I woke up from an amazing sleep and had already missed the daily meditation session at the Phong Nha Farmstay on Tuesday 2nd June. I was looking forward to pho ga for breakfast and so we walked down to the bar and pool area to eat. I wasn’t confident on a certain section of the path where there was the slope but I managed to get down without falling, which was a bonus. I had to drink lots of water once we got seated as I hadn’t been used to walking far outside, for so long. I also had green tea and a juice, Captain Caveman decided to upgrade and treat himself to the Big Cowboy Breakfast with coffee and juice – worth paying the extra for if you’re hungry! We got chatting with the owners, Ben & Bich, it turned out the pool villa we had spent last night in was available for longer and we were welcome to book in for another night or more if we fancied it. I already didn’t want to leave and because it was newly opened we were able to take advantage of the soft opening special rates! We found out the story behind the books on the shelves and it made us laugh – be sure to ask Ben about it when you visit and check out the link below:

Great Books and Movies about Vietnam

Captain Caveman was off to do his briefing that evening and going to Son Doong the next day so wouldn’t be able to stay but we all agreed that the exercise, swimming and interaction with others would be good for me and I agreed to stay on for a bit longer. I ate a great bun cha for lunch while Captain Caveman snaffled down another pizza (he chose a different flavour for variety). Once Captain Caveman and I had said our goodbyes I took full advantage of that private pool. I had no time for writing, learning Turkish, Netflix or reading a book – I was working on getting my leg moving!

Little Lies came into its own that evening for a spot of entertaining. Not only did I enjoy a lovely dinner with a drop of red wine but I was joined by Veronika who is always such great company with genuinely good conversation. Other expats in the area stopped by to say hi too and it was nice to catch up with Ben, Bich and the kids later too where I found out I’m rubbish at making paper aeroplanes.
We went steady on the wine and before I went to bed I spoke to Captain Caveman to update him that I had managed a lot more exercise and that I could now pretend to ride a bicycle in the pool. He looked sweaty and tired but not enough for me to feel too sorry for him as I knew he was really looking forward to getting back on tour. He had a full group and I said I would stay at the Farmstay until he got back, when it would be time to return to the clinic for physio. I got in bed and before I could read a paragraph of my book I had fallen asleep in that huge comfy bed!!

Photo credit Captain Caveman

Previous day: https://joloyolo.com/2020/06/24/phong-nha-1st-june/

Want to read more: https://joloyolo.com/2020/06/26/phong-nha-farmstay-day-3/

Monday 1st June, a new week, a new month and a new place to stay! We were up early, Captain Caveman had a car booked for 9am to take us to Capture café. I was excited to be going out for breakfast and managed the bum shuffle downstairs a little quicker than the last time, while Captain Caveman carried my crutches and bag. They do a great smoothie at Capture so we both ordered one and I stuck to my usual bacon, beans and potatoes while Captain Caveman had beans on toast with two fried eggs, cheese and a swirl of brown sauce (he’s an animal)! The staff were attentive and there was just us there on account of Phong Nha having very few tourists or visitors around. I managed to visit the toilet (after sending Captain Caveman in for a safety check) and crutched around fairly steadily. After breakfast Captain Caveman instructed me to walk to the road to get our lift, I used the big ramp outside and found it easier than stairs. I’d not realised before but Capture café is geared up for people with disabilities like mine.
The car arrived and it was Ben, he was taking us over to Phong Nha Farmstay where we were going to stay the night!

The walk to the poolside of the main building went better than I envisaged and is flat so I was capable of navigating to a comfy seat. The friendly staff brought us a cold lemongrass towel which was so refreshing and a welcome drink, they made sure we had a fan directed at us. We met Mai, the customer relations person, who would be looking after us and showing us to the brand new accommodation at the Phong Nha Farmstay – The Jungalo Collection Villas were now open!

Captain Caveman went to the room, or should I say our pool villa, to drop off bags while I enjoyed a second ginger beer with ice (I know how to live it up). It was very sunny and where we were going to be staying was a short walk for an able person but a tiring one for crutching so I stayed where I was. When I did set off I was very slow and Captain Caveman went on ahead but waited at the very short, but steep, sloping entrance to the path which went to our new home, Little Lies. I struggled a bit, he had to push on my back to stop me falling backwards and I was a sweaty mess by the time we got to the door.

You could be forgiven for thinking the decorator was radically colour blind and that he had borrowed someone else’s paints, at first, but it did have the wow factor. The private pool had non-slip stone edges and integral steps, there was a full size fridge, the high ceilings and outside living area were impressive. The bed and linen were the best I’d encountered in Vietnam and I had to ask Bich (the owner) where it can be bought. There were fresh flowers on the dining table, a kitchenette and the bathroom was fantastic. The concrete, non-slip sunken bath was my favourite thing in there and ideal for my injuries. The internal doors are wonderfully carved as well as great at keeping out noise and light but Captain Caveman favoured the book collection the most.

We had a swim and then ordered lunch which is brought by the lovely kitchen and bar staff, directly to the dining table in the villa. I had the spring rolls which were good quality while Captain Caveman enjoyed his sausage baguette (hot dog to us lot) and chips. We had lots of water already in the fridge, with chilled glasses and it’s reassuring to see that plastic bottles are a no-no in this establishment. From the outside of the pool villas there is a monster set of limestone junk boat sails which could be interpreted as a set of dragon wings or maybe even butterfly wings from a distance – an ideal Instagram spot just begging for the opportunity to be hashtagged!

There was lots of use of the pool, chatting to visitors and then our friend, Veronika, joined us before sunset so we could have a drop of wine and some food. I found the villa so easy to get around and the food was top notch. I’d not even gone to bed but I knew already this was going to be the best place to stay in Phong Nha. After dining by our private pool on Nem Lui for me, pizza for Captain Caveman and an Aussie pie for Veronika we were stuffed and retired to our rooms. I’m not saying the bed is big but I had to put my glasses back on so I could see Captain Caveman at the other side of it as we finished wine in bed.

Photo credit to Captain Caveman and Ben Mitchell for use of some of their photos

Want to read more? Click here for day 2:
https://joloyolo.com/2020/06/25/phong-nha-farmstay-day-2/

There are so many places to eat in Phong Nha now that when I leave here I find my choices much more limited. I have a few allergies (gluten, mollusks & chillies) plus I’m a fussy eater, who really can’t stomach quite a few foods, which makes me a less than ideal dinner date. I’m far from thin and never go hungry here in Phong Nha so I decided to write a list of the places we have eaten at and what their stand out dish is (including Captain Caveman’s favourites too).

1. Namaste – Lamb Samosa

2. East Hill – Chicken & sticky rice

3. Phong Nha Underground – Tamarind chicken

4. Vung Hue – Pork Ribs

5. Phong Nha Vegan – Mushroom Lalot

6. Little Leaf – scallops

7. Little Vietnam – Pho

8. Funny Monkeys – Pork fried rice

9. Co Diep – Hot pot

10. Momma D’s – Sausages

11. Capture Café – Cheese plate

12. Phong Nha Coffee Station – Eggs Benedict

13. Oxalis Home – Chicken & cashew nuts

14. You & Me – Chicken fried rice

15. The Villas – Confit Duck Leg

16. D’Arts – Bun Cha

17. Lake House – Pizza

18. Lucky Homes – Roast Pork with fried rice

19. Phong Nha Farmstay – Nem Lui

20. Veggie Box – Vegan soup

21. Coco House – Clay pots

22. Bamboo Cafe – Shepherd’s pie

23. Chao Vietnam – Fried spring rolls

24. Thang Nhung – BBQ pork

25. Banh Xeo (at the market) – Banh Xeo

26. Pub with Cold Beer – Chicken & peanut sauce

27. Moi Moi – Pork cooked in Bamboo

28. Gecko hostel – Western food

29. Chay Lap Farmstay – Mushroom curry

30. Nguyen Shack Lake Hill – Mango sticky rice

I know for a lot of us May had seemed like a long month but on the whole I like to try and stay positive. At the end of May I did a bit of a check on what had changed over the month and I started to make some plans for June. To be honest I still didn’t know where I would be at the end of June, but if it was still in Phong Nha then I needed to make some changes and get my leg better.
I think I had lost weight in May but it was impossible to tell without being able to stand on the scales at Ho Khanh’s. This blog was doing well, which astounded me given that most of last month was about staying at home with an injured leg and arguing with Captain Caveman. I can only imagine that was one good thing to come out of the extended lockdown in other countries – lots of people could identify with being cooped up with a partner and unable to go out. This last 6 weeks had shown me how Captain Caveman’s priorities work and his ‘tough love’ approach to helping me get better was not particularly making me recover quicker. We spend so much time apart usually and when we are together we do our own thing a lot so it was definitely getting to him and I was tired. Still, at least my blog was entertaining enough for people who empathised with me or sympathised with Captain Caveman as we went through the month. The highest views came from the UK and Vietnam then Australia, followed by Turkey and then the Netherlands. This month I had a few new countries reading – Finland, Cape Verde, Bahrain and Panama.
As for the dreadful Corona virus which had been around for about 6 months now and almost in Vietnam, it was hard to take in the severity of it in my home country. I should have been back to Turkey and to England by now, like everyone else I’d missed lots of events but was pleased most had been moved to 2021. At the beginning of May the UK had reported 177,000 cases and were 4th in the world rankings. By the end of May they had reported 274,700 cases and were in 5th place, thanks to Brazil. It was awful that another 100,000 people had caught the virus, given that people should have been taking precautions and staying at home. The Corona deaths in the UK were unbelievable at almost a further 11,000 in one month taking it from 27,500 to 38,400 and still ranking second in the world. I was appalled at how badly it was being handled and I worried a lot about my family and friends – particularly the vulnerable ones, those working on frontline and those having essential hospital treatment.
For June I was focusing on physio and with Captain Caveman going in to Son Doong for 4 tours this coming month he was going to be much happier – I’m sure I would also enjoy the rest too. To start the month Captain Caveman had organised a little break, hoping to boost my recovery.

He’d even packed my bag for me, filled with all the essentials: https://joloyolo.com/2020/06/14/whats-in-the-bag-captain-cavemans-packing-list/

At the moment I’m rather immobile I am not the quickest at being able to pack a bag. In fact I can’t carry anything from the wardrobe and drawers to the bed, a short distance away. So it was up to Captain Caveman to pack for me for any outings and here is what was in my bag:

1. Sunglasses
2. Contact lenses
3. Hairbrush
4. Underwear
5. Travel towel
6. Swimwear
7. Toothbrush
8. Toothpaste
9. Shampoo bar
10. Conditioner bar
11. Body wash bar
12. Suncream
13. After sun lotion
14. Nail clippers
15. Foot file
16. Nail file
17. 2 dresses
18. 1 pair of shorts
19. 3 t-shirts/tops
20. Comfy shoes
21. Sarong
22. Trousers
23. Socks
24. Mosquito repellent
25. Sun hat
26. Sleepwear
27. Phone charger
28. Book
29. Crossword puzzles
30. Moisturiser for feet
31. Diary
32. Notebook and pen
33. Medications
34. Bumbag
35. Headphones

I didn’t think that looking after me could be so demanding but Captain Caveman assured me it was hard work. Of course I know he’s much better suited to being in a cave and he definitely does not take kindly to being bossed about. If the shoe was on the other foot (if only it would fit) then I hope I would be a much less angry and more reliable carer. I decided to illustrate how tough it is has been for him this far by making this list of 25 things he has been doing for me since tearing ligaments 8 weeks ago:

1. Washing and hanging out clothes & bedding

2. Putting dry clothes away

3. Opening and closing curtains (several times per day due to sun direction)
4. Washing up
5. Picking up my used towels and laundry plus anything I drop and can’t retrieve
6. Turning lights on and off (particularly where switches are hard to reach like behind the fridge)
7. Moving table and chairs between window view and near the fridge

8. Making tea (hot and iced)

9. Restocking the fridge
10. Buying/collecting shopping, medication & meals.
11. Emptying the bins
12. Drying the bathroom floor after wetting it
13. Putting toilet seats down

14. Getting me things down from high shelves
15. Collecting food deliveries from downstairs

16. Organising trips to Dong Hoi or elsewhere
17. Opening things (wine bottles, jars, things I can’t risk smashing)

18. Arranging for any visitors to get in to see me
19. Preparing for leaving the house by packing my bag and passing my shoes
20. Passing me things from the fridge and then putting things back in the fridge
21. Going ahead to suss out safety when outside the house (cafe toilets & access mainly)
22. Fixing my crutches when they malfunction
23. Saving geckos from scrapes and beasties

24. Being in charge of the fan (speed and position)
25. Removing ants from rice crackers so that I can eat them

It was 6 weeks already since the post ‘lockdown’ drinking celebration which landed me in my current housebound situation. On Friday 29th May Turkey announced that travel restrictions between cities will be lifted from 1st June. This is good news for Dalyan as they will hopefully benefit from domestic tourism and restaurants can open. There was talk of some international flights being allowed from 15th July.
Vietnam had no more updates as it remained on 84% recovery rate. The world had 4,100 more deaths, 112,800 new cases and 80,100 recoveries. The UK was now at 269,100 cases (an increase of 1,900) and 37,800 deaths (up 400) deaths.
For breakfast I had tofu garden rolls from the fridge with oolong tea. Captain Caveman was out most of the day with friends so I ate some sweets for lunch so that I could take my tablets and I did as much exercise as I could handle. I just wanted to be able to look after myself now as I couldn’t completely rely on anyone else’s help (on my terms) and I was very frustrated. Capture cafe had reopened today and I got a very thoughtful photo from Captain Caveman of the pizza he was eating at 4pm! Lung, the cleaner, came and so I did some Turkish then spoke to friends in Dalyan on a video call. It was nice to catch up with one of my good friends there as well as say hello to the owners of one of my favourite bars. Everyone was missing me and hoped I would come back soon and it looked really lovely.
Captain Caveman made it back in time for the East Hill sticky rice and BBQ chicken delivery at 6:30pm and it was as delicious as always. We had words and he promised that the next day he would get me food at meal times, I didn’t hold my breath.

A baby from Russia was the latest reported Corona case in Vietnam on Saturday 30th May and 1 recovery. The world reported 88,500 cases, 70,800 recoveries and 3,400 deaths in the last day. The UK cases weren’t slowing but the deaths were; a further 2,100 cases (total 271,200) and 300 deaths (total 38,100). Turkey had 1,200 more cases but no more deaths in the last 24 hours.
I was excited to be getting a Capture cafe breakfast of bacon, potatoes and beans as Captain Caveman headed down there, after nipping in Oxalis, for his breakfast and to bring me the takeaway, which didn’t materialise. Instead I ate gluten free biscuits for breakfast and then had the tofu garden rolls as a salad, with the leftover chicken for my lunch. It turned out that Captain Caveman had only got as far as coffee at Ho Khanh’s. He had never made it to Oxalis or Capture and forgot about my breakfast (and his) and started drinking beers with his friends. At 3.30pm he called me to tell me I had 1 hour to get ready as a car was picking me up and they were taking me to the Villas for Happy Hour. They were already pissed and I wasn’t impressed – a car coming at 4.30pm was hardly what I had in mind for a day out. I reluctantly went as I knew I would want dinner and we met other friends there too. The Villas is disabled friendly and I could use the ramp up to the dining area. Captain Caveman lost it with me because I chose the ramp over the stairs and started shouting. I was already beginning to wish I had not bothered coming and ordered my first alcoholic drink since the injury night. I had loads of popcorn and made my margarita last over an hour, because I’d been used to only drinking water most of the time I wasn’t used to the taste. I had a duck salad from the specials menu which was fantastic. while Captain Caveman devoured a massive burger and more drinks. I had 2 small glasses of red wine but decided that was enough. We were home before 9pm and I was very tired after bum shuffling up the stairs and arguing with Captain Caveman I told him I was fed up of his unreliability and I needed a Plan B. He admitted I was asking far too much of him and it didn’t leave him enough time to do his own things and he hated me nagging him all the time. It was a bloody good job I didn’t have anything seriously wrong with me but nevertheless I said I would try to only ask for help where absolutely necessary. Mentally, I decided to focus on getting better and if I couldn’t do it myself not to bother asking him for it and either wait for him to offer, or do without.

I was so tired on the morning of Sunday 31st May, after very little sleep. Captain Caveman had a wonderful sleep, full of loud snoring immediately after our argument.
I had Revive and gluten free biscuits for breakfast while Captain Caveman went over to Ho Khanh’s for coffee. The data on the app was playing up and showing only 20 new cases in the world – even for a weekend that was extremely unlikely. The UK was finally decreasing in numbers and had only 1,600 new cases and 200 deaths in the last day. Turkey had 1,000 new cases and a 100 deaths.
At lunch time I was contemplating what items I could get from the fridge when Captain Caveman returned holding a takeaway bag with Capture written on it. He apologised and said he was just getting frustrated that I can’t seem to do a lot of things for myself yet. He brought me bacon, chips and beans which was really tasty and I’d not had bacon for a long time.
After doing some Turkish lessons we had some crisps and finished off the red wine we had brought home from The Villas last night. For dinner we had Namaste and I spoke to one of my best friends back home who’s birthday it was – I should have been back there celebrating with her. We went to bed and set the alarm – Captain Caveman had organised something a little bit different for the next day.

The last week of May started with a mango for breakfast and some oolong tea while Captain Caveman went out to Coffee Station for his coffee fix and eggs benedict. While he was out I got a message from a friend who wanted to visit and we managed to arrange for her to pick the keys up so she could come in. It was good to see her and I was pleasantly surprised that the Phong Nha gossip had not got as far as her so she didn’t realise I was now a fully fledged member of the ramp user club. I had chicken leftovers from the fridge for lunch and Captain Caveman had Indian leftovers.
Vietnam had one new case of Corona (in quarantine) and 5 new recoveries and it looked like the British pilot was going to be staying in Vietnam to continue treatment without a lung transplant. The Vietnamese medics were doing absolutely everything they could to make sure he didn’t die. The world data showed a bit of a decrease in numbers due to it being a Monday; 94,600 new cases, 2,600 deaths and 55,100 recoveries.
In the afternoon I did more Turkish lessons and had some popcorn which Captain Caveman brought me from The Villas so that I have healthy snacks when he goes missing for a few hours. He went for happy hour with friends at The Villas and then to Momma D’s while I waited patiently for my dinner. When it came it was a surprise portion of pork fried rice from Funny Monkeys.

On Tuesday 26th May there was nothing much out of the ordinary for me, being stuck at home. The Corona data showed no further cases in Vietnam and the world reported the lowest deaths I had seen in a long while. There were only 1,100 deaths, 89,500 new cases and 63,600 recoveries. The world had over 5.5 million cases now and as far as I could see the UK were not doing much to tackle the problem there. They now had 261,000 cases and 36,900 deaths which was hard to get my head around – there was talk of perhaps closing borders and bringing in a tracking process next month. Turkey seemed to be fairing a bit better by keeping the young and old populations on permanent lockdown, making the wearing of masks and social distancing enforceable by the authorities and generally being strict. Turkey had 4,300 deaths now and 157,800 cases while the USA was nearing 100,000 deaths and looked unlikely to ease any time soon.
I did my exercises and found I could bend my leg a fraction more and could almost straighten it but still not quite. Captain Caveman had gone out and so I was still in my PJs at 10am, finishing off the brie and rice crackers we had left, as well as 6 rambutans, for breakfast. Captain Caveman went to Little Leaf for lunch to have scallops, as he hadn’t been there for a while and he brought me some spring rolls for lunch. It got hotter in the afternoon and, even with the Aircon on, it was 35.6°C indoors at 16:51.
Geraldine (the gecko) came out to play and was checking out a tray and trying to jump about. Captain Caveman went out to Momma D’s and I stayed home and ate M&Ms and crisps. He returned with gluten free sausages and a jacket potato for my dinner. Captain Caveman had the chicken which was stuffed with cream cheese and spinach then wrapped in bacon and he really liked it.

It was a busy day in my world on Wednesday 27th May. First I checked in on the app and saw Vietnam had 1 new Corona case (in quarantine). The world had not slowed as I had hoped; 94,400 new cases, 64,800 recoveries and 4,300 deaths in a day.
Before breakfast, of which Captain Caveman was out already for his, I went online to rebook my Easy Jet flight. I had a flight booked from Turkey to the UK at the end of April which I couldn’t book for a similar date next year so I had took a chance and booked it for one month later, guessing that flight would also cancel but the new flights for 2021 would be out by then. Like many people I still had no future plans but I didn’t want to waste the flight so I rescheduled it for April 2021.
By 9am it was already 32°C and it was going to be a hot day with none of the storms that were predicted! I had leftover sausage for breakfast and after Captain Caveman had finished at Oxalis he brought me lunch. I was excited to be having chicken and cashew nuts with steamed rice which is one of my favourite Oxalis Home dishes, he’d already had a sandwich.
Captain Caveman had been meaning to fix our broken bed (one of the slats had come loose) and decided to just start doing it. He was a hot sweaty mess and could have done with a hand when it was all in pieces and he didn’t have a screw driver. I half jokingly suggested he swapped it with the bed that wasn’t broken in the other room and then he did, without any help from anyone, because he didn’t need to!!!
I managed to complete some Turkish lessons and do a bit of writing while Captain Caveman went to Namaste for dinner with friends. Geraldine came to sit with me and decided she would like to have a Netflix and chill night – she was a bit of a remote control hogger! Later that night I got Afghani chicken and chips from Namaste brought home for me and I saved some chicken for the next day.

Rain was forecast on Thursday 28th May and it eventually came mid morning. Before that I did my usual check on the world of corona; Vietnam had 6 more recoveries and stood at an 85% recovery rate. The world had added another 67,000 recoveries, 107,000 cases and 5,200 deaths in a day.
It was leftovers for lunch and then Captain Caveman popped to Oxalis to help amend a document, while I did my usual tasks. At 7:30pm I heard from Captain Caveman who had decided to have beers at Lucky Lucky, meet the 6pm brigade and was now heading to Phong Nha Underground. I knew if he ate there and ordered mine it would be at least another hour before I would get to eat and I needed food to take my tablets. I had a Snickers and went to bed with the face on. At 9:20pm I was back out of bed eating my late dinner of a falafel salad while Captain Caveman put a quilt cover on.

Being stuck at home on crutches offers plenty of time for reflection and so I decided to share a short post about one of my favourite experiences in Danang. My latest visit was around this time last year when I had a holiday from work and we chose to do something fancy.

On Sunday 2nd June 2019 Josh and Tatas knocked on our hotel door at 8.30am, after they had got the night bus down from Phong Nha. We were all booked in for Sunday Brunch at the Intercontinental in Danang that afternoon and we were all looking forward to it. We went to a cafe for drinks beforehand and we discovered something none of us knew about Josh – he’s scared of people wearing mascot outfits!

We all dressed up in our nicest togs and took a Grab up to the stunning restaurant. We’ve been a few times now but it was Josh and Tatas first time. You can choose different packages depending on what you would like to drink. The brunch lasts for 3 hours and there is an amazing choice of food for you to feast on. Of course Captain Caveman and I went for the free-flowing champagne option while the other two stayed on the soft drinks. As usual the food was really good and I ate so much I was probably undoing all the weight loss over the last 7 months but I didn’t care. I ate so many prawns, I really liked the duck and of course I got a bit tipsy. The cheeseboard was pretty good for Vietnam but the gluten free bread inedible so I stuck to the rice crackers.

After the meal we went to the beach and we took lots of photos and had another drink in the bar.
In the evening our two friends went to Hoi An while Captain Caveman and I went back to the hotel for a nap, planning to get up later and go out – I woke up at midnight with a hangover.

Photo credit to Tatas and Josh for all the good ones!

On Friday 22nd May At 7am it was 30°C, it was going to be a hot one. Vietnam had 2 more Corona recoveries making it back to 82% recovered out of the 324 total cases in the country, still no deaths although there was speculation of the British man having to be flown elsewhere for a lung transplant.
The world had a massive 108,760 new cases, 4,876 deaths and 58,500 more recoveries for yesterday. The UK had slipped in to 5th (with over 250,000) in the world cases as Brazil went mental, they had reached 36,000 (2nd in the world) for deaths. Turkey was 9th with 153,000 cases and 14th with 4,249 deaths.
At our apartment in Dalyan the pool had been cleaned and filled and was ready for our guest who had moved in earlier that week and it made me wish I was there, swimming in it!

I didn’t have time for breakfast as Captain Caveman called me to say to start making my way down the stairs as the car and driver were on their way from Oxalis now! My shoes were still outside so I had to wait for him to come and help me get them as I couldn’t reach them. I went down the stairs on my bum much quicker than the previous time and Mr Toan was waiting patiently to get me in the car.
We drove straight to An Khang clinic in Dong Hoi and we went in, we were unable to get a translator but we managed fine as they remembered me and the girls spoke some English and were friendly. They asked us to wait 1 hour for the physio doctor and popped us in the ultrasound room with the Aircon on. I had my blood pressure taken which was normal and then we sat and waited, while numerous pregnant women came in for their baby scans. We hadn’t seen one before and it wasn’t fascinating, we also saw a sick baby who had something wrong with it’s tummy. I hate needles so when there were any blood tests done I had to look away.
When the physio came he looked at all my x-ray, ultrasound and MRI results and then got me to lay down on the bed. He manhandled my legs and I was in lots of pain and he asked me to put weight on my bad foot and walk across the room, which was hard. The verdict was to get rid of the compression bandages and practice walking with the crutches for 2 weeks then come back. It was a bargain fee of 100,000vnd (£3.50) which is amazing. We had no time to do anything in Dong Hoi, although I had hoped to meet Des in his lunch hour and possibly have a white russian and lunch at Tree Hugger, because Mr Toan had to get back to Phong Nha. I was a sweaty mess once I had bum shuffled back to the top floor of our house, stripped off and sat down.
I had leftover chicken garden rolls from Phong Nha Underground which were really delicious and treated myself to a snickers while Captain Caveman made me some iced oolong tea. I saw a jumping spider which I couldn’t move and Captain Caveman wouldn’t, so I did some walking up and down for exercises. From one end to the other our room was 7 metres and it was about 3.5 metres to the fridge so these would be my indoor walking paths. My outdoor walking route consisted of the ‘balcony run’ going to and from our spare room which measured 20 metres in total and so I was hopeful to be on the mend soon. Captain Caveman was very optimistic and headed straight out to meet friends for beers and lunch. After exercising I caught up on some Turkish but was finding it difficult to concentrate on, without any more medication, aside from paracetamol, my leg was giving me some gyp. The good news is though that the swelling was gone on the knee and much better on the ankle.
Later that evening Captain Caveman brought food from Namaste – even though it was Friday night we didn’t bother with a film and I was so tired that I was asleep early.

We had a surprise visitor in our bed on the morning of Saturday 23rd May, Geraldine (the baby gecko) had fallen from the ceiling and was a bit stuck in the covers. Captain Caveman rescued her and put her safe before heading out for breakfast. I had my usual Laughing Cow and rice crackers but no tea today. I checked in online, checked out the data to see Vietnam had 1 more recovery. The world was experiencing another lot of high cases with 109,000 in total, the 77,500 recoveries was looking promising but still 5,300 deaths in a day. Turkey had something strange going on with the numbers as there were less deaths showing than there were yesterday but cases were at 154,500. The UK had 254,000 cases (3,000 more) and 36,393 deaths (just less than 400) deaths in a day.
I ordered some strawberries from a local girl who also had rambutans and mango, which I added to the list. Captain Caveman popped back mid morning to bring the rambutans and mango, as well as some pickled onions from our friend, then went back out for lunch and some beers.
I had some cheese, pickled onions and fruit for lunch and did some more exercise, Turkish lessons and writing. The strawberries were delivered and Captain Caveman came back so he could put them in a bucket for me to wash and cut. I had a few and they were the best strawberries I’ve tasted in a long time!
The junk from my drawers were finally sorted and Captain Caveman had taken each crate and carefully placed it back in each drawer and took photos of them for me. We ordered food from Phong Nha Underground, Captain Caveman had spaghetti and meatballs which looked amazing, I had the pork dish again, which tasted good. We watched a film called Wheelman on Netflix which was a bit like a poor man’s version of Fast and Furious – it also went on a bit.

I had strawberries for breakfast on Sunday 24th May while Captain Caveman went out to The Villas to visit friends. It was cloudy but hot and around 29°C indoors so I did my usual Turkish learning with the fan on me. Captain Caveman came home with a friend who was visiting Phong Nha and we had a nice chat. He got to try the strawberries and we ordered the amazing BBQ chicken with sticky rice from East Hill. There were no zoom calls this Sunday so I kept up my exercises and did a walking video to send to my mom – I had a long way to go!
In the evening Captain Caveman went out to Momma D’s for drinks with friends while I stayed in (obviously) and ate the rest of the leftover curry from Friday night.

It’s been 6 weeks since I drunkenly injured myself and ended up with damaged ligaments in my ankle and knee, it’s been just over 5 weeks since I borrowed some crutches and it’s been 1 week since the physio told me I could practice putting weight on my bad leg. Here’s my list of 10 things I’ve planned for when I can walk a bit better:

1. Get down (& back up) the house stairs.
2. Walk to Ho Khanh’s for a cold drink.
3. Try getting on a motorbike so I can go out out.
4. Have time at the pool somewhere relaxing.
5. Avoid places with stairs and hard to get to toilets for the time being.

6. Visit a neighbour.
7. Get a little bit of sun on my Vitamin D deficient body (with sunscreen, ofcourse).
8. Say hello to Bluey (my bicycle).

9. Stroke a dog.
10. Have a glass of wine or a Margarita.

Captain Caveman was up early on Monday 18th May, he’s been waking up every day before 6am and going in to the spare room for showers and to read stuff on his phone without waking me up. By 7.30am he had returned, filled the kettle, boiled it and was filling a flask of iced tea for me before he headed down to Oxalis. I’d also ran out of medication so he was off to the pharmacy to pick me some up, while also meeting up with a friend who’d come to visit Phong Nha.
I had a friend pop over to visit but I didn’t have the keys or capability to let her in the house, Captain Caveman did answer his phone but had just ordered his eggs benedict at Coffee Station. In the end she got in after our housemate was able to assist and she filled me in on what has been happening this past month.
After my friend left I was getting a bit hungry so called Captain Caveman to see if he could get me some lunch, he was already at Funny Monkeys and had ordered some food for us. We shared pork fried rice but I couldn’t eat much of it as it had accidentally got chilli in it. This meant I ate snacks in the afternoon and found out how to create a JoLo avatar – hours of fun! One of Captain Caveman’s issues with having to get me toiletries/my purse/stuff from the drawers in the spare room was that he didn’t know where anything was and my drawers were too messy for him, so he emptied all the contents in to some crates and asked me to sort it all into a better state. I did a couple of them but found that it was too hot and I couldn’t reach easily to do it at the table.
Captain Caveman went to meet friends at Momma D’s for sunset, with a promise of bringing me dinner from Namaste, which arrived at 9.30pm – chicken bhuna and chips!

It was a few degrees cooler on Tuesday 19th May. Vietnam had 4 new Corona cases (quarantined on arrival) and 3 recoveries. The world had 87,000 more cases, 3,300 deaths and another 48,000 had recovered in the last day. The UK data showed they had a total of 246,000 cases and 34,700 deaths. Turkey had reached 150,500 cases and 4,000 deaths. I had gluten free biscuits for breakfast and then tried to make myself look more like my avatar! I had another visitor mid-morning too – I’d not seen Tatas since the end of the post lockdown drunken night, 32 days ago. She came in, gave me a hug and updated us both on any news.
After she left we had curry leftovers for lunch and I got on with some writing and Turkish lessons. In the evening Captain Caveman went to join friends at Momma D’s and I decided to try the new gluten free selection of sausages, which he brought as a takeaway. He had his sausages with mash gravy and peri peri sauce while I had chips, steamed veg and BBQ sauce with mine. I ordered 2 beef and 2 pork, ate 1 each of the pork and beef and saved the other two for the next day. They were really tasty and I’d not had sausages for some time but within 30 minutes of eating I had a bad stomach. Captain Caveman assured me he had definitely ordered the gluten free ones so maybe it was still the chillies from earlier. We watched White Lines on Netflix later and Captain Caveman fell asleep in his deck chair – all this being a carer and socialising was wearing him out.

It was a slightly busier day in my world on Wednesday 20th May. Captain Caveman went off to Son Doong for 2 days for a marketing trip, meaning I had to fend for myself a lot more. It was hotter, I had breakfast of rice crackers and Laughing Cow cheese spread and then got on with some of the organising of my clutter.
While I hoped the world corona figures were reducing it didn’t look likely any time soon, there were 93,000 new cases, a further 50,500 recovered but 4,700 more deaths since yesterday. The UK had increased by 2,800 cases (to 248,800) but only a further 600 deaths (to 35,300) in a day. Turkey had increased by 900 cases and 200 deaths.
I did some exercises for my leg and found I could bend the knee more but still couldn’t straighten my leg without pain. Captain Caveman had arranged for us to go back to see the doctor for physio on Friday so I was hoping it would be a bit better by then. I had one of the leftover sausages for lunch and it gave me a bad stomach again so I was thinking I may have been accidentally glutened. I messed about with my avatar pictures and tried to find a more tired look but it didn’t have them. I noticed more comments on Facebook of people in the UK tiring of staying at home and deciding to go out or meet up with other people which annoyed me. I’d also never seen so many people desperate to do things outdoors they had never done before – one friend, not known for her activeness, had bought a bicycle!
I watched a couple of episodes of Love is Blind on Netflix and didn’t eat anything but popcorn for dinner because of my dodgy tum – at least I was getting more exercise getting to and from the spare bathroom.

I had planned for a lay in, with Captain Caveman being away, on Thursday 21st May, but unfortunately I woke up early because I was hungry. I wasn’t sure if my stomach would be able to tolerate the food I had in the fridge but I had nothing else in.
It was hot again, I did a COVID online survey and then checked in on the app. There were now over 5 million cases of Corona worldwide; a further 99,000 cases, with 4,800 more deaths and 63,000 recoveries the previous day. I braved what was left in the fridge and ate the last sausage (a different type to yesterday) and the rest of the veg and attempted more sorting drawer stuff out. Later I had some cheese and crisps and my stomach started to feel better.
Captain Caveman got back late and we ordered delivery from Phong Nha Underground for dinner, I had falafel salad, a new favourite of mine and Captain Caveman a burger. I had ordered garden rolls for me too but I decided to save them for tomorrow’s breakfast as we were off to Dong Hoi.

Not all my googling over the last 4 weeks of self-inflicted staying at home had been to argue with Captain Caveman. A lot of it was to help me recover from my ligament damage in my ankle and knee. A lot of my readers love a list, as do I, so here are my 30 Google searches:

1. BBC News
2. Ultrasound
3. World Life Expectancy statistics
4. English to Turkish translation
5. Houseboats in Turkey
6. English to Vietnamese translation
7. Ann Simmons
8. Rashmi chicken
9. Yanaba
10. Alpha-chymotrypsin
11. Ligaments diagram
12. Weather
13. What temperature will a human die at
14. X-ray clinic in Dong Hoi
15. Big Brother contestants 2010
16. MCL damage
17. Twitch in foot
18. After injury advice – barefoot or trainers
19. Sun-lounger cushions
20. CFL treatment
21. First steps after ankle ligament tear
22. Driving age in USA
23. Physio for torn ankle ligaments
24. Vitamin B12 injection
25. Getting my knee straight again
26. Herniated disc
27. Exercises to avoid with MCL injury
28. Michael Jordan
29. Standing on ankle again
30. Tacos

It had been 4 weeks since my drunken injury and my last drink of alcohol on Friday 15th May. Captain Caveman went to Oxalis to join the cavers and I had rice crackers and laughing cow for breakfast while I checked the Corona info. Vietnam had another 24 cases which had flown back from abroad and straight in to quarantine (they had been in Russia) and another 8 had recovered. The world had reported another 95,500 cases, 5,000 deaths and 45,000 recoveries. News articles mentioned relaxing lockdown rules in lots of places but to me it didn’t look like those countries proposing new rules had it under control. The UK now had 233,000 cases and 33,600 deaths – it was ridiculous. Today I was meant to be going from Sheffield to Marbella for my mate’s hen weekend so she was feeling sad but didn’t know we had a surprise online hen party planned for tomorrow instead.
Captain Caveman called to let me know he was going to bring me lunch and he would be back by 1pm at the latest. He arrived a sweaty mess at ten past with a tub of pork fried rice from Funny Monkeys, he’d already eaten. My food was fantastic and I ate most of the huge portion while Captain Caveman decided to clean the outside of half the accessible windows. The cleaner came and Captain Caveman went back out for a beer at Ho Khanh’s. I did my Turkish classes and read a little, while Lung swept around me. There was a nice sunset later but I couldn’t get a good photo because of still kot being able to walk. We ordered curry for dinner but this time I decided to have chips instead of rice and they were really good. Raj let Captain Caveman know that tomorrow there would be no power in Phong Nha from 7:30am to 5pm and so he decided he needed a plan to vacate the house, which would be like an oven. I had a bad stomach and went to bed early, dreading a day without AC.

The forecast was for a maximum of only 36°C on Saturday 16th May, the day without power. That didn’t seem too bad and because we had known about it in time to be a little prepared Captain Caveman and I were up early to get organised. At first we had discussed attempting to get me out somewhere so I wouldn’t be too hot but all the possibilities didn’t seem feasible and because there was no breeze I couldn’t see myself sat by a pool or river that I wouldn’t be able to get in to (or out of). Captain Caveman decided he would go out and I would stay in but he would keep in touch to make sure I was coping ok. I checked the NCOVI app, ate Laughing Cow and rice crackers for breakfast and had a can of orange Twister. Captain Caveman had left over curry, made me a flask of iced tea and went out about 8:30am. At this time it was already 29.3°C in the house but I still had all the curtains closed to block out the sun.
By 10:15am I had a wet flannel on my head in an attempt to keep cool and at 11am it was 33.1°C indoors.
The weather app said it was extreme UV and that a storm would be due at 3pm – I hoped it would be accurate this time. I watched the temperature go up slowly; 33.7°C at 11:20am, 34.1°C at 11:45am. How I bitterly regretted not being able to sip cocktails by a pool because of my own stupidity while celebrating the end of ‘lockdown’.
Captain Caveman came back briefly before going back out for lunch and he had brought me a tub of popcorn from The Villas!! Ideal for getting the salt back in the body which I might be sweating out and a very welcome treat (instead of lunch) while I read my book.
Instead of the predicted and much hoped for storm I was convinced the room was getting hotter, in fact I got obsessed with checking the temperature on both my phone and the wall hung thermometer. At 13:10 it was 34.7°C and I definitely felt too hot now. I had taken off most of my clothes and was putting wet towels on me. At 13:25 I started to feel like a hot dog in the back of a parked car in summer, it was 36.1°C. I had hardly any battery left on my phone, the phone itself was too hot to function properly and so I couldn’t Google at what temperature I was likely to die. I decided to try to open some windows but because of my being on crutches and the catches being too stiff I couldn’t open them. I messaged and called Captain Caveman but he didn’t answer.
By 2pm it was getting cooler and only 34.5°C but twenty minutes later the temperature was increasing again. Even Geoff, one of our younger geckos, couldn’t hack the heat and came to rest near the bed. By 15:15 it was 35°C there was not even a hint of a storm or cloud in the sky. I finally heard from Captain Caveman and he came home and opened some windows – he didn’t realise I wouldn’t be able to do them myself and his phone was on silent. By the time the power came back on at just after 5.30pm I was so dehydrated, despite drinking almost 5 litres of water/herbal iced tea. We ordered East Hill chicken and sticky rice for 6.30pm so we could be finished eating before the evening’s zoom party. At 8pm Captain Caveman took himself off to the spare room while I dialled in to the surprise hen party. Just before the bride joined the call Goldie, the gecko, fell off the ceiling and landed on my foot, when I tried to get her off she held on tight. I put her on my foot cushion and she hung around a bit longer. It was good to meet all the bridesmaids and hens and there were lots of games on the call, which were really funny! I couldn’t stay right to the end as I was conscious that Captain Caveman was ready for bed and he had been in to check if I had finished a few times, so I left the party early. It was the first party I’d been to without drinking, too!

The weekend didn’t particularly end on a high note. On Sunday 17th May there were 91,800 more corona cases, 53,600 new recoveries and a further 4,500 deaths across the world. The USA had 1.5 million cases now, Turkey had 148,000 and Vietnam had just had 4 more. The UK had reached 240,000 cases and 34,400 deaths as their lockdown still continued. Captain Caveman wasn’t in a good mood with me and went to visit a friend, I had my usual breakfast washed down with an orange Twister drink and herbal tea. I did some Turkish lessons and was finding them quite tricky now. For lunch I helped myself to leftover curry and then continued to read and rest my leg a bit further. By 3pm Captain Caveman was back and we had a bit of a scare when the power went off, unexpectedly, for a minute! I could not have taken another powercut, plus the family zoom call was booked in for 4pm (our time). I decided Captain Caveman should join the call without me sat beside him this week; one, for comfort as I was on the sofa with my leg propped up in a dress and two, he can chat more freely with his family without me interrupting. I did get to say hello to the family though and at least it was nice to hear Captain Caveman speak – when he’s at home I hardly hear a word out of him and because I’ve not been anywhere, or have nothing new to talk about, he’s happier on his phone all the time.
Just before 6pm I needed to visit the spare room for the toilet, as I came out of the bathroom my crutch slipped from underneath me and I had a fall. Luckily I did happen to be wearing the only dress I have with pockets in which I had my phone in. I called, texted and Facebook messaged Captain Caveman for some help but he didn’t answer!! I managed to pull my self up by grabbing the door frame and sliding myself on the floor. I made it to the bed and lay down with my throbbing ankle on a pillow.
When Captain Caveman realised the situation he came to check on me and said he had put his phone on silent because of me complaining it makes a beeping sound too often – he hadn’t seen the missed calls or messages because he had been making me more tea and getting me more ice. We ordered Phong Nha Underground delivery for dinner and I had pork with rice and veg for the first time – it was amazing and I couldn’t believe I had not seen it on the menu before now. Captain Caveman had a burger with some potatoes which also looked good. Later that night there was a storm from behind the mountains and we saw a lightening show. Finally some rain came but it didn’t last long.

I was very frustrated with myself on Monday 11th May as I still could not get out of the bathroom. I had to resort to bum shuffling, hopping between two side tables or asking Captain Caveman to lift me – my good leg was having none of it!
The Corona virus data showed that the UK had reported another 4,000 cases and 850 deaths since the previous day. The weather forecast said it was 100% chance of thunder storms and rain – we still had nothing. For breakfast I had my usual laughing cow cheese and rice crackers but was starting to miss other breakfast options that I used to have, like pho or bacon, beans and potatoes. I kept up with exercises on my knee but I’d been finding it difficult to straighten my leg fully without it being painful – Captain Caveman took a photo of me sat on the couch with it almost straight.
It was leftover Namaste for lunch followed by snacks of peanut M & Ms which were being offered as an incentive if I could get out of the bathroom on my crutches – I still couldn’t do it and I got upset. For dinner we tried something new from Underground, the falafel salad and it tasted really nice. We started watching Win the Wilderness on Netflix which is an interesting game show and we ate some jellies.

It was a good day on Tuesday 12th May and it started with a rare appearance from George. He’s the biggest and oldest of our geckos and he’s been sleeping in the used beer can box and going out most nights but this morning he fancied a climb up the bedroom wall. Captain Caveman made me a flask of iced tea and I got to help him by drying the pots. For breakfast we had leftover curry with carrots and hummus while I caught up on the Corona news. Vietnam had another 8 recoveries, no new cases and still no deaths, although the British, overweight, pilot was needing a lung transplant and his prospects weren’t too promising. There were 75,000 new cases, 3,000 deaths and another 34,000 recoveries throughout the world in the last day.
Before lunch I decided we needed to tackle the issue of my good leg still having stage (bathroom step) fright so I decided Captain Caveman would build me a simple obstacle course for me to practice stepping. After plenty of times, making myself step over Chris Evans on the cover of his book, I had mastered it and was ready to try it in the bathroom – finally we had retrained my good leg and it worked!!
To celebrate we had an indoor picnic lunch and Captain Caveman even got the chocolate out, without being asked. In the evening we had the BBQ chicken and sticky rice from East Hill which was one of our favourite delivery options. Our Netflix choice was to continue with the game show called Win the Wilderness which was based on British couples competing to win a home in the Alaskan Wilderness and I quite enjoyed it.

Wednesday 13th May marked the fourth anniversary of me writing these blog posts. I had started it and then got too busy with work and left off but now that I’m a lady of leisure I’ve been keeping up with it much more. I even started to write more posts to fill in the gaps, especially as my reader numbers were growing and I enjoyed doing it.
While Captain Caveman headed out for breakfast with a promise to bring me back some fruit salad from Coffee Station I did my usual routine of data checking and language lessons. There were 3 more recoveries in Vietnam and no more new cases while the world stats showed a massive 75,000 recovered, 86,000 new cases and 5,500 more deaths for the previous day. The UK now had 226,000 cases and 32,600 deaths with no way of knowing the correct recovery rate.
After doing my jobs I noticed it was getting towards lunchtime but there had been no sign or word from Captain Caveman and my breakfast. At 11:45am I got too hungry to wait and ate the left over chicken and a snickers for my brunch. At 12:45 I messaged Captain Caveman to cancel my breakfast but, again, no response but he eventually called me to ask if I wanted some lunch, as he’d lost track of time chatting to a friend. As I’d already eaten I said I’d prefer an early dinner so when Captain Caveman returned about 2:45pm we decided to order from Vung Hue that evening.
Captain Caveman went with friends to the floating boat restaurant for beers and he promised to be back by 6.30pm to pay for and take the takeaway delivery (I still can’t get down the stairs to the front door). Ha from Vung Hue arrived a little early and was let in the house by our housemate – I was just getting comfy for the evening when he came in to the room with some ribs and rice!!
I tried messaging and calling Captain Caveman but no answer, I had no money to pay Ha, the Vung Hue guy, and then the poor bloke started opening the food up and generally being so nice and helpful in this embarrassing situation. Eventually Captain Caveman answered the phone and said he was 8 minutes away, meaning he was still at the bar, so poor Ha had to wait.
To say I had the face on was an understatement and for once Captain Caveman let me eat the most ribs without shovelling them in like I would steal them.
It was clear now that Captain Caveman was tiring of looking after me and he even mentioned paying someone to come in to do it! I wished my leg was working too, mainly so I could kick him!

I was still out of sorts of Thursday 14th May and I tried my hardest to do the knee exercises – I just wanted to be able to walk again! It was so hot and my exercises weren’t going well and were a little painful and made me feel queasy. My phone was playing up and kept draining battery for no reason and so Captain Caveman told me how to do a virus check on it. He was trying to make amends but without actually saying sorry. He left to go to Coffee Station and then came back with a fruit salad for me.
In the afternoon he went over to the Farmstay while I had a visit from the cavers. For lunch I had crisps and I noticed in the afternoon that my toes were numb and had to massage them.
On the way home Captain Caveman went to Phong Nha Underground and picked up some dinner. He had spaghetti and meatballs, which looked amazing, while I had the tasty beef stew. That afternoon Captain Caveman had agreed to buy a sofa from a friend, which was much comfier than the seating arrangements we currently have so I was pleased about that.
I tried explaining to Captain Caveman that I was also annoyed at my leg situation but if it was the other way round I would be looking after him really well. He got mad that I could even think he wasn’t doing enough for me and told me I was useless!!
I’m normally quite patient but this time I lost it and for the first time that I remember, I told him to F-off!