Phong Nha, Dong Hoi and Hanoi – 20th May

I was woken up by Captain Caveman sneezing at 5.40am on Saturday 20th May. It was going to be another hot day and I didn’t get up until 6.45am. Even though Captain Caveman had a day off today, he still had to go to the Oxalis office to sort some work related things out. We cycled there for 8am and sat overlooking the river at Oxalis Home cafe. The views were beautiful and the river was busy with boats going to and from Phong Nha cave, as it often is on the weekend. We ordered Bo Ne for our breakfast which is new to the menu since my last visit. I don’t eat the eggs so I gave them to Captain Caveman and I had some of his sausage. I found it to be really tasty although I wasn’t so keen on the bread which has sugar in here. After breakfast, we went back home and made sure Bluey, my bicycle, was popped away safely as we were off on our holidays this afternoon. We got our bags (hand luggage only) and went on Trigger, the motorbike, back to Oxalis. Captain Caveman had booked us seats on the Oxalis bus to Dong Hoi, but we actually got to share a car with 2 of the staff. It was a pleasant 45 minute drive and we got dropped off at Tree Hugger, one of my favourite cafes.

They had some new iced drinks on the menu which were made of mint, lime and soda water slushy and I loved them. There’s plenty of fans at Tree Hugger, but no AC so the drinks were very much needed. We ordered some lunch and I was trying to be healthy so had the beef and vegetable stir fry with brown rice. It’s one of my favourite dishes, Captain Caveman had his favourite egg salad sandwich and we were given complimentary passion fruit and water melon. Next we decided that it wouldn’t be a Tree Hugger visit without a White Russian cocktail as the afternoon sun got very sweaty. Captain Caveman paid so I didn’t take a note of the bill but it’s very reasonably priced.

Our next jaunt was a short taxi ride over to see Stu and the boys at their new house. My ankles were swelling up from the heat so I drank water, while Captain Caveman cracked on with Stu, drinking beers. By 3pm I had my feet in the pond, letting the fish nibble my toes. At 4.30pm we got a taxi back in to Dong Hoi town to meet a friend and ex colleague of Captain Caveman’s, who’d had a baby since I last saw her.

We met Thao at a small cafe where I had a mango smoothie and we played with baby Anh. It was lovely to see them after all this time and the cafe near her house was good and cheap.
By 5.30pm we were in a taxi, on the way to Dong Hoi airport where we were flying with Bamboo airways to Hanoi, I was hoping for a bit cooler weather.

We got good exit row seats on the plane and were in Hanoi by 8.30pm. Captain Caveman had booked us a room at Aquarius Grand Hotel near Hoan Kiem Lake for 2 nights. That evening he chose a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner. Aalishan was a small Indian restaurant with mainly all Indian customers so this was a good sign. We shared onion bhajis without incident but then my chicken tikka masala was so spicy I couldn’t eat it. I ate rice and nan bread, tried my chicken dish with loads of yoghurt in but my mouth was still on fire.
Back at the hotel, I had a bad stomach because of the chillies but hoped the swelling would go down because we had planned to go clothes shopping tomorrow!

Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Phong Nha – 18th May

On Thursday 18th May, after not much sleep as I was finding it hard to adjust to the heat, I cycled Bluey to Victory Road Villas (VRV) again. I had an orange juice, a pot of Jasmine tea and a litre of water to keep hydrated. I decided to have the beef noodle soup (Pho Bo) for breakfast today. It wasn’t quite as good as the chicken one but still did the trick. I got on with work but at 2.45pm there was a power cut to the whole of the town. I was very lucky that VRV had a generator so we didn’t have to wait long until the electricity was back on. I took a brief look outside by the river, it was hot, there wasn’t any breeze and I was struggling acclimatising. I ordered a fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli for a late lunch, with a Bang soda. The fruit salad had banana, watermelon, mango and dragon fruit in and was very refreshing in the heat. Even in the AC dining room, it was 29°C and I was constantly too hot.
I went back to work until 7pm when I decided to relax with a fresh coconut juice and check my Facebook/messages etc. Rather than go home, I stayed at The Villa’s restaurant for dinner and a glass of red wine. I chose the penne carbonara and it tasted lovely but I suspected it had a bit too much oil in for it to be diet friendly. I then completely blew the diet by having the chocolate brownie with ice cream. I gave myself the excuse that I needed to try it again to check if it was still as good as I remembered – it was!

My bill for the day at The Villa’s was as follows:
Orange juice 60,000
Pho Bo 75,000
Pot of Jasmine tea 50,000
Bang soda 25,000
Fruit salad, yoghurt & muesli 95,000
Fresh coconut 50,000
Glass of red wine 90,000
Penne carbonara 200,000
Brownie 100,000
Total cost 745,000vnd (£24.72).

I thought that was a bargain considering what I’d had, and I had been there all day.
I got ready to cycle home, I had no bike lights and had not realised that the power cut was still happening.
I was a bit nervous cycling with it being so dark and I went very slowly. I’d not gone far when a motorbike came up behind me and was following me really slowly. I tried to look to see what was happening, only to see it was the one eyed cleaning lady from Jungle Boss. She was riding passenger with her husband, holding a baby and was shouting me. There was obviously nothing wrong with the eye that had not been lost in a bomb explosion! We both got off our bikes and hugged, it was so good to bump in to Tửu like this. She speaks no English but was trying to tell me something, so beckoned over someone she knew from a property nearby and asked her to translate for me. They said that if I cycled slowly I would be ok, and not to be scared of the dark because the power was back on at the Glass House. Tửu’s husband then followed me a bit with the light of his motorbike to make sure I didn’t inadvertently cycle over a snake or into a cow (not common but it does happen).
When I got home I was so sweaty that I had a shower, luckily the water temperature was cooler again now that it was dark. The tank on the exposed roof gets so hot that we have to time when to shower, when the water is not going to be scorching hot. My eczema was not liking the heat and humidity, it was definitely starting to flare up even worse. I went to bed early and was looking forward to Captain Caveman returning tomorrow.

Phong Nha – 17th May

So much for catching up on my sleep and enjoying a lay in, on Wednesday 17th May. I was woken up by a cockerel, who sounded like it had a sore throat, from about 4.30am. I had a pee and managed to get back to sleep, but only until 6am. The loud speakers were definitely working and the propaganda that they spout early in the morning was very loud. I still have no idea what they are saying and can only guess that the Communist party are encouraging people to get up and start their day in a positive fashion. If anything, it makes me want to do the opposite and I was already considering where we could move to so that we did not have to suffer the torture of the awful music which followed!
It stopped after 10 or so minutes and I was going back to sleep when I got another wake up. This time, in the form of Captain Caveman’s Casio watch which he had lost years ago, somewhere in the wardrobe/shelves. It was still going off every morning at 6.45am and that was going to happen every day until I found that watch and threw it over the balcony!
By 7am, all was peaceful and I drifted back off to sleep for 3 hours!!! It was already very sunny and I could feel the heat from the roof warming up the bed. It was 27.5°C in the room and the AC was starting to struggle. Where we live, is very much in the rural village part of Phong Nha and I don’t think there are any (or many) other non-vietnamese people living in the vicinity. The Glass House, where we are staying, has 5 rooms and the other 4 all have Vietnamese families living in them now.
By 2.20pm it was 28.6°C in the room and I was feeling a bit peckish. I’d almost forgotten that it was weigh day so I got my tape measure out. We don’t have any scales here, in Phong Nha, so I didn’t know my weight. Unfortunately my waist was 3cm bigger, my hips had increased by 1cm but my bust had stayed the same.
I decided I would work from Victory Road Villas (VRV) in the afternoon/evening when it was ‘cool enough’ to cycle there. Tatas had also suggested that we go for a curry tonight at Ganesh, the fairly new Indian restaurant, so I planned to finish by 8pm. For a late lunch, I ordered fried veggie spring rolls, a mango lassie and some peanuts. I drank water and the staff put the AC on straight away today, which was nice. I had a Bang soda, which is just soda water in a glass bottle, as I finished my work for the day. Tatas wasn’t able to come to meet me as she had work commitments so I stayed at The Villa’s restaurant and decided to treat myself to a glass of white wine and some pasta. The food was good and it didn’t taste spicy but then I found a chilli in the bottom. I did complain because I’m allergic to chillies and it transpired that, although the waitress had told the kitchen, the chef had forgotten.

Here’s the food and drink prices, for those of you who like a look and compare to how it would be in your local restaurant.

Mango Lassi 85,000
Peanuts 35,000
Spring rolls 85,000
Bang soda 25,000
Glass of white wine 90,000
Prawn & salami spaghetti 220,000
Total price 540,000vnd (£17.82)

Interestingly the Vietnamese Dong and the Turkish lira were similar in that 100,000 dong was about 100 lira. I noticed a glass of wine here was the same price as when I last was in Dalyan.
Back home, it was still hot and I looked in the wardrobe of clothes I’d left here to see what I could put on to watch a bit of Netflix in. I picked out an old vest top and popped it on. To my amazement, it fitted me like a dress, albeit a rather snug one but I was pleased with that. I was desperately in need of some new clothes but our shopping trip hadn’t happened. Captain Caveman had planned a trip away at the weekend so I was hopeful to go shopping then.

Phong Nha – 16th May

I was working on Tuesday 16th May and, as there was no home internet available, I had decided to spread my hours over the next 4 days and work from Victory Road Villas (VRV). Captain Caveman had been awake and on his phone for almost an hour when I got out of bed at 6.30am. The tap in the bathroom was already annoying me as I struggled to undo the tie and replace it. There was nothing we could do now though as Captain Caveman was off in a few hours to Hang Son Doong, the biggest cave in the world, for a 4 day trip. We both went to VRV for breakfast where I had my first bowl of pho ga (chicken rice noodle soup) which I love and had missed, a lot! Captain Caveman had Eggs Benedict with bacon and we both had juices/hot drinks. It’s not the cheapest breakfast in town but it’s certainly got the quality ingredients and the staff are lovely.

I worked from 9am until 12.30pm then had a 30 minute break where I had some green tea and a fruit salad with yoghurt and muesli. I was conscious that tomorrow was weigh day but we had no scales so I was still noting a food diary and taking measurements.
I got back to work and was glad of the fan in The Villas but, as there was only me there, they didn’t have the AC on. The staff did keep bringing me free filtered water though so I was doing ok. It was still cooler here than at home, where the sun heats up our top floor room pretty well and the AC struggles to cope.
When it got to 2.30pm I was hungry again, a guest at the hotel had come in to the restaurant for lunch so the receptionist put the AC on. I decided to take an hour’s break and ordered a hot tea and a Margherita pizza – The Villa’s restaurant does excellent pizzas!

By 6pm, I’d finished work and was about to have an impromptu night with Tatas, who was on her way for a margarita! I’d already got a cold beer when she arrived but we got cocktails as well. She was looking good and was pleased to see me after 9 months away. Tatas ordered a Caeser salad as she was being healthy but it was covered in sauce. I had more food with a Nem Lui, a traditional Vietnamese pork dish from Hue. The dish has pork on skewers of lemon grass which are eaten in rice paper rolls with rice noodles and veggies, herbs and salad. It tasted really good too, as we ate and chatted then ordered a bottle of red wine. It was a good night and I was looking forward to seeing more of Tatas now that she had a day job in the office and wasn’t in the cave quite so much.

My bill at VRV for the whole day, with prices in Vietnames Dong (vnd) for those of you who take an interest…

1 Pho Ga 75,000
2 Fresh orange juice 120,000
1 Eggs Benedict 165,000
1 double espresso 60,000
1 fruit salad, muesli & yoghurt 95,000
1 green tea 30,000
1 jasmine tea 30,000
1 Huda beer 35,000
1 Margherita pizza 180,000
1 Margarita cocktail 180,000
1 Nem Lui 180,000
1 bottle of red wine 400,000

Total spent 1,550,000vnd (£51.15)

I didn’t think that was bad for the poshest place in town!

Back home the room had cooled to a more acceptable 29°C with the AC on at 11.20pm. I went to sleep for the first time in a while without setting an alarm – I decided I was having a lay in tomorrow!

Dalyan – 9th January

It was the start of my birthday week on Monday 9th January and the plans were coming along nicely. After breakfast I took the dogs out as usual but this time Charlie wanted to check on Milo, the dumped dog, who we had now found out was called Cookie. Apparently the owner of the off-licence, Yaman Bufet, had said he would take it if we could take it to the shop. I was struggling enough to handle the 3 dogs I did have on the lead so I sent the location to people who could help.

While Captain Caveman was on his way back from Son Doong, I was on my way for my first treat of the week. Kate was meeting me at Egehan restaurant, where her birthday gift to me was lunch and drinks. We had a lovely table outside by the pool in glorious sunshine and we were the only lunchtime guests. We had beers and a couple of beef dishes which were absolutely stunning. My meatballs were so tasty and Kate enjoyed her meal too. I was wearing winter clothes and was too hot, even the pool wasn’t that cold.

Next we went to Tez bar where we were later joined by Mark and we were discussing plans for my birthday.
On my way back to Jamie’s villa, around 5.30pm, I called at the shop for some essentials, a little bit tipsy. Louisa was arriving tomorrow so I’d asked her what she might want so I could get it in, and I also took some vodka from home as she doesn’t like wine or beer. Here’s what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
1 Twix 13.95
Skimmed milk 15.50
Carrots 16.25
Toastie loaf 17.50
Crisps 18.45
Apple juice 22.00
1 tin of tomatoes 24.90

Total spent 128.55 lira (£5.66)

After shopping and walking Norman and Edna, it was time to take Charlie for his walk. This time we went a different route and ended up in Waterfall where I met up again with Mark and Kate. After a couple of drinks I went back home and sent the Bistro Blue menus out to the potential birthday party attendees so they could preorder. On the whole, prices had an average increase of 20%, which was normal but I expected some cancellations because of it. As my diet was on hold until after the celebrations I treated myself to a couple of pieces of the white Terry’s Chocolate Orange which Josh had brought me over from England.

Dalyan – 5th November

I was up early, feeding the cats, on Saturday 5th November. Mark, Kate, Vanessa and Matt were due back this afternoon so I packed up my stuff and cycled, with my full rucksack, in to town. I’d booked a table for 5 of us at 10.30am at Saklı Bahçe for breakfast with Captain Caveman, Rob and my parents. Although I was supposed to be on a diet I decided to partake in the Turkish breakfast, leaving out the fried egg. The breakfast there is of the best in Dalyan, it’s always busy and the service is quick and professional. The food was amazing but I really tried to limit myself from being greedy with the cheese. Captain Caveman must have been feeling a bit peaky because I have never seen him eat so little of any meal! Luckily, I had some Tupperware with me and had no shame in taking some cheese and olives with me for later. While a fragile looking Captain Caveman took Rob to see the delights of Kaunos and then to watch Dalyan Spor play a home football match, I went back home to unpack, have a shower and put some washing on. While in the shower a massive wasp like creature was in the ensuite bathroom with me and it looked like it could do some harm! I set it free from the bedroom window unscathed and then tried to book us a table at M-Eyhane for dinner. This is a relatively new place, which used to be M-hotel opposite Retro bar and is owned by the same people as M-Eatery. I didn’t get an answer so we decided to walk down to M-Eyhane without a booking. They accommodated our table of 5 easily but did warn us it would get busy later when the Turkish football was on. The waiter spoke great English and asked about allergies and took the drinks orders. I already knew about the specials as they had been posted on Facebook and looked good. Dad is never too keen on having to go to a counter to choose mezes so he was a bit disgruntled about that part of the procedure. Rob, on the other hand, was most excited about the vast choice and had trouble narrowing it down to 3 starters. Captain Caveman went against his usual habits and agreed to share starters with me and then had some of everyone else’s too. The Baba Ganoush, Şakşuka and Fava bean purée which I tried were excellent. For main dishes I had the Chicken Shashlik, Captain Caveman had lamb, Mom had fish, Dad had chicken, Rob had a main and then an extra bowl of soup. All the food was good although my chicken had definitely been cooked on the same grill as fish as I could taste it. I don’t like fishy fish but I’m only allergic to molluscs so I wasn’t too bothered, but this could be an issue for people who are allergic. I took half of my dinner home as I had eaten enough and was trying to be good. 3 out of 5 of our group had the set menu which was meant to come with a fruit plate for dessert but, probably because of it being so busy by then, it got overlooked. Everyone enjoyed the night but I did get a bit bored when the men joined in watching the football and I couldn’t just drink as much as I would have normally!

Dalyan – 3rd November

While Captain Caveman went Dogging, I got ready for Jamie and Drew’s return on Thursday 3rd November. I stripped the bed and put a wash on then made sure the house was tidy and packed ready to leave. Norman and Edna were excited to be having their owners back home and were a little bit giddy when they saw my rucksack. We sat outside in the lovely sunshine and every time a car came near, the dogs thought it might be Jamie’s taxi. When at last they did arrive, the dogs were so happy.

I didn’t stay long as I had another appointment to get to; I was off to Mark and Kate’s for more house and pet sitting while they had a couple of days away. After buying more credit for my Turkish phone, I met Captain Caveman along the way. I parked Daisy, my bicycle, up outside Rehab bar and we went in to Sosyete for a bite to eat. We both had a pide served with a lovely complimentary pomegranate salad which was all delicious – I’d not noticed before but they don’t serve alcohol. At Bumming today the volunteers had very sadly found a dead turtle and cleaned up lots of rubbish from the river areas so Captain Caveman had certainly worked up a good appetite. He wasn’t joining me at Mark and Kate’s this time, firstly because of his cat allergy and secondly, because our friend, Rob, was coming to visit us tomorrow and he wanted to get the apartment prepared. We called at Migros where Captain Caveman bought a bottle of the red wine, Fiona, recommended by Linda, but he took that with him.

I was at Mark and Kate’s in time for the cat feeding and I let myself in as I already had a key. My bedroom had been made to look very cosy and had an overzealous amount of cushions. Unfortunately one of the younger cats startled poor Casha, who’s only got one eye, and she ended up hiding in the crisp box for the rest of the night.
When I went to bed I tried to download something to watch on Netflix but I got an error message. As I updated my diary I realised I had already had double the weekly syn allowance and it was only Thursday. Still, I’d had no alcohol today which was a bonus. I went to sleep fairly early, knowing I’d be up at 7am tomorrow to feed the cats.

Photo credit – The Riverbums/Dalyanlı

Dalyan – 1st November

My day started badly on Tuesday 1st November, when I kicked the coffee table with 3 toes at once. It hurt and I knew I had broken at least one toe. Luckily Captain Caveman was on dog walking duties so I only had to get myself to Turkish class for 10am and I was cycling. I couldn’t speak to our Turkish teacher for help with the electric meter issues because she had other people to help and her next class. Instead, I made a phone call to Aydem to try to get it sorted, again. They told me that they couldn’t see any reason for cutting the communal pool and garden electric off and that the payment had been made so they seemed as confused as me. They told me that they really couldn’t do much without a paper bill and said there should be some appearing this week, if not already.
I ate left over chicken casserole, with white beans in, for lunch and decided to do a tally of all of the electricity which Captain Caveman had paid for this year. He’d never asked any other apartment for their contribution to the communal electric and had no intention of doing so. I sent him all the info which took me an hour to collate, in a way that made sense. Interestingly, the bills for the pool and garden had been zero from February to June, once again showing that no one had used any pool or garden electricity until probably May, this year. July’s payment was double that of June’s when the pool was likely to have been used more too. For some reason the August and September payments were never requested by Aydem with Captain Caveman’s bank but October’s payment was less than July’s. I didn’t get a reply or acknowledgement from Captain Caveman so I went to singing group with Mom, Vanessa and Kate. In addition to some of the usual songs, we sang ‘Both sides now’ and ‘City of New Orleans’. Back ‘home’ I sunbathed with Norman on the patio while Captain Caveman tried to check the meter cupboard at his own apartment for a paper bill. For the first time in years the cupboard was locked and no one had a key for it. On his way home he went to Migros as we were running low on Norman’s turkey ham, used for hiding his tablets in. He bought a packet of turkey ham, cherry juice and orange juice for a total of 86 lira (£4.09).
That night we had sausage cassoulet with carrots and potatoes and I resisted the wine. Captain Caveman drank quite a bit of it as he was annoyed at the never ending communal electric issue.

Dalyan – 28th & 29th October

By 7.10am on Friday 28th October, I was up and ready for a walk, even if Norman and Edna weren’t! They had slept on my bed all night and were still a little snoozy. The view from my bedroom window was wonderful and I thought it would be lovely to be round that pool in summer. After bread and cheese for breakfast I took Daisy, my bicycle, back home to see how Captain Caveman was doing. His foot was still bad but he could walk a bit better now. I left my bike for him to use and I walked back to Jamie’s for more dog fussing. In all the faffing about I forgot to get weighed or do my weekly measurements. I started making a chicken casserole for dinner while Captain Caveman got moved in and fussed the dogs. He had brought lots of stuff for the fridge and freezer which we just about managed to squidge in. For our evening walk, which was easier with 2 people we took the dogs to nearby Waterfall bar. They know Skippy, the Waterfall dog, and we met my parents there. John and Andrea were in with friends but came to say hello and pet the pooches. When Edna and Norman wanted to chase cats it was time to go home for dinner. While Captain Caveman sorted my parents out with a glass of wine, I fed the dogs who ate like they had never been fed. We had a civilised evening, eating chicken casserole with broccoli and roast potatoes. My Mom pointed out that Dad had been given more potatoes than Captain Caveman which then meant Captain Caveman was disappointed to not have as much dinner. I’d not made a dessert but there were some mini-Magnum icecreams in the freezer, taking up unnecessary room, so we polished them off. After another glass of wine and some dog tickles I booked Fikri (the taxi driver) to take my parents home so they didn’t get lost in the dark.

There was a bit of a ‘to do’ on Saturday 29th October; at first I wasn’t sure which of the dogs were ill because they had both left presents in the kitchen but one wasn’t very solid! It turned out that Edna had a bad tummy so I made her scrambled egg and pasta for breakfast. I was meant to be meeting Vanessa for Turkish homework but had to cancel as I didn’t want to leave Edna in the house with the runs. I let Jamie know she wasn’t too well and I stayed home all day with the dogs.
Captain Caveman went to the weekly market where he bought potatoes, onions, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots for less than 100 lira (£5). At Migros supermarket he bought Fairy liquid, apple & cherry juice and white beans for 80 lira (under £4). We had a few walks and Edna managed to have the runs on her own garden path which Captain Caveman washed for us. I mainly stayed outside on the patio where the sun was really hot and I was glad of Jamie’s suncream shelf as I hadn’t thought I’d need to bring any at this time of year. By 5pm I was having a glass of wine and updating my diary while the dogs snoozed.
In the evening we were invited to Deniz’s wedding party at Paradise Hotel but we decided not to leave Edna (or Norman) in case things didn’t improve. I made more scrambled egg and noodles for Edna’s dinner and turned left overs in to a chicken casserole with white beans. It was really good and I would do the same recipe but with sausages next time. Before 10pm it looked like little Edna was on the mend and all but me were enjoying sofa snoozes! We had plans for tomorrow but we had already decided I would stay home if Edna was not 100% and Captain Caveman would go without me.

Dalyan – 26th & 27th October

Captain Caveman woke up in pain on Wednesday 26th October, he was sneezy and his gout had flared up so he couldn’t get out of bed. I went to the bakers for bread and a simit and we had Turkish style breakfast. Captain Caveman struggled to make it to the table and had to dose himself up on painkillers. A friend messaged me to say all had gone well yesterday at the hospital for her husband, which was excellent news. I went to Jamie’s to pop over for a dog related briefing as we were moving in to his place tomorrow, while he and Drew jetted off to a wedding.
In the afternoon I went to my first Fat Club meeting and it was quite funny. The idea is that we follow Slimming World’s philosophy, although Kate is doing her’s as calorie counting instead. I’d already lost 0.8kg by our leader, Carol’s, reckoning but that was only because I had given her my current weight from my scales at home, which weigh heavier. I needed to lose 10kg so we would see if I could manage that given all the temptations in Dalyan. I was hoping to use the group for motivation, inspiration, ideas and obviously the tracking of the weight. Carol had us all discuss when we can do a Christmas knees up (with food and drink) and then went on to plan for us to bring treats to the group in a fortnight’s time. At first I didn’t hear that they were meant to be syn free treats and had visions of me tucking in to a Bounty!
I went home with two borrowed Slimming World cook books, some ideas for soup making and all full of determination. I had an apple for a snack, followed by a home made chicken, potato and spinach curry with steamed rice. I worked out I could have 15 syns each day and thought that would be plenty as I don’t tend to snack or eat much sweet stuff (or so I thought)! Captain Caveman was laid up on the sofa and could barely walk so I had to go out without him. I met my parents at Retro bar and decided to have a glass of white wine and soda so that I had a more sensible drink which would last longer. I don’t like to drink diet drinks because of how the body reacts, plus they don’t taste great. Maureen and Gary arrived and we got on with the quiz, the picture round was quite tricky in parts. We had a good laugh at the quiz and we didn’t do as badly without Captain Caveman as he would have predicted, but we didn’t win. I stuck to just 2 white wine and sodas, which was 17 syns and I’d already had 6 syns at breakfast. Today I had already gone over my daily allowance and would have to keep it in check a bit for the rest of the week.

Captain Caveman was still not well on Thursday 27th October so I had to move in to Jamie’s villa without him. I started the day with a simit, hazelnut and tahini paste mixed together and a cup of Yorkshire tea with milk. Then I said bye to Captain Caveman and cycled over to Jamie’s. It was the first time he had left his 2 King Charles Caveliers in Turkey and he was, understandably, a bit apprehensive and sad. He’d already given them their breakfast and daily treat and then he said his goodbyes. Jamie’s cleaner had made some cake which he had left some for me to finish off as well as 4 bottles of red wine – day 2 of the diet was going well!
Norman and Edna were absolutely fine as soon as Jamie had left and were quite happy being fussed or snoozing. When I took them for a walk they were so cute and comical but very well behaved. For lunch I had a cheese sandwich, I drank lots of water and had noodles for dinner but then I had a small piece of the cake! This meant I had consumed 8 syns today so I was still already over as a running total, so far. The cake was so nice, very moist and the dogs really wanted some. Instead they got their biscuits which they inhaled so quickly I thought they might choke. Norman had scoffed his before I’d even put the lid back on the tub, I was going to have to be careful I didn’t drop anything on the floor when cooking or that would be snaffled up.
When it came to bed time I wasn’t sure if the pooches would go in their bed or stay on the sofa and so I asked them. It was hilarious that the word bedtime had them halfway up the stairs looking at me, as if to say “Well, come on then!”

Dalyan – 24th & 25th October

While I met another clothes buying friend, on Monday 24th October, Captain Caveman made us another breakfast fry up. We had our breakfast as a brunch and it was very nice. I thought, as I had a quiet week, this week, I might join the Fat Club on Wednesday. Some of the Dalyan ladies had already been doing quite well and I did want to lose a bit of weight – my winter clothes were a bit too snug!
For dinner I made chicken with potatoes, onion, carrot, spinach and corn on the cob which was quite tasty (and I love corn on the cob with a bit of Lurpak butter on)! No alcohol was drank by me today, which made a nice change. That night we stayed in and watched more of the Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix.

It was a busy and eventful day on Tuesday 25th October. Captain Caveman was at the supermarket while I was getting ready for Turkish class. Here’s what he bought on his first trip;

Migros Supermarket
Tinned tomatoes 18.32
2 Chocolate croissants 21.90
Rice 28.50
2 Orange juice 52.00
2 jars peanut butter 89.80

Total spent 210.52 lira (£10)

While I was at Turkish class, Captain Caveman went back to Migros and bought chocolate spread and tahini for a total of 70.95 lira (£3.38) so that I could have this for breakfast. He also wanted the tahini for his Baba Ganoush making.
At lunchtime I went to Kaunos tea gardens with my parents and Vanessa, Captain Caveman was meant to join us but went to the wrong tea garden and said I told him the wrong one. I had a standard sized Turkish tea which is a bargain 4 lira (19p), Vanessa was sensible and had a large tea for 6 lira (29p) and my parents were on the Efes Malt at 50 lira (£2.38). My parents had a cheese toastie each, I had a cheese gözleme (pancake) and Vanessa had a chocolate one. Each were 35 lira (£1.67) and the food is served quickly with good sized portions. I couldn’t manage half of mine so when Captain Caveman arrived an hour late, he finished mine. He’d already had a beer and his lunch at the other tea garden on his own, out of principle. Mom, Vanessa and I left Captain Caveman and Dad at the hardware store, Vanessa and I pushed our bikes and walked along with Mom.
Our next adventure was singing group where we were also joined by Kate. Gay Gaz had kept threatening to join but he had not appeared as yet. We sang most of the usual ones but this time there was ‘Some Days are Diamonds’.
After singing group, Kate had arranged to meet Mark at Okyanus so I’d messaged Captain Caveman for him and Dad to meet us there. Unfortunately Mark had arrived 20 minutes before Captain Caveman, Dad and the bar man and couldn’t get a beer. He’d left with the face on and gone to Jiks so Kate went home and we went to Okyanus. Captain Caveman and Dad had managed to get served fine, in fact they had managed to get served without delay in all the bars they went in after the hardware store, so we messaged Mark to come join us. He was still sulking and had already decided Okyanus wasn’t for him today. As the sun went behind the trees at Okyanus, we decided to chase the warmth and go to Tez bar. We were only going for one because I had a chicken dish in the slow cooker for dinner. There was a man there, called Big Bob, who decided to corner my (quite tiddly) Dad’s attention and talk at him for about an hour. When I went to the toilet, just before we were leaving there was a bit of an ‘incident’. Captain Caveman had been listening to Big Bob’s bullshit and decided to address this with him. When I emerged from the back of Tez’s, my parents were stood up saying bye and Captain Caveman had left. There was no sign of Big Bob either! My mom was worried I would tell Captain Caveman off because he does have a tendency to be rather blunt, often considered rude to some. When I asked what happened she said Captain Caveman had told Big Bob he was full of shit and no one wanted to listen to it. You can’t take him anywhere! On this occasion he was right, though, as it turned out 2 sets of people we know had already left Tez bar that afternoon because Big Bob was there.
At home we ate the chicken slow cooker dinner with rice and were about to settle down for the night. Jamie messaged to ask if we wanted to meet him at Lukka bar for one so off we went, back out. Norman and Edna, the dogs, were there too so we made a fuss of them and drank a couple more drinks while chatting.
Neighbours and friends of Vanessa’s came past, on their way to Retro bar, and we arranged to see them at the quiz tomorrow night.

Dalyan – 12th October

I woke up on Wednesday 12th October with a bit of a woolly head from trying to keep up drinking with the boys last night. I don’t know why we didn’t just get a taxi home and me come back for my bicycle this morning, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Kate was already up tending to the cats when we saw the news of how bad the floods were in Vietnam. Hoi An was looking particularly bad this year but lots of central areas were affected. We were loaded up with produce from England for the house and cat sitting. Kate had brought us back some treats such as cheese, crumpets, malt loaf and bacon which Captain Caveman and I were very grateful for. I rode my bicycle back while Captain Caveman was going to get a lift on the double seated mobility scooter with Mark. I said bye, Mark and Kate said thank you and off I cycled with my rucksack. At the turtle roundabout, outside the bank, I was overtaken by Mark, Kate and Captain Caveman on the disability scooter and given some abuse for being a ‘slowy’!
At home we had diet pizzas for lunch and then I popped to Maisie Moo. Captain Caveman and I met my parents for a drink at Lukka bar as Captain Caveman had ordered a hire car from Dalaman, which was coming at 5pm. As a treat we had decided to dine a little out of town, in nearby Gokbel. This is where Tay and Angelique’s house was and she had recommended a small cafe called Olabilir. They couldn’t join us as they were busy so the 4 of us decided to try it. The views over the hills and a mosque there were lovely and the menu was definitely interesting. We ordered drinks first and, because they don’t sell alcohol, Mom and I ordered the surprise juice, Dad had a Coke and Captain Caveman a Turkish coffee. We loved the juice which I think contained fresh mulberries and Captain Caveman said the coffee was good. For dinner my parents’ first choice wasn’t available so they had a pasta arrabbiata. Captain Caveman and I chose Mantı, which is a kind of Turkish ravioli. This was the first time Captain Caveman had tried it and he enjoyed it, as did I. The place is really nice and we had a nice time, it was good to try somewhere different and out of town. It was also super cheap as our mantı dish was only 65 lira (£3.10). Unfortunately during our dinner Captain Caveman was involved in the WhatsApp group chat for our apartment complex where the pool and maintenance contact was calling me a liar and saying he hadn’t been able to do the garden because there was no electricity. It had been working in June, July, August and September so I wondered what the excuse was then. I was glad I wasn’t on WhatsApp and wished Captain Caveman could leave his phone alone while we were trying to have a nice meal out.
Out next stop, after Captain Caveman dropped the car back in Dalyan, was Retro bar for Quiz night. We had a good time and, although we didn’t win, we did win the draw for the round of free drinks. How that works is that you get the same as your last round again for up to 4 people for free. How fortuitous of us that Captain Caveman and I had ordered a bottle of red wine plus my parents had an Efes Malt beer each. That made our night and was funny because we had said we were having an easy one tonight. We had to be up bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow, ready for a road trip.

Dalyan – 11th October

Kate and Mark were due back later on Tuesday 11th October, I was up early and feeding the cats, watering the plants and generally tidying up ready for their return. I even gave the kitchen cupboard doors a clean, up to where I could reach, as the sun shining on them highlighted some smears. The weather forecast was looking good for my parents’ first day in Dalyan and Ma had messaged me late last night to say they had arrived safely. Captain Caveman and I cycled home for me to pick up my Turkish workbooks and had some breakfast there. We had fresh figs, plums, yoghurt and I had a drizzle of honey on mine. Turkish class at Casablanca hotel went well but it was definitely starting to get harder.
After class I took photos of the electric meters through the overgrown bougainvillea, meaning some photos were tricky to read, to try to sort out the communal electric situation for Captain Caveman.

Next, we met my parents at Okyanus as I had to be at another appointment at 2pm. It was great to see Ma & Pa, they were looking well and pleased to be back in Dalyan. Captain Caveman gave Ma her new phone from Vietnam and she was very giddy, especially with the face recognition unlock function. We had a beer, some lunch and a great laugh before Captain Caveman spotted Ramazan, the owner, had some secateurs. During our meal Captain Caveman had been getting messages on the communal WhatsApp group to ask what was happening with the electric, which was still off. We needed to be able to get in the electric meter cabinet a bit better, so Captain Caveman borrowed Ramazan’s cutters, hurried home to cut the overgrown bougainvillea so we could open the cupboard wider, then returned them.

I had to leave my parents and Captain Caveman at Okyanus while I went to Merhaba Cafe. The weekly singing group at the café in the Mico hotel was starting again for winter. I think I’m one of the youngest there which often means the song choices are ones I don’t know. A book is passed round for each person to write their requests in (from an already established list), most attendees pick their same favourites each week but I didn’t pick any this time. This week we sang quite a collection but there was a definite theme running through most of the lyrics. Here’s a list of the songs we sang today:

The Skye Boat Song
Swinging on a Star
Always on my Mind
Four Strong Winds
The Rose
Only Sixteen
I don’t know why I love you (but I do)
Meet Me on the Corner
You don’t know
Hallelujah
Halfway to Paradise
Annie’s Song
Blanket on the Ground
Wonderful Tonight
The Galway Shawl
Let it be Me
All Alone am I
Twighlight Time

Shiela, the accordion player, introduced us to a new song which we were given the lyrics to ready to give it a go next week. The group members are rather amusing and can say “it’s not a choir” or “it’s not karaoke” and, if you pick a song they don’t like, someone will let you know. Overall though, they are a nice group and I do enjoy a good warble.

After singing, Captain Caveman and I met at Rehab bar for a cheeky beer and then my parents came to join us. We ordered pizzas and a pide from Sosyete, next door, and had a good laugh until we had to get back to Mark and Kate’s for our last cat feed of our stay. The pizzas were lovely and we got a free salad with 2 dips which was appreciated.
Back at the house, all the cats were fed and waiting for their owners to return. We had packed up ready to leave and stay at our apartment tonight but we ended up staying one more night. We had a few welcome back drinks with Mark, Kate hadn’t been too well and was drinking water. Mark got us a cheese board with various nibbles out and we had a good time. We had quite a late night and I hoped Captain Caveman would be ok for tomorrow’s planned excitement.

Dalyan – 9th & 10th October

I was up and feeding the cats around 7am on Sunday 9th October, the mornings were starting to get a little chilly now. Captain Caveman was still a sneezy mess despite 180mg of fexofenadine each day. The internet was still patchy too so we decided to cycle over to our apartment for breakfast. We left the cats out playing and had a lovely leisurely journey back in to town. We ate fresh bread, various spreads and I had yoghurt with jam.
The issue of the pool and garden maintenance raised it’s head again when we were told of complaints from some neighbour’s guests. The pool and garden was unkempt, the communal electric was off and the rentals in 2 apartments had complained to their Estate Agent. They had asked for a full refund and moved out, we couldn’t understand the issue with the electric though. Captain Caveman took over the communal payment of the electric for our complex, of 10 apartments several years ago. He had also had a notification from the bank that the payment would be taken tomorrow. As far as we were concerned there shouldn’t have been a problem but it was about to turn in to one.
We stayed home for lunch and had the Slimming World style pizzas with a glass of wine. When we got back to Mark and Kate’s house the sun was almost setting and the cats arrived early for feeding.
We had dinner of the leftover chicken and salad picnic, I had a glass or 2 of wine and Captain Caveman had a beer or 2 while stroking JC, the cat!

By 7.30am on Monday 10th October all the cats had been fed and were playing outside. Bebek and Bubble liked to pretend they were modelling for a photo shoot on top of the sex swing. By 9am Captain Caveman (still a sneezy mess) and I were at Migros picking up some breakfast and provisions. We bought 3 croissants and 1400g of chicken for 123.39 lira (£5.74). I took a photo of the prices of taxis in Dalyan and was getting excited at the arrival of my parents later tonight. They were due to land at 10.30pm at Dalaman airport and we were looking forward to spending lots of time with them.
Back home we shared the croissants and Captain Caveman went Dogging at the shelter. I got involved in pool and garden maintenance issues over messages about the contractor and the communal electric. There were complaints via our Aussie friends about the garden not being tended too and questions asked about if anyone had seen a gardener. I’m no Miss Marple but, by my account, no workman had been since about the end of May. My photo of my bicycle this morning showed the hose pipe and Rosemary bush had not been touched since I left for Vietnam on 3rd June. More back and forth comments went on with some owners about the state of the overhanging bushes and trees (including the ones I had cut down a year or so ago and had resulted in Bougainvillea-gate). I got annoyed, took the scissors down to the garden and started snipping away – I knew that failed hairdressing course would come in handy one day!
Once I’d done as much as I could reach, I sent photos to the affected neighbours, informed them it only took me 10 minutes and messaged Captain Caveman to tell him to pick up the spiky cuttings and bin them when he got back. I was getting a bit peeved with the whole situation! When Captain Caveman returned I made suggestions to get another maintenance company lined up for 2023. If he waited much longer to get someone to price for the job we would miss out as all the good ones get snapped up. My thumb remained numb for the rest of the day, from trimming a hedge with kitchen scissors.

I took a photo of the spare bedroom which now had a new bedside table. I’d bought it last year at IKEA and not put it up, so Captain Caveman had done it. We were ready for having guests now and there were a few due.
News of flash flood warnings in central Vietnam came and we were glad that we weren’t there at the moment. Our friends there were preparing for power outages and severe floods. Meanwhile my parents were at Manchester airport ready to come to Dalyan, after 3 months back in Sheffield. When Captain Caveman returned from Dogging he picked up all the sharp cuttings from the pathway, surveyed my handiwork, got annoyed at the garden situation and didn’t even thank me for trying to help.
That evening, after watering the plants, playing and feeding with the cats I got ready for a night out. Jamie came to pick up Captain Caveman and I at 7pm and we went to his villa. Drew had cooked us a lovely lasagne and we had quite a bit of red wine with it. We got to meet (again) Edna and Norman, Jamie’s dogs, who we would be looking after soon.
It was a lovely meal, Jamie dropped us back off and went to pick up his friend from the airport. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

Dalyan – 7th October

There had been a massive storm during the night so I woke up quite tired on Friday 7th October. There had been 4 out of 6 cats in the house during the early hours. Bubble, Squeak, JC and Bebek had come home to shelter because they were scared. It was only at breakfast feeding that the other 2, Casha and Kylie, showed up looking a tad hungry. We cycled back over to our apartment because I needed to use the internet and the one at Mark and Kate’s wasn’t working very well. I did my weekly weigh in only to find I had lost 0.35kg but my measurements weren’t great;
Bust +1.5cm, Waist +2cm, Hips +2cm, no changes to any leg measurements.
We had pasta for lunch at home and then made our way over to Rehab bar for a quick draft beer in the sun. We had a chat with Angelique and Tay, Angelique invited me over to take a look at their new home in Gokbel. The place was impressive, in a gorgeous spot and I helped her measure up for a fence. She dropped me back at Mark and Kate’s, where Captain Caveman had already arrived, and we played with the cats for a bit. Captain Caveman was so sneezy that he wasn’t going to stay over but in the end he did. I promised to hoover and clean everywhere tomorrow to try to get rid of some of the cat fur, in the hope he would be less affected. It might have been a good idea for him not to pet the cute kitties too!

For sunset we walked down to the jetty with an alcoholic beverage and I took lots of photos of the beautiful scenery.
We had the rest of our Sosyete takeaway from last night, for our dinner, and it was still delicious. Captain Caveman was very sneezy, there was no TV and the internet was still not working so we were in bed at just after 9pm.