Phong Nha – 12th & 13th June

I’d mentioned to Captain Caveman that the weather forecast had predicted heavy rain and thunderstorms on the morning of Saturday 12th June but he cycled in to Phong Nha regardless, believing it wouldn’t rain. Veronika must have thought the same thing as she also had already decided to cycle to The Villas so she could retrieve her motorbike, left there from yesterday. I had some bread and a banana for breakfast and watched the rain come.
Vietnam had now surpassed 10,000 Corona cases in total since Jan 2020, and people were getting more concerned about this 4th wave causing more potential lockdowns. Info here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/972684/covid-caseload-tops-10000.html
I still felt safer here as I read an article showing why Vietnam is doing better than a lot of other countries:
https://vietnaminsider.vn/vietnam-has-much-lower-levels-of-viral-transmission-due-to-greater-levels-of-government-and-public-vigilance/
I checked again about my passport and it was confirmed it would be collected from Dong Hoi on Monday, so I probably should stop worrying – there’s just something very unnerving about not actually having your passport.
When Captain Caveman arrived home, soaked to the skin, I put a towel and a bathrobe in the downstairs bathroom for him and he tried to find a bucket to fill to wash his bicycle, there was still no signs of Veronika. Captain Caveman and I teamed up to make a chicken salad for lunch which I had with jasmine tea and he had a gin and tonic. The rain stopped and it even started to fine up enough for Veronika to drive home later, having been at The Villas all day. I had a couple of rum and diet cokes and some cashew nuts from Funny Monkey’s (they are much better than the ones in the shops). For dinner Captain Caveman made a kind of gluten free macaroni cheese with bacon and spinach as we embarked on testing my potential dairy/lactose intolerance. The food didn’t look too great because of the macaroni being made from white rice but it tasted amazing. Unfortunately, the conclusion was that I definitely could not tolerate the cheddar cheese. We agreed from now on I would continue eating small amounts of gluten but no lactose and see what happens!

Sunday 13th June started with Captain Caveman making me breakfast in bed. I was pleased to get brought a bacon and mushroom toasted sandwich with brown sauce but when I bit in to it I could taste butter – I never have butter on sandwiches but as I was meant to be cutting out dairy it meant I’d failed at the first meal. Captain Caveman realised he’d cooked the mushrooms in butter by mistake and I suspected this is the kind of thing that is happening to me whenever I eat out as I never thought of people cooking with butter, which they do. I read in the news that reports of fully vaccinated staff at a hospital in Saigon were positive, but mostly asymptomatic (as you might expect), more here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210613/coronavirus-hits-employees-at-covid19-treatment-hospital-in-ho-chi-minh-city/61475.html
Captain Caveman decided we were off on a bicycle ride and I had to be ready to go straight away, he had a trip out planned and was off to pump up Bluey’s tyres. It had been a while since I’d taken Bluey out because it had been too hot for me so she needed her cobwebs dusting off and plenty of air. Captain Caveman set off and I pushed Bluey out of the gate only to see she had a flat tyre again. Captain Caveman came back and sorted her out and the sun was starting to come out already. We cycled towards the Phong Nha Farmstay but kept going past until I was in to uncharted territory, we were off to see Andrew and Chung Son at their house, which I’d never been to before. I’d asked Captain Caveman if there were any hills and of course he had said not, but there was a big one which I had to get off and push Bluey up. I was tired and had to walk slowly as I passed a lorry with a brick delivery on. The one way journey took me 20 minutes and 4 seconds for both cycling and walking. When we arrived I was a sweaty mess but luckily Andrew had some iced green tea available, he served it to us in massive glass jars which I thought was a great idea (I might steal that idea). We sat on the front step and admired the views around and they certainly live in a very nice rural area with friendly farmer neighbours. When we cycled back I forgot to start my stopwatch but I think we did it 4 minutes quicker and I even dared to cycle down the steep hill, definitely testing Bluey’s brakes! From the Farmstay back to our place I did time it and we did a leisurely 10 minutes 25 seconds, not including the stopping for a snake. I spotted the cute little snake just slithering along the road and shouted snake (as is the protocol) so that Captain Caveman would stop, I had to stop, otherwise I would have run it over. He followed it to get some photos and it was a bit too quick for a video. He later got it identified as a buff striped keelback which is harmless so I’m glad we watched it go off in to the grass.

A buff striped keelback snake, photo by Captain Caveman

Back home I had a fruity lunch of 1 banana, 2 mangosteen and half a dragon fruit with some walnuts before getting in the much cooler pool for a dip. The housekeeping staff came to clean the room while I sipped gin and pink grapefruit on a sun-lounger feeling rather privileged.
As we were trying our best to cut back on spending while Captain Caveman had less/no work, we had to forgo the Farmstay Sunday Roast dinner tonight and instead we made a chicken dinner together at home for less than a sixth of the price. I doubled up on the roasting of the potatoes, onion and garlic, in Veronika’s three-legged oven which I’d recently found out works quite well, so that Captain Caveman could make a Spanish omelette with the spare. It was still a lovely dinner and although I was missing having wine whenever I felt like it, I was definitely having less calories so hopefully I would be seeing the benefits this week! I wouldn’t have been able to have a Farmstay dessert anyway because of the avoiding of dairy so we were happy to make the sacrifice.

Phong Nha – 11th June

While Captain Caveman went off to Phong Nha on Friday 11th June, I did some blog writing and watched Hell’s Kitchen on Netflix. I also checked the news then had a banana and a mangosteen for breakfast.
In Vietnam there were more deaths, and the count in total was now at 57, the majority of deaths were with people who also had other illnesses:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/972250/two-cancer-patients-die-of-covid-related-complications.html
Captain Caveman came back and said it had been officially communicated that Oxalis had said there will be no Son Doong tours with any guests coming from outside of the Quang Binh province, for a few weeks due to the pandemic affecting travel from other provinces. This was disappointing as it meant there would probably be no work for Captain Caveman and money would be very tight. I did ask if we would be able to go on a holiday during this time if we wanted and the answer had been yes, so at least we might get away when I get my passport back. For lunch I had already set the rice cooker going and Captain Caveman made chicken, green peppers and cashew nuts to go with it, for afters I had some dragon fruit.
That evening we got picked up for our usual weekly treat of pizza night at The Villas and there was quite a few of us out tonight; Andrew, Trang (and their kid), Tatas, Hanh and Hien (plus her daughter) and of course the Phong Nha Farmstay family. We sat outside but there were quite a few people inside, all ready to enjoy the all you can eat pizza (with a beer or soft drink) for a bargain 150,000vnd. I had 2 glasses of wine as that was all I was allowed, not just because of the tightening of the budget belt but because of my drunkenness on Wednesday. Bich mentioned we should start a ladies night out for all the women we are friends with in Phong Nha so I volunteered to rustle something up. We would do the first one on 17th June and I would create an event on Facebook.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Phong Nha – 10th June

When I woke up on Thursday 10th June I had a bit of a woolly head but was under the impression we had ended the night in a nice, civilised fashion but I’d be wrong!
Captain Caveman had the face on with me but was at least talking to me enough to point out where it had all gone a bit too messy! After the vodka shots I had become a bit of a nightmare and, while Momma D had taken herself off to sleep on a couch in the hotel reception I had refused to walk home! Tony had given us a lift but apparently they had to stop the car on the way back because I was messing about in the back and Tatas wanted to switch seats with Captain Caveman as I was being annoying. When we got home I refused to go in the house and wouldn’t take off my shoes and I layed on the bench wanting a quick snooze. Captain Caveman said he knew I’d get eaten by mozzies and be mad at him if he didn’t get me in the house so he tried to physically get me through the door, I fell off the bench (twice) and was insisting I wanted to sleep outside. When Captain Caveman decided to pick me up I apparently slapped him and started screaming like a child because I didn’t want to go to bed! I didn’t remember people leaving the party, I wondered if I’d eaten all of my steak but apparently I ate some but was making everyone have a bit! I was in the dog house big time and my punishment, as well as thinking I might be sick and feeling like I was on a boat, was that Captain Caveman would do the shopping trip at 9am by himself – how fortuitous!!
I managed to make myself some buttered toast for breakfast and had orange juice, then had a bad stomach. Momma D messaged to say that she too hadn’t been able to remember anything after the vodka shots.
I read the Corona news which had an article about another woman who died:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210610/vietnamese-woman-dies-from-heart-attack-in-covid19-quarantine-ward/61419.html
I reheated some pork, broccoli and potatoes which I’d taken out of the freezer (left over Sunday dinner with a hangover isn’t good) and I had a terrible stomach after so went back to bed. Captain Caveman returned home about 3pm having been to 7th Heaven for lunch and visited 2 shops, 1 of which he didn’t get a receipt for and I was too hungover to remember what he said he had bought.
That afternoon I got a call from Tham at the Lake House and I thought I might need to apologise for my behaviour, she was calling to invite us to Tony’s birthday meal at 6pm and I optimistically said yes. By 5.30pm I was still in bed and feeling very fragile so Captain Caveman took one for the team and went to the Lake House while I ate cashew nuts and crispbreads for dinner and went to bed early. I promised never to drink long island iced tea ever again!

Captain Caveman did the shopping because I was hungover, he only got a receipt in the Organic Shop so here’s what was in his basket in that shop:

1 pack of baby carrots 34,675
1 bundle of asparagus 39,100
800g of mangosteen 104,650
4 beef steaks 142,500
400g prawns 261,450

Total spend 582,375vnd which is about £18.64.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman and Phong Nha Lake House

Phong Nha – 9th June

Wednesday 9th June was the date of my visa expiring, we had a lay-in and Captain Caveman had a bit of a hangover after last night’s party. There was no shopping trip today, it had been moved to tomorrow this week. For breakfast I had the gluten free cake from Ly Ly and some crispbreads because I was still peckish. News about my passport, was that my visa was ok and that I would get my passport back, probably in a few days. I was relieved that I wasn’t leaving Phong Nha today or tomorrow and Captain Caveman was glad too – finally I might shut up about it!! I made prawns with rice noodles for a late lunch and it was very tasty, the prawns from the organic shop are definitely great quality. At 3.30pm Tatas arrived at Elements and we were off out to celebrate being allowed to remain in the country for one more month. We walked to the Lake House which took about 24 minutes and it was still hot and sunny. On the way we bumped in to Andrew and his son so we invited him along and when we got there it was just a few minutes before the other guests arrived; Shannon, Craig Davis, Momma D (and Kevin the dog), Trang, then later the owners, Tham and Tony, joined us too with their dog, Snowy.
Tatas and I had promised Ania and Hamish that we would celebrate them having left Vietnam with the Polish vodka she had left with me so I had took it along. Momma D was excited to be celebrating being given her 2 year work permit and had ordered some nibbles, we also took full advantage of the happy hour cocktail menu and the shoddyness of the long island iced tea which was unbelievably strong but a bargain. Of course it turned into an amazing night where I couldn’t remember getting home! I only vaguely recalled eating, and getting others to try, my steak which is always a favourite meal of mine. I do remember insisting on taking selfies with everyone and then a slight recollection of some tequila shots – I think we did Hamish and Ania proud with a wild night out!

Phong Nha – 7th & 8th June

With just a couple of days left until my visa expired and my passport at Dong Hoi immigration, I double checked flights and PCR test logistics, on Monday 7th June. Captain Caveman was not worried at all and had every faith in the immigration department agreeing to give me another stamp – I hoped he was correct but I didn’t share his confidence. While he headed over to Phong Nha at 7am I had a cheeky lay-in and then had orange juice, a banana and some gluten free biscuits for breakfast. There were a few little sparrows who were nesting in our roof and had decided to destroy some insulation foam and chuck it in the pool and on the balcony – I watched them drink from the pool. It just so happened that there were no flights out on the 9th but one on the 10th so this then lead me to checking out how much overstay fees I would get charged and if the spare dollars Captain Caveman had given me would cover it, if needed. Because of all the faffing about required I would probably have to leave Phong Nha on the Thursday or Friday and then fly from Saigon, which was also 1 week in to a lockdown because of the rise in Corona cases there, but that was another issue I didn’t need to worry about, just yet!
Captain Caveman called at the Lake House to collect bread on his way home and then made me a bacon sandwich for my second breakfast/first lunch. I received a message asking for the payment for the visa extension which was excellent news and meant that I should be getting the visa extension stamp on the 9th. I refused to get too over-excited until I at least saw a photo of it but Captain Caveman paid the money and assumed that was the end of that and maybe I would finally stop mentioning it!!! The weather was nice and cloudy so after a couple of (not quite) celebratory cold ones and some homemade Baba Ganoush we had time in the pool. Our day finished with a rather tasty dinner made by Captain Caveman; chicken, pumpkin, garlic, green beans and salad and all seemed to be going well.

At 6am on Tuesday 8th June the loudspeaker was back with a vengeance and playing incredibly loud music. Captain Caveman went off to Oxalis, I had a banana sandwich and some gluten free cake for breakfast and watched a bit of Netflix. Captain Caveman returned having paid 1.6 million vnd (£50) for our half of the electricity, which was a big bill due to the pool pump and use of Aircon this last month. He also had a few updates for me; the old Easy Tiger building was reopening as a pool table place, Phuong from Little Leaf was extending his homestay, little Ha from Bamboo Cafe was enjoying being a mom to her second kid, and (most importantly) positive changes to the Son Doong schedule were afoot. I had crisps and cider for lunch and a bit of swimming was had before Captain Caveman had to leave for the Oxalis 10th anniversary party, at Oxalis Home. I created a Facebook event for a night out tomorrow at the Lake House which would either be for me to celebrate another month here, or my impromptu leaving do. I made myself a prawn and rice noodle dish for dinner and Captain Caveman managed to come home drunk from his Oxalis party on his bicycle with a flashing red light tied to his backside because he has no backlight on the bike itself!

Phong Nha – 6th June

We stayed in bed until 8am on Sunday 6th June because Captain Caveman didn’t get up and go to Oxalis today, he did get up and make us a great breakfast, though! I had bacon, mushrooms and brown sauce on the fresh baguette and it was fantastic.
Captain Caveman and I decided to roast some veggies so that we could have them for lunch and dinner later, I made a tray of roasted pumpkin with garlic then Captain Caveman did aubergines for his Baba Ganoush. We ate some of it for lunch and it was pretty impressive on toast, so much so I demanded a second helping. I had a couple of Tootsie Roll cocktails in the afternoon at home by the pool and did a bit of swimming as it was cooler today after some rain yesterday. It was a joint effort on dinner as we had chicken, lettuce, cabbage, spinach (which was actually amaranth), radishes, and gerkins in a baguette with roasted pumpkin and garlic. It was delicious and the amount of bread I’d eaten today hadn’t affected me badly at all. Our conversation after dinner was mainly around what I’m going to do if I have to leave next week and where I will go. Given the risks and restrictions in England, it looked like the sensible option for me would be to go to Turkey.
We shared a couple of mangosteens for a dessert and then changed our plans for tomorrow. We were meant to be going to the Lake House with Tatas and Hanh but moved it to Wednesday instead, as that was the day I would know if I was leaving or allowed to stay 1 more month.

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 5th June

Captain Caveman was up at 6.30am on Saturday 5th June and cycling to Phong Nha once again while I did some blogging. I agreed to be ready at 9am, though, with a bag full of Captain Caveman’s clothes to be altered by Thao’s mom, as we were off to Dong Hoi. In the meantime Veronika and the rest of the Farmstay family were on an Oxalis family tour.
The news reported that Vietnam has now had 53 Corona deaths but the daily new cases seemed to be calming down slightly.

We went to Co-op Mart first and I always find it so frustrating shopping with Captain Caveman because he has the shopping list on his phone but won’t shout anything out for me to help. When I eventually got him to tell me some vegetables or fruit to select I was getting one or two at once, then taking them to the counter, next to the stinky durian, for the assistant to stick the price on. I went there more than 5 separate times because of this and it was a bit ridiculous. In the end I just walked up and down each isle pushing the trolley and letting Captain Caveman look for everything himself. While he was at the checkout I went over to the Minigood shop to look for some easy to get on and off shoes for kicking about in, I found some excellent shower shoes in a strange colour but they would do the job. It was too warm for trainers and I had nothing else that was comfy, even my porter sandals give me blisters these days. Next we went to Toan Viet Gourmet where Captain Caveman again didn’t say what he still had on the list and so I went round asking ‘do we need this?’ to which he didn’t answer so I left him in there and went back to the car. Our next stop was the Vincom shopping centre where I stayed in the car while Captain Caveman went on a mission to get every item I had missed from Thursday’s shopping trip.

We decided to have lunch at Earth Cafe so we could give the sewing to Mo, to pass to Thao, but when we arrived Mo was just closing up for the day because it was quiet. We had a little chat then walked to Tree Hugger where I had one of my favourites, beef with veggies and brown rice, and Captain Caveman had a cheeseburger. I had a cup of my favourite Tree Hugger tea as well as a cup of the complimentary herbal tea and then the delicious free fruit.

We walked back again to get the car from outside Earth Cafe, in the rain, then Captain Caveman went to the sports shop to buy a headband to stop the sweat from going in his eyes when he’s cycling. Next was the wine shop where he bought Vodka and Kahlua which I’d said to leave off the shopping list, seeing as it wasn’t really essential. The last shop was the organic shop where Captain Caveman completed the rest of the shopping except for a few out of stock items.
We drove back, I was dropped off with all the shopping, then Captain Caveman got dropped off at the Glass House so he could cycle back. Duyet helped me carry the shopping in, I stocked up the fridge, freezer and cupboards while looking at what we had. I couldn’t fit everything in the fridge so I ate 2 bananas and an apple then had some of the gluten free biscuits from Ly Ly.
That evening we had steak for dinner with mushrooms, green beans, garlic, onion and potatoes and we washed it down with a cheap bottle of red wine – fantastic!

Here’s our extensive list of shopping items, 32,300vnd is £1.

Co-op Mart
1 white cabbage 9,672
2 green peppers 11,780
1 bag of garlic 12,524
1 lettuce 13,090
Tissues 16,000
1 box of tomatoes 18,250
2 avocados 23,972
Mints 27,200
5 onions 30,536
Tin foil 39,900
Tweezers 41,000
3 toothbrushes 41,400
6 cans of tonic 45,600
1 packet of bacon 55,500
2kg of potatoes 56,713
Deodorant 78,000
1kg of chicken breast fillets 90,000
4 apples 98,000
2 cartons of orange juice 107,000
Olive oil 188,000
24 cans of beer 234,000

Minigood Shop
1 pair of sandals 139,900

Toan Viet Gourmet Shop
250g of salted butter 73,000
2 bottles of red wine 620,000

VinMart Supermarket
1 bag of spinach 12,705
2 baguettes 18,000
4 cans of Strongbow 74,000

Sports shop
1 X sweatband 70,000

Wine shop
1 bottle of vodka 230,000
1 bottle of Kahlua 290,000

An Nong Organic Shop
400g of mangosteen 52,500
2 beef fillet steaks 76,500
200g prawns 129,150

This time Captain Caveman was in charge of the money and receipts and he did well to get most things and spend just less than 2.8m vnd (£88) on shopping and 180,000vnd (£5.60) on lunch. The bargains of the day were cabbage and steaks, what’s missing that you would have added to the trolley?

Phong Nha – 4th June

I woke up on Friday 4th June to the sound of a mooing cow sounding like it was in distress so I asked Captain Caveman to investigate on his way out to see if there was anything he could do (he’s really good with cows, as it happens). I had 2 bananas and some gluten free biscuits for breakfast but then had a bad stomach, it seemed to be from eating fruit now!
In the news today Vietnam reported their 50th Corona death since the pandemic began, he was a 67yr old male with lung cancer.
Captain Caveman came back from Phong Nha so I checked with him why the cow next door had been so vocal this morning and it turned out the cow had needed the toilet but hadn’t been let out of his gated garden so was trying to tell someone to open the gate – how clever.
Friday night is pizza night and so Ben had sent a message saying we needed to wear masks at all times and then picked us up at just after 6pm. Shannon was already sat at the table, Veronika had gone in earlier on her motorbike and was by the river, Hanh and Tatas also joined the table, then Ben a bit later. I had 3 glasses of red wine and 6 slices of pizza, all of which were great and I realised I missed coming to The Villas on other occasions, like breakfast or for other kinds of food and Happy Hour and a half.

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 3rd June

On Thursday 3rd June Captain Caveman had gone to Phong Nha by bicycle and I had my phone on do not disturb until 8am, hoping for an extra bit of sleep. At 7.45am Veronika was knocking on the door to tell me we were getting picked up for the Phong Nha Farmstay shopping trip in 15 minutes and I’d missed calls from her and Bich. I rushed around to be ready and let Captain Caveman know I was going without him because we were having an earlier than usual trip. The shopping trip participants today consisted of me, Veronika, Bich, Ben, Michael, Howie and the Farmstay receptionist, Maya. By 9.40am we were stopping at our first shop, The Red supermarket, I bought just 3 items and was at the checkout first, followed by Mai, then Veronika. The organic shop was next where I grabbed radishes and green beans. At gone 10am we were at the VinMart and by 10.40am I had done all my shopping and had quite a few bags, I did notice that some usual items were out of stock though. We sat in the cool Aircon of the Vinpearl hotel foyer and waited for Ben to finish a meeting while his eldest son walked around reception in a Trump supporter hat. I had an expensive Pepsi at 50,000vnd (£1.55) while we waited and then it was time for lunch at Geminai. I wasn’t very lucky today and although I ordered first and went for a tofu in plum sauce, I was told a while after they had no tofu so I asked for beef fried rice instead. At 12.20 I was still waiting and most people had almost eaten their food, there was also a kitchen next to where we were eating and they were burning some oil and chillies which made me, Veronika and Mai cough and our eyes water. While I was eating my food, which tasted nice but just had beef in, no vegetables, I started to get a bad stomach and was ill as soon as I had finished it. Mai mentioned she thought it could be that they had fried the rice in butter and I’d never thought of that – she could be on to something there!
On the journey home I read in the news that the UK/India mutant variant wasn’t a new variant as Vietnam had initially thought, it is just another version of the Indian variant, more here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210603/who-rules-out-new-hybrid-covid-variant-in-vietnam-nikkei/61305.html
Corona cases here were continuing to increase quite quickly in this latest 4th wave now and authorities were planning for a worst case scenario.
After I had put all the shopping away I had a couple of gin and pink grapefruits by the pool. We had chicken sandwiches for dinner and had an early night.

As usual I made a list of all my shopping items and their cost in VND. £1 is about 32,300vnd and I got a few bargains this week;

Red Supermarket
1 can of Ginger Ale 32,000
2 bottles of Grapefruit 110,000

An Nong Organic Shop
1 bag of green beans 32,500
1 box of radishes 38,250

VinMart Supermarket
1 chopped pumpkin 6,090
3 aubergines 6,605
1 baguette 9,000
1 bottle of chilli sauce 11,000
1 packet of rice macaroni 12,000
2 cans of diet Coke 19,000
1 dragon fruit 19,632
6 bananas 24,100
1 packet of rice noodles 26,000
10 eggs 27,700
1 packet of mushrooms 35,500
2 cans of Strongbow dark fruits 37,000
1packet of salami 38,300
500g chicken breast fillets 47,900
1 box of toothpicks 52,900
2 packets of M&Ms 70,000

This week I spent just over 620,000vnd (£20) on the shopping and 250,000vnd (£7.75) on a drink and lunch! I didn’t get any of the expensive fruits or wine this week. What items do you cut out when you have a tight budget?

Phong Nha – 1st & 2nd June

On Tuesday 1st June Captain Caveman went over to Phong Nha by bicycle and picked up a gluten free cake for me and bread from the Lake House on the way home. Ly Ly at Funny monkeys had made me the cake with sweet potato, honey and nuts, she’s such a good chef so I was looking forward to trying it. While he was gone I ate some gluten free biscuits and peanut butter for breakfast and read the Corona news.
Unfortunately death number 48 was reported:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/963795/elderly-man-dies-of-covid-19-complications.html
It was sad to read about children being parted from their parents for quarantine, like war evacuees:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210602/over-4000-children-stay-at-coronavirus-quarantine-facilities-without-parents-in-vietnam/61288.html
I did a bit of swimming and when Captain Caveman returned I tried some of the gluten free cake which was delicious.

Des, in Danang, updated me that he had set up an online English teaching business, the link is here; https://www.italki.com/i/reft/GFADfA/GFADfA/english?hl=en
In the afternoon we went in the jeep to the Farmstay for a drink and I arranged to send my passport to immigration in Dong Hoi to request the visa extension. I started looking into flight options more seriously because I could have only 9 days left in this country. I also had to weigh up where I would go and via which country I would choose to transit through, as there were no direct flights to England or Turkey available. We stayed at the Farmstay for sunset and had a couple of happy hour drinks while chatting to Steven and his girlfriend who had returned from Hanoi. We didn’t eat at the Farmstay because we were on a budget and I’d already got the prawns out of the freezer for dinner. When we got home I cooked the prawns with onions, garlic, cashew nuts and rice noodles and we had a bottle of red wine between us.

On Wednesday 2nd June Captain Caveman headed over to Phong Nha, I had gluten free cake and a pot of jasmine tea for breakfast while catching up on the Corona news.
There was an interesting article on the consequences of not wearing a mask in public in Vietnam:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210602/maskless-woman-berates-police-at-ho-chi-minh-city-convenience-store/61275.html
Unfortunately death number 49 was reported and plans were made in Saigon to build a makeshift hospital to house 1000 patients if required:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210602/ho-chi-minh-city-plans-to-build-1000bed-makeshift-hospital-to-treat-covid19-patients/61287.html
While Captain Caveman was having coffee with colleagues at Tree House I took a call from Bich to say there would be a shopping trip to Dong Hoi tomorrow and would keep me posted on the arrangements.
When Captain Caveman got back I was already in the pool and the weather was pretty scorching hot! I had a couple of rum and ginger ales, he had gin and tonics and we swam for a bit, before having some crisps.
For dinner Captain Caveman made a lovely meal of chicken, potatoes, courgettes, green beans and carrots which I really enjoyed. Graeme, the gecko, came out to say hello and Captain Caveman met him for the first time.

Going back to Turkey – the pros & cons for me

There are many reasons that, when I have to leave Vietnam, I would look forward to returning to Turkey. I left in January 2020 and if it wasn’t for the Corona situation I would have been back there by now. I made a ‘Pros and Cons’ list (in no particular order) starting with the cons.

– I would need to travel via Istanbul airport.
– I wouldn’t be allowed to work in Turkey.
– I don’t know when I would get to see Captain Caveman again, but there is a chance he could visit Turkey in the winter.
– I can’t go to the UK from Turkey because of the red status.
– Captain Caveman could lose out on more rental income because I am living in the apartment instead of renting out.

+ I might be able to see my parents if they are allowed to visit Turkey.
+ I will be able to see my friends once I’ve been vaccinated fully or had a test and isolated.
+ I can reapply for Turkish residency which lapsed because of the pandemic and me not being able to visit Turkey until now.
+ I might be able to get a vaccine, possibly quicker than I would in Vietnam.
+ I can see a Doctor to have a second opinion on my leg and stock up on medicine.
+ Unlike the UK, I won’t have to do quarantine at a cost when I arrive in Turkey.
+ Flights are not too expensive to Turkey.
+ I have the funds to support myself in Dalyan.
+ I can sort out my banking
+ I have a Turkish health insurance policy.
+ I have a load of clothes (bras included) already in Turkey which means I will have lots of choice and won’t have to take a big case back.
+ The cost of living in Dalyan is similar to Phong Nha, maybe cheaper.
+ I can treat myself to a haircut with Emrah after 18 months away from him.

Going back to the UK – the pros & cons for me

There are many reasons that, when I have to leave Vietnam, I would look forward to returning to the UK. It has been almost 3 years since I left and if it wasn’t for the Corona situation I would have visited in the last 18 months for sure. Unfortunately ‘coming back home’ without any plans in the middle of a pandemic with no end in sight might not be the best option for me at this time. I made a ‘Pros and Cons’ list (in no particular order) starting with the cons.

– I will probably have to do self isolation or quarantine at a cost when I arrive in London.
– I would need to travel on public transport to Sheffield without a vaccine and people not wearing masks.
– Flights are expensive and would possibly need to go via Moscow, Doha, Dubai, or Singapore to London.
– I don’t have the funds to support myself and my bank card is about to expire.
– I would need to find a job, which won’t be easy in the current climate.
– I don’t know when I would get to see Captain Caveman again.
– I can’t go to and from Turkey easily, from the UK, because of the red status.
– I have very few clothes or belongings in the UK so would be another expense to consider.
– I have nowhere to live in the UK and don’t want to risk moving in with parents who have rarely left the house since the pandemic, when I could bring the virus to them.
– the cost of living will be too high for me.
– to get fully vaccinated I would need to stay in the same place in England without resources.

+ I might be able to see my parents after 1 year and 8 months apart.
+ I might be able to see my friends in Sheffield after 3 years away.
+ I might be able to see all my other family and friends around the UK.
+ I can re-register at a Doctor’s and get a vaccine.
+ I can see a Doctor to reassess my ever changing allergy issues, have a second opinion on my leg and stock up on medicine.
+ I can sort out my banking and get new cards.
+ I can get a new Driving Licence.
+ I’d be able to go to Marks & Spencer.
+ Bras!! I would be able to buy bras that fit!

Top 10 things I will miss when I leave Vietnam

I made an alphabetical list of the top 10 things I will miss when I leave Vietnam.

• Bluey, my bicycle
• Buffalo
• Captain Caveman
• Elements Collection
• Friends in Vietnam
• Geckos
• Having a private pool
• Rice cooker
• Shower shoes
• The food

Top 10 things to look forward to in Turkey

Trying to decide if I would go back to Turkey, if I have to leave Vietnam, I made a list of 10 things I could look forward to if I went back, to Captain Caveman’s apartment, in Dalyan:

• Boat trips
• Fire Opal Apartment
• Hair appointments
• Having access to money
• Having more choice of clothes
• Reapplying for residency
• Still having a pool
• Seeing friends
• The food
• Volunteering

Top 10 things to look forward to in the UK

Trying to decide if I would go back to the UK, if I have to leave Vietnam, I made a list of 10 things I could look forward to if I went back home, to Sheffield:

• Seeing Family and friends
• Celebrating missed occasions
• Cooler weather
• Renewing my driver’s license
• Sorting out my pensions
• Fish and chips (it’s been 3 years)!
• Being able to change my bank account and get a new card
• Tap water
• Possibly finding a job
• Cake