Phong Nha – 6th April

Even with Captain Caveman away, I was still awake by 7.30am on Saturday 6th April. I did some writing for my blog and generally lolled about until I realised I needed some breakfast. I wasn’t sure if Sunshine Homestay included breakfast but there was rarely anyone about. We’d been there 4 nights already and there was no sign of any cleaning of our room. I used Google translate to ask but I wasn’t sure if they understood. Bluey and I cycled in to town, as far as Tree House where I had a fruit salad with yoghurt and chopped nuts/seeds for breakfast. I also took my own Yorkshire tea bags and asked for some milk. When I paid the bill they only charged me for the fruit which was good of them as 80,000VND (£2.53) was fairly pricey for a breakfast in Vietnam.
Captain Caveman was due out this afternoon but would be going to his Gala dinner at Chay Lap tonight, Tatas was due back at 5.30pm. I kept myself free to meet either or both of them when they were available. For lunch I went to meet Chung at Phong Nha Vegan, but she was helping the staff in the kitchen. I tried the Vegan Banh Xeo, which is a rice flour pancake with tofu, mushroom and bean sprouts in, served with herbs and salad in rice paper rolls with a fake fish sauce dip. It was delicious and extremely filling. Just as I’d finished eating, Veronika messaged to ask if I fancied lunch with her at The Villa’s. Instead, she ate there and then came to meet me at the Vegan where she had a mango and coconut smoothie. I had a very refreshing iced kumquat tea as, despite the weather forecast of clouds and rain, it was quite hot and very humid.

I got back to Sunshine Homestay thinking I’d maybe have a little nannan nap but Captain Caveman was going to be back at the Glass House by 3pm. We were invited to Son’s house for a porter party at 3.30pm. I’m not usually keen on going to them as it’s lots of food which I can’t eat and warm beer with huge chunks of ice in – not my thing! Captain Caveman convinced me that it would be only for a couple of hours and he would bring a bottle of red wine for me, so I agreed. Captain Caveman and I were the first people there and we watched Son’s wife catering for the impromptu porter party with gusto. By 4.20pm I was a couple of glasses of wine in and was enjoying the BBQ pork and rice while Captain Caveman chugged beer with the boys and ate anything with chillies in. At the party there were Son, Lam, Gang, Hung, Cu Ba, a couple of other guys who’s names I didn’t catch and Bom later joined but only drank soft drinks. I was quite taken aback when Son passed round some Ferrero Rocher chocolates and I introduced them all to the making of a ring using the wrapper. As there’s not much English spoken, Gang was my translator and, after a pretend marriage ceremony, Captain Caveman got picked up for Chay Lap. Tatas said she was going to be late because she needed to do her exercises and tidy her room which was lucky, as Son and the remaining porters needed me to stay at their party. Everyone wanted a ring, except for Lam who was a firm no because he was already married and he did not want another wife – he was quite firm on this and I wasn’t sure if he was aware it was all make believe. Much hilarity and drunkenness followed until I finished my litre bottle of red and had to leave to meet Tatas.

Drunkenness at the Porter Party

Ferrero Rocher Rings

At The Villa’s Tatas had a margarita cocktail and a caesar salad while I had more red wine and a spaghetti bolognese. Captain Caveman joined us after his gala dinner, along with 3 Germans from Tatas’ last tour. More drinks were had with them, Captain Caveman ordered a pizza and our new friends insisted on paying for some of our drinks. We paid 344,000VND (£10.85) for our 2 meals and my glass of red wine which was a good deal. At 10pm, the Germans and Tatas were off to find a karaoke while a rather drunk Captain Caveman and I cycled back to Sunshine Homestay, where they still hadn’t cleaned the room or given us more than one towel! We only had one more night there so we’d survive. As I got in to bed I realised I’d missed a video call with my parents but hoped I’d catch up with them tomorrow.

Phong Nha – 4th April

On Thursday 4th April I got an update from Tatas that she would be back in Phong Nha tonight, as there was no bus yesterday from her home town. Unfortunately, she would not be back until about midnight and was working tomorrow. I decided to take myself off to The Villa’s to catch up with some blogging. I had a fruit salad, yoghurt and muesli for breakfast with jasmine tea. I had a bee in my bonnet about the water bottles with filtered water in which sometimes harbour mould on the stoppers so I recommended to the staff that they clean them more. I didn’t drink the water out of the bottle they brought me because of this as my stomach was already delicate. I had pho bo (beef noodle soup) for lunch and then later a carrot, orange and ginger juice. I paid 220,000VND (£6.91) for breakfast, lunch and 4 drinks so that was quite a bargain.

After a rest at Sunshine Homestay, I got an invite to celebrate Chung’s birthday with her at a local Vietnamese restaurant, not far from Magic Fingers massage place. Chung gave me a lift but I had to carry 2 birthday cakes, one in each hand – a first for me on the back of a motorbike.
The party was good with lots of familiar faces as well as some new ones. I didn’t drink any alcohol, mainly because I no longer drink beer and I don’t like the rice wine. A lot of the food wasn’t suitable for me as it had seafood, innards and chillies in but Chung ordered veggie noodles and veggie fried rice for me, which was really nice.

Around 10pm there were swarms of flying ants which were a bit bothersome and I moved away from the table. Huong, from Jungle Boss, offered to give me a lift and I agreed to carry flowers and cake too. We went to karaoke and I even got persuaded to do a Britney Spears song. My battery on my phone died but I think I got in about 1am and Long, the owner of Sunshine Homestay, was surprised at my lateness. Huong gave me a lift as she was only round the corner and I couldn’t wait to get to bed.

Danang to Phong Nha – 2nd April

Captain Caveman had booked both of us on the SE6 train at 10.22am on Tuesday 2nd April, from Danang to Dong Hoi. The journey takes 6.5 hours but he’d booked the top bunks of a 4 berth coach so we could lay down. The cost was 319,000VND (£10) each so quite a bargain. Captain Caveman ate my leftover pizza for his breakfast. I don’t eat before travelling because I don’t like to have an upset stomach but there were both squat and western style toilets on the train that weren’t too bad to use. Captain Caveman brought us a packet of crisps each for the journey and ate his straight away. The train was on time, we were lucky to have well behaved bottom bunk passengers and all went according to plan. I ate my crisps once I got hungry and even managed a bit of a snooze.

When we arrived at Dong Hoi we were sharing a car with a customer who was going on an Oxalis tour on a different day to Captain Caveman. We dropped him off at Funny Monkeys, Captain Caveman went straight to Oxalis for his briefing and I checked in to Sunshine Homestay, where I would stay for the next 5 nights. I didn’t have a bicycle and Captain Caveman, in his rush to get ready for work, forgot to give me any money so I walked to Oxalis to pick some up. I then continued to walk to Phong Nha Vegan to get some much needed food. I ordered fresh spring rolls, sweet potato fries and mushroom fried rice which was for both lunch and dinner. I had a watermelon juice to drink and really enjoyed my dinner. I walked to The Villa’s next where I had 1 glass of red wine and then had a bad stomach. Our friends Giang and Aaron were back in Phong Nha on a brief visit, with their young son. They came to meet me and Captain Caveman joined after his briefing. He had 4 beers and I couldn’t manage more than the 1 glass of wine so I was a cheap date with 184,000VND (£5.77) for our combined bill.

Meanwhile, the man in charge of the Saigon Children’s Charity had been back at work after the cycling event. For those of you who have already donated, here’s what Damien (Head of the charity) had to say about how he spent his Tuesday back at work, having had Thursday to Monday off, for the ride;

“All, today I am back at work in the Saigon children office and wanted to tell you what your fundraising efforts REALLY mean….

Today I have paid for:

138 ‘regular’ scholarships for disadvantaged children in 3 provinces

21 ‘special’ scholarships for children living in a leper colony in Binh Duong

Completion payment on 2 schools in Hau Giang, and penultimate payment for 1 school in Hau Giang

Playground & classroom furniture for 1 school in Tra Vinh

Training on autism therapy for professionals in Can Tho City

Online safety training for 144 parents across the Mekong Delta

This is a fairly normal day, and it only happens because you support us!

Thank you for helping us raise money to change lives 🙏🏻.”

A slideshow from the Saigon Children’s Charity cyclists

It is a month since Captain Caveman did the ride, but Saigon Children’s Charity is still accepting donations, if you didn’t get chance to donate before but can now:

Either direct to their bank accounts – https://www.saigonchildren.com/engage/bank-details/

Or via the donation page –
https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1706519544673?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fadam-spillane-1706519544673&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Danang – 1st April

I was hungover on Monday 1st April when Captain Caveman got up early and went down to breakfast without me. After his 3 days of charity cycling, I really didn’t know how he was still able to move. I checked my stats for March on my blog to find that the most popular country was still the UK for my readers, by a lot. Second, as I’d expected, was Turkey but the Netherlands were now a surprising third. Readers from Vietnam were still less than half as many from the Netherlands but I hoped the Vietnamese numbers would increase in April. Today marked the first day of a long term tenancy agreement at Fire Opal in Dalyan and work had started to replace the pergola that had fallen down a few years ago. I paid Aslı, in our apartment complex in Dalyan, 2,350 lira (£58.75) for the new pergola – this was a tenth of the total cost. Our wooden balconies were also getting repaired and replaced so the place was going to look good in a couple of weeks time.
I wasn’t feeling too good and had a dodgy stomach, Captain Caveman brought me back a small croissant and I forced it down with a tea I made in the room. We packed all our stuff and got ready to check out as we were off to stay at Aha Thang Bom apartment in another area of Danang for 1 night. On the way, we popped in to Quang Optic opticians for them to double check my glasses and prescription. I’d found I struggled with distance in buildings such as airports. All was fine but it was to do with the transitional lenses.

By this time it was lunch time and Captain Caveman fancied calling in to one of our favourite places, Olivia’s. My stomach was still dodgy but I was hungry so I took medication and ordered the same as Captain Caveman, a cheese and bacon burger. We had a side salad and chips too so the diet was going very well! The food was amazing and we also got complimentary shots of chocolate vodka before we left. Our lunch bill came to 724,500VND (£22.89) which included the tip.

In the evening Captain Caveman and I met up with Caroline, Vee, Julie and Gareth at Roof Top Bar. My stomach was still bad so I just had water but the others had a few beers. The bill for 13 alcoholic drinks, 1 soft drink and a water was 1,107,450VND (£34.74) which included a tip. Our restaurant of choice for dinner was Pizza 4Ps where we sat outside and ordered pizzas. I just had half of a margarita with burrata and took the rest as a takeaway. Unfortunately, it was our last night together as tomorrow, Captain Caveman and I were off back to Phong Nha as Captain Caveman had to be back at work for his 6pm briefing. I’m not sure of the prices as Caroline paid the bill before we could notice.
Caroline was the first to leave with Vee on a Grab bike, then next were us as I still wasn’t feeling well. Julie and Gareth had another couple of days in Danang before going to Hoi An. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone but we would definitely see each other again in the not too distant future. Back at our accommodation, Captain Caveman was fast asleep by the time I had come out of the bathroom. I had a bit more pizza and then went to bed too.

Saigon Children’s Charity is still accepting donations:

Either direct to their bank accounts – https://www.saigonchildren.com/engage/bank-details/

Or via the donation page –
https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1706519544673?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fadam-spillane-1706519544673&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Thank you very much; if you have already donated.
If you haven’t donated yet please do, if you can – no amount is too small.
In my opinion 308km of hard hot riding over 3 days is surely worth the cost of a pint!?

Hoi An to Danang – 31st March

Sunday 31st March was a busy and full on day to end the month with. It was also my Dad’s birthday and I hoped I would be able to speak to him later on. Caroline went to 9 Grains Bakery while I packed and tried to finish my Canva course as today was the last day. I didn’t get too far on practising anything as Caroline returned with a little friend; Le’s little boy. She also brought me a tea and a croissant for my breakfast which was good of her.
Captain Caveman was cycling from Hue to Danang today for his last day of the Saigon Children’s Charity Cycling Adventure. We were leaving by car for Danang at 1pm so it was only right that Caroline thought it a good idea to put her bikini on and jump in the shower with Vee, the dog, to give her a good wash. Vee needed to be clean before her girl’s night away at The Sheraton. She was also trying to teach Le’s son how to shower a dog, neither the kid nor the dog seemed keen. Le’s wife arrived to pick up the child but there was almost an incident when the small child decided to scale the balcony side to see the small dog downstairs better. He almost fell over the side, a massive drop, so the mother decided it was time to go.
Caroline and I had a couple of things left on the to do list that we hadn’t got round to doing yet. They were; buying some leather flipflops and trinkets to take to Phong Nha, eating the traditional Hoi An noodle dish of Cao Lau and Caroline wanted me to get my hair chemically straightened at her hairdresser’s. I decided the only one on that list which was feasible was to eat the Cao Lau, so Caroline ordered it to be delivered. It was so tasty and Vee loved us sharing a bit with her, but only the meat. Caroline also decided she needed to give me some unwanted clothes, which I was surprised to find did fit me. But they wouldn’t fit in my rucksack and I had to use a Vietnamese laundry bag.
At 1pm the car was here but, of course, we weren’t quite ready. Jake was staying in the apartment while we were gone and there was still the issue of whether the thumb print door knob would work. By 1.20pm, we were on our way to Danang, to a yet to be confirmed location and finish line for the Saigon Children’s Charity cycle adventure.

Captain Caveman had sent me the map coordinates of where we needed to be for the finish line. This is where Caroline got the car to stop, after we had dropped our bags off at our respective hotels. It was literally in the middle of nowhere on a busy main road. Caroline kept the driver on stand by which was definitely a good thing. I messaged Julie and Gareth so that they could join us and we all waited at a little stall for word from Captain Caveman. After 30 minutes of being sat about, Captain Caveman sent a photo of himself at the top of the Hai Van Pass – he’d made it up the hill! They were waiting for the rest of the cyclists to all get to the top and then they would do the last section, downhill, together. He video called and he looked hot and sweaty but happy he was almost finished. We were told to look out for a bus or wagon which would come to mark the finish line. When we saw the guy on a motorbike with a finishing flag, it was almost too late. Captain Caveman and whoever was in the front were only a minute behind this man and we only just captured the video of them arriving.
It was so hot and all the cyclists made it to the side of the road where Heart of Darkness had provided some beers. I was thirsty and eager to have a drink but I made sure I waited until all the cyclists had one. It was great to see them all so humble but quietly proud they had done it.

Video of Captain Caveman finishing the cycling event

Video of more cyclists finishing

Captain Caveman joined the rest of the group to go to the Nalod hotel to shower and change. Caroline, Vee, Julie, Gareth and I got in the car and went to Maia Beach Bar for drinks. It was a lovely place but, as is the case with a lot of the beach bars in Danang, service wasn’t the best and there was no soap in the toilets. Captain Caveman joined us briefly before he headed off to the end of the event dinner at My Casa. Our next stop for the 4 of us was to Esco Beach bar where we ordered food, and more drinks. Caroline ordered Vee a steak and she was a bit fussy over how it was cooked but ate it. I had a really nice sweet and sour chicken with rice. Caroline ordered seafood, while Julie and Gareth were keen to try some Vietnamese food.
When Captain Caveman rejoined us, he was proudly wearing his medal from the Saigon Children’s Charity Cycling adventure. He was quite merry but pretty tired and we went back to the hotel when the bar closed.
Vee got the best service at the Sheraton hotel, where they really cater well for dogs, so Caroline was really happy. At 12.50 am, it was 6.50pm in the UK so we were able to call my Dad and say ‘Happy Birthday’. I still hadn’t told my parents the news about Captain Caveman’s job at Oxalis finishing this year and it wasn’t the right time to discuss now and spoil Dad’s birthday or a great weekend for Captain Caveman. Hopefully, I would get to speak to them properly once we were back in Phong Nha in a couple of days.

Hoi An – 30th March

On Saturday 30th March Caroline had a treat booked in for us, while poor Captain Caveman was cycling in high heat and humidity from Dong Ha to Hue! Caroline and I had a short trip to Weaver’s Cafe in An Bang with Hawk and Hong for brunch. It’s a cute little cafe run by a Vietnamese woman and her English husband and they do a greasy spoon style English breakfast. Hawk and Hong were already there and he had a pot of Yorkshire tea on the go. Caroline and I ordered a soda water and a pot of Yorkshire tea to share. I obviously ordered the Full English breakfast but without eggs or tomatoes, Hawk and Hong had a chicken salad with poached eggs on top, Caroline had lasagne and chips. Caroline had already paid the bill when I tried to get mine and I don’t remember the prices but it seemed reasonable for western food. The breakfast was good but I knew my body wouldn’t think so and I had a bad stomach before I even left Weaver’s. This didn’t bode well for our next adventure as we were off back to Golden Girls Spa for a 4 hands massage each and I’d booked in for a snatch wax (aka Brazilian).

The massage was amazing and I almost fell asleep, I was also pleased to be able to fit in to the little outfits they gave us, which are normally far too tight for me.
After the massage, Caroline went home to walk and feed Vee, the dog, while I got a very thorough waxing from Caroline’s friend. It was very good but it was a little disconcerting when she complimented my lady garden! She had used the wax that peels off rather than the papers so I was pleased but she didn’t have anything to get the residue off with. There was no time to worry about that as I had to get dressed, pay the 750,000VND (£23.61) for the hour massage and the waxing and meet Caroline at the 3 Dragon’s pub. We had arranged to meet Hawk and Jake there but I was first, closely followed by Caroline. I stuck to water while Caroline drank beers and we had some chicken strips to share. The 3 Dragon’s menu is good but not very Slimming World friendly so I decided having smaller portions was a good idea. Hawk arrived and had a chicken dish and Jake didn’t eat. Another guy, Jack, joined us and we all talked for a while. I could see Caroline was looking a bit tired so I suggested we leave and we said our goodbyes. I paid for our food and drinks which came to about 400,000VND (£12.57) as it was definitely my turn. Back at Caroline’s, we were met with a bit of an issue; her newly fitted thumbprint door access wouldn’t work and we couldn’t get in to her apartment. Jake had been in previously and had also left Vee out on the balcony so she was distressed when Caroline asked the landlord to climb up to get in. He couldn’t get in as Jake had locked that door so he had to climb back down and try the door knob again, and again! When we finally got in, busting for a wee, we stayed up talking and Caroline booked her hotel for tomorrow night – her and Vee were going to stay at The Sheraton hotel, near to Captain Caveman and I, in Danang.

Hoi An – 28th March

Caroline and I woke up on Thursday 28th March with Vee still between us on the bed. She’d obviously decided her mom needed guarding or that she was not missing out on the girls’ sleep over. Caroline had no specific plans, as she was feeling unwell still, so we headed to 9 Grains Bakery so that I could have breakfast and she could go to the chemist.
I had an earl grey tea and a fruit salad with yoghurt and granola. While Caroline brought back dehydration sachets of industrial strength and some charcoal tablets, we watched the flour delivery. It looked like a scene from a Pablo Escobar documentary.

Our next stop was for some pampering at Golden Girls Spa, on Phan Boi Chau street in Hoi An. As Caroline (and Vee) are friends with the owners and frequent the place regularly we were given the royal treatment at great prices. Even without mate’s rates, though, the prices and services were good and a pedicure with normal polish was 125,000VND (£3.95). I really enjoyed my pedicure and the leg massage that it included. Vee even got a cute and quick massage too while Caroline had a manicure, a leg and a shoulder massage.

In the late afternoon we were at the Chiropractor where I got more of the same treatment but a bit more of the machines, including an exercise one where my legs were worked.
While we were doing all that, Captain Caveman was over at the Phong Nha Farmstay getting ready for a practice cycle with some of his fellow Saigon Children’s Charity cyclists.
Caroline had needed to pick up her glasses and a pair of trousers she’d had made, which hadn’t been ready yet so she popped off to drop Vee back at home.

The 3 Dragons pub was our choice for a bite to eat, another one on the list of places we’ve visited often. It is a sports bar so we sat outside, hoping to avoid whatever sporting event was on the big screens. I was quite hungry as we hadn’t had time for lunch and it was almost 5pm. I ordered the pork ribs with BBQ sauce and fries and I had a small San Miguel beer which came to a total of 335,000VND (£10.59) and was rather good. Caroline had an Aperol spritz and a burger.

By 7.20pm we had gone to see Caroline’s business partner, Le, at one of his other business ventures. Pho May is a small Vietnamese restaurant, popular with Koreans, where we had a beer each and I had to try the prawn and pork wontons. They were amazing but very filling and our bill was paid for by either Caroline or Le.

Caroline had insisted that Le come meet us after he finished work so, after a quick drink at The Box, we went to Salt pub to meet him. It was very nice, Caroline knew the owner so we chatted for a bit, we had a go on the seesaw (as you do), before going to sit by the beach. We tried to order frozen margaritas but we had a bit of trouble so settled on normal ones. Caroline insisted on getting the bill again which came to 625,000VND (£19.76) for 4 margaritas and a bottle of Huda.

Phong Nha – 25th March

Captain Caveman went to Oxalis on his day off on the morning of Monday 25th March, while I did more of the free Canva training course. I’d managed to get most of the way through it but I found it quite difficult and my brain couldn’t cope with it all. I didn’t have any breakfast as we had a special lunch arranged for Captain Caveman’s day off, and our last day together for 5 days.
Captain Caveman drove Trigger, the motorbike, with me on the back to another one of our Phong Nha favourites. It wasn’t far to East Hill and we were there by midday, ready to order the BBQ chicken combo which comes with sticky rice, peanut salt and cucumber. The chicken is always so tasty and the place is picturesque and peaceful during the weekdays. I noticed there were quite a few cats around, for the first time, and they wanted food. We researched some flights for when Captain Caveman and I go to the UK for a family wedding and he got his flight confirmed for the beginning of July. Unfortunately, his flight back to Turkey in October was an extra expense for us to worry about as he’d definitely have to carry back more than hand luggage! I also still needed to book my flight out of Vietnam and hadn’t got the cash to do that just yet. This was a concern as, for now, Captain Caveman was giving me the money required to remain resident in Turkey. We even transferred some and I paid off my Turkish credit card and paid our pool and garden management company while we sat at East Hill. Our lunch with drinks (water for me and beer for Captain Caveman) was 380,000VND (£12.01) and was as amazing as I remembered it. As we were about to leave, I saw a very strange and hairy caterpillar, apparently harmless.

Our next stop was just a quick one to see René at Greenfield Ecostay. He’d been napping and we disturbed him but got chatting a little.
After popping back to Diep Le Homestay where there was a bit of confusion over where our laundry had got to and whether I was booked on the 7am or 9am bus tomorrow, we were off out again. We cycled for a quick beverage at Lucky Homes, where we received a box of biscuits as a gift from the owners, which was really kind.

We carried on by bicycle to Tree House as I’d not eaten there yet and I wanted to try it. I’d worked with the owner a few years ago and it was good to see how his business had grown, since then.
Captain Caveman had beer and a pasta dish and I had a Strongbow cider and ordered pork fried rice. I hadn’t realised my meal would have bacon instead of pieces of actual pork so it wasn’t as I’d expected. Captain Caveman’s had a few mushrooms in his, which he doesn’t eat, so I had those in my rice. We noticed it was happy hour between 6 and 8pm so we ordered a margarita cocktail each. Captain Caveman paid the bill by QR bank transfer (popular in Vietnam these days) so I didn’t take a note of the exact costs but it came to something like 450,000VND (£14.21) in total.
We didn’t plan on staying out late as tomorrow I had to be up very early for my trip, however, we ended up in The Villa’s, yet again! We had 2 glasses of white wine and 2 Huda beers at a total cost of 200,000VND (£6.34). Even though it felt like we had really splashed out for Captain Caveman’s day off, we had still only spent a total of less than £33 for the 2 of us and it had been such a great day.

Phong Nha – 24th March

It was a busy day on Sunday 24th March, also my mom’s birthday. Being 7 hours ahead of the UK was proving somewhat difficult, though, to have regular calls as it meant I’d have to wait until at least 7pm to call England. This was generally our dinner time and the time my mom was coming round of a Sunday morning. Or I could get up at 5am to call her at 10pm but then would have missed her birthday. We arranged 5pm our time (10am Ma’s time) and could only talk for an hour as she was off out for her birthday. I already decided it was best not to worry her about Captain Caveman not working for Oxalis after this season. We had not had chance to think of what he/we might do yet and I didn’t want to dampen her birthday plans with any worries.
The weather was very humid and I thought it looked like it might rain as I took the wine glasses back to The Villa’s. Captain Caveman had gone to Oxalis and I was going to log on to my next bit of Canva training and have breakfast. I had jasmine tea and my favourite pho ga and got stuck in.
Captain Caveman and I had arranged to meet a friend of his, as well as Chung and Uy at Phong Nha Vegan for the all you can eat buffet at 11.30am but only Captain Caveman and I made it, Chung was helping out in the kitchen because it was so busy. The food was excellent and Captain Caveman got a child to look after, temporarily. It was good to see so many people and I had trouble recognising a few of the locals. I never tire of watching the buffalo either, as they mosey along the river.
After delicious Vegan food, we had a last attempt of getting a Viettel SIM card as I still didn’t have a working phone. We failed again but I didn’t need one unless there was an emergency situation. I spotted there were plenty of sweet potatoes for sale outside the phone shop and wished I had a kitchen and my airfryer.

We cycled to Tree House, I was convinced it would rain, Captain Caveman said we would be fine. At 1.30pm he had a Huda beer and I had a Strongbow, knowing I had been quite bad on the syns this week, already.
Then the rain came but it didn’t last too long and we managed to cycle back to The Villa’s for me to call my mom to say Happy Birthday. I went in the back room so that I didn’t disturb anyone but I needn’t have bothered, as a girl on the next table had a very loud video call to England with her family.

That evening, Captain Caveman fancied an Indian so we went to Ganesh. I made 2 mistakes there and ordered a chickpea dish, which was not to my taste and then asked the staff to take a photo of us, when the food came. This makes Captain Caveman angry as it slows down the start of his race to snaffle his dinner. After he’d stopped being annoyed with the need to pose for photos we had a lovely meal. We shared a bottle of red wine, lamb samosas, onion bhajis, garlic naan, saffron rice and a chicken tikka starter. Captain Caveman had a dahl which he enjoyed but we left most of the chana masala. The total bill came to 887,000VND (£28.25) which wasn’t bad considering what we had.

Phong Nha – 23rd March

Captain Caveman had a bit of a woolly head when he woke up before 6am on Saturday 23rd March. Even though it was his day off, we still went to Oxalis, as is customary for him to run some errands at the office. We both ordered a bacon sandwich and a drink and I was very impressed with the crispiness of the bacon. The price is 60,000VND (£1.90) for a bacon sandwich with salad items in, I had mine without.
I spent part of the morning doing my first free course on how to use Canva while Captain Caveman did work related stuff and sorting out his laundry.

I walked back to the homestay and we met at Lucky Homes for a light refreshment by the river while watching some buffalo.
For lunch we went to an old favourite which we call The Pork Shop. It’s actually called the Thang Nhung, but pork shop is easier to pronounce and describes what it sells. Captain Caveman had a Banh Mi (a pork sandwich) which I love but I just can’t ever get one without chillies or chilli sauce in it, so I have stopped trying. I ordered BBQ pork with steamed rice and morning glory with garlic. It is so cheap and really tasty – an average meal is about £2 and the pork fat is crispy.

Afterwards, we called at the phone shop to be unsuccessful, yet again, in being able to get me a Viettel SIM card so I still didn’t have a working phone. The sun was pretty hot today so I needed a fresh coconut at Bamboo cafe. It was nice to be welcomed back to Phong Nha by Little Ha and all the staff there.
On our way back we called at The Villa’s and sat with Ben and his son, Howie, with another beverage. We paid 185,000VND (£5.88) in the fanciest place in town, for a soda water, 2 Huda beers and a glass of white wine.

Unfortunately, our plans to meet Tatas and eat at Phong Nha Vegan that evening were cancelled as she had to tidy her room and get packed for her 2 day Hang En tour tomorrow. We went back to Diep Le Homestay for a short time before returning to The Villa’s for more food and drink. Here’s what we had on our bill this time, and the food was excellent ;

1 soda water 25,000
1 red wine 90,000
2 white wines 180,000
1 Son Doong pizza 190,000
1 Duck with lentils 250,000
Total 735,000VND (£23.34)

It’s obviously not the cheapest place in town, in fact it’s one of the most expensive, but it’s good. With us being neighbours and friends, they let us borrow 2 wine glasses to take back to Diep Le when they closed. As I only had the 1 glass of red wine with dinner, when we got back to the room we opened a bottle of red wine and I had 2 more glasses. The diet had strayed a little again and I was on 266 syns already this week, but still less than last week at this point.

Phong Nha – 22nd March

Captain Caveman was due out on the afternoon of Friday 22nd March and I was looking forward to seeing him. It turned out that Aussie Pete was looking forward to seeing him more, though, as he had lots of questions to ask that only the expert would know the answers to. I did a quick calculation on how much money I had spent while Captain Caveman was away, this last 4 days, and it came to 1,805,000VND (£57.56) which was definitely more than I’d have spent in Dalyan. The disadvantages of not having our own kitchen and having to eat out all the time were definitely going to make budgeting more difficult. I’d only been gone from Dalyan for 2 weeks but I was already missing making my own meals and I wasn’t thrilled about going back to having a random dodgy stomach.
For breakfast I had an apple, some cheese and 3 cream crackers. For lunch I just had a cereal bar, and noticed one of the 3 I bought were mushroom flavoured. Around 3pm, Captain Caveman was back in Phong Nha but he had a busy agenda. They were a little late after dealing with a guy who had a motorbike accident, he was showering and doing washing at the Glass House but had to hurry to get to a porter party. He invited me but I’d already said I’d be at The Villa’s to meet Aussie Pete. Captain Caveman went straight to his gala dinner at Chay Lap while I had fresh spring rolls and a cup of Lipton tea at The Villa’s. I was still peckish a bit later so I had the tasty vegetarian spaghetti for main and more tea. Aussie Pete was getting twitchy and more merry while waiting for Captain Caveman’s arrival so I even texted him to ask him to hurry along as Aussie Pete wanted to pick his brains. At 8.55pm Captain Caveman arrived, rather drunk, and ordered a pizza and a beer. The 2 men caught up for all of 8 minutes before Aussie Pete nodded off, just temporarily.
We left before the 10pm closing for a change but Aussie Pete was still finishing a beer. The bill came to 396,000VND (£12.58) which I thought was reasonable. Captain Caveman and I were now celebrating him having 10 days off, with some adventures away from Phong Nha planned.

Phong Nha – 21st March

I slept in until 7.30am on Thursday 21st March and went for the homestay breakfast at 8.30am. This time I requested the vegetable noodle dish without butter and a green tea. The views of the river were good, the temperature was cool and the rain had gone. I felt a bit out of sorts and couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong. My skin had started to itch again and I thought either my eczema was coming back or that I had ring worm. My stomach wasn’t great and it took a lot longer than I’d expected to buy a bus ticket.
Captain Caveman had instructed me to purchase my Phong Nha to Hoi An bus ticket from the Diep Le Homestay so I attempted that. We used Google translate and I thought I’d booked the 7am bus on Tuesday at a cost of 400,000VND (£12.62). I thought that seemed expensive but I had no reference point, having not bought a bus ticket since before Covid. I am also not a fan of the bus journey which takes 8 hours, changes in Danang and the drivers can be a bit iffy.

I cycled on the borrowed homestay bicycle to the pharmacy as I wanted to get some medication, it cost me 75,000VND (£2.38) for imodium and fungal treatment which would have been 5 times the price in Europe or Turkey. In the queue, I started to feel unwell so I popped next door to Lantern restaurant for a green tea and to be near a toilet. When I recovered, Tatas joined me there for lunch and we both had vegan pho, her’s with extra chillies and mine with random pineapple in it. Lunch was cheap at 60,000VND (£1.90) for my tasty soup and drink, which Tatas paid for.
My next stop was to call at the supermarket, here’s what I bought and the prices in Dong.

Winmart Supermarket
Goûté biscuits 30,100
3 cereal bars 34,000
6 apples 105,512
Total spent 169,612VND (£5.35)

I’d completely forgotten how expensive apples are in Vietnam, compared to Turkey and the UK, so I bought them without thinking. At 55p per apple I probably wouldn’t be buying them very often.
I headed back to the homestay and had a video call with Vanessa. We had a great chat and she was still making good progress on her recovery.

After an hour I had to leave to go meet Veronika who had yet another treat in store for me. She’d only brought her own quality red wine with her to The Villa’s and had put the grandchildren (who she was in charge of) on a separate table so we could have dinner and wine together. We shared a green salad and a Momma D pizza which was lovely and before we’d hardly started, we had company.
Aussie Pete arrived and proceeded to commence his ritual of asking the staff for a cold Huda and a glass with ice. As we were getting on with our evening we had another visitor; Marc (from Germany), had decided to surprise us. Once Veronika and I had got settled in to our dinner ‘date’ with Aussie Pete and German Marc, there was a call from Bich, Veronika’s daughter-in-law. She wanted to check on how the kids were doing and what they were up to. Unfortunately, they weren’t supposed to have been left to their own devices in the room watching Netflix, so Veronika had to resume babysitting duties and leave us. Tatas arrived in time to save the dodgy looking soirée and another bottle of wine was consumed. Before 9pm Aussie Pete fell asleep (standard practice) and we got kicked out at 11pm, an hour after closing time. As Veronika had provided wine for 2 nights running I paid for her meal too, a total of 595,000VND (£18.90) including tip, which was reasonable.

Phong Nha – 18th March

Captain Caveman was up early on Monday 18th March as, although he wasn’t working until the evening, he likes to go in to the Oxalis office most mornings. I had a bit of a rest, then got packed and ready for checking out of Lucky Homes at midday. I walked to The Villa’s for breakfast, another Pho Ga and jasmine tea. Ben, one of the owners of Victory Road Villas, stopped by after returning from a motorbike trip from South to North Vietnam, which he enjoyed. Captain Caveman was taking a while and didn’t arrive to meet me at The Villa’s until almost 11.30am. I was starting to get concerned that we would miss the checkout deadline as he’s not normally this long when running work errands on a day off.
As he approached me at The Villa’s, his face looked different but I couldn’t tell what emotion it was. He sat down and told me some news; Oxalis were ending his contract at the end of this season and wouldn’t be renewing it next year. Captain Caveman said he was ok but I could tell that this had come as a bit of a shock to him. I was less shocked and more concerned for what this meant for Captain Caveman for 2025 and beyond. I’ve never met someone who loves his job as much as Captain Caveman loves being a Cave Expert and his last month working at Oxalis would be August, less than 6 months away. There were so many questions that we simply didn’t know the answer to and would need time for him to work out what he would do next. Being a qualified structural engineer and safety expert meant that he would find work but it didn’t necessarily mean it would be in Vietnam.
We checked out of Lucky Homes, who very kindly gave us our laundry bill for free, and checked in to our next accommodation, Diep Le Homestay, just a short walk away. We dropped our bags off then had a walk by the river and called in to Funny Monkeys for lunch. Captain Caveman ordered a Huda beer, I had water. We chose a mixture of fried and fresh spring rolls with pork fried rice, to share between us. Unfortunately the fried spring rolls had chilli in so I couldn’t eat them, but I was meant to be on a diet anyway. The fresh spring rolls had hot omelette in them which I didn’t enjoy (as I don’t like egg) so I picked it out but I did like the pork fried rice. While we were there we saw a western couple of paddle boarders, further along the river without lifejackets (which isn’t allowed).
On our walk back we noticed a new cafe called Xin Chao so we called in for a drink. I had a fresh coconut for a bit of a treat (about 5 syns) and Captain Caveman was on his 3rd beer. We recognised the owner and staff from Capture cafe and had a bit of a chat, it was good to see her new place which looked clean and had a good menu. We sat admiring the view and watching the paddle boarding guests from Memories Homestay. The guy was out in the middle of the river, crossing the paths of the Phong Nha cave boats, no lifejacket and the board wasn’t even attached to him. In Phong Nha there are fines for doing this and no one is allowed on the river without lifejackets, since a tragic boat death a few years ago.
While walking along the river, we saw Multi at The Villa’s so we called in to have a chat. My stomach wasn’t good and, despite it not being too hot, I was sweating and in pain.
Back at Diep Le Homestay, I had a bit of a rest while Captain Caveman went to get ready for his next Son Doong tour tomorrow. He had an hour of sorting stuff out at the Glass House from 4-5pm, then a party at Mr Ky’s from 5pm. The Son Doong briefing at Oxalis started at 6pm and is followed by a Vietnamese dinner with all the guests until about 8.30pm.
I was still ill so I didn’t go out for dinner, instead I had some of my sourdough with some cheese and then some Vietnamese biscuits.

Phong Nha – 17th March

There was no celebrating of St Patrick’s Day for me in Phong Nha on Sunday 17th March. Captain Caveman, Andrea and I started the day with a lovely breakfast at The Villa’s. The 2 of them had Eggs Benedict and coffees while I had my favourite Vietnamese breakfast, Pho Ga, with Jasmine tea. Here the chicken noodle soup was only 60,000VND (£1.90) and I think it tasted better than others I’d had recently. After breakfast, Andrea checked out of Lucky Homes where we had all had a good stay. We waved Andrea off then went back to bed for a lay down and some forward planning for the rest of March. We had put some laundry in and it was already back, folded nicely too. Captain Caveman booked me a hotel in Hoi An, which was near to the bus station so that it was convenient. I was off to visit Caroline for a week later in the month and was going to get the bus from Phong Nha to Hoi An. Captain Caveman would meet me in Danang after completing his Saigon Children’s Charity cycle event, over 3 days.
Around 4pm we had a saunter by the river to The Villa’s to meet up with our mate, Tatas. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stop long as we had been invited to a family dinner with Mr & Mrs Lucky Homes and 2 other guests. We had a feast and I got to drink fizzy grape juice while Captain Caveman took the rice wines in his stride. We had a lovely evening with great home cooked food and I even got acquainted with Lu and So, the homestay dogs.

Phong Nha – 16th March

I was late out of bed on Saturday 16th March as Captain Caveman and Andrea were ready for our cycle ride. Before 8am we had Lucky Homes’ free bicycles at the ready and I thought I might have been better off getting Bluey from the Glass House. Captain Caveman said I’d be fine on the borrowed bicycle and, obviously, he knows about these things!
I wasn’t daft and was well aware that Andrea and Captain Caveman are keen cyclists so I had already got through half a litre of water and put some in my bag, just in case. The idea was that we would cycle the 10km to the Phong Nha Farmstay for breakfast, before it got too hot. I was physically and mentally ready for this torture and off we went, me at the back as I don’t like to ride side by side on narrow roads. We got about 2km down the road when Captain Caveman pulled in to Tree House. Andrea and I were surprised but he wanted a coffee. I ordered a ginger tea which took a while to drink as it was so hot, but eventually we set off.
We were nearing where we used to live, not too far from the Phong Nha Farmstay, when I could no longer see Andrea and Captain Caveman. Luckily, I knew the way from where I was and soldiered on, trying my best to catch up with my fellow cyclists. Close to the turn off to Elements (our former home during Covid) I cycled through a wedding tent which was being prepared for the festivities later on. I had a view of a long stretch of the road but there was no sign of Andrea and Captain Caveman. I cycled faster, familiar with the route, and all of a sudden they appeared from a side road to my left, having taken a scenic shortcut through the rice paddies. They said they thought I had seen them turn off near the petrol station, to be honest I didn’t recall seeing the petrol station.
At the Phong Nha Farmstay I had a green tea and a chicken noodle soup (without chillies), Captain Caveman had an iced black coffee and a cheese & onion toastie, Andrea ordered a cappuccino and bacon & eggs. Here are the prices before the service and VAT charges, in Vietnamese Dong;
Green tea 25,000
Pho Ga 90,000
Black coffee 25,000
Toastie 70,000
Cappuccino 50,000
Bacon & Eggs 100,000
Total paid (with taxes) 408, 240VND (£13)

It’s worth pointing out that only the fancy places itemise the bill to include the tip and the extra fees separately, generally the price you see on the menu, is the price you pay in Phong Nha.

Our next bout of cycling was to visit René at Greenfield Ecostay, where Andrea, Captain Caveman and René all had beers but I resisted and had a rum and coke. René’s place was looking really good and I made a note that we needed to stay here while I’m in Phong Nha, to try it out.

We decided to break up the journey on the way back with a stop off at a newly opened cafe/restaurant, called Lotus. We know the owner and staff from a previous restaurant and were keen to visit this new place in the Cu Nam area of Phong Nha. My fellow cyclists had more beers and I treated myself to a hot chocolate. We paid less than £2 for 2 Huda beers and a gorgeous hot chocolate and it was another place to add to my list to come for food.

From Lotus, we cycled all the way back to Lucky Homes where I was desperate for a shower, after managing the 22km total cycle. I think both Andrea and Captain Caveman were reluctant to suggest we cycle out for dinner, in case I had a melt down, and suggested the short walk to The Villa’s. Captain Caveman got word from one of the cavers, who were back from their caving expedition, that the wrap party was happening at Mr Toan’s, so off he went to that. He did invite us but we were already looking forward to Andrea’s last night in Phong Nha. We shared a half and half pizza (Margarita and Showstopper) with a garden salad and a bottle of wine and had a lovely evening. Captain Caveman arrived back at The Villas, a bit sozzled and near to the 10pm closing time. We pushed it again and didn’t leave there until almost 11pm, with arrangements made to be back again for breakfast at 8am.