I didn’t have any breakfast on Tuesday 4th May as I was too busy reading the news by the pool. The schools in Hanoi were closed, more info here:
https://vietnaminsider.vn/vietnam-records-two-more-local-covid-19-cases-two-million-students-asked-to-stay-home/
The news reported that the 4th wave in Vietnam had started, read here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210504/vietnam-records-12-local-coronavirus-infections-in-24-hours/60706.html
In Ha Long Bay a cruise ship had to be quarantined, more info here:
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/182-taken-off-ha-long-bay-cruise-ship-for-quarantine-4272186.html
I had a gluten free pancake with bacon, mushrooms and some of the leftover sausage for my lunch and then got on with some swimming. As I lay in the shade on a sun-lounger I got a message from Tatas to say she fancied a steak at the Lake House tonight so we arranged to do that. My intention was to walk up but then it rained so Tham and Tony kindly came to pick me up. It was the first time I was going out without my support bandage on my knee so I decided to wear a dress which Tatas had given me ages ago. It had been too tight but now it fit a lot better and I even had my hair down, my new glasses on and a pair of sandals (bought for me by Khanh Linh) which I could wear again now my ankle was getting better. When we arrived at the Lake House we chatted with Tony, who had been having it large this weekend, so needed an early dinner and bed. Tatas and I shared a bottle of red wine (or two), had steaks, sweet potato fries and some broccoli. We got chatting to people on the next table who had come for dinner and it so happened that Captain Caveman knew Neil, a keen cyclist and that Charmaine, from Canada, had been on the Hang En tour 6 years ago with Tatas and remembered her! Tham joined our table for more conversation and we had more wine and Tequilas. It got quite messy and we ended up having to stay the night at the Lake House, in one of the nice twin rooms, overlooking the lake! We had a great night and I really enjoyed our steak, wine and tequila night – it made us miss our friends in Danang though.

Photo credit – Tatas, Tony, Tham, the Lake House waiter

It was Labour Day on Monday 3rd May and so I decided to stay at home and avoid people, this would turn out to be a very wise move as the Corona situation in Vietnam started to take a turn for the worst. I had a gluten free pancake with fruit salad and honey for breakfast, there was no tannoy sounds blaring out and then I checked the news. It was not pretty;
Parts of Danang will close bars and other non-essential businesses today, as Vietnam tries to prevent the 4th wave:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210503/vietnam-s-da-nang-khanh-hoa-close-nonessential-businesses-considering-covid19-scare/60690.html
At the same time some businesses in Saigon and cafes in Hanoi were closing from today:
https://vietnaminsider.vn/hanoi-and-saigon-suspend-many-nonessential-services-over-covid-fears/
There was a big hunt for escaped Chinese from quarantine:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210503/ho-chi-minh-city-chairman-demands-hunt-for-chinese-who-escaped-covid19-quarantine-center/60695.html
Hanoi had reported more illegals found, not far from Hoan Kiem:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210503/hanoi-police-discover-46-illegal-immigrants-presumably-chinese-in-downtown-apartment-building/60698.html
Very worryingly, a doctor at a hospital tested positive and so the entire hospital in the north was locked down immediately:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/939296/vinh-phuc-doctor-tests-positive-once-for-covid-19-entire-hospital-locked-down.html
The Prime Minister of Vietnam sent out a message about extra vigilance being needed by all:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/939184/pm-calls-for-extra-vigilance-against-covid-19.html
Meanwhile a suspected case in a Danang hospital from a worker in Hoi An caused the hospital to be put in lockdown:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210503/da-nang-locks-down-hospital-over-suspected-covid19-case-source/60703.html
Also Danang reacted to repatriation and expert flights coming in from abroad:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/939359/da-nang-reports-one-community-transmitted-covid-19-case.html
Wow, this time last week we had just returned from Danang – how lucky! After my healthy breakfast I got my swimmers on, as it was a scorcher of a day, and I noticed my new glasses had arrived from Quang Optic in Danang. I tried them on and was very pleased with them, even though Captain Caveman had said he thought they were too big when I’d sent him a photo of me in the opticians with them on. I spent the rest of the day in and out of the pool and eating fruit salad.
In the evening I decided to have hotdogs without bread but the sausages weren’t very nice and I had to wash them down with a glass of red wine.

I was awake early on Friday 30th April and the weather was better (the garden had benefitted), good enough for a trip to the market with Veronika. I checked the news and read that, because of the man flying from Japan to Danang, who did 14 day quarantine with negative tests but then tested positive after he had been let out, Ha Nam and Hanoi would impose stricter restrictions, more info here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/937092/ha-noi-hung-yen-record-domestic-cases-ha-nam-closes-tourism-sites.html
Both Veronika and I suspected that there could be the possibility of this being a 4th wave and the likelihood of lockdowns coming. The Khung Ha market goers must have had the same thoughts as the place was heaving as we arrived by bicycle and left our bikes with the attendant. The market sells lots of fresh fruit and veg and some of the basics but I tend not to buy meat there. I didn’t have much money left until Captain Caveman got back later and I was conscious I had plans for dinner so I just bought the essentials; carrots, mushrooms, dragon fruit, mango, pineapple, potatoes, onions. I had forgotten to time my journey on the way their but the way back was 5 minutes 12 seconds. As soon as we got home Veronika had to go up to the Farmstay to babysit during the bank holiday chaos and I’d hoped for a shower but the housekeeping ladies were in. I had buttered toast (with no ill effects), half a pineapple, 1 apple and 2 pots of jasmine tea.  After the cleaning had finished the staff brought in some fruit for each of us, dragon fruit and apples (my favourite) which was very nice and was from Hien, the owner of Elements Collection. For lunch I had more chicken pasta with extra mushrooms and no reaction to the gluten.
The usual pizza night at The Villas was cancelled due to the holiday weekend and so we didn’t go to town that evening. It worked out fine though, as although I wouldn’t get to see Caroline and Vee, I had dinner at the Phong Nha Farmstay with Andrea, Bruno and Rob, where after several sunset ciders with Andrea, we went on to the red wine. I shared some tasty spring rolls and a fresh chicken salad with Andrea, both were lovely and better for my stomach than pizza anyway. It was a great evening, the wine and conversation flowed as usual and it was good to see friends from Saigon who were here to do some more caving with Oxalis. After Captain Caveman had finished his gala dinner at Chay Lap he went to Momma D’s, where he had left his bicycle, so I asked him to bring me a sausage roll home, it tasted bloody wonderful but I was ill before I’d even finished it (which I still did) – because of the gluten!!!

Veronika and I were meant to be going to the market at 7.30am on Thursday 29th April but the rain was just too heavy, we would try tomorrow. It was too rainy for me to even accompany Tatas for breakfast at the Farmstay so she left without me. Posts on Facebook showed that Dong Hoi had started to have some water on the roads that looked quite deep for the time of year.
I had toast for a late breakfast and was fine so I went berserk and made a chicken pasta for lunch which wasn’t gluten free and gave me a slight reaction. Plans to go to  The Villas were moved to tomorrow as there was no free shuttle and the cost of a taxi meant I wouldn’t have enough money to spend on booze – Captain Caveman’s budget didn’t stretch to transport but 9km each way is a bit too far for me to cycle.  Instead I decided to watch some Netflix and try to have a relaxing day.
For dinner I had a very healthy chicken, rice and sweetcorn while making plans for tomorrow, as some friends from Saigon would be in Phong Nha. Captain Caveman was due back from Son Doong tomorrow too which meant we could perhaps meet him at The Villas before his Chay Lap gala dinner. Andrea was staying at one of the Farmstay houses, as the Farmstay itself was fully booked for the Reunification day and Labour Day weekend. All in all a quiet day staying at home and taking it easy.

Photo credit – Dong Hoi, Facebook.

Wednesday 28th April was not as calm and relaxed as I was hoping. The loud tannoy announcement at 5.30am woke me up but I tried desperately to ignore it. I read the news to find it was getting worse in Cambodia for Corona cases, should Vietnam be more worried? Here’s the article:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20210425/cambodia-closes-markets-to-curb-covid19-thousands-plead-for-food/60554.html
Tatas was on the train back from Hanoi by 6am and was hoping to meet me at the Farmstay later, all being well. I had been sworn to secrecy about Caroline being in Dong Hoi as she was on her way to Phong Nha to surprise people and she had booked to stay for 1 night at the Phong Nha Farmstay. I’d said nothing and agreed to meet for lunch, so I got there early (cycled the short route) and was the only person by the pool aside from a rather warm Ben, who was moving furniture. When Poison_I_Vee (Caroline and the dog on the Himalayan) arrived I managed to get a video and watched her unpack the dog from her special doggy back pack – they looked hot!

We decided to have lunch by the pool and I ordered the bun cha, Caroline ordered a salad and just a beef patty for her canine companion and we had a glass of white wine each. Veronika joined us for lunch then a few more people arrived in the afternoon to say hello to Caroline and Vee and I decided to do the sensible thing and cycle back home while I was still sober and have a shower and change for dinner later.

I got a lift back with Duyet and I was very sensible and didn’t have the pizza I wanted as my stomach had been dodgy most of the afternoon, even though I’d not had anything with gluten or dairy in. I had the beef in bamboo for dinner which I really enjoyed with red wine and we had all eaten by the time Tatas arrived, fresh from a business trip to Hanoi. The night finished with just Caroline, Multi, Tatas and me chatting on and trying to prevent Multi from riding his motorbike home shitfaced! We even had to pretend we were going home to convince him to leave and then we came back and had another bottle of wine – this confused the staff who also thought (hoped?) we had paid and were leaving! We had a good evening and Tatas stayed at mine, the rain was very heavy as we left but we still arranged to go to The Villas tomorrow to see Caroline again and hopefully meet for a cocktail – instead of a Margarita Monday we would have a Thirsty Thursday, perhaps!?

Our Monday morning on 26th April started with our SE8 train from Danang to Dong Hoi being delayed by 30 minutes. We sat in the crowded train station in our masks and waited, then it was delayed further, meaning we didn’t get going until 01.35am and Captain Caveman certainly had on his grumpy trousers and was being mean. I decided not to bother talking to him any more as he was in an argumentative mood, because he didn’t get his takeaway. I was also not looking forward to the train journey because Captain Caveman had only been able to book top bunks which, even with fully functioning legs, was a struggle for me to get on. As we boarded the train the guard showed me a message asking if we wanted to get our own cabin but Captain Caveman said no, we were fine with top bunks. In our carriage on the 2 bottom bunks were a family of 2 adults and 2 kids so another guard asked if we wanted to take another carriage by ourselves but, again, Captain Caveman said no. My knee ached after climbing up but it wasn’t too bad, I had some painkillers and then tried to go to sleep. The family below us were fast asleep and quiet whereas Captain Caveman was snoring so loud that I got no sleep at all. Early in the morning I needed to pee and I really struggled to get down off the bed (it was harder than getting up) but I had to do it and I managed with difficulty to get back up again. I fell asleep about 5.30am, just as everyone else was starting to get up. The cases of Corona in Vietnam had started to creep up a bit and there were 13 today, meanwhile Turkey had overtaken the UK for total number of cases but were still lower for deaths. Vietnam was still relatively low in comparison but it was likely that the next wave could hit at any time.
Our driver was already waiting when we arrived at Dong Hoi train station but I needed the toilet and to meet Kimmie with my passport who had got me another visa extension done. I was now allowed to stay until the 9th May and the agent had previously quoted me $60, it ended up being $65, but she said next month would be $60. Captain Caveman was still grumpy but I was even mardier and so tired I could hardly function. The driver had been instructed to drop us off at the Glass House in Phong Nha and Captain Caveman was trying to insist that I could wait there until he’d seen off Howard’s Son Doong tour then he would drive me home on a rented motorbike, once he’d got one. I was having none of it and insisted he at least drop me on the highway and I would walk. I wanted a shower and a sleep, where I lived, which we were almost passing anyway. Eventually he agreed and I got home, still in a mood and desperate to go back to bed.

When Captain Caveman returned from Phong Nha just after 10am I had accidentally fallen asleep after my shower. There was no more snoozing to be had, though, because we were off to meet Hanh, a friend who I was meant to meet in Hoi An but she was in Phong Nha for a couple of weeks. We decided we would go to East Hill for an early lunch of BBQ chicken and sticky rice by motorbike, even though it isn’t very far from our place. I managed the steps up pretty well and Hanh was already there, ready for our early lunch. I decided to have a pepsi and this was the first time I noticed the odd sugary fizzy drink was creeping in to my diet – it always seems to happen when the hot weather comes. Captain Caveman did the honours of cutting up the hot chicken and we tucked in, all rather hungrily. As always, the chicken was excellent and the views were stunning, it was lovely to see Hanh, who we hadn’t seen since she left Phong Nha last year, when her Bun Cha restaurant had to close due to lack of customers. Captain Caveman had a shandy so I decided a strongbow would be nice and refreshing on such a hot day. The steps back down were still a bit harder to do but Hanh helped me, then we said our goodbyes, hoping to meet again and headed home before what looked like a storm brewing.

I had another short nap and then there was a huge downpour and a storm. Unfortunately Captain Caveman’s next Son Doong briefing was at 6pm so we shared the falafel salad (the one we brought all the way from Nomad’s Kitchen in Danang and was still really good) and then he had to venture out in the rain. He had been suffering terribly with hayfever too, since returning to Phong Nha, but luckily he had the motorbike rather than having to cycle the 9km there. While he was at work, the rain continued to pour down, it was bad enough for a frog to try to take shelter on Captain Caveman. The two-toed frog had tried to climb up his leg, maybe to take shelter under his shorts, but had to settle with a rest on his shoe! By the time Captain Caveman returned I was already in bed, all the excitement of Danang had worn me out!