I’d intended to work on Sunday 18th June but Chung, fellow member of the Lazy Ladies Club (LLC) had invited me for an early lunch. Phong Nha Vegan restaurant was having their monthly all you can eat buffet for 49,000vnd (£1.62) and I’d never been in town on the right day before. I met Chung there at 10.30am and it was already pretty busy. In fact, there were so many familiar faces there and I got to say hello to quite a few friends and neighbours.The vegan food was amazing and I was so surprised at how the fake pork was like belly pork. I had 2 lots of food but then was stuffed.
In the afternoon, Chung and I discussed a plan to get ourselves doing some exercise, she was doing a clean up litter picking mission but I couldn’t make it. We decided we would cycle out for drinks and dinner later tonight and arranged to meet outside the glass house at 8.15pm. We cycled down the street to Jungle Boss pub where we had a couple of cocktails and some food. Here’s our bill; 1 Tequila Sunrise 100,000 1 Margarita 100,000 Fresh spring rolls 60,000 Veggie fried rice 75,000 2 apple ciders 110,000 1 pineapple cider 55,000 Total spent 500,000vnd (£16.50)
While we were there, we got to speak to an ex Jungle Boss Colleague who was in Australia and then Kat, Buu and their friends came to join us. We had a good night and the locals were surprised to see Chung riding a bicycle. As we rode off, Kat and Buu went past on their motorbike chanting LLC. It was a fun night and I enjoyed my leisurely Sunday with Phong Nha friends.
I started my week with a cereal bar and a sugar free yoghurt for breakfast on Monday 19th June. For lunch I had my leftover rice from last night and I worked in the afternoon. Captain Caveman came back from Hang Son Doong but was rushing about as he had to speak to a colleague, meet up with a couple of friends from up North, and go to his briefing. Our friend Lucie and her family were leaving to go back to the Czech Republic so we said we would go to have a goodbye beer with her at The Villa’s. I cycled to Oxalis to meet Captain Caveman, who was saying hello to his friend, Josh, and his fellow cavers. We arranged to meet them later if Captain Caveman’s briefing finished in time for a late dinner. After hurrying to The Villas we sat and had beers with Lucie, her mom and son. They were sad to be leaving but hoped to be coming back to holiday in Vietnam soon. I had a couple of shandies with Captain Caveman as we both had work to do and we said a sad goodbye to Lucie – perhaps we will see them in Prague. I was peckish so had some veggie spring rolls and a jasmine tea before getting the bill. Four beers, 1 7Up and the spring rolls came to 300,000vnd (£9.90) which was cheap by both UK and Turkey prices. I finished work at 7.45pm after learning something new and cycled to meet Captain Caveman, we both cycled to meet Josh and his friends at Ganesh. We had a lovely evening and the food was as fantastic as always, we even shared another Sagwala but I forgot to take photos as I was too busy chatting. We were still awake at midnight looking at air fryers, they were much cheaper here than in Turkey.
A question I often get asked is ‘Don’t you ever learn?’ Judging by my actions on Wednesday 14th June, I think it is fair to say that I don’t . Captain Caveman and I were up early to find that the weather was cloudy and the forecast predicted thunderstorms. I think I may have been over ambitious but I suggested another outing, it was Captain Caveman’s last full day off and I wanted us to make the most of it. I quickly took my measurements after my shower and was surprised that I didn’t ache much from my cycling 23km yesterday. I measured everything and here are the results; Bust -1cm, Waist -1cm, Hips +1cm. I suggested we should visit the Pub with Cold Beer as the owner had been following all my updates on Facebook since I left Vietnam, she’s a lovely woman and I’d missed her family and their place. Captain Caveman offered to drive the motorbike and, looking back, I should have agreed. I said we should cycle because Bluey would miss me when I’m back in Dalyan and it was cloudy. I drank rehydration tablets for my breakfast to keep from having any issues as I’d been getting a bit of cramp. As soon as we got out of the door I had to put on my sun hat as the sun came out! We pretty much did the same route as yesterday but I managed to cycle all the way to the Duck Stop without a break. When we got there Quynh, the owner, gave us a free drink and peanuts – I looked like a beetroot and was beginning to wish we’d gone by motorbike.
Captain Caveman hates it when I moan, in fact he says I complain a lot, so I had no choice but to soldier on. Even Bluey was having trouble and I had to push her up the hill from the Duck Stop until I could get back on for the downhill bit. I arrived at the Pub with Cold Beer in blazing sun, another drippy mess, any sun cream I’d had on had definitely sweated off. Nhat and her daughters were so pleased to see us, they got Captain Caveman a cold beer and me a water straight away. We decided to order chicken, pork, rice and morning glory because we hoped our friends, Chung and Uy, would join us. While Nhat killed a chicken and I rested in a hammock, Captain Caveman cycled up to the Wild Boar Farm to see Cuong. I couldn’t manage any more and was regretting cycling 13km away from home, not knowing if I’d be able to make it back.
Uy and Chung couldn’t make lunch but we arranged to meet tonight for dinner as it was their 6 year wedding anniversary. For lunch we had an absolute feast, including 2 bowls of the famous peanut sauce which we both love so much. Captain Caveman said it was only 10 minutes more to cycle to the Wild Boar Farm and wanted me to go after lunch but I decided another 10 minutes in the opposite direction would be foolish. Instead, I suggested we have a swim, seeing as there is a lovely swimming pool at the Pub with Cold Beer. I went to the toilet and, as I flushed, a frog jumped up from the bowl, I’d peed on it’s head and it wasn’t thrilled. I shouted Captain Caveman over to bring a camera as this wasn’t the first time I’d been startled by a frog in my toilet, in fact it was the third! (Once, while camping in India and the other while on Safari in Kenya). When it got to 3pm we decided we had better start making our way back, we had really enjoyed our time and food at the Pub with Cold Beer. We said our goodbyes and Captain Caveman and Bluey had already decided we would go the other way back, over a narrow, grid floor, suspension bridge which I was scared to cross. At first, Bluey was going to ride us across but I had to get off and push because I was having a panic on.
We cycled back through the valley and some of it was shaded which I was grateful for, some of it was steep and I had to push Bluey uphill. We soon ran out of water and I knew I wouldn’t make it back to Phong Nha in one go so Captain Caveman pushed Bluey for a bit and suggested a slight detour. Half an hour later, we were sat in Multi and Diem’s kitchen at the Pepper House being offered rice wine. I declined and had loads of much needed water while Captain Caveman had rice wine and beer (he’s an animal)! There were kids’ swimming lessons going on in the pool and I’m sure they were laughing at my red sweaty face. We finally left Multi’s to cycle home but I was a little tender on the undercarriage. Captain Caveman could tell I might not make it home so he suggested we cycle past where we used to live in Khuong Ha and stop off at a new place, he even got another video of me and Bluey.
Captain Caveman’s video of me and Bluey, in Khuong Ha
Phong Nha Funky Beach is a new venture owned by our friend, Mo (ex Oxalis colleague) and the previous owner of Greenfield Homestay. We arrived and sat overlooking the river on one of the platform style seating areas. It wasn’t particularly comfy for my achy legs but Mo was pleased to see us and was with another colleague of Captain Caveman’s, Nu, so they joined us. We had a cold beer, Mo brought us some vegan spring rolls and Nu gave us some vegan Banh Ep. Both were lovely but I was a bit distracted as it was already gone 5pm, it goes dark around 6pm and I hadn’t brought any lights. We said our goodbyes after a brief overview of the various activities that can be done there and set back off.
Our next stop was a quick nip in to Jungle Boss HQ, the boss was still not around to say hello to, but it was a good place for me to stop off to rest and use the toilet. We were due to meet Chung and Uy at 7pm but I was a sweaty mess and needed to go home for a shower. I’d drank all of the water we had between us so we had to stop for a coconut at Tree House Cafe on the way back home. I had a shower, then a naked lay on the bed in AC before rushing to get ready to go back out for dinner.
Captain Caveman and I met Chung at the Bia Hoi BBQ duck place, next door to Victory Road Villas. Uy was still on his was so we ordered the Bia Hoi beer which was about 60,000vnd (£1.98) for a small keg. Chung ordered food without Uy as it got to 8pm and he still wasn’t there yet but he arrived, a bit merry! It certainly was one of the more unusual anniversary celebrations I’d been on and turned out not to be much better than our own last year! Uy just drank and smoked but didn’t eat and another keg of cheap weak beer was consumed, mainly by the fellas. By the end of the meal, which tasted fantastic by the way, Uy was telling Chung she needed to do more exercise because she was fat. Luckily, the events of the last 2 days meant that Captain Caveman couldn’t possibly say the same about me today. Somehow, the birth of the LLC came out right there and then as Chung and I pledged to cycle together as the 2 founder members of the Lazy Ladies Club. The BBQ duck, veggies, noodles and beers came to a total of 400,000vnd (£13.20) which was a bargain.
We said our goodbyes and then instead of going home ourselves we had a sneaky bottle of red wine (also 400,000vnd) in The Villas to finish off our night. It was a good job, so that I could stop moaning that my bits were on fire from the 28km I’d managed to cycle on Bluey today on a very hot day! That was 3km more than yesterday, the furthest I cycled since before my injury and we did it in the height of summer. On the way home, I spotted a snake in the Stick or Snake game and it was alive in the Dead or Alive game, so I shouted to Captain Caveman behind me to stop so he could take a photo. It was heading back to the river after a spot of sunbathing and was slithering across the road, it was beautiful. I was glad to get in bed that night and at least we could have an easy, restful, quiet non-cycling day tomorrow, couldn’t we!?
The realisation that I had only 17 days left in Vietnam, hit me on Tuesday 13th June. Not all of them would be with Captain Caveman as he had to go back to work and I might even have less than 2 weeks left in Phong Nha. I felt like I needed to make more of an effort to enjoy it before I had to leave! I’m not sure whether it was the heat or just insanity but I started to have some very foolish ideas that I might come to regret. Captain Caveman was quite addicted to playing Bridge on his phone so, in an attempt to do something he would enjoy which did not involve being on his phone, I suggested something outdoorsy! Bluey, my bicycle, loves a trip out (even in the hot sun) and I decided we would cycle over to Greenfield Homestay. In fairness to Captain Caveman, he offered to drive Trigger, the motorbike, but then it would mean he couldn’t have a few beers so I said we would cycle. It was almost 11am when we got to Coffee Station and I was concerned if I ate anything I would get a dodgy stomach and not make the rest of the journey. Captain Caveman shovelled a bacon, egg and tomato sourdough sandwich down while I had a ginger tea. They used to do a lovely herbal tea but not any more so I sat and worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew with this cycle ride. On our way, we decided to call at Jungle Boss HQ, which was now relocated to Sy’s Homestay. We wanted to say Hi to my old boss, the owner, he was in the jungle so I only got to say hello to the marketing guys.
I managed to just about keep up with Captain Caveman for the rest of the journey but I arrived at Greenfields a sweaty mess. René and his wife gave us a nice welcome and Captain Caveman had a few beers. I got some delicious iced herbal tea and a big water then René treated us to some Toblerone. The place looked great and they had installed a big pool since I was last there, not that we went in it – we seem to have a habit of not swimming when there is a pool. After a couple of hours we decided to head off and I had the bright idea of cycling to East Hill for chicken, one of my favourite places in Phong Nha. Of course Captain Caveman knew a shortcut which involved cycling on grass and between buffalo, which I was a stranger to. I got a bit moany as it was a bit too far and hot but I made it in the end.
Captain Caveman ordered the chicken combo and we had a couple of drinks – they sell Strongbow cider and it’s very cheap in Phong Nha so I had those and Captain Caveman had beer. After an hour, there was still no chicken so Captain Caveman went to check, the girl hadn’t put the order through so we had to wait another 45 minutes. This was lucky as it meant we could invite Tatas who came after she finished work. The chicken was as delicious as it always was and worth the wait but then I had to cycle back.
I managed to get as far as The Villas so we stopped off for red wine and peanuts as a reward for cycling so far today. Back at home we were chatting about the route and how whizzy Bluey was. I was saying that I couldn’t believe I had managed to cycle a total of 23km in this heat when Captain Caveman fell asleep on me. I think I was going to hurt tomorrow and it was still over 30°C in the bedroom with AC on after 10pm!
I’d decided to work later in the week, while Captain Caveman had free days, so I wasn’t working on Monday 12th June. By the time I’d got my breakfast I was beginning to wish I was working, as Captain Caveman and I had a row. He was cheesed off at me for not booking my flight home yet, but I’d not decided on which route to take. He was telling me to do it ‘now’ so I ended up having cold jasmine tea and noodle soup for breakfast while I looked up all the permutations from The Villas. I don’t know why he was in such a mood – I didn’t have to leave for another…oh, 18 days left! Maybe he had a point but I needed to decide whether to go back via Rhodes or Istanbul. I messaged my boss to see if I was needed for any work related meeting up in Rhodes, if I did decide to go that way. The Istanbul route was working out shorter, with less lay over time but was more expensive. Maybe a pit stop in Rhodes on the way back would be a good idea and I could always stock up on some pork. For the rest of the morning, Captain Caveman was playing Bridge on his phone and being a bit grumpy. I told him I would book the flights as soon as Steve replied and we could go for an Indian at Ganesh tonight, hoping that would cheer him up! Steve replied, I was going to add on a week in Rhodes on my way back and I booked the flights as below; Saigon to Doha, Lay over in Doha for 12.5 hours, Doha to Frankfurt, Lay over in Frankfurt for 7.5 hours, Frankfurt to Rhodes. I would leave before the sun came up on a Thursday morning and land in Rhodes as the sun went down on a Friday night! It cost £520 for the entire one way journey because it was summer. I would get the ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye after a week at Steve and Michelle’s. I was happy with that and Captain Caveman perked right up. Off we cycled to Ganesh and we had a feast; Captain Caveman even let me share his Paneer Sagwala which I enjoyed a lot more than I expected to. Back home, we started chatting about our plans for tomorrow as we both had a non-working day in Phong Nha. Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far as Captain Caveman had fallen asleep.
Captain Caveman was not scheduled to work for the next 5 days so we had a busy day planned on Saturday 10th June. Of course, a day off would not be a day off without the need to go to Oxalis to sort some work stuff out! While sat by the river, I noticed that our neighbouring apartment in Dalyan was being advertised for renting out, using old photos. It looked like the Russians who’d been there for months were no longer there or were about to move out. It was likely I’d have new neighbours when I got back to Dalyan! By 9.40am I had ordered myself some breakfast at Oxalis Home and was tucking in to a Bo Ne without the eggs, forgetting I didn’t like the sweet baguettes.
It was Stu’s 50th birthday celebrations in Dong Hoi tonight so we had decided to make a trip of it and stay at the Vin Pearl hotel, another of my favourites. We got the Oxalis staff bus and were dropped off near the town centre where we then had to get a Grab taxi to the hotel. It had changed to now be a Melia hotel and they had made a few changes. As it was the weekend, the cost of the room including breakfast for the 2 of us was 1,650,646vnd (£54.47) but, given its 5 star like status, that was not a bad price. They let us check in early, we had a good welcome and a note from the manager, which I always find nice. We decided to go to get some lunch, given that we knew we would be getting on the booze later. Captain Caveman and I both chose the pork place but it turns out we had different places in our heads. We ended up at the one Captain Caveman and Stu recommended where we ordered 2 pork dishes a lemon juice and a beer for a total of 131,000vnd (£4.32). We also got a free winter melon soup included so that was a bargain but I wasn’t a fan of the soup. My pork, rice and salad was very good though and I’d eat there again if it wasn’t for the 4 staff all being on their phones on full volume, one playing games!
Back at the hotel, we decided to have a bubble bath, the robes that I used to love so much had changed! Gone were the brightly printed ones, that Josh had once attempted to go to breakfast in, and they were replaced by the white thick towelling ones – too hot to wear. There was a knock at the door and I had to leave Captain Caveman in the bath while I answered it, still covered in bubbles, to an embarrassed young staff member. She had brought us a welcome cake and delivered it in to the room while I shouted to Captain Caveman to lower the bathroom blind. I got dressed, even dried my hair and popped on Carol’s white dress with the marked pocket. We were about to go to an unconventional 50th birthday celebration!
Stu had told us to be at the Ra Khoi bar on the beach at 5.30pm. We arrived late on account of me eating cake in the hotel but we were the first to arrive. There were some shirtless locals in the bar but they were nothing to do with Stu. We got a beer each and sat overlooking the beach until Stu, Max and Jack arrived. When they did, I was clearly overdressed and, not long after, I found I was the only female attendee. It was going to be one of those parties, as the rest of the motley crew of guests arrived and headed on to the beach. Captain Caveman and I agreed a password for emergency evacuation, just in case. We decided the first 2 items on the shopping list, used in tandem, would be the signal for us to leave if it got too lively for us!
Dong Hoi airport is very close by
By the time I’d had 6 of the small Huda beers I was getting peckish so Captain Caveman and I decided to get a taxi back to town for dinner at Tree Hugger. We both had burgers, shared some fries and had a cheeky White Russian, again the diet was clearly on hold. The food was lovely and it wasn’t even 9pm so we took a taxi to rejoin Stu’s 50th birthday celebrations, which had now moved on to his own home. One of the cool dudes from the beach was DJing, it was very hot, I had 1 more beer and danced, mainly by myself. I noticed all the guys were disappearing upstairs but not many were coming back down – it was time to wang out the safe word to Captain Caveman. I’d forgotten the first 2 things on the shopping list but then managed to get ‘Broom Crackers’ out over the music. I was surprised we had lasted until midnight on just 7 beers and a White Russian. We’d had a great time but when the fan had to be used for the decks instead of the makeshift dancefloor I was just too hot to function – I was getting old!
Wednesday 7th June was a much calmer day than yesterday. I was naturally up early with the sound of the lost Casio watch at 6.45am and it was measurements day. My bust had remained the same but I had lost 6cm from my waist and 3cm from my hips. I still didn’t have any scales so I wasn’t sure how much I’d had put on from our holiday. I decided to take myself off out for breakfast, seeing as I didn’t eat well yesterday. It was back to being hot and sunny again but it was early enough for me to cycle in to town to visit the supermarket. Phong Nha now has a Winmart and I was keen to get some ‘healthy’ provisions.
Here’s what I bought with the prices in Vietnamese Dong:
I’d completely forgotten how expensive apples are in Vietnam and should have bought bananas instead. I think 54p each for an apple may be a bit much but they turned out to be one of the nicest apples I’d had. At The Villas I had a mango smoothie and a beef noodle soup for breakfast. It came to 128,000vnd (£4.22) and was very nice. I was back home working on the laptop in the afternoon and had just a cereal bar, an apple and a KitKat for lunch. For dinner I had cheese with crackers and another KitKat – the KitKat diet was going well!
It was the 12th anniversary of Oxalis on Thursday 8th June so I was expecting there might be some sort of event either today or this weekend to celebrate. Captain Caveman and I had plans at the weekend but we would have to cancel them if there was an Oxalis party. So I was surprised when Tatas confirmed we would meet this evening for wine and then go for a curry. I asked her if there was any party planned but she said she’d not heard of anything. For breakfast I had a cereal bar, a yoghurt and an apple which meant I was back on the Slimming World plan. I worked from 9am until 3.45pm stopping for a lunch break at home of another cereal bar, 60g of cheese and 2 apples. I met Tatas at 7pm at Tree House for red wine and there was still no mention of an Oxalis anniversary party. However, one glass in to the bottle, she received a call to say there would be a bit of a do at Big Ben and could she come over after she had finished dinner. We drank the wine, which had to go in an ice bucket as it was still very hot at night here.
At Ganesh Indian restaurant I ordered chicken samosa for starter, then for main a chicken tikka with saffron rice and a garlic naan. Tatas, who likes everything extra spicy, ordered an extra hot chicken vindaloo with plain naan bread. We both had a couple of bottles of Saigon beer each. My food was amazing, even though my samosas looked like a pair of boobs and I’d brought my trusty Tupperware to take half home! Tatas was upset that her’s still wasn’t spicy enough despite it making me cry when I sniffed it! Here’s the prices of what we had so you can compare how much it costs where you are:
Towards the end of the meal, while I was still eating but Tatas had given up, the calls and messages from Tatas’ colleagues increased. By 9pm she had left me to go to Big Ben for the Oxalis anniversary party. I decided to chat to the staff at Ganesh and get some photos. When I left, one of the Indian guys came out to help me put my light on my bike as I had my hands full of tomorrow’s Indian takeaway! It was great to have an Indian restaurant back in Phong Nha and, although we missed Raj at Namaste, Ganesh was certainly one of my new favourites. I cycled home, popped my leftovers in the fridge and set my alarm for work tomorrow.
Sunday 4th June was a very long day with a memorable and unpleasant journey. We had some breakfast in the Emm Hotel which was very busy, then we packed and psyched ourselves up for the drive back to Phong Nha. Captain Caveman had booked us 2 seats on a minibus for the 210km which was estimated to take 4-5 hours. The pick up was from the DMZ bar in Hue so we took a Grab to there to get some lunch before the 1pm pick up. I had the local dish, My Quang, which was really good, Captain Caveman had spring rolls and potato skins. A driver arrived a little later and we were ushered in to a car with 3 European tourists. They drove us to the nearest bus station where we were crammed on to a bus and I was forced to sit on the back seat. The journey was up there in my top 10 of terrible journeys as the AC duct was broken and hot air was blowing on to me. The guy next to me had very big and open legs when he slept so I was a bit squished and far too hot to deal with it. I managed to get as far as Dong Hoi before dehydration got the better of me and I had a funny turn. We had to stop the bus and everyone had to wait for me while I found a toilet. We were in the middle of the main road but no obvious buildings, the driver pointed to what looked like a disused school but when I got there it was padlocked. I found an alternative but someone was already in and by this point passengers on the bus were calling out to try to help. I was in excruciating belly pain and spasms I’d not had since gastroenteritis in Goa! Once back on the bus feeling somewhat embarrassed, Captain Caveman realised where he was sat was not as hot as my back corner seat!
We arrived in Phong Nha at 6pm and got dropped off at Central Backpackers Hostel, we said bye to our fellow passengers and walked as far as Tree House. We passed a new bar which was called Dubai and looked really out of place in such a rural town. Captain Caveman plonked me down with the bags, had some water and then went off to go get the motorbike from Oxalis so we could get home. I was an absolute dehydrated mess so I drank a litre of water, a vanilla milkshake, a soda water with lime and a fresh coconut. It was actually hotter at Tree House cafe than on the bus but at least I had a fan.
We had no food in at home so we decided to go for an Indian and I vaguely remember being there but by this time the headache had kicked in. I drank salted lime drinks and ate some chicken tikka and rice before getting on the back of Captain Caveman’s motorbike to go home to sleep. Tomorrow would be my last day with Captain Caveman before he went back to work so I had taken the day off to do something together.
Captain Caveman was far more hungover than me on the morning of Saturday 3rd June. He had gaps in his memory from last night and wasn’t too chatty. We checked out and walked to the limousine bus company for our 2 hour (92km) drive to Hue. The bus was departing at 9.50am but it may as well have been 6am as we were both feeling fragile. Captain Caveman had booked us in to Emm hotel for our last night of holiday before taking another bus back to Phong Nha. I was so glad we weren’t taking a bus the whole way in such a hungover state. Captain Caveman slept and sweated all the way to Hue and when we checked in, fortunately our room was available early and we had an upgrade. Captain Caveman got straight in to bed and I had to top up his water. I ate mangosteens which we had brought with us and are my favourite fruit. The day was ruined because of too much frivolity last night but by 5pm, I’d had a nap and I was hungry. We got a Grab to a Vietnamese restaurant, called Chan, and I forgot to say ‘no chillies’ and had to eat round them on almost every dish. The food was good but I did get a reaction and had to stop eating. Our bill came to 411,000vnd (£13.56) for 3 soft drinks, 2 sticky rice, spring rolls, morning glory, pork and duck. The reason for booking the Emm hotel was so that Captain Caveman could visit the Imperial Craft Bia place nearby. Unfortunately, we had to force a beer down and then we went back to the hotel and straight to bed. Tomorrow we were off back to Phong Nha, the holiday was almost over!
Friday 2nd June was another busy and a pretty exciting day for us in Danang. After finishing work for the week, it was time for a spot of lunch. Captain Caveman had been to the shop on the corner and bought the following:
We called at the bus limo service office and Captain Caveman booked us our next trip which would be for tomorrow morning. We had a lovely lunch at Poomba’s Smokehouse where they have a great air conditioned room up a ladder style staircase. Captain Caveman had a Reuben’s sandwich, I had a slider trio and we both had beer. It was a ‘feels like’ temperature of 42°C outside, no breeze and high humidity so I was so grateful of the air con. On the way back to the hotel, we bought more stuff at the corner shop – 3 tubes of sensodyne toothpaste and 1.5l of water for 264,000vnd (£8.45). We had a bit of a rest in the AC at the hotel and then we got ready to go meet Caroline, she was back from Cambodia and it was about to get messy!
Captain Caveman had arranged for us to meet our friend, Caroline, at the Paradise Beach bar in Danang for sunset drinks. The traffic was bad but we had an over keen Grab driver who was determined to get us there without being concerned for anyone’s safety. We took a seat, not on the beach as I’m not keen on sand, then ordered cocktails while we waited for Caroline to get over from Hoi An. Service was pretty slow and it appeared that there was only one bar tender making cocktails but numerous other staff milling about. I realised I had mistakenly left the hotel wearing the shower flipflops, which didn’t really set off Carol’s (from Fat Club) dress too well. Caroline arrived and we had far too many frozen margaritas for us and long island iced teas for Captain Caveman while we caught up on what’s been going on.
At 8.30pm we had a table booked at Le Comptoir, a really lovely french restaurant and I insisted we ate inside in the AC as it was still boiling hot. We decided to have the Tasting menu with wine pairing as well as extra oysters for Captain Caveman and Caroline. We started off well but by the main course it was carnage; Caroline and I had an extra red wine while Captain Caveman lagged behind, when the main course came those two had disappeared and I had to ask for their food to be kept warm while I tucked in to mine. I ended up having 2 of the puddings and yet more wine before we staggered out in search of the nearest cocktail bar.
At the Craftsman I remembered having a lychee martini, Captain Caveman was wasted and Caroline wasn’t much better. We also were hoping to see our Phong Nha friend, Smiley Fox, who worked here but he wasn’t there. He messaged back to say he was actually in Phong Nha! We all went off in our Grab taxis very much worse for wear but having had an amazing night. I was not looking forward to the early alarm tomorrow and I suspected Captain Caveman may be slightly less enthusiastic about our arrangements than he usually would have been.
Photo credit – some photos by Caroline and Captain Caveman
On Sunday 28th May Captain Caveman asked me where I wanted to go for breakfast and I decided that the best thing I could go for would be SP Chicken. On the way, Captain Caveman wanted to stop off at a cafe, called Sun Ray, for a coffee. I ended up getting hangry and moany as they had an inefficient system for seating people and I hate pretentious coffee places. This time at SP Chicken, we ordered the chicken (obviously), rice and 2 plates of veggies. I always give Captain Caveman the skin from the chicken and it’s been barbecued on a spit so is reasonably healthy. It was so delicious that I said I could eat it every day! It was extremely hot, compared to what we had been used to in Sapa, so we headed back to the hotel. On the way there, Captain Caveman met an astronaut and I took his photo. At the hotel, I managed to book in at my favourite opticians back in Vietnam for Tuesday.
That evening, wearing one of my favourite dresses from a Dalyan friend, we went out to Why Ribs and Rumps. A place with a terrible name but excellent pork ribs, which we shared. I really liked it there and can’t recall the prices as Captain Caveman paid and I didn’t keep a receipt. For dessert we went to another old favourite, Cru, for wine and a cheeseboard. Aside from there being far too many tomatoes for my liking, we enjoyed it. We walked via a shop for beers and water which we had when we got back to the room, tomorrow would be our last night in Chiang Mai.
Much to Captain Caveman’s dismay, we didn’t get to a cafe for breakfast in Chiang Mai until 10am on Saturday 27th May. He ordered coffee and a şakşuka type of dish, I ordered snow pea tea (as you do) and a banana pancake. I wrongly thought it would be a healthier option as it came with fruit but it was massive. It also had on it one of the worst fruits in the world (in my opinion) – papaya. If you’ve not had it before, I think it tastes like the smell of baby sick/gone off milk.
Back at the hotel, we decided we would perhaps check out the rooftop pool and Captain Caveman sent me off to investigate the situation. It was so hot that I burned my feet on the flooring round the pool and had to come back, quick sharp. There was no shade up there whatsoever so we decided swimming was off the agenda.
For a late lunch we went to check out one of our absolute favourite restaurants, SP Chicken. It was open and not too busy so we grabbed a table and started to complete the tick-style menu. Obviously we had the chicken, which they are well known for, but we ordered veggies, pork and rice to go with it. I had a Chang beer while Captain Caveman prefers the Leo beer and had a bottle of that. The food was so good, as it always is, and when we came to leave there was a sign saying that they had run out of chicken so we were lucky.
That evening I popped on my new dress again and we were off to House by Ginger for fancy cocktails and good food. Captain Caveman had an Espresso Martini and I had a Passion fruit mojito. We shared the chef’s recommendation of the mixed Thai sharing platter which was really tasty. For main course Captain Caveman had pork and rice, I had a pork stew – both were so good and we would definitely return. Our meal with 4 drinks came to a total of 2,165,000vnd (£71.45) which included the 10% tip and was definitely good value for money.
We were the first in to the dining room of the Silk Path Grand Resort and Spa Hotel at 6am on Friday 26th May. At breakfast we made up a sandwich to take with us for the long journey as we didn’t have long until our limousine bus was coming to pick us up. As I drank my cup of tea, I realised what was missing from our afternoon tea yesterday – the tea! I’d been looking forward to trying all the teas but had not noticed that they had never brought us any tea, nor even asked if we would like some. How odd, and even stranger that I’d not noticed! We’d already packed and checked out ready to make the journey to Hanoi airport which was just under 300km away. Unfortunately, the bus was over an hour late and we had to sit in the back seats which were more bumpy. At the service stop off along the way, we saw a cute dog with red dye on it and some very interesting ladies toilets.
We arrived on time for our flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand, checked in and got a beer which was $5.50. It was the busiest I’d seen Hanoi airport and we sat at a different gate to our one to eat our ham and cheese sandwiches. We arrived in Chiang Mai, got a taxi to the Deluxe Boutique hotel and quickly checked in around 6pm. We took a Grab taxi to Gekko restaurant where we were meeting an old friend of Captain Caveman’s for dinner at 6.30pm. Sid Perou has been a caver and film/documentary maker as well as having written a book – a very interesting man. We got there as they were arriving and sat with Sid, his wife and grandson. We all had beers and I ordered Pad Thai, Captain Caveman had a masaman curry. Both meals were great and we had a good laugh chatting with our friends. It wasn’t a late one as Sid and his wife had to be up early tomorrow and it was already past their grandson’s bedtime. We had a relatively early night for our first of three nights in Chiang Mai.
It was another great day on Thursday 25th May, but sadly our last one in Sapa. I only had a 15 day visa exemption for Vietnam so I had to be out of the country before the 29th May, I also was still waiting on my next visa approval. I had a bit of a lay in until 7.30am and was surprised when I looked out of the window to see it was raining. Captain Caveman and I went for the buffet breakfast just after 8am and it was delicious. We decided that as it wasn’t great weather we would book in some hotel things to do. The hotel manager was brilliant and so on his game as we booked me in for one of the spa packages and then afternoon tea. When we got back to the room I got an email to say my 30 day Vietnam visa was approved. Captain Caveman was glad to hear this as we were flying to Thailand tomorrow. My Thai massage with Cherry was absolutely amazing and I almost fell asleep at the end. I went to Cat Cat bar afterwards to meet Captain Caveman who had brought me Carol’s (ironically of Fat Club fame) dress to change in to for our afternoon tea with a bit of a difference (I will see if you can tell what the difference was from the photos)! I’d done so well to not have put weight on this week but now I found myself shovelling sandwiches and cake down a bit too greedily. As I was already dressed for the occasion, but wearing trainers because of the rain we booked the free shuttle bus in to to town.
We visited Saparis bar again for cocktails before doing the short uphill walk to Ganesh, the Indian restaurant. I tried to stay as healthy as possible with a chicken tikka (no sauce), rice and a spinach dish but I did have a couple of beers to go with it. The food was nice and filling, we walked back down the hill to the bus pick up spot and to say bye to Sapa town. Tomorrow we had another early start to what might be a long day of travelling.
It was my first time, but not Captain Caveman’s, of visiting Sapa on Monday 22nd May. We were up too early to have any breakfast as the limousine bus was picking us up at 6.30am. The seats were comfy with massage function and there was plenty of space in the 9 seater air conditioned vehicle. Our journey was pleasant with a stop at a decent services after 2.5 hours, for a toilet break and to eat some fresh pineapple. I got talking to fellow passengers who had booked a rural homestay in Sapa and the wife was slightly concerned that she may be a bit too far out in the sticks. On previous holidays with Captain Caveman I’d also had the same concerns and knew how she felt, but not this time. We arrived at the Silk Path Grand Resort and Spa Hotel in Sapa after a 6 hour journey and I was so impressed with the look of it. Even the lady I was chatting to was impressed and wished us a nice holiday. Check it out here, Captain Caveman really had chosen well; https://silkpathhotel.com/en/Sapa/ Our mountain view room was ready early and, of course, I had to take some photos. We were booked in for 4 nights and I was really looking forward to that.
We were peckish, having only eaten a bread roll and the fruit so we got the free shuttle service in to Sapa town to look for food. Our friends, Phil and Hoa, had sent us some recommendations for eateries in the area. Sapa is incredibly hilly and it was very different to how I expected it, I loved that the temperature was so much cooler and I was impressed that my leg was completely recovered now. After a walk up and down hills we found Good Morning Vietnam restaurant and sat down inside with a menu. AC was not even needed but it was still shorts and t-shirt weather. We both ordered a Hanoi beer, Captain Caveman chose fried spring rolls and I asked if he was going to share. He agreed but didn’t want to have any of my tofu in tomato sauce. We both had another beer and I never got to try the spring rolls as Captain Caveman had snaffled the lot in record time. He often says he’s not hungry but then polishes food off quite greedily, today was one of those times. Our lunch with 4 beers came to 250,000vnd (£8.25) which wasn’t bad considering we were in a tourist town where beers were the same price as VRV.
We decided not to get the shuttle back to the hotel but to have a look around the town. We found Tag Beer, a nice bar with proper beer and a pool table. Although Captain Caveman had not played pool for over 6 months, he’d not lost his touch and proceeded to thrash me. After a couple of cheeky beers we walked up the hill to Little Sapa restaurant where we met Hoa for dinner. Unfortunately Phil had got Covid so he was isolating and couldn’t join us and we were all disappointed on his behalf. For dinner I had the sweet and sour chicken, Hoa had beef and Captain Caveman had pork. All the food was good and great value but, as Captain Caveman paid, I forgot to take a note of the price. Captain Caveman had arranged to go on a mini expedition tomorrow, while I ‘worked from home’ in luxury. Hoa had arranged for him to do a 2 day trek up a mountain with just a Vietnamese guide for company. After seeing Hoa, we sauntered back to the centre of town to get the free shuttle back up the hill to our hotel. It had been a great day and I was already quite taken with Sapa.
Foolishly, I’d hoped for quality time and extra snoozes on Sunday 21st May but, obviously, Captain Caveman had other ideas. As he had promised me a shopping trip, we had to get up early to get it done. I’m sure he gave a good reason why and it could’ve been due to the weather but I was too tired to note it. By 7.30am we were showered, dressed and in the hotel dining room tucking in to a shared fruit plate. We both had the chicken noodle soup (pho ga) and a hot drink before Captain Caveman insisted we look lively for today’s mission. At 8am it was already 31°C with a ‘feels like’ 39°C and the air quality was not good in the capital city. Just a couple of weeks ago, Hanoi had suffered a heatwave with the highest temperatures ever recorded. We got a Grab taxi, which are really cheap in Hanoi, to the shopping centre to find we had to wait for it to open. Once inside, we headed straight for Uniqlo where I’d been online to check the choices and had taken screenshots of a few items I liked the look of. It didn’t quite pan out as well as expected because the largest they had in stock for almost everything was an L (about a size 12). Captain Caveman helped me pick out a few practical items and I headed to the Fitting room a little too optimistic. I hate shopping anyway so I did get a little despondent when the first couple of things didn’t fit. I had to remind myself that this time last year I wouldn’t have even got in the XL (size 14 approx) if they had any. In less than an hour I had managed to spend 3,194,00vnd (£108.60) of Captain Caveman’s hard earned cash on 6 items and I was happy to have 2 pairs of skorts, which I’d never had before! We dropped my wares off at the hotel and I had a little fashion show with my new clothes while Captain Caveman took terrible photos of me in them, from the position of him laying on the bed. I’d not even been here quite a week and he was getting bored of taking photos on demand.
Our next stop was to meet two Phong Nha friends for lunch; Leonard, the old guy who stayed at Funny Monkeys from before the pandemic, now lives in Hanoi, and our good friend Kat, who divides her time between Hanoi and Phong Nha. Both were available on the same day so Leonard had chosen one of his nearby favourite restaurants, Pizza 4 Ps. Captain Caveman and I were the first to arrive and we decided to order a cider that came with some cheese as a pre starter! Leonard was the next to arrive with his arm strapped up after breaking his collar bone in a fall. Other than that he was on good form and it was great to see him. Kat arrived next and was only able to stay for an hour due to her having an upcoming painful dentist appointment. We were having such a good catch up that I almost forgot to take some photos and I had a weird incident in the toilets with the cleaner who wanted me to rate the toilets, on an electronic board, as ‘needing improvement ‘ and then comment on why. The toilets were fine, so I wasn’t quite sure what she was getting at but Leonard said a similar thing happened to him. The half and half pizza which I shared with Captain Caveman was fantastic, the salad was a bit too drenched in balsamic vinegar for me but I managed to get it down me with another cider (no cheese).
After lunch and walking Leonard back to his hotel, Captain Caveman and I walked to the gold shop to exchange some foreign currency and it was so hot that I was getting a bit moany. We had to make a refreshment stop at Puku cafe where, to my delight, they had the iced slushy drinks with passion fruit at 80,000vnd (£2.72) each. Just as I thought we were off back for a siesta or a rest, Captain Caveman announced we were meeting Lien, our old Vietnamese teacher and friend. We got a Grab taxi to Oliberry cafe where Lien was already waiting. We got chatting about clothes shopping and Lien recommended a woman’s independent clothes shop nearby called Rico Clothing. Within minutes, I was on the back of Lien’s Honda Cub heading to Rico, where I picked out a few dresses to try on. Captain Caveman walked it there and caught us up to give his opinion on the clothes I tried on. I bought a lovely dress and even tried a Size L which was too big for me, I also found a couple of pairs of knickers that fit me too. We said our goodbyes and I hoped we’d be going home to freshen up and get ready for our dinner date tonight – no, we were out out. Captain Caveman and I had arranged to meet Johan, a friend through caving and Andrea, for tapas with a bit of a difference at Pinchos. We were a little early so we called in to 7 Bridges for a pint of ale, as you do.
At Pincho’s we shared sparkling water and red wine but we didn’t go mad as Johan was on a strict regime and would be up early for boxing class before work tomorrow. Pincho’s was easily one of the best meals I’ve had and it was amazing to be able to eat so much meat and cheese. We tried quite a lot of the different tapas dishes and I only got a surprise chilli the once, luckily I could smell it. We were back to the Aquarius Grand Hotel by 9.30pm and were already setting our alarms for another very early get up. Our day had been an amazing one and when I got in I had to try my new dress on, which I liked more the second try on. The hotel room had cost 765,000vnd (£26) per night and well worth that price, which included breakfast. Captain Caveman paid our bill which also included the 400,000vnd car pick up service (£13.60) from Hanoi airport to the hotel. We also paid in advance for 2 bus tickets at 480,000vnd (£16.32) each as we were off to our next destination for 4 nights at 6.30am tomorrow!
joloyolo 