I had arranged to meet my friend, Louisa, on Monday 22nd July so I worked 9am to 2pm, while she was sleeping after her night shift. Mom was a bit disappointed that she had got all my belongings out of the loft but I had still not gone through them to throw them away yet. I promised I would later in the week because she wanted to take stuff to charity/the tip or put it in the bin. I knew I had paperwork going back over the last 7 years which my Mom had said I could use her shredder to get rid of it all. The Pampered Chef wine bucket which I purchased about 10 years ago was still amongst the tranklements, having never made it in to anyone’s suitcase or hand luggage over the years. I was as annoyed at not having it Turkey as my Mom was at still having it at her place, so I decided I was taking it back this year – even if I had to take it as a handbag! Ma had gone out to meet a friend for lunch so Dad was going to be left home alone, probably reading a book or playing his guitar. I had a cheese sandwich with salt & vinegar crisps for lunch. I got the 2.30pm bus to town and walked to The Moor to meet Louisa outside Primark. I needed something to sleep in, and some clothes to wear but I wasn’t entirely sure what. Once in the shop, I was surprised how empty it was and Louisa reminded me that since Covid a lot of shops were suffering as more people continued to work from home and were buying things online. I found it difficult to buy anything there as I’m no longer in touch with fashion and found the flowery things with frills on were just hideous and something that did not suit me at all. By 4pm we were in the paying queue and I had myself a new outfit for less than £15. Here’s what I bought, prices in English pounds;
Primark Leopard print flip flops £0.50 Hair bobbles £1.00 Red & white flip flops £1.30 Black leggings £4.00 Red dress £8.00 Total spent £14.80
Our next stop off was for a drink at The Furnace, round the back of a sadly closed Debenhams. We had a pint of Madri lager, a first for me (but wouldn’t be my last) and I hadn’t heard of it before. It’s weird that even being away for just 2.5 years that the beers available on the draft pumps in bars are unfamiliar to me. After one drink in there, we decided to walk to a place that had been added to my list of places to visit. The owner of the Milestone restaurant on Green Lane, Matt, had been forced to close up during Covid. He had now opened the largest food court in Europe (apparently) called Cambridge Street Collective. Once inside it was a bit overwhelming as there are so many different food stalls from all over the world. I’ve never tried food from Eritrea or Ethiopia but, me being fussy, we decided to choose something I knew I’d like. We found a little gyoza/dumpling place first and had a starter. Louisa was super whizzy at ordering things on a QR code and an app. A lot of places didn’t like cash so this worked ok but I was finding it a bit too laborious, especially as my GiffGaff SIM didn’t have any signal in the building. The starter was lovely and then we had a walk around. I went to the toilet and got a bit confused when there was a man in there but it turns out that the toilets are not separated by gender any more. Very modern but slightly off putting as I had to put the seat down and clean pee off the seat before I could go. My guess is the men were complaining there were no urinals and they had to lift the seat up. Most people that came in to the toilets thought they were in the wrong ones and did a double take each time they saw a person of the opposite sex, which was funny. It took us a while to decide what to eat next but Louisa had something from Gyros Express, a gyros with pitta and chips which looked amazing. I decided on Asia Thai Street Food where I got a bit excited and ordered a Pad Thai and a prawn fried rice to share with Louisa. I had a pint of cider and Louisa stuck to the Madri lager and the prices (in £) are below.
Cambridge Street Collective 1 pad Thai 1 prawn fried rice Total spent £16.50
1 pint of cider 1 pint of lager Total spent £11. 10
Unfortunately, when I saw the size of Louisa’s Gyros, I knew we wouldn’t eat the prawn fried rice so I asked if we could have a box for takeaway. Surprisingly, they do not do takeaway so I had to pinch a paper cup from a closed coffee stall and cram the rice dish in to it. I thought I would take it home and have it tomorrow for breakfast. After a lovely afternoon and evening out it was time to make our way to our respective buses.
On Saturday 20th July the weather was glorious which was a shame as I was catching up on work, having taken yesterday off. I’d done 2 hours work before Ma got up and I was having Shreddies and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. Ma and Pa had no set plans for the weekend but we were thinking we might see Gayle and family as Neil, her husband, was back from working in Scotland. Ma got the washing out as the sun was out and ideal for getting the bedding dry. Lunch time bacon sandwiches from Mom were much appreciated even though I was on 50% more syns than at the same time last week. I managed to get 7 hours of work under my belt before the garden furniture cushions needed putting out. Gayle was popping over for a cup of tea but I knew what that really meant. Dad had already been checking the wine stocks in each fridge. Captain Caveman was getting his flight from Heathrow at 5pm and had already checked in when Gayle arrived with cakes for the cup of tea. I don’t think she even got offered a tea as I cracked open the Prosecco, another thing on the must do list. We all sat outside, ate the cakes, drank the fizz, went on to the other wine and then started snacking on mini cheddars or Seabrook’s salt and vinegar crisps. There was discussions about an impromptu BBQ or pizza for dinner but with Gayle being coeliac Ma wasn’t sure if she had any suitable foods in. She decided we should ring Neil and the kids and see if they fancied an Indian at The Vine in Mosborough. Before Dad could enquire about whether he should open the Chardonnay, we were booked in and it was all systems go as we needed to get there. April was working and couldn’t make it, but Morgan and Neil didn’t need asking twice.
The Vine was absolutely packed full and we had been lucky to get a table for the 6 of us. The food was amazing, both Gayle and I tried something different due to us being a bit tiddly. We all had drinks, starters, mains and sides and it came to £35 per person, which was the most expensive meal I’d paid for so far but I did get a really good doggy bag to take home and I’d thoroughly enjoyed my 4th curry in the 12 days of being in England.
It was Captain Caveman’s last day off on Sunday 21st July as he landed in Saigon just before midday. He had his next Oxalis briefing tomorrow evening and I think he was happy to be going back for his final few weeks of this year’s season. The UK is 6 hours behind Vietnam so he had already landed before I woke up. There was some issue with his flight from Saigon to Dong Hoi that afternoon being cancelled, meaning he had to stay overnight in Saigon. I was a bit hungover and I just had tea and toast for breakfast. I’d been invited to a music event in Leopold Square in Sheffield but I was working today so I declined. My parents were invited but they prefer not to go in to town and didn’t accept either. For lunch I had my left over curry which was still as delicious as last night. For dinner Mom cooked pizzas and garlic bread which were very nice but I was now on 430 syns for the week already and it was still Sunday. At 7.15pm I met my friend, Kerrie, who I hadn’t seen for 2.5 years but it felt like longer. I was still hungover and she was driving so I had a nice cup of tea and then we went on to the alcohol free Erdinger beer which was only £3.50 for 500ml. We had a good catch up and a laugh while reminiscing and then it was time to say bye but with plans to meet up again. I wrote down Kerrie’s availability for the next week or so which I could refer to as she’s usually such a busy person. It wasn’t a late one as we both had work in the morning and I’d got plans to go clothes shopping in the afternoon.
It was Captain Caveman’s last full day with me in England on Thursday 18th July and it was also his birthday. I’d organised for us to celebrate later but he wanted to keep any plans casual which was proving a bit tricky. It was only 18°C at 9am as I had my tea and toast then got on with work for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I had some bad news; my parents did not drink Yorkshire tea but I’d thought all this time that they did. They had been fans of Tetley it appeared and even had the Tetley teabags bought in bulk. It was a good job I’d brought my own, all the way from Vietnam and Turkey! Captain Caveman got all his stuff together and was leaving for London tomorrow afternoon by bus. Before midday we were bus wankers once again as we ventured in to town for some birthday fun. The bus fare from Mosborough to Sheffield city centre, which is 12km and takes about 20 minutes usually, cost us £2 each, one way. My parents had declined our invite to join us as they don’t like to go in to town if they can help it, even though they both have free bus passes, and they don’t particularly like to go out drinking in Sheffield these days. On the bus I got some messages and photos of the pool from Captain Caveman’s apartment complex which could’ve been taken on any given day and reused but he seemed to think he was on top of things now – I was still dubious. We got off the bus near the train station and headed to a cafe on Brown Street, I noticed Spearmint Rhino was no longer! I just had a soda water and Captain Caveman had a coffee as it was one of those fancy places that serves smashed avocado and I wasn’t keen so we didn’t stay. Instead we walked up towards The Moor where 2 sleeping tramps and a dog were almost blocking the door to Beres sandwich shop. We both had a pork sandwich and went to sit on a bench to eat it, as it was now sunny. My first pork sandwich since being back in England cost £3.60. It was so tasty and was another thing off our must do list. We walked through Leopold Square where Strada had now become another restaurant called Pho. I checked out the menu to find a Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) was priced at a whopping £12.25 which, compared to £1.82 for a posh one in Victory Road Villas, Phong Nha, was absolutely shocking! We walked up West Street and along Division Street spotting new places like Glass Onion and Pieminister as well as old favourites The Frog & Parrot and the Devonshire Chippy. No cars are allowed on the road now so it seemed odd to see people sat outside the pub but on the road. There were a lot more drug addled homeless people around too, and I was shocked to see drugged up women who looked like they were desperate for a wash. At the clothing bank, I wondered why all the clothes were spread out on the floor but maybe it was for the homeless to be able to use them. As it was lunchtime on a Thirsty Thursday, we tried to go to a pub for a drink but not many were open, including another old favourite, The Bath, which didn’t open until 4pm – on a Thursday!! We unsuccessfully tried a couple of other pubs which were either not open, closed down or had the decorators in. The Forum was still going strong so we went in there but I just had a pint of water, which was completely free (more on that later) and Captain Caveman had a pint. We had a critter join us which I didn’t like but Captain Caveman persuaded me to be friends with it and we saved it by giving it some water, then it ended up in the hair of a recently graduated female with a partial tit hanging out. We decided to walk towards Kelham Island as, surely, pubs there would be open and it might be a bit more classy!?
Today was also the day of Captain Caveman’s friend’s funeral. Sid Perou, from England but living in Thailand, was a famous caver and filmmaker who had sadly passed away. We’d last met up with Sid, his wife and his grandson in May last year and he was a really fascinating and lovely man. Captain Caveman and I were of course upset by this news, Captain Caveman in particular, and he had planned to mark the evening by joining some cavers at The Cobden View pub. The Sheffield University Speleological Society (SUSS) meet there on a Thursday, right at the same time that I’d arranged a small gathering of friends to help Captain Caveman celebrate his birthday. We decided Captain Caveman would go to the Cobden View but I would go to meet everyone at Kelham Island. After the caving night, Captain Caveman would join us. In the meantime, we had stopped off at The Shakespeare for a pint on the way to Kelham Island, we both had a pint and a packet of Salt and Vinegar Discos to share. We had a walk round Kelham Island to find a few of the pubs were closed but we ended up in The Millowners Arms where I had another pint of water. I was feeling a bit dehydrated after last night and thirsty after walking in Sheffield which is far more hilly than I’m used to. To my surprise, the water was free again and I was absolutely loving being able to drink tap water whenever I liked – it was so amazing! Next, we decided to call in to the bar I had arranged to meet everyone in later tonight. I’d been to Salt before but it turned out that Captain Caveman hadn’t, as we ordered 2 on-tap cocktails for a total of £12.30. My Pornstar Martini was a bit too sweet but Captain Caveman’s Espresso Martini went down well. We also tried a gyoza snack for £4.50 which was tiny but tasty. Our next stop ended up being Craft & Dough with other choices not being open and Captain Caveman was getting a bit peckish. We decided to order a pizza to share and he had another pint of beer while I went to the loo. When I came out I went to order a pint of water and asked the barman how much it was. I never knew this but, all licensed premises in England and Wales are required by law to provide ‘free potable water’ to their customers upon request. He explained that it was illegal not to give free tap water out when asked and I was so impressed with this law. I also ordered a beer as I thought it was a good idea and we were going to be meeting a few people who were finishing work soon.
Captain Caveman and I met Tony and Paul first at 6pm at the Kelham Island Tavern. Tony was drinking from a glass labelled Left Handed Giant which might be his new nickname. Becca was also already there just as we arrived as she’d got an Uber in to town. As we tried to work out how long it had been since our last rendezvous (too long!) and who knew who from where, the beers flowed. Luan, Drexy and Jeff arrived as Captain Caveman left to go to the SUSS meet up. More reminiscing and laughter was had before we realised we needed to change venues to meet anyone else at Salt. Becca and I left first as Louisa and Linda were already sat outside and I almost didn’t recognise them as both had different hairstyles since I last saw them. Louisa was working later so couldn’t stay out long but had made the effort for Captain Caveman’s birthday, I hoped he would make it back before she had to leave. To complete the crew, Caz & Tim were next to arrive and we had a drink or two more. I felt that I didn’t get to speak to everyone enough and it dawned on me that the time I planned to be in England for would fly by. It was the school holidays so lots of parents were busy with the kids or going away so it wasn’t possible for everyone to come out, just because JoLo was back in town. As we were chatting, Luan informed us that one of our friends’ father had died. But then when she double checked it was a false alarm and we all raised a glass to him, with Linda saying ‘I’ve never met him, but I’m so glad he’s alive!’ It was nice to be with my Northern mates again and we had a great time. As I said bye to Louisa and Linda, Captain Caveman was in the taxi coming back – which was a shame they had missed each other.
We had another drink in Salt but then decided to go back to The Kelham Island Tavern. Caz and Tim also had to get back home so they said their goodbyes. Much to Captain Caveman’s aversion to acknowledging his birthday, he responded quite well to a group rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ from the rest of us in our last bar. Drexy and Jeff had offered to give Captain Caveman and I a lift back to Mosborough and the sensible thing would’ve been to take it. Luan and Paul also had work tomorrow so were leaving but I blame Tony for the rest of the evening’s shenanigans.
I don’t think Captain Caveman was expecting for it to be such an eventful (drunken) birthday on Thursday 18th July. Tony had the amazing idea that we should all go for a curry. Once we’d said bye to the people our hangovers would be wishing we were tomorrow, I called Butler’s Balti to ask them to stay open. Tony is a regular there so they agreed to wait for us but we took longer to walk there than we expected because of all the road work paraphernalia in the way. Once there, we were the only customers; Tony, Becca, Captain Caveman and I were so grateful, though, and we cracked on with ordering our drinks and food quite sharpish. Tony and I had red wine, Becca had white and Captain Caveman stuck to beer (for the time being). I’d love to write about what each of us ordered but all I can recall is that it was amazing food and that Captain Caveman and Tony went for something too hot for me to handle. At the end of the night, and as the staff were probably really hoping to lock up, Captain Caveman was presented with the ultimate birthday drink. Of course, I had to get a video of it which, to Captain Caveman’s irritation, caused a bit of an injury. While I videoed and we all sang Happy Birthday in the style of Stevie Wonder on a night out in Sheffield, Captain Caveman had to wait to blow out the flaming sambuca which then meant he burned his lip on the hot glass and lethal liquid. Outside we struggled to get taxis for 3 out of 4 of us and we were a bit merry by this stage. Becca got upset as her taxi got nicked by someone else and Captain Caveman got impatient when we ordered a second one as ours went missing. Poor Tony was left to sort us all out and make sure Becca got the taxi and he got back to his hotel. All this on a school night but we were home before 1am and our friendly taxi driver was chatting all the way back to Mosborough to his friend abroad. It only cost £16 which I didn’t think was bad considering it was probably about that 2.5 years ago. What a night, tomorrow was going to hurt but I’d fortuitously took the day off work.
Josh and Martha had weighing scales in their bathroom and it was my weigh day on Wednesday 17th July. I’d consumed just shy of 500 syns this week, but I kidded myself that at least I was still tracking it! I do realise that simply writing it down doesn’t make me lose weight, eating and drinking less does! According to these scales I had put on 0.85kg (1.9lb) which wasn’t great but my measurements weren’t too bad; bust +1cm, waist stayed the same and hips -1cm! We let down our trusty inflatable borrowed bed, which had been comfy, and tidied the room. With everything packed it was time to say bye to Martha as Josh gave us a lift to Oxenholme train station on his way to work. We had spent the last 2 days having lots of laughs and it was definitely one of the things I loved most about being back in England – spending time with friends who had a great sense of humour and banter. I don’t get as many opportunities to do that in Vietnam due to the language barrier and my comedic style being somewhere between Sid James and Jimmy Carr. My concerns about gaining weight were soon forgotten (again) as we arrived at the cafe outside the station. We’d said a hurried farewell to Josh with hopes of seeing him and Martha in Turkey this winter and had a little bit of time before our train at 9.14am. Captain Caveman had already booked our train tickets in advance and we were going via Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield, hoping to arrive around midday. Captain Caveman ordered a toastie and I had a bacon sandwich with brown sauce. The cafe there is excellent and my bacon sandwich was so good!!
The train to Manchester was fine, although someone was sat in our allocated seats, a lady who I thought was rather mentally challenged as she kept talking to herself, even while she was shovelling a flapjack in to her mouth. She also was speaking in a tongue I had no knowledge of and I tried to guess where she might be from. When we got off at Manchester Piccadilly to change trains, Captain Caveman pointed out she was Glaswegian and had airpods in her ears – earphones without wires! Wow, I was so out of touch and then Captain Caveman called me racist because I didn’t recognise a Scottish accent – while we were stood next to lots of people with different skin colour to me! The train to Sheffield was rammed and we only just got a seat with it being a free for all and Captain Caveman making a passenger move her bags from the seat next to her so that I could sit down. She said she couldn’t move them because she had recently had spinal surgery and that was no issue for Captain Caveman as he bunged them on the overhead rack. I assured her he would get them back down for her when we got off, as I sat down. We arrived in Sheffield at 11.45am and my first activity was to need the toilet at platform 8! By 11.55am we were outside at the bus stop waiting for our bus to Mosborough and it was sunny! I wouldn’t have said it was hot but a workman on his lunch break obviously would have, as he came and did pull ups on the bus shelter while half naked. Our Giffgaff SIMs were now working so Captain Caveman didn’t notice as the workman got down on the floor and did press ups. I warned my parents we were on the way to their’s and we booked the family in for celebratory drinks tonight.
We arrived at Ma & Pa’s to warm hugs and they had even got us the kettle on and some nice food in for lunch. There were sandwiches with ham or pork, crisps, sausage rolls and scotch eggs. They were snaffled down very quickly and I didn’t even take a photo. After a bit of unpacking and repacking, all 4 of us decided it would be a good idea to go for a stroll to the nearest boozer. We love the Alma and it’s beer garden is often full of dogs with their owners. It was pretty quiet as we drank our pints. Captain Caveman and Mom stuck to beer but Dad and I had Inches cider. It was my first time of trying it and I really liked it, we commented that the glasses were nice and instantly went on to the barmaid’s watch list as she had noticed quite a few go missing already. We had pork scratchings even though we had plans for a dinner that Captain Caveman and I had been counting down to. I’d not been to Tony’s fish and chip shop for 2.5 years and it was at the very top of my list of must do places while I’m back. My parents were up for it and after a couple of rounds we left the Alma and went to the best chippy in Sheffield. Captain Caveman ordered himself a haddock, the rest of us had cod and shared two lots of chips between us. I was surprised to find that a fish was now over £6 so the whole lot came to over £40 for our dinner but it was so worth it and I could’ve eaten even more. Tony’s rarely disappoints and I hoped I’d get to go there again while I was back home – the diet could wait! In one day, I’d consumed over the weeks allowance of syns already and we still had a night out planned.
I’d booked a table at the local micro pub, Craftworks on the Mosborough high street, for 7.30pm. The motley crew joining Captain Caveman and I were my parents, my sister Gayle, my 2 nieces Morgan and April and Harley, April’s boyfriend. I went on to the red wine as I was full after the ciders and fish and chips, Captain Caveman stuck to pints, as did Ma, Pa & Harley. The ladies went a bit fancy with Aperol spritz or spirits and we gave the ball a right old kick. To give an idea of costs, pints of beer ranged from £3.90 for a Barnsley bitter or a weak pale ale, right up to over £7 for something stronger or a stout. My mom was better behaved than her last family visit here and I’m happy to report that she didn’t inspect the walls or floor this time – she knew that Neil (my brother-in-law) wasn’t here to come and rescue her this time. It was a brilliant way to celebrate Captain Caveman’s birthday early with the family and my face ached from laughing so much, especially at Gayle who is hilarious (even when she’s not trying to be). My nieces are now adults and I was kindly invited to a party next week to celebrate April turning 18. I’d not seen them since they came to Dalyan on holiday last year so it was brilliant to see them again. It was the first time I’d met Harley and we liked him straight away when we found out he was a fan of a music quiz! We were obviously the last to leave and at 11pm we were still all supping our last drinks as the really polite barmaid waited patiently for us to go home. Captain Caveman and I loved it and it was his first visit to Craftworks but maybe not his last.
Monday 15th July was another great day aside from the fact that Captain Caveman had his breakfast without me and left me a toilet gift that kept on giving! After Captain Caveman made me beans on toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea for my breakfast, it was time to pack and check out of White Cottage. The Giffgaff SIM we both had didn’t work in Askham so we couldn’t phone a taxi. Captain Caveman attempted Uber, which is the UK’s equivalent of Grab, but there was no luck. We left White Cottage which had cost £520 for 3 nights (no wonder it had been nice!) having had a really nice stay in Askham. At the Askham Grocery shop, we called a taxi and got a hot beverage each while we waited for the car to come from nearby Penrith. There is a bus but it only goes once per week, not on Mondays. The taxi was £20 so it didn’t break the bank and we got our train tickets at the station for £8.70 each. We were off to meet Watto and Chrissy for lunch in Oxenholme and they picked us up from Oxenholme train station. While we were waiting, we noticed the train station had a really good shop and cafe so we shared a sausage roll which was fantastic. It was great to see Watto and Chrissy, who we know from Phong Nha when Watto worked with Captain Caveman as an Oxalis cave expert and Chrissy was my fellow CWAG (Cavers Wives and Girlfriends). Phong Nha wasn’t the same without them making us laugh but it was good to see a retired Watto looking very well. They drove us to the Station Inn where we had decided to have lunch on a bit of a whim. We were the first in the pub and of course Chrissy and I didn’t need any persuading on having a bottle of white wine. We were so busy catching up that I didn’t take photos of the food but it was really good. I had the red pepper and tomato soup for starter and the scampi for main, both of which were really lovely and a good sized portion. We didn’t have room for a pudding but we did have a hot drink and the staff were really nice, friendly and accommodating. I remembered to get a group photo to commemorate the occasion but the lighting and angle weren’t the best.
Watto and Chrissy drove us to our next stop, which was to a house in Oxenholme. We were visiting another ex Oxalis cave expert as we were staying with Josh and Martha for a couple of nights. Martha opened the door and welcomed us but we had already decided we would drop our bags off and have a walk in to town. She works from home and would be busy and Josh was still at work so it gave us the time to have a wander. We had a walk in to Kendal where Captain Caveman encouraged me to have 2 pints of Guinness and a bag of pork scratchings in the Clock Tower pub. It was a proper boozer and the drink prices were reasonable so we were quite happy there until Josh came to meet us after work. It was great to see Josh after 6 months, we last saw him and Martha in Turkey at Christmas. We had another pint, then we walked back to the house where Martha’s friend had popped over to lend us an inflatable bed, which was ace. Much hilarity ensued as we all got involved in pumping it up in the spare room. We were lucky to be in it as that room was earmarked for the cinema room as they were doing up their relatively new home. The house was so lovely and we definitely made ourselves at home. Josh cooked us a great vegan dinner of mushroom risotto, which we had with garlic bread. I had a glass of wine and we all chatted and took the micky out of Josh. It was really good to see Josh and Martha again and we could’ve stayed up all night but tomorrow Martha and I had work to do.
I had tea and a buttered crumpet for breakfast on Tuesday 16th July after a pretty good night’s sleep on an inflatable bed. Captain Caveman and Josh had the day free so they took themselves off for a walk and a visit to Kendal castle. Martha and I said we would meet them later as we both had work to do. When I finished, I walked to meet the fellas who were in Cortillo restaurant having a beverage and waiting for us to join for lunch. I got a bit lost but turned out I was only about 50 metres away. My Giffgaff SIM still didn’t have any signal and was turning out to be a waste of money. I ordered a lemongrass and ginger tea and perused the rather extensive menu while we waited for Martha to finish a meeting. Josh, Captain Caveman and I all chose a version of a breakfast while Martha order 3 tapas of chicken wings, patatas bravas and garlic bread. The food was lovely, the decor quite unusual and we had a great lunch. Josh and Martha left us to find our own way home as Captain Caveman had decided he wanted to take me to Kendal castle where he had been this morning. I wasn’t too bothered, given that I was carrying my laptop in case I needed to reply to some emails and I’d just had a massive breakfast. I went to the toilet as I knew as soon as we set off walking, I would need to go. A mother and daughter were in a cubicle together, both using the toilet and I was shocked to see that when they came out, neither of them washed their hands – they just walked straight out! Captain Caveman and I walked towards Kendal castle via the shops and I saw a Herdy shop. I love their stuff and I wanted to pop in and see if we could get a gift for Josh and Martha. While I was there, I saw a bag for myself and, as I had just been paid, I decided I wanted it. Captain Caveman said I didn’t need one but my existing bag had a tangled strap and wasn’t practical. We got talking to the shop assistant while we couldn’t agree what to buy but eventually I bought the Herdy bag for me and a set of Herdy coasters for Josh and Martha. I know Martha likes a brew so I thought it would be a nice reminder of us when she was enjoying a cuppa. We carried on walking towards the castle and it did look a bit overcast as we approached the bridge. By the time we were in the field and close to the Castle, I needed the loo as I had a bad stomach. I was really bad and could hardly move, I didn’t even look up at the castle as we hurried in search of a toilet. As my phone didn’t work I asked Captain Caveman to Google toilets closest to the castle and I was so desperate that I considered knocking on a door to see if I could use the loo of a local. Captain Caveman didn’t look properly for a toilet and made me walk all the way back to Josh and Martha’s, almost bent double in pain. I ran in to the house and Martha could see on my face that I wasn’t well and put the radio on in her office, next to the bathroom. I can’t even whistle so I was grateful!
I worked until 4pm and then Captain Caveman, Josh and I decided to go to the local pub for a pint. When we got to the Factory Tap I realised it was within walking distance of the castle and a place we could have come to earlier when I was having a spasm, so I was a bit peeved with Captain Caveman. I managed a pint of Gluten free beer, crisps and pork scratchings as my belly was better. Martha joined us and I managed another Gluten Free beer and she had a gin and tonic. It was a really nice pub with a beer garden and the sun was out. Josh went back home a bit earlier than the rest of us, as he was doing us a veggie dinner at home and we finished our drinks. The veggie wraps and wedges were really tasty and I ate quite a bit, washed down with a glass of wine. We all got comfy in the living room and watched Below Deck, a first for Captain Caveman who really took to it. We’d had such a good time seeing Josh and Martha and were sad to be leaving tomorrow morning. Our next stop was my home town of Sheffield, Captain Caveman had just 2 days there before he had to go back to London, then Vietnam.
Captain Caveman treated the 4 of us to another cooked breakfast at White Cottage on the morning of Sunday 14th July. His family were leaving today but Captain Caveman had booked us in for 3 nights so we had the place to ourselves tonight. As part of the wedding celebrations there was a morning walk at 11am but I needed to work, as I had took tomorrow off, and I had a bit of a woolly head. The rest of the family decided not to go either as they wanted to avoid traffic, Captain Caveman didn’t go because of the rain (which isn’t like him). Everyone met at White Cottage to say farewell, with The Sprouts heading further north to Darlington. Then Ben and Lola joined Captain Caveman’s parents for the long journey back to London. By midday I was back on the laptop while under a blanket on the sofa, trying to keep warm. We walked across to the Queen’s Head pub for lunch where we shared a very good pizza and had a pint each for a total of £30 before calling at the local shop to see what we could get to cook for dinner. We bought pork sausages, an onion, a carrot and some crisps for £8 and Captain Caveman decided he would make a sausage casserole with the leftover tomatoes from breakfast.
While Captain Caveman got to work in the kitchen, I carried on with some work. When I finished and the slow cooker had done it’s magic, we opened the bottle of wine left by the owner and ate our lovely dinner. Tomorrow we had more excitement planned as we were meeting up with 2 lots of friends, both who I’d originally met in Phong Nha.
Captain Caveman’s cousin, Hugh, was marrying his girlfriend of 10 years, Maddi, on the afternoon of Saturday 13th July at Askham Hall, near Penrith. After a great night’s sleep at White Cottage, Captain Caveman got up to make me a cup of Yorkshire tea and start on breakfast. I was glad of the duvet and extra cover as it had been pretty cold in the night so I was reluctant to get out of bed. After a lovely hot shower, which I had started to get used to them being hot and powerful in England, I went downstairs. Captain Caveman had made a full English for me, him, Ben & Lola and it was lovely. Lola and I chatted about what we were going to wear as neither of us had brought warm clothing and it was cold and a bit rainy outside. Captain Caveman hadn’t told me that the theme was summery or flowery, obviously I had never seen an invite! Our cosy cottage supplied fleecy tartan blankets on the sofa so Lola read her book under one and I did a couple of hours of work under another. Anna and Captain Caveman’s dad had both said they would be over early to iron their outfits but by 12 noon they hadn’t arrived. I tried on all dresses available to me, including my new ones but in the end, after getting 4 ‘nos’ from Captain Caveman, Ben and Lola, I wore one I had for when I’m in back in Turkey. When The Sprouts did arrive we got a few photos of some of us. I even attempted a family photo outside the cottage despite it drizzling and me shivering a bit. We walked to the venue, it was probably only 15°C and we hoped it didn’t rain too much as none of us had an umbrella.
There was a bit of milling about as we were early and Captain Caveman isn’t good at introducing me to anyone. I sussed out the mother of the groom and said hello, she was wearing a lovely green dress and was with her husband, Paul, who I recognised from Aunty Marge’s funeral. Luckily we got to wish cousin Hugh luck and all the best, just before the ceremony. He looked very smart and my dress matched the pattern on his tie which reassured me I’d fitted the theme, after all. By 1.55pm we were all waiting for the bride, it was time for the wedding!
I had not yet met Maddi and she looked really stunning as she walked down the aisle. The service went well and was fairly amusing from the quite jocular wedding officiant. We were asked not to take any photos so I managed to make the whole day without taking one photo of the happy couple. After the ceremony, there was Pimm’s or beer and we were gathered on the garden for a group photo. We also got to chuck rose petal confetti on to the beautiful newlyweds, which was great. I managed to get a few photos of some of the family messing about and everyone was really happy. The canapes and champagne were very nice, then it was time to go back in to the hall for the wedding breakfast and speeches. We all were given a pair of sunglasses with our names on which we popped on as Hugh and Maddi came in to the room to a song from the musical, Greece.
The sit down dinner was lovely, we had a Turkish style köfte with salad and pitta for starters, lamb or veggie option for main and sticky toffee pudding for pud. I don’t like lamb or mashed potatoes so Captain Caveman went to ask if there were any spare veggie mains for me to swap. There was and it’s probably one of the nicest meals I’ve had in a long while; miso flavoured baked aubergine with roasted peppers, edamame beans and broccolini – amazing! The wine was provided too and we toasted lots of very funny speeches. Captain Caveman had chosen well with an extra wedding gift of Vietnamese coffee and phin cups for the happy couple. They both share a massive love of coffee and had even named their guests’ tables after their favourite coffee shops. We were given word puzzles on the table which Captain Caveman was keen to do and I helped. After dinner, we went in to another area for a hot beverage and were given a lovely piece of fudge. Captain Caveman and I continued with the wine from the table and then it was time for the live band. By this time Captain Caveman was flagging a bit as he was still on Vietnamese bed times. At 10pm pizzas were brought out so we had a couple of slices, they were really good. After a couple of glasses of water to try to keep Captain Caveman and I awake, we decided to walk back to White Cottage having had a lovely day.
Photo credit: Captain Caveman and the wedding photographer
On Friday 12th July the Turkish lira was now up to 42.7 to the pound, the highest I’d known it. We had to strip our bed and put fresh bedding on as Captain Caveman’s middle brother and his niece would be coming back down to London with their parents after the wedding weekend. Captain Caveman and I had a bit of an adventure planned until he returned next Friday. Captain Caveman ended up with feathers all over from the pillows and then was sneezing. I picked them all up by hand as best I could and then we packed our stuff for the long drive from London to Penrith. Breakfast was another family affair where I had tea, toast and cereal. Captain Caveman made sandwiches for the journey and the parents car set off before The Sprouts. I took a travel sickness pill, the expensive ones and I didn’t see anything until I woke up near the Birmingham toll. We had a stop at the services along the way and we ate our butties outside. When we eventually arrived in Penrith Captain Caveman and I were dropped off at White Cottage in Askham, where we were staying with Ben and Lola. Captain Caveman’s parents were staying at the Punch Bowl pub nearby and The Sprouts were staying at an Airbnb in Penrith. That evening, all 11 of us dined at The Punch Bowl together and the food was extremely good. I had steak pie with chips, gravy and extra veg instead of peas. I also had a pint of cider and 2 glasses of red wine. A few people had desserts but Captain Caveman and I shared a lovely cheese board. I was already on 195 syns for the week and we had the wedding tomorrow plus an extra night in Askham for Captain Caveman and I. I was quite glad that there were no scales around.
By the time I woke up on Thursday 4th July, my parents had already left for the airport so I didn’t get to go and wave them off. Ordinarily, this would not have happened but given that I would see them in 13 days time none of us were upset about it. I had tea and toast for breakfast then got my stuff packed to move accommodation. I worked in the morning and then ate the rest of the blueberries for lunch, sharing them with Norman and Edna. Blueberries are meant to be good for dogs so Edna wolfed them down, Norman was yet to be convinced. I left some stuff at Jamie’s, including my laptop, as I was off on a moonlight boat trip that afternoon. It was another one of the ‘Ladies only’ ones that I had helped to organise with a friend. We boarded Captain Fuat’s Adil boat around 4pm, bound for Köyceğiz. As we were setting off, one of the ladies went to the shop with the Captain to buy a last minute purchase and then it was time to go. Captain Fuat shared some fruits from his garden, the fresh figs were amazing, as well as a delicious cake made my his daughter. We had a mooch around Köyceğiz where I tried on a dress for a forthcoming wedding in Penrith. It was a nicely fitting, off the shoulder, green and flowery number but I noticed it was coming apart at the seams a little. It was also 1200 lira (£28.92) so I decided it was out of my budget. We all left the shop and I was the last one to go, as I was leaving the older lady of the shop started to turn angry with me and accused me of ripping the poorly sewn garment. I walked out without saying anything and decided I wouldn’t be going in that shop again. Back on the boat, we had a very lovely evening with more excellent food including hot chips after our first swim stop, courgette fritters and chicken nuggets to nibble on before dinner. One of the ladies had sold her parents’ house and wanted to share with us her good news so she had bought a couple of bottles of fizz for us all. I had a couple of glasses of rosé wine with a couple of the other ladies but I noticed most of the women weren’t drinking much, if at all – it was very civilised. Not everyone swam but a friend and I went a few times round the boat and the sunset was amazing. We had a delicious tomato based soup as a starter and then the main course which was a mixture of dishes to accommodate meat eaters and vegetarians. I really enjoyed it and the evening was finished off with fizz/rosé and stargazing which was very relaxing. We didn’t get back until almost midnight after what had been an amazing moonlight boat trip. The cost was £30 (1,250 lira) and Captain Fuat always looks after us very well.
I was up very early on Friday 5th July as I needed to walk over to Jamie’s to say bye to Drew, Nick and Mark before work. They were off back to the UK after a lovely holiday/stay. I called at Migros to buy a thank you bottle of wine for Jamie and I grabbed some noodles which were on offer. I spent just 337.90 lira (£8.10) and I even got Angora wine for that. I needed to get my laptop and a few things I’d not taken on the boat with me last night. It was only 24°C at 7am but there was an excessive heat weather warning for later and I also wanted to check Captain Caveman’s apartment complex again. I had been told by the pool and maintenance bloke that they had worked there this morning so I was going to inspect. When I arrived, it was less than satisfactory and obvious that no one had been that morning, or even in the last few days. Dead plants, dried leaves and generally weeds needing sorting which were easy and obvious jobs. I wasn’t happy and I messaged the maintenance man, who once again told me that they had been this morning. He blamed it on not having a hose and that there was nothing he could do as all 10 apartments needed to give him money for a hose. I told him to go buy one and I would pay and I didn’t hear back, only to say he had ordered one. I checked on Trendyol and the most expensive one was not more than 2000 lira (£47.96) and I just wanted the place clean and tidy for our guests – it was proving far too much to ask for. I sent the pool and garden man photos as I was stood there and he said that he also had photos from his brother and that it didn’t look the same – how dare they call me a liar! I suspected his workers were either tired, lazy or lying and so he promised me he would personally check every day – he had already promised this several times so I didn’t hold my breath! I also let the rental agent know but she was on holiday and the guy left in charge wasn’t able to get through to the maintenance company either. It was a joke and I really wished we’d never agreed to rent the place out. The ironic thing is that Captain Caveman and I had never agreed to this maintenance company but we had been told we were outvoted. The Aussies downstairs had not experienced any complaints from their tenants (of which they had several different customers) so it was unfortunate that only my tenants were being affected. Because of all the faffing about, I wasn’t back ‘in the office’ until 11am, having picked up a bottle of water and a couple of simits for a bargain total of 31 lira (74p). I worked all day then had a video chat with Captain Caveman, he was flying from Dong Hoi to Saigon tomorrow to start his journey back to the UK for his holiday. In the evening I headed to the tea gardens for dinner with my my new house mate. We had sandwiches and soft drinks followed by an ice-cream for a total of 400 lira (£9.64). The place was very busy but there was a lovely breeze and the staff were very efficient. We went back home and arranged to get up early to go to Ortaca before work tomorrow.
On Monday 1st July I did some work first thing and then joined my parents, Adam, Kath & Kate on the yellow boat trip to Köyceğiz. Like an idiot, I forgot to take my phone so there were no photos of the day out. Kate and I headed to the market as soon as we got there while everyone else went for a drink. I bought what I would have got from the market in Dalyan on Saturday, if I’d not missed it; strawberries and a bit of veg. At Carrefour, I bought 2 bottles of Prosecco for 720.05 Lira (£17.35) ready for tonight as Jamie and the boys had invited me, and Nanny Kay, for dinner again. For lunch we all ate at Tuana where I had a chicken burger and some lemon soda as I didn’t fancy alcohol, for a change. I nipped to the supermarket on my way back for some treats for the house and bought the following, prices in Turkish Lira;
We had a lovely chilled out evening at Jamie and Drew’s, with lots of laughs and a very tasty chicken salad for dinner. Drew’s homemade croutons were definitely a hit, Nanny Kay’s chocolate brownie with jelly was so good and I really enjoyed the meal.
I woke up early on Tuesday 2nd July and had tea and toast for breakfast. Tomorrow was weigh day and I’d completely gone off track this week with the food and booze. Jamie and the boys were off on a trip for Mark’s birthday, just local, but I was going to spend the day with Norman and Edna. I did some washing and then got on with some work. Edna wanted to help send some emails and got on my knee to get nearer the laptop. By 9am I was in the newly kitted out köşk enjoying the fresh air while I worked. I saw an unusual critter on the table and the temperature shot up to 35°C in the shade. In the afternoon, I attempted to arrange to meet up with our elusive pool and garden man but, unsurprisingly, he wasn’t forthcoming. Our tenants were arriving again in a few days and I was concerned that Captain Caveman’s apartment complex still looked a mess and it was getting very frustrating. I worked some more in the afternoon and in the evening I was meeting my parents for our last meal in Dalyan. They were off to Göcek tomorrow with their friends so I needed to say bye to them tonight. They would fly back to England on Thursday morning but I would see them in Sheffield in July.
After feeding the dogs and watching Norman confidently patrol the property perimeter, I went to call for Ma & Pa. I still needed to see Sonuç to pay hım the £30 (or 1200 lira) that I owed him for the airport pick up when I arrived, so I popped over to his new office. It was very smart and looked good. Our next stop was for a cheeky drink in Cafe Ivy where they do a nice white wine at a reasonable price. For dinner we decided to try Sea Breeze, as we know the owner, Suha, from when he was a waiter at Bistro Blue restaurant. It was the day of a football game that we wanted to avoid so it looked like a nice quiet place to eat. An older waiter took our order and we decided not to have starters. We ordered a bottle of house red wine which was 750 lira (£18) for the cheapest Buzbağ brand. We got a bottle of water to share for 80 lira (£1.93) and we all had a steak. My parents had onion steaks, I had a blue cheese steak and the price was 850 lira (£20.48) each. When it was served, it was presented on wooden boards which I really don’t like so I asked for a spare plate and transferred it over. It’s very common in Dalyan to serve meals on wooden boards but I find it not only looks bad, it’s unhygienic and impractical, especially if having a sauce. This was evidently not the cheapest place in town but the food quality and taste was excellent. We all really enjoyed our dinner but I felt a bit uneasy about the waiter and wondered if he regularly worked there. He asked us to put a review on Trip Advisor before we’d finished and, when he cleared the plates, he ate a leftover vegetable from Dad’s plate. This was the first time this had happened to me ever in any restaurant and it did take me by surprise. I usually do leave reviews but this then put me off doing one and I haven’t bothered. I paid the 3,380 lira (£81.45) on my credit card and Ma gave me cash so I could continue to add money to my Turkish account to keep up the residency requirements. I didn’t think £27 each for a decent meal was too bad and it did include a free appetiser of olives, warm bread and dips. I wanted to get back for Norman and Edna so I invited my parents over for a nightcap. We went to Yaman Büfe off licence on the way and bought a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine for just 590 lira (£14.22) – and we splashed out on Angora. Dad and I shared the red, Mom had some of the white while we had to pretend to give Edna red. I was giving her water from a glass behind my red wine but when she realised we were hoodwinking her, she wasn’t too happy. It was gone 11.30pm when my parents left and we said goodbye – Norman had already fell asleep but Edna came to say farewell, unaware she wouldn’t see them again until September.
I’d planned on going to the weekly Dalyan market on Saturday 29th June, however, I had work to do and it was too hot by the time that I’d finished. For lunch I joined my parents at the Kefal tea garden where I had a lovely chicken sandwich and some lemon soda. After lunch I went over to Captain Caveman’s apartment complex to better inspect the garden so that I could let the pool and maintenance company know that I wasn’t happy with the lack of work being done. Back at Jamie’s villa, Norman and Edna had been in the pool with the boys and were trying to keep cool. I had a shower and then got ready for a dinner at ‘home’. I’d been invited to dine al fresco with Jamie, Drew, Nick & Mark and we had a delicious chicken pesto pasta dish with garlic bread. I’d drank too much yesterday so I kept it to just one glass of wine with dinner and then retired for an early night. I still wasn’t caught up on sleep from missing a night of it when I came from Vietnam.
I worked all morning and until 2pm on Sunday 30th June before heading off to meet Kate at the bus station. Kate had suggested we go to Günlüklu restaurant for lunch, where she’d been told there was some music on. It sounded good and it was too hot to walk so we got the bus. Kate and I had totally got the wrong end of the stick where the music was concerned as it wasn’t even in the restaurant part. There was a small copse in the nearby woods where a stage area had been made, ready for a bit of an afternoon shindig but we had already ordered shandies and food. Kate and I shared haydari, fava bean dip and bread with our beers and it was rather delicious. After eating, we walked to the area where we had seen a few familiar faces taking cooler boxes and fold-up chairs to see what we were missing. On first look we both agreed the gathering wasn’t for us today, it was already getting late and no musicians had started playing yet. Kate was wearing an all in one outfit which would not be conducive to peeing behind a tree, if needed either. We said hello to a few friends, walked to the underwhelming water wheel then left. I had to get back to feed Norman and Edna as the boys were on a day trip and wouldn’t be back until later. In the evening I finally got round to booking my appointment and paying £219.50 for a UK passport express renewal service. I had an appointment at the Passport office in London in 8 days! It was expensive but I wanted a guarantee it would be completed and in my hand the same day.
On Friday 28th June my parents and I had quite an adventure. Ma & Pa had booked the 3 of us on a Captain Boris boat trip for the day and I was so looking forward to it. I woke up at 6am feeling happy to have the temperature cooler than I was used to in Vietnam. By 8am it was still under 30°C outside but it was definitely getting hotter as I left for our day on the boat. Captain Boris is one of the more luxurious boat trips with exceptional food, hosted by the lovely Rebecca & Basrı. The cost was £40 per person and included a massive lunch with lots of different dishes. Rebecca was a bit miffed that they had 2 lots of bookings today and she had to go on the second boat, leaving 16 of us in the safe hands of Basrı and Anıl. We headed out to sea and, although there were parts where the sandbanks were high, we got through. The sea was very rough and I was glad I’d taken a precautionary sea sickness tablet, as did one other passenger. After we got to a nice calm bay we had a swim stop and there were crisps and dips to help ourselves to. A BBQ and full buffet (including prawns) was served for lunch just after 1pm and it was absolutely amazing. The prawns and the chicken casserole were definitely my 2 favourite dishes. Ma & Pa stuck to beers but I had rose wine and we were all having a great time with a fantastic bunch of random people. Just before 3pm, there was a bit of a disaster when something happened to the engine and the Captain instantly called May Day on the walkie talkie. I looked over the side and there seemed to be a fire or something causing a lot of smoke – it didn’t look good and we were out at sea in very choppy waves.
The food was fantastic
Short video of the boat
Captain Boris had to arrange for us to be rescued from our boat trip after we tried to get a tow but the waves were strong and Basrı needed to get out weight off this boat. Already he had neighbouring boats helping, including Princess of Ekincik who we were on last night and a cooperative, smaller boat. It became essential that we were going to have to climb over from our boat to the rescue one while bobbing about. I started to feel a bit worried for my parents; my mom has a dodgy leg and my Dad’s eyesight isn’t great. To be honest, I wasn’t sure my balancing skills stretched to straggling 2 boats of different heights while at sea. It was a bit of a to-do but we all made it – with all our bags! Boris and Anıl kept calm and efficient during the mini crisis and they got us all on to the cooperative boat safely. We got took off to the beach to wait for Captain Boris to get sorted out but unfortunately, we had forgotten to bring our shoes. Ma braved a walk to the toilet on the beach but the floor was red hot so I didn’t attempt it. By 5pm we had been rescued and were back on Boris’s Boat, the way we had got on but in less choppy waters. We saw yellow boat and also another Captain, Simon, who came by paddle board to say hello. We got towed to Magic Lake and Basrı insisted on a free bar to apologise and, of course, Dad and I made good use of this to help encourage other guests (a couple were first timers). We were meant to be back by 5pm but it was more like 6.45pm when we got off the boat. My Dad was on a mission to carry on the night but my Mom was insisting he’d had enough so we all went home.
Of course, Dalyan wouldn’t be Dalyan without a bit of drama and it turned out neither my parents nor I would stay in that evening. When I arrived back at Jamie’s, the 4 fellas (Jamie, Drew, Nick & Mark) were waiting for me to join them for a drink at Lukka bar. It was their Friday music bingo night and the boys were booked in for food. My parents had a shower and Dad decided they were going to meet up with other Dalyan Dwellers in Tapa and Tez bars. After a shower and change for me, I joined the guys for Lukka music bingo and it was brilliant. I had some cheesy chips and some wine, to see me through, I had a good boogie and a sing to the first half of the bingo. At the interval, Jamie had decided we were moving on to Sofra bar to enjoy the rest of the night but Mark and I decided to stay a bit longer to hear Joseph sing Sweet Dreams and have a sing-along to the start of the second half. At Sofra bar the rest of the gang had met up with some of the regular characters and were having a good time. I nursed a pint of beer for the rest of the evening as I’d overdone it but I managed to have a go on the karaoke and probably did a bad Adele or something. I bumped in to Jack, Stan and Nigel and I enjoyed watching Jack perform one of my old favourites, Psycho Killer. It was gone 1am when we finally went home and it was a good job I was working flexible hours for tomorrow.
On the morning of Thursday 27th June, I didn’t get out of bed until 8am Turkish time, but that was midday in Vietnamese time. By 10am I had set myself up for a working day at Books & Cookies, not far from where Captain Caveman’s apartment is located. It had AC, was very quiet for using it as an office, and had good Turkish tea. I treated myself to a savoury pastry for breakfast and got on with my tasks. By 1pm, I was peckish so I had a linden tea with some delicious homemade cookies. The owner was really lovely and we had a little chat. My bill came to 360 lira (£8.67) which I thought was reasonable.
By 3pm it was hot outside as I ventured to the bank. I needed to ensure I was depositing at least 26,000 lira (£627 at today’s rate of 41.5 lira to the pound), in order to keep my Turkish residency. On my way back ‘home’ to Jamie’s, I called in to see my parents who were on their balcony, and we had an Efes shandy. In the evening, I had booked the 3 of us on a moonlight boat trip with Princess of Ekincik. It was £30 each and included a BBQ dinner with a few swim stops in the lake and the sea. On our way to the boat my parents and I called in to check out the complex at Captain Caveman’s place to check the pool and grounds. The pool looked fine but there was no sign of any gardening company having removed old leaves or swept the floors in a while. The floor had not been sloshed down with water recently either so, I was disappointed with our pool and garden company.
On the boat we said hello to the other customers and got comfy as we sailed to Köyceğiz lake. A small Efes beer was 100 lira (£2.41) and a glass of wine was 150 lira (£3.61) which was more than what it was 4 months ago but prices and taxes had gone up a lot. To start, Ma & Pa had beers while I had a rosé wine to try it out and we had our first swim stop at just after 7pm. Our BBQ food was as amazing as I remember it being and Ismail cooked us a feast. A bottle of white wine was purchased to have with our dinner and, as I was a bit jetlagged, I felt quite tiddly. The boat trip was amazing and we all really enjoyed it, it was past 11pm when we got back.
My flight from Bangkok to Istanbul on Wednesday 26th June arrived 40 minutes early. I’d purposely not booked an earlier flight in case of delays, so now I had even longer to wait until my flight to Dalaman. Before 5am it was a very chilly 17°C and I was feeling the cold in the airport, even with jeggings and a fleece on. I retrieved my luggage and had a faff about with the trolleys which you have to pay for. My flight wasn’t until 12.15pm and I was feeling a bit jetlagged. I logged in to the free WiFi, which was easy to get at a kiosk using my passport, and let people know I was on track. I’d booked Sonuç to pick me up from the airport and he messaged to check all was as planned. At the terminal in Istanbul airport, I checked if I could drop off my bags earlier and to my delight it could all be done on the self service machines. I weighed my 2 hold cases which had lost 1kg since Saigon and were now 17kg and 7kg. Due to my tiredness, I completely forgot to take my laptop out of one of them and then proceeded to worry my case would get lost. My next bit of good luck was when I decided to go to the lounge, which I had booked for 2 hours before my flight. It was before 8am so I explained I was early and they checked to see if there was space on the 09:55 flight. It was already full so they told me I could still enter the lounge until my flight and didn’t seem to care I would be there for 4 hours. There is no alcohol in the Turkish Airlines lounge but it was breakfast time and I was really hungry. I’d been given a spicy dish on the plane which I couldn’t eat and the breakfast meal was omelette which I didn’t eat either. I got myself cherry juice, Turkish tea, herbal tea, water, croissants, pastries, bagels, cheese and olives and tucked in while using the free WiFi. The call to board came at 11.40am and the bus was directly from the lounge and half empty. I had chosen an aisle seat and we even got given a chicken sandwich and a water on the 80 minute flight. I arrived on time in to Dalaman and didn’t have to wait too long for my luggage, where I was glad to see my laptop had made it. Sonuç was waiting for me and carried the luggage, had water for me in the car and we drove safely to Jamie and Drew’s new villa. I had planned to stay there for a week or so and it was really kind of him as he also had other guests visiting. I was so hungover that I don’t remember much about that afternoon apart from seeing Norman and Edna, Jamie’s dogs, who seemed to be pleased to see me. The villa was gorgeous and I had a lovely twin room with an ensuite which I couldn’t wait to go to sleep in. I’d made it just in time for Fat Club but, unfortunately, it was cancelled this week. I had no idea about my weight but I did take my measurements after a much needed shower; Bust no change, Waist +1cm, Hips -1cm. I had a glass of wine with Jamie, Drew and their house guests, Nick & Mark, before heading over to see my parents, who I hadn’t seen since January. The weather was nice and warm but definitely cooler than Phong Nha.
That evening, we had our first meal together at Duble, one of our favourites. We all had the chicken soup as it’s so good, then I had a chicken shish, Mom had fish and Dad had a chicken casserole. Ma & Pa had beers but I stuck to soda water and we had 2 lots of fresh bread. The whole bill came to 1,720 lira (£41.25) which worked out less than £14 for a starter and a main plus drink and a free shot each. I’d expected prices to be worse given the moaning I’d read on Facebook so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a late one as I had work to do tomorrow and I was desperate for sleep.
Captain Caveman was due to arrive at Danang train station on Saturday 22nd June at 6.06am. He also was delayed a little but by 8.30am we were off in search of a launderette and some breakfast. Captain Caveman dropped our washing off and was told to pick it up in the morning, we then got a Grab taxi to Lighthouse in Son Tra. It was pretty plush and I was starving so here’s what we had, prices in Dong;
1 Jasmine tea 70,000 1 Double Espresso 80,000 1 Eggs Benedict 125,000 1 Big Breakfast 150,000 Total 425,000VND (£13.16)
The food was fantastic and I felt super full but I didn’t feel too well after and needed the toilet urgently. I have a feeling that hash browns on the same meal as toast, doesn’t agree with my stomach.
There was a weather warning so we stayed in the AC room for the afternoon and I did some work while Captain Caveman played Bridge then fell asleep. I booked my flight from Istanbul for next week which included a snack, 25kg hold luggage, a specific seat and the Turkish Airlines lounge for about £80. In the evening we popped out to a Heart of Darkness beer place where I inadvertently ordered a lemongrass and coriander beer. It turned out to be really nice and we shared some salted edamame beans which I loved. For just 105,000VND (£3.25) for a pint of Belgian wheat beer in Vietnam, we decided to have another before walking to a restaurant.
Maazi is a lovely Indian restaurant which also has restaurants in Hanoi, Hoi An, Matlock and Hathersage. How fantastic, and we spoke about this to the manager, Rohit Chandra. We were peckish as hadn’t eaten any lunch so we really went for it. Here’s what we ordered, prices in Dong;
1 steamed rice 40,000 1 garlic naan bread 45,000 1 Vegetable Samosas 60,000 1 Pani Puri 60,000 1 Tandoori chicken 80,000 1 Masala Dosa 129,000 1 Butter Chicken 139,000 2 Kingfisher beers 200,000 Total with tax 817,240VND (£25.30)
It was so lovely and we really enjoyed it before hurrying back, via the cash machine, to watch a firework display.
Those Pani Puri were amazing
I’m not a fan of fireworks so Captain Caveman was a bit disappointed that I would rather watch them from indoors, even though there was a bridge and a place to view them better from. As we were near our hotel, it started to rain so we went inside and tried to watch fireworks from the window. Captain Caveman lasted a few minutes before laying on the bed and then instantly falling asleep and snoring loudly for far too long. I watched all the fireworks even after the spectators on the bridge started leaving because of the rain. Tomorrow we had something special planned and I was really looking forward to it.
As the rain came, the crowds tried to find shelter
joloyolo 