Phong Nha – 12th & 13th June

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

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

A buff striped keelback snake, photo by Captain Caveman

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

Phong Nha – 11th June

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

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Phong Nha – 10th June

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

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

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

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

Photo credit – Captain Caveman and Phong Nha Lake House

Phong Nha – 7th & 8th June

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

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

Phong Nha – 6th June

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

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 5th June

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minigood Shop
1 pair of sandals 139,900

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

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

Sports shop
1 X sweatband 70,000

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

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

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

Phong Nha – 4th June

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

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 3rd June

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phong Nha – 1st & 2nd June

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

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

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

Phong Nha – 31st May

It was extremely hot on Monday 31st May so I had a very relaxed day. For breakfast I had gluten free biscuits with peanut butter from Ly Ly of Funny Monkeys which were so delicious. The news I read this morning was unsettling as more info on the UK/India mutated variant of Corona was being reported:
https://vietnamtimes.org.vn/how-dangerous-is-new-hybrid-coronavirus-variant-found-in-vietnam-32332.html
Information from various places on Facebook stated that Vietnam was cracking down on illegal workers on tourist visas and unfortunately this included people we knew.
Captain Caveman’s Son Doong briefing for that night did not go ahead as planned and the tour tomorrow was cancelled, later there was news that all Oxalis tours would be cancelled for 14 days, aside from any customers who were already in Quang Binh province, due to the increase in cases in other provinces.
I started to get messages from friends in England who were really worried about us in Vietnam from the news they were hearing, which was very interesting because it had been a while since the UK had such low numbers and they didn’t seem to be worried at all, in fact the UK was still getting ready to take the last steps in the reopening and ‘getting back to normal’ while the number of cases were still relatively high. Captain Caveman gave me the previous day’s cases so I could show a bit of perspective;
The cases in the UK for yesterday were 3,240 and the cases in Vietnam were 214 (which was a big number for us), we’d had no deaths in Vietnam for yesterday but the UK had 6. We can’t access the BBC News sites here so we have no idea what drivel and spin the people of the UK are being given.
For lunch Captain Caveman and I shared a bag of crisps and I had 2 gin and ginger ales by the pool. I’d noticed my bikini had shrunk in the wash a little and so I probably needed to shed a few kilogrammes next month. It would be difficult with Chef Captain Caveman back in the kitchen for a couple of weeks though. He made chicken with spaghetti for dinner and we shared a bottle of red wine.

Overall May was still a good month despite some disappointments; we started the month getting to spend time with friends who were visiting Phong Nha, Captain Caveman had less work with only 2 Son Doong tours and a Tu Lan 4 day tour and so we got to spend some time together. My blog (https://joloyolo.com/) was doing well and better than the last few months, which was good. The top countries for where people were reading the blog from were changing again; 1)Vietnam, 2)UK, 3)Australia, 4)USA, 5)Ireland, 6)Singapore, 7)Turkey, 8)Hong Kong, 9)Sweden. I was even surprised to have a reader from Costa Rica for the first time! As the UK opened up more and more friends were able to do much more and where previously people were stuck at home with more time to read about my life, now they actually were getting back their lives and that was no bad thing. My phone had started playing up a bit in May and was unable to give me screenshots which was annoying for keeping data. Thanks to all who are still reading and, although I can’t promise June to be any more exciting, I can tell you that I won’t even know where I will be! Will it be Vietnam still, back to the UK, or off to Turkey? I don’t even know yet!

Phong Nha – 30th May

I decided not to have any breakfast on Sunday 30th May because I had arranged to meet friends at East Hill for lunch. I read in the news that the church related Corona spreaders in Saigon were facing criminal charges, info here:
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/hcmc-religious-mission-faces-criminal-charge-for-spreading-covid-19-4286287.html
I cycled with Captain Caveman the 5 minutes to East Hill and on the way I noticed that my bangle had started to bubble and appeared to be struggling to cope in the heat. As we pulled in to the path Hanh was arriving on her motorbike and when we got up the steps to the seated area Tatas was already there and had ordered BBQ chicken, sticky rice and extra cucumber. I was beginning to think Veronika was right to stay at home because it was too hot to go out but at least there was a bit of a breeze where we were. The food was, as always, delicious and we moved seats when the natural breeze stopped, to sit near a fan. Hanh and I had a couple of ciders, Tatas and Captain Caveman had a couple of Tiger Crystal beers and we shared a chicken combo which I’d told Captain Caveman not to be too greedy over, this time. We invited the girls back to our place so we could have a dip in the pool but Hanh had to go to an appointment.

Video of the BBQ chicken arriving at East Hill

Tatas was at Elements before us, the cycle back was brutally hot and I was desperate to get in the pool, the water was so hot though. Captain Caveman got word from a customer on his next Son Doong tour that he had cancelled his trip from Saigon later today because he was an F2 case and was having to self isolate at home. We should have been coming back from our holiday today but I’d managed to forget about it by having a nice day in Phong Nha, instead.

At 5.15pm Captain Caveman and I headed off to the Farmstay in the funky new Elements Collection jeep. We took advantage of the Farmstay Happy Hour with gin and tonics for Captain Caveman and Tatas while I went off piste with a rum and diet coke for a nice change. Captain Caveman and I shared a chicken quesadillas and Tatas had fresh spring rolls which she liked so much that she ordered a second portion of. She didn’t have the Sunday roast but we did and the Farmstay family joined us. The food was fantastic and I had trouble saving some to take home. I even had 2 pieces of crackling this week so I was very pleased with that.
Back home we read the news together in bed; from midnight tonight HCMC was going in to a type of lockdown where some locations would be under directive 15 and others directive 16. This was not good news for Vietnam who have been keeping the virus under control quite well, but it was necessary to protect what medical resources and healthcare workers they did have, as well as doing everything possible to prevent the spread of this new mutated version of the virus.

Tatas took a video of our first trip in the Elements Collection jeep

Captain Caveman’s time lapse video of our first trip in the jeep

Photo & video credit – Captain Caveman and Tatas

Phong Nha – 29th May

On Saturday 29th May, it was all kicking off with the religious group in HCMC who had been spreading the Corona virus expecting that God would save them. The news told everyone who had been in Saigon to check a big list of where they had been, to see if they may be F1, F2, etc. Captain Caveman checked the list and had not ventured anywhere near in the short time he’d been in Saigon, luckily.
There was also the first discovery of what looked like a new hybrid variant, between the UK and Indian viruses, this would later turn out to be very important.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-discovers-new-coronavirus-variant-with-uk-indian-mutations-4285878.html
Captain Caveman headed over to Phong Nha and in to work in the morning, followed by picking up some homemade cookies and gluten free biscuits from Ly Ly at Funny Monkeys. When he returned I sampled them and they were absolutely delicious and a great idea for snacks or a breakfast item with peanut butter, which Ly Ly also sent a cute little jar of. I’d already unpacked my bag but when Captain Caveman unpacked his, he had some treats for us which I was excited about; gerkins, pickled onions, 3 bags of Naturals crisps (no longer available in Phong Nha) and a lovely gift from his customer, Thien. I made rice with egg, courgette, garlic and sweetcorn in for our lunch and Captain Caveman was going to cook a nice dinner. I updated Captain Caveman of how hot it had been in the pool these last few days by demonstrating the elbow test, which had meant the temperature of our pool was too warm to bath a baby in, but I wasn’t complaining because most cities with Corona had insisted on the closing of all swimming pools – we were lucky to have our own private one. I’d had a can of strongbow by the pool (classy, I know) but we decided we would drink the bottle of white wine from Thien with our chicken in a homemade tomato sauce. I had my chicken with rice, Captain Caveman had pasta with his and the chilled white went down a treat. The day was a lot calmer than recent days and, although we weren’t having a great night out in Saigon with some of our favourite people, we made the most of being together – safely in Phong Nha. I was just upset that it meant I wouldn’t see a few people for quite some time as they were leaving Vietnam pretty soon. We decided that our day out tomorrow would have to include a bit of cycling to one of our favourite lunch spots.

Phong Nha – 28th May

I had Tree Hugger takeaway pancakes and fruit salad with honey for breakfast on Friday 28th May and they were delicious.
Captain Caveman was booked on the second of two flights from Saigon to Dong Hoi and so this morning he was doing nothing, going nowhere and keeping out of the way of any Corona risk. In the news there were reports of the use of market coupon QR codes for shopping without crowding in Danang, read about it here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/958234/residents-of-da-nang-begin-using-coupons-with-qr-codes-for-shopping.html
Unfortunately death 47 was reported, who happened to be the youngest Corona death in Vietnam so far, more here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/958724/health-authorities-reported-youngest-covid-19-related-death-in-viet-nams-fourth-wave.html
I did some crossword type puzzles and watched some Hell’s Kitchen on Netflix to help me not stress about Captain Caveman getting home before any further restrictions. By 11am it was raining a little bit so I messaged a few Phong Nha friends to see if they fancied pizza night at The Villas later. For lunch I had more Tree Hugger takeaway with veggie fried spring rolls and finally Captain Caveman confirmed he was boarding the plane and would be back in time for pizza.
When he landed at Dong Hoi airport he fell lucky and was able to share a car back to Phong Nha with his boss.
Veronika had already gone to The Villas on her motorbike but I got a lift from Bich. When we got to The Villas everyone was sat down already; Hanh, Tatas, Veronika, Shannon, Captain Caveman, Uy, Chung, Mark, and Phuong – it was quite a turn out. Ben, Bich, the kids and I joined the table and started eating pizza. Tatas and I had Margaritas and Captain Caveman stuck to beers as we were on a budget. The pizzas were as delicious as always and my two favourites were the smoked duck and the Showstopper. It was a good night and a few of us decided we would arrange to do something together on Sunday.

Phong Nha & Dong Hoi – 27th May

I slept until 8.15am on Thursday 27th May, I must have been so tired from all the worrying about my passport, which was now at the agent’s house in Dong Hoi. I had the rest of the blueberries and some crispbreads with peanut butter for breakfast before checking out the Corona news. Unfortunately there were more HCMC cases, by 10am a concerning church group were mentioned for the first (but not the last) time too:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210527/ho-chi-minh-city-announces-3-coronavirus-infections-10-suspected-cases-all-belonging-to-religious-sect/61164.html
Meanwhile in the cities, people were reported to be ignoring the restrictions imposed, more here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210527/hanoi-residents-visit-parks-recreational-areas-despite-closures-for-covid-19-prevention/61170.html
And here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210527/over-100-ho-chi-minh-city-eateries-found-violating-covid19-restrictions-in-10-days/61169.html
I’d booked the car to Dong Hoi (again) for 2.30pm. I’d messaged a few friends in Saigon to let them know I would be able to meet them and was going to be there later tonight, hoping to catch up on Saturday night for drinks. Strangely my phone stopped being able to save any screenshots which was a bit annoying but I wasn’t too bothered because I was looking forward to a couple of days away.

At 1.30pm I got a call from Captain Caveman saying not to get on the flight to Saigon as they were starting to put parts of the city in to lockdown. He was in a restaurant, with Ania and Mik, and had been told they would be closing in a few hours and they were asked to leave before 6pm today, more info here:
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/only-takeaways-allowed-in-hcmc-as-new-coronavirus-cluster-surfaces-4284858.html?fbclid=IwAR23pm89dbsltB98pvt9QCc2vMy6ZQf6IoXyYVRz2Ga4Ki3-eDHhC4rNcp4
Of course I was disappointed not to be able to go on holiday but I was more worried that Captain Caveman would get stuck in Saigon. There was a flight back to Dong Hoi this afternoon which he wouldn’t have time to make, but would try his best to get on a flight tomorrow (there were 2 available).
My car for Dong Hoi came at 2.30pm and I explained to the driver I wanted him to take me to Tree Hugger, wait one hour there and then bring me back which he was ok with.
When I arrived at Tree Hugger I ordered a beef and veg stir fry with rice and a herbal tea, plus I decided to order some takeaway food for later and tomorrow. I was eating my late lunch when the visa agent arrived with my passport. I was so relieved, even though I now wasn’t travelling anywhere.

I took my takeaway bags and Tupperware home and had just had a shower when Captain Caveman called me, in Saigon things had taken a turn for the worse and no one was allowed out unless essential so he was having Baba’s Kitchen takeaway and drinking wine. He told me he would definitely be back tomorrow and not to worry but with a total of 227 cases today (the highest in a day so far), I wasn’t so confident, more info here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/958354/227-local-cases-detected-thursday.html
For dinner I had my delicious Tree Hugger takeaway which was a cheeseburger and chips, then Veronika called me over to her balcony where we shared a bottle of fizz – it was good to celebrate getting my passport back, at least.
By 10pm a District 1 Saigon hospital was under lockdown and an announcement that all international incoming flights would be stopped from coming to Saigon from 30th May (although this decision would be overturned soon after). Before bed I ate more of my takeaway which I was saving for tomorrow which was meant to be a cheese and ham toastie, unfortunately they forgot the cheese. Even though I’d eaten gluten and dairy for dinner I was fine, too, but went to sleep wondering what dramas tomorrow would bring!

Dong Hoi & Phong Nha – 26th May

I was feeling less optimistic on Wednesday 26th May but at least I knew I was no longer going anywhere and could stop feeling in limbo. We went to Mr Bull’s for breakfast again and the Bo Ne really is so tasty – it’s probably the best breakfast in Dong Hoi.

Back at The Nest Hotel we packed and got ready to check out, I double checked that my passport still hadn’t turned up then I decided that going back to Phong Nha was the best option, staying in Dong Hoi was costing too much. We now needed to restock up on provisions as the fridge and cupboards were a lot emptier than usual, due to our planned going away! I messaged Bich to check if there was a shopping trip that we could join that afternoon and if not we were going to go shopping by ourselves. Ben replied to say the Phong Nha Farmstay were on their way to Dong Hoi for lunch and shopping and we arranged to meet them at 7th Heaven, one of my favourite restaurants. Captain Caveman ordered a cheese pide, I ordered pork fried rice, the others ordered pizza, chilli con carne, chicken schnitzel (with mashed potatoes and vegetables), beef salad, chicken wings and chips. There was a new dessert to try which we were given 4 to share for free and it was really good. Tham, the owner was there and we chatted to her and I told her we had stayed at The Nest Hotel to try it out. While we were sat at the table Captain Caveman went on his phone to book a flight to Saigon, he had decided he would leave later today. After paying the bill and grabbing our bags we got in the car to go to our first shop of the day, the An Nong organic shop.

I was so excited to buy more cherries at the Organic shop on Wednesday 26th May and, if I wasn’t able to go on holiday, I was also treating myself to some prawns! Captain Caveman was still with me at this point, as I added cherries to the shopping basket and I would have got more fruit but the whole shop reeked of durian and I had to get out. Our next stop was the VinMart which we had requested because I also needed the Medicare shop. Unfortunately I had a bad stomach, probably because I had a piece of Captain Caveman’s pide and a spoonful of the dessert at lunch, so I left Captain Caveman in the supermarket to go to the toilet. When I came back he hadn’t bought anything from my shopping list because he was off to Saigon tonight and also hoped I would be following him, tomorrow. I did manage to find tampons in the Medicare shop, it’s a really difficult product to get in Dong Hoi and impossible in Phong Nha. At 72,000vnd for a box of the 16 regular sport variety they aren’t cheap but they are essential. I also needed rehydration tablets so got the multivitamin versions which were 44,000vnd for a tube of 20.

Back outside, the Farmstay family were sitting out by the Vinpearl Hotel having coffees so Captain Caveman sat with them and joined in, while I helped the youngest read the shop names on the big sign! I wasn’t too sure about Captain Caveman going to Saigon without me, especially if the Corona case numbers meant more lockdowns but I could understand why he wanted to. Captain Caveman mumbled something about running some work errands while he was in Dong Hoi so he gave me a quick peck on the lips and we said bye.

I was cheesed off, to say the least, at leaving Dong Hoi without my passport, so I tried to have a nap on the way back to Phong Nha. On reflection I don’t know what I was most upset about; the potential losing of my passport, Captain Caveman going on holiday without me or me missing out on the best Indian food in Saigon that night. By 4pm I had unpacked my bag, at 4.02pm I got a message from the visa agent to say that my passport had arrived in Dong Hoi this afternoon. At 4.17pm she had got the passport and I was online trying to book a flight to Saigon. I wouldn’t make it back to Dong Hoi airport in time for the 5.45pm one but there was an 8pm one, although I didn’t know if I could get a taxi organised in time. That flight was unavailable and so Captain Caveman booked me an alternative, 6.55pm tomorrow. I was so excited, at last I would get to meet up with friends, some of who were leaving Vietnam next month, eat some great food and buy another bra (which was lucky as I’d already had to throw 2 away recently).
By 7pm I’d organised to go to get my passport earlier than required tomorrow so I definitely had it in plenty of time for the flight. By 8pm Captain Caveman had reassured me that despite the concerning news of an increase in Corona cases all seemed pretty normal in Saigon, taxis were running and he could go out for dinner – he’d even booked us a nice riverside apartment and told me to bring an umbrella (it is rainy season down South).

Feeling super happy and relieved I went downstairs to slice the bread that had arrived while we had been in Dong Hoi. I had all of the cherries and half of the blueberries with cashew nuts and walnuts for dinner then went to bed, so much happier. I was disappointed we wouldn’t be able to go to Tam Hai but we would still get a nice city break and would go once we could enjoy more than a couple of nights there. Captain Caveman sent me a message to say he had booked us a table at Baba’s Kitchen for when I arrived off the plane and to go straight there tomorrow night at 9pm.

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Tag: food