any drama – not always as easy as it sounds in Phong Nha. I was so conscious of friends and family back home, and in other countries, who were having to make some very tough choices about their festivities this year and so I felt it was even more important that whatever I did, it should be what I wanted to do. Of course it was sad not to have been able to travel back to the UK or Turkey to spend Christmas with friends and family, or at least have seen them this year, but I was reassured that my parents were being sensible and would be safe. Both The Villas and Phong Nha Farmstay had a special Christmas menu that evening, and the Vin Pearl in Dong Hoi was only £33 for the night (including breakfast) for each night over the holiday period. Captain Caveman had gone to work in a cave for the day but was going to be back by 6pm at the latest so we decided we would meet at The Villas for dinner, just the two of us, when I got back from Dong Hoi. After my breakfast of gluten free cereal and UHT milk Phuong picked me up at 11am and, as it was raining, we picked up Melissa and Aaliyah at the Farmstay, where they were staying. We had a good chat on the way to Dong Hoi and then went for lunch at Earth cafe where, although I’m not vegan, I had started to get excited about going to. We got a lovely, warm welcome from Mo, the owner, and the place was very busy with lunchtime diners so we did have to wait a little for our lunch. I ordered both the cháo bánh canh (local udon soup) and the pineapple fried rice (without chillies), Aaliyah ordered fresh tofu rolls and a cashew nut milk. Melissa wasn’t hungry as they had a late breakfast at the Farmstay but they tried both of my dishes too. I really enjoyed mine and it was the best I had eaten there so far, definitely a new favourite place, and very healthy. While I went to physio, Phuong took Melissa and Aaliyah for a shopping trip as they needed a few things for Christmas, tomorrow, then we headed back to Phong Nha. It did mean that Phuong was late getting back to his family on Christmas Eve but he is so accommodating and flexible, always making sure he looks after me very well.
Captain Caveman was already by the fire when I arrived at The Villas, attempting to warm up after his day of being cold. The staff welcomed us and they had a rather nice table for 2 set up in the bar area ready for us to sit at. I got changed into a dress in the toilets (classy, as always) then I had a margarita, he had a beer while we checked out the special festive menu – we even put our phones away and enjoyed a romantic feast. To start we both had zucchini ribbon salad (the other choice was prawn and squid salad), we got a glass of wine included and we chose red to go with our main course of steak with potato gratin. Other choices were Salmon or Duck and we usually have duck so decided to go with something different. The food was so tasty and I also had a chocolate almond cake for dessert, served with a dessert wine, Captain Caveman didn’t have pudding although I hoped he would go for sticky date pudding so I could try some. While we were there we saw some friends and work colleagues of Captain Caveman and it was nice to see more Vietnamese locals out celebrating Christmas Eve at The Villas – the ladies looked so beautiful in lovely clothes and the men had made an effort – I was lucky to have Captain Caveman take off his hat. We had a lovely evening and didn’t drink much because we had to tog up with our warm clothes for the motorbike ride back home in the cold, but it had been worth it!
Tatas and Captain Caveman were having coffees by the time I was ready to leave the house on Monday 21st December. I was a bit hungover and so I had sausages and beans for breakfast, Tatas had peanut butter on toast while Captain Caveman had the infamous eggs benedict at Phong Nha Farmstay. I finally got my visa extension through and it was renewed until 9th January, but now it was too late to go anywhere in Vietnam for an anniversary or Christmas holiday so we abandoned that idea. I had been hoping we might go to Hoi An or Danang instead but money was tight and we needed what we did have so that I could go to Dong Hoi for the never ending physio! I couldn’t be bothered to make myself anything to eat for lunch so I made popcorn in my room and ate that. We decided to go to the Farmstay for a quick drink before deciding to have a (rare) night at home. Captain Caveman had made a delicious Coq Au Vin for dinner with the rest of the wine we hadn’t finished. Tomorrow was a special day but we still hadn’t decided if we were doing anything to celebrate.
It was 9 years since Captain Caveman and I met, on Tuesday 22nd December, the legendary ‘Cheese Night’. In the past we have celebrated our anniversary with trips away but of course, because of Corona, we weren’t going anywhere. Even to fly to Hanoi or Saigon I would need my passport and although I had got my visa extension stamp I didn’t have my passport back in my possession yet. Captain Caveman made me a brunch of bacon, mushrooms and toast which I had with jasmine tea. We had a walk and I completed it 1 minute quicker than last time but 12 minutes to walk 500 metres isn’t great! The evening consisted of us celebrating our anniversary at the Farmstay with some Lindeman’s sparkling wine, by the fire, and chicken quesadillas to share. The highlight of the evening was a shepherd’s pie each at a table with other Farmstay guests. The shepherd’s pie was pretty tasty and I’m sure they improve each week!
On Wednesday 23rd December I was looking forward to spending some time with Captain Caveman as he had a day off and I had moved my physio for a Thursday appointment this week. However, it wasn’t what Captain Caveman was thinking as he planned to go on a 10km exploration walk with Veronika, Bich and Matty. We went to the Farmstay for breakfast and I had pho bo (my favourite) while the route and finer details of the walk were discussed. Back home I set about getting on with some tasks and immersed myself in my To Do List, I had buttered toast for lunch and I should have gone to meet the walkers at the Pub with Cold Beer but there was some confusion when Captain Caveman called me and I didn’t go. I had a message from Melissa who was on her way back to Phong Nha, from Hue, for Christmas with her family, at the Farmstay. When Captain Caveman got home later that afternoon they had walked almost double the amount he had planned and he was so full of delicious BBQ chicken, pork, spring rolls and rice with peanut sauce that he decided we were staying in for dinner. He made spaghetti with salami, green peppers, mushrooms and parmesan (no sauce) which we had with a bottle of fizz.
On Friday 18th December I had a breakfast of dragon fruit and an apple. For lunch Captain Caveman made us salami and asparagus (he had egg) with parmesan and I had 2 pots of jasmine tea. In the afternoon, after a bit of work for me and some House of Cards on Netflix for Captain Caveman, we went to the Farmstay for a drink. It was pizza night at The Villas so transport was layed on to take us all there for 6pm. Veronika was due back from a few days away and went straight to The Villas, there was quite a crowd of us. Captain Caveman and I sat with Matty and shared a couple of bottles of wine. Momma D was there with the cavers, having ordered takeaway pizza and a salad as we arrived, she was excited to be having Watto and Martin (UK cave experts) back and she was preparing a special dinner for them at her rooftop bar after they had finished their quarantine in Hanoi. We welcomed a lovely new Farmstay guest, Annette, to our table, with Veronika, as Ben asked us all to try his buffalo pizza – a great new addition to the pizza menu. It was a great night and I thoroughly enjoyed our company as well as so much pizza. Back home I was excited to hear that my cushions were ready to collect in Dong Hoi!
After the over indulgence of the previous night’s ‘all you can eat pizza’ I was looking forward to a healthier day on Saturday 19th December. When I woke up it was cold and it didn’t get much warmer which was a bit disappointing as I had to wear shorts for my physio visit because I had ran out of clean trousers that can be rolled to the top of my thigh when I’m at therapy. I had arranged to go to collect my cushions from Earth cafe and so I’d booked Phuong’s Transfers for a longer than usual day. Captain Caveman and Matty decided to come along too as we needed some provisions and it was only an extra £4 for us to go 2 hours earlier. Captain Caveman made me bacon and mushrooms for breakfast (we still can’t buy baked beans here again) and then we left for Dong Hoi at 11am. We got a warm welcome from Mo at Earth cafe and Thao was also there by coincidence so we all ate together. This time I ordered the mushroom and udon noodle soup, Matty and Thao had mushroom porridge and Captain Caveman had pumpkin soup. I tried a bit of everyone else’s and it was all good but mine was definitely the best dish!! I drank daisy tea which was really nice and a first time I had tried it. Word came that the cave experts had passed their Corona tests and were out of the Hanoi hotel with a flight booked that night to come to Dong Hoi and then home to Phong Nha. While Captain Caveman and Matty went off shopping in Dong Hoi and guzzling white russians at Tree Hugger I got my pummelling at physio, I got laughed at for wearing shorts and I was so cold that the therapist had to give me an extra pillow to cover my good leg. When we got back home I had a hot shower and just couldn’t get warm again, even with the heating on, the room still only got to 21°C and I had to get in bed early. I managed my dinner of chicken, veg, sticky rice and peanuts and we watched more of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix.
On Sunday 20th December Captain Caveman went to Phong Nha to see the returned cavers and have a coffee. It was still very cold and I sat on the living room sofa trying to keep warm. Captain Caveman got back just in time to make us bacon sandwiches for breakfast. I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and wasn’t ill, for a change. In the evening Captain Caveman popped over to see his colleagues at Momma D’s, before their welcome back special dinner, then he and I met up at the Farmstay, he had picked up Tatas on the way. At the Farmstay the food was as great as always and I enjoyed my pork and lamb Sunday roast dinner very much. Howie kept asking Tatas to play cards with him so a few of them joined a game, I learned Tatas was a very skilled and aggressive card player with ace croupier skills. A game with the kids started where if they lost they would get an ear flick and it got quite roudy – in addition Michael’s ears were so red by the end of it. We said our goodbyes and went to get in the rascal with Duyet to go back to our place for more wine so it turned in to quite a late night, with Tatas on the sofa and me having eaten far too much (again) – wishing I had taken my included carrot cake home, instead of stuffing my face!
After very little sleep I woke up in a fragile state on Monday 14th December. It was a rainy day with not much going on and I tried the gluten free cereal for breakfast with milk – I wasn’t yet 100% normal but I think I was doing ok. We tried out the sticky rice with peanuts from Thuy and it was pretty good and in the afternoon I ordered some cushions for the sofa, from Earth cafe. Captain Caveman said we didn’t need cushions and that they were an unnecessary expense, which I understood but meant I would never enjoy watching a film without back pain – I don’t tend to use the TV or living area much. I knew when I got the cushions he would get the most use out of them so I still went ahead and they were only 750,000 vnd for 3 (about £24). As I went to update my diary I saw that this week should have been the time for Captain Caveman’s return to Phong Nha after his winter break (which should have been in Turkey). Captain Caveman gave me the dates for his 2021 tours up to the end of March. We opened a bottle of fizz and had chicken for dinner with veg and more sticky rice and peanuts – delicious!
My visa extension which expired on the 9th should have been back today, Tuesday 15th December but unfortunately it still wasn’t. It is a bit of a pain because Captain Caveman had thought about us maybe flying to Saigon or Hanoi for a break but I can’t go without my passport. I had my gluten free cereal for breakfast, it was cold and windy and Captain Caveman had gone to Phong Nha for breakfast. I had a day off of physio so I could chill out, I did a bit of languages and some blogging and we booked in for the new Shepherd’s pie night at the Farmstay. Captain Caveman was back for lunch and we had chicken salad and shared some pomelo, very healthy! We arrived at the Farmstay early and waited for Tatas to join us round the fire, Matty was there with a new guest, Charlie, a 15 year old boy from South Korea. We all had Shepherd’s pie and even though I’m not normally a fan of it (I don’t like mashed potato), it was bloody lovely!! I had started off with beer as I didn’t want to drink too much but then shared wine with Tatas, Matty, Captain Caveman and even Charlie! Ben brought out some buffalo meat for us to try and this was another first for me – he had different flavours; one was plain, one was in brine, one in red wine and the last in a fish & chilli sauce – I bet you can guess my favourite one! I was full but I still managed to squeeze in a piece of carrot cake, which is always really good!
I had booked my physio in for the afternoon of Wednesday 16th December so I had a bit of a lay in that morning, while Captain Caveman went to the Farmstay, then picked up fresh bread from the Lake House. I had cereal for breakfast and the milk didn’t seem to be harming my stomach, which was great. I didn’t bother with any lunch as I was off to Dong Hoi and later we were going to be eating a lot. Captain Caveman came with me in the car to Dong Hoi so that he could go food shopping. At physio I got a new bloke who is actually really good and he managed to work around my sciatic nerve issue which I was pleased about. In the evening I experienced another first as we had booked seats at the Chef’s Table at the Farmstay. They basically invite anyone who wants to dine on Vietnamese food and a varied load of dishes are served (different each time) and you try them all for 200,000vnd (£6.40). It was the first one this year and as there were only a few guests, the table was small with 6 of us in total. I had a couple of red wines while Captain Caveman had beers and we started with the tasting plate of buffalo meat and a bowl of mushroom soup, both so good. Next were prawn and pork fresh spring rolls then a chicken salad, all was delicious so far. The next dish was the fish wraps which I would never normally have ordered but actually it tasted really good and I would have them again. The last main course was the pork clay pot, bok choy in garlic and steamed rice and this was one of my new favourites now. The dessert looked absolutely terrible but tasted amazing; flambéed banana with chocolate icecream, neither of which I usually like. The meal was a success and I was impressed with the amount of food for the price so we will definitely be doing the chef’s table again. The company was great too and is a great idea to bring guests and the owner, together in a civilised way for a chat over dinner.
It was another lovely food kind of day on Thursday 17th December. For breakfast I had bacon and mushroom on toast then shared some pomelo with Captain Caveman. Mr Ky, the dog, got distressed when some escaped cows came by and started eating grass by the paddy fields opposite our house. We had cheese on toast for lunch and then Captain Caveman cooked us a delicious coq au vin with sticky rice while I made some popcorn, ready to watch some Netflix later. We had started watching The Queen’s Gambit which was turning out to be pretty good so we watched a couple of episodes.
I struggled as to whether to include all the details, especially the photos in this post, due to how it might make people feel. I would advise not reading the middle section if you are vegetarian or vegan. Our day started well on Sunday 13th December with a bit of a lay-in at the Nam Long Plus hotel followed by a walk to a new cafe in town. An former colleague of Captain Caveman’s has opened Earth cafe on a small street in the centre of Dong Hoi which serves vegan food from 8am to 9pm. Captain Caveman had arranged to meet Thao, another former colleague, at the vegan cafe for breakfast and he would stay and chat while I went off to physio. The menu looked great and we got to try peanut milk, which literally tastes like peanut flavoured milk, and I enjoyed the blue tea. Captain Caveman ordered the udon noodle dish and I asked for the pineapple fried rice without chilli. There were a few teething problems but the place was nice and the menu had plenty of choice. When my food came it was so spicy and I could hardly eat it. Unfortunately, as is usual in Dong Hoi, when Mo, the owner, checked about the no chillies the chef had not put any in but had cooked the rice with hot Sriracha sauce, a very hot Thai sauce made from chillies! I had a quick taste of Captain Caveman’s soup and I wish I’d ordered that instead, it was delicious. I had to leave though as it was time for me to head over to Thuy’s house before our planned lunch outing.
The (very small) taxi arrived and I got in the front, Thuy, Trang and Grandma got in the back with the 2 kids on laps and off we went to pick up Captain Caveman. I tried to get the address of our lunch stop to tell Captain Caveman to meet us there but they had none of it and when we arrived back at Earth Cafe I had to squeeze in the back while Captain Caveman got in the front. The driver, with his 5 adults and 2 kids load, drove out in to the middle of nowhere and we stopped at an empty cafe. We were about to try a definite first for me and Thuy took the liberty of ordering for us, from what we could make out we were getting an assortment of bird dishes, grilled or fried and some cooked with bamboo. Fried rice was ordered, kimchi on the table already, a case of beers and a bucket of ice (with tongs). More diners began to arrive and most of them had big families so I started to feel a bit more relaxed that all would be fine, the place was clean and well run.
The first dish to come out was a bowl of about 20 or so small birds which were sparrows and they have to be eaten whole, the bones the heads, the feet – the whole shebang! I felt a bit apprehensive to try them but actually the sparrows tasted pretty good, although I couldn’t bring myself to eat the head and bones so I picked at it like it was a miniature KFC. I managed 4 sparrows but Captain Caveman really did take one for the team on that dish. The next dish to come was the fried rice which I heartily filled my bowl up with, not realising it had minced bird in it as an ingredient! It tasted very different, like nothing I’d tasted before, but I managed to eat a couple of small bowls of it, encouraging Captain Caveman to have more – the fried onion and peanut gave it a tasty edge! Everyone else was really enjoying the lunch and we were all drinking quite a lot of beer and doing cheers. The kids had Coke as a treat and they behaved really well at the table, eating the food they were dished out and joining in the cheers. The second bird dish to come out was described as Kingfisher but it was an egret, it tasted like the smell of a fishy wet dog! I had one piece and found that, because it had plenty of meat on and was much bigger, I didn’t need a second piece. The third dish I had no idea what the bird was but Captain Caveman was a bit miffed with me for saying we would have it with sauteed bamboo as he doesn’t like bamboo, neither do I but I thought it might be the least offensive ingredient in the pot and I decided to pull the ‘I’m full’ card (over a week later I found out it was boiled duck and would probably have been my favourite).
We got the taxi back, all 7 of us, and were dropped off at the Nam Long Plus hotel where we quickly packed and checked out. We were glad to see Phuong but our day was only halfway through as Captain Caveman had plans to do a quick shop before we headed back to Phong Nha. I felt a bit queasy so Captain Caveman sent me to buy myself a 2021 diary then get 12 minutes on the massage chair in Co-op Mart, while he did the shopping.
We were back at Elements by 4pm, saying hello to Mr Ky, the dog, and then I had a shower and got changed, ready for Sunday dinner that night at the Farmstay. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat any more food and I still could taste the egret has I ordered a drink. The taste of the egret was still repeating on me throughout the evening but the wine, pork, lamb, vegetables, and gravy did help me take my mind off it. Bich had been growing her own strawberries and it was lovely to try one! After dinner I read Howie a story before going home for a much needed sleep.
My last day in Bronte was a fairly lazy one. Tuesday 8th January was a hot day after rain in the night and I was sad to be leaving Australia. It had certainly been an eventful month in the country and I definitely wanted to return. I packed my big suitcase with the slow cooker in it, which would eventually end up in Turkey. The views from the apartment were stunning and I admired it for the last time. In the afternoon Llinos and I had a walk to get roast chicken and salad which we brought home and shared with a bottle of chilled white wine. After reluctant goodbyes following a slow walk to the bus stop with my heavy case I was off to the airport.
All went well with my flight to KL except for being in a window seat, which I like the least. I was due to land at 3am and would have 7 hours until my next flight, to Vietnam.
I had buttered toast for breakfast in bed on Saturday 12th December as we had an exciting weekend lined up. We had booked to stay at the Nam Long Plus hotel in Dong Hoi that night and so we booked Phuong (of Phuong’s Transfers) to take us in time for lunch at Tree Hugger cafe before my physio appointment. I had a beef and veg brown rice plate for my lunch while Captain Caveman had a burger for a change. Whenever we go to Dong Hoi to stay we have to fit in a visit to Tree Hugger as it is just so relaxed and friendly with a great menu. I had a few herbal teas too then walked to the hotel before setting off for physio. I often choose the Nam Long Plus hotel as the staff are lovely, they have a lift, it’s good value for money, in a great location and has softer mattresses than some budget hotels.
At physio my therapist was Nam, who has been doing my therapy from the start and knows my leg well, he massaged my lower leg and it really hurt, especially where there is obviously a trapped nerve or some problem with my sciatic nerve being pressed which still makes my toes feel like they have an electric shock. I tried my best to focus on Vietnamese language lessons on my phone but found it confusing. Thuy had already prepared another treat for me and this time I couldn’t carry it; she had given me a gift of rice, sticky rice, a jar of crushed peanuts, as well as some meat – I was gobsmacked at such a generous gift. Back at the hotel Captain Caveman and the taxi driver had to help me get all the food in to the building, it was that heavy. I had time for a bath and then we decided to walk to one of my favourite restaurants, 7th Heaven, for dinner.
Today was probably the most I had walked since my accident and I was so slow and stiff but I did it. Captain Caveman ordered chicken cordon bleu, I went for the steak and we shared sweet potato fries as a starter. We also had a nice bottle of red wine and the owner, Tam, showed me that taking food photos on portrait mode makes a better picture. The evening was great and I really enjoyed the night out, we went to bed looking forward to what our Sunday had in store for us.
Apart from the wallabies and wombats playing chicken in the road between Devonport and Kempton, I had not seen many of the infmamous animals of Australia. Captain Caveman booked us tickets to the wildlife park at Darling Harbour and we had an amazing day out for his last one in Sydney. It started with breakfast at Tokio which had amazing gluten free bread. Our first animals were snakes, wombats and wallabies – we even got to stroke the wombat who was eating corn and sweet potato for breakfast. He also had a container with fruit in which came out when he rolled it. The wallabies were cute but we weren’t able to touch them because they can bite.
The cassowary was such a cool bird and the first time I’d ever seen one. It shared his enclosure with a pademelon, who was really sweet too. I liked the reptiles and I really wanted to see a koala but so far I had only seen a sleeping one from behind. We got to walk through the kangaroo enclosure and saw a quoll too.
Finally, the highlight of the day was seeing the koalas. They were really lovely. My phone storage was full so Captain Caveman took the photos of the koalas and then again at the sharks and rays. We stood in tubes under the water and watched the creatures swim above us which was really beautiful. Just when you’d think the day couldn’t possibly get any better we stopped off at a Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction to purchase an electrical item and a Barbie Mate. We would take the new purchase along with our recently purchased new suitcase back to Phong Nha – I was so excited to have a slow cooker. In the evening, and after food, I said goodbye to Captain Caveman as he left for the airport and headed back to Vietnam. I had one more day in Sydney left.
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The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure
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