Captain Caveman was off in to the cave on Friday 16th June and he would be doing 2 tours back to back over the next 8 days. I was looking forward to some quieter, less active days. In 2 weeks time I would be arriving in Rhodes to stay at Steve and Michelle’s house in Lardos. Captain Caveman and I ate left over pizza, from The Villa’s, for breakfast and then I saw him off from Ho Khanh’s homestay. I worked 10am to 7.15pm but with a couple of gaps for breaks. I ate cheese, biscuits, fruit, yoghurt and peanuts and after work I had a cheeky can of Huda beer from the fridge then watched Netflix. It felt cooler or was it because I was acclimatising after cycling in sun the last 3 days!?
For a change of scenery on Saturday 17th June, I chose to work from Victory Road Villas. I sat in the AC room of The Villa’s restaurant at the back and decided to go off piste on my breakfast order. I thought I’d try the recommendation from Captain Caveman of Bo Ne (without eggs) which was a little on the pricier side to my usual breakfast. When it came, it was different to what I imagined it to be; instead of sausage it had pâté, which I don’t like and the dish was in lots of tomato sauce, served with cucumber, which I don’t eat either. The bread was also sweet so I didn’t eat it all but I enjoyed the little hone made cookie served with my pot of Jasmine tea. I worked from 10.15am to 1.15pm then ordered an orange juice and some fresh spring rolls with prawns in. Lunch was very tasty and I washed it down with another pot of tea and got back to work. I finished around 4.15pm as I had planned to meet Lucie, who had returned from the new Jungle Boss tour. I had a soda, a lime juice and some peanuts while I waited for Lucie to get ready. Her son, and Lucie’s mom also joined us and we all ate together, we should have ordered a bottle of wine as I had 3 by the glass. The Showstopper pizza was as good as always and we had a lovely evening.
Here’s my bill at The Villa’s restaurant for the whole day;
Bo Ne 170,000 2 pots of jasmine tea 100,000 Fresh orange 60,000 Soda water 25,000 Lime juice 30,000 Fresh prawn spring rolls 100,000 Peanuts 35,000 Showstopper pizza 240,000 3 glasses of wine 270,000 Total 1,030,000vnd Discount of 206,000vnd Total spent 824,000vnd (£27.19)
I cycled home and slept very well that night, having the bed to myself.
‘Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern’ is one of those quotes you read on a friend’s Facebook status. On Thursday 15th June I thought of this quote when I foolishly ended up on another outing I’d not properly planned for! Captain Caveman had to be at work at 6pm for his Oxalis briefing so we had a last free day to have more Phong Nha fun. It was before 8am when I suggested that Captain Caveman and I go for a walk to the hidden lake and take a picnic, the forecast looked like it might be a bit cooler. I knew the way but, as we didn’t have a cooler bag, Captain Caveman suggested doing the walk then coming back to eat food and perhaps opening the champagne we bought at Chiang Mai airport. We got ready for a walk, the sun was shining but there were still some clouds. When we got downstairs, Bluey was there and I couldn’t walk too well so I suggested it would be quicker to cycle, especially as there is no shade whatsoever at the hidden lake. Of course we cycled the long way round and Captain Caveman seemed unsure of whether I would get us lost but I remembered the way. It was scenic, steamy hot and further than I’d remembered, plus Bluey seemed sluggish after the last 2 days of exertion.
Just as we had finished admiring the view and I set off back, Captain Caveman decided to cycle round the lake. It’s fenced off on the far side so I tried to call him back. He was having none of it and carried on, I couldn’t stand the heat and cycled towards the ‘road to nowhere’ hoping for shade. There was none and I was getting a bit moany! When Captain Caveman caught me up I was hangry so we called at the Winmart for some extra provisions and we planned to cycle back for a picnic brunch on the bed. Here’s what we bought;
Total spent 194,262vnd (£6.41) I was that hot that I didn’t realise how expensive those apples were – more than the last lot I bought.
I got a bit crotchety and needed a break so we stopped for a coconut at a roadside cafe by the river. It took me less than 30 seconds to polish it off and the cute dog came to check on me. Back home we enjoyed our picnic and a rest in the AC but we didn’t bother with the fizz as I was too dehydrated once again. I had double Oresol and did an hour of work while Captain Caveman packed for his tour tomorrow. He left at 5pm to go to Oxalis and I worked for a few hours.
At 8pm I met him and Tatas at The Villa’s restaurant where he and I had pizza and we all had red wine. We cycled home and I was actually looking forward to working from home tomorrow, I told Bluey she could have a well earned rest. We had cycled another 10km or more today so over 60km in 3 days – that was a first for me!
A question I often get asked is ‘Don’t you ever learn?’ Judging by my actions on Wednesday 14th June, I think it is fair to say that I don’t . Captain Caveman and I were up early to find that the weather was cloudy and the forecast predicted thunderstorms. I think I may have been over ambitious but I suggested another outing, it was Captain Caveman’s last full day off and I wanted us to make the most of it. I quickly took my measurements after my shower and was surprised that I didn’t ache much from my cycling 23km yesterday. I measured everything and here are the results; Bust -1cm, Waist -1cm, Hips +1cm. I suggested we should visit the Pub with Cold Beer as the owner had been following all my updates on Facebook since I left Vietnam, she’s a lovely woman and I’d missed her family and their place. Captain Caveman offered to drive the motorbike and, looking back, I should have agreed. I said we should cycle because Bluey would miss me when I’m back in Dalyan and it was cloudy. I drank rehydration tablets for my breakfast to keep from having any issues as I’d been getting a bit of cramp. As soon as we got out of the door I had to put on my sun hat as the sun came out! We pretty much did the same route as yesterday but I managed to cycle all the way to the Duck Stop without a break. When we got there Quynh, the owner, gave us a free drink and peanuts – I looked like a beetroot and was beginning to wish we’d gone by motorbike.
Captain Caveman hates it when I moan, in fact he says I complain a lot, so I had no choice but to soldier on. Even Bluey was having trouble and I had to push her up the hill from the Duck Stop until I could get back on for the downhill bit. I arrived at the Pub with Cold Beer in blazing sun, another drippy mess, any sun cream I’d had on had definitely sweated off. Nhat and her daughters were so pleased to see us, they got Captain Caveman a cold beer and me a water straight away. We decided to order chicken, pork, rice and morning glory because we hoped our friends, Chung and Uy, would join us. While Nhat killed a chicken and I rested in a hammock, Captain Caveman cycled up to the Wild Boar Farm to see Cuong. I couldn’t manage any more and was regretting cycling 13km away from home, not knowing if I’d be able to make it back.
Uy and Chung couldn’t make lunch but we arranged to meet tonight for dinner as it was their 6 year wedding anniversary. For lunch we had an absolute feast, including 2 bowls of the famous peanut sauce which we both love so much. Captain Caveman said it was only 10 minutes more to cycle to the Wild Boar Farm and wanted me to go after lunch but I decided another 10 minutes in the opposite direction would be foolish. Instead, I suggested we have a swim, seeing as there is a lovely swimming pool at the Pub with Cold Beer. I went to the toilet and, as I flushed, a frog jumped up from the bowl, I’d peed on it’s head and it wasn’t thrilled. I shouted Captain Caveman over to bring a camera as this wasn’t the first time I’d been startled by a frog in my toilet, in fact it was the third! (Once, while camping in India and the other while on Safari in Kenya). When it got to 3pm we decided we had better start making our way back, we had really enjoyed our time and food at the Pub with Cold Beer. We said our goodbyes and Captain Caveman and Bluey had already decided we would go the other way back, over a narrow, grid floor, suspension bridge which I was scared to cross. At first, Bluey was going to ride us across but I had to get off and push because I was having a panic on.
We cycled back through the valley and some of it was shaded which I was grateful for, some of it was steep and I had to push Bluey uphill. We soon ran out of water and I knew I wouldn’t make it back to Phong Nha in one go so Captain Caveman pushed Bluey for a bit and suggested a slight detour. Half an hour later, we were sat in Multi and Diem’s kitchen at the Pepper House being offered rice wine. I declined and had loads of much needed water while Captain Caveman had rice wine and beer (he’s an animal)! There were kids’ swimming lessons going on in the pool and I’m sure they were laughing at my red sweaty face. We finally left Multi’s to cycle home but I was a little tender on the undercarriage. Captain Caveman could tell I might not make it home so he suggested we cycle past where we used to live in Khuong Ha and stop off at a new place, he even got another video of me and Bluey.
Captain Caveman’s video of me and Bluey, in Khuong Ha
Phong Nha Funky Beach is a new venture owned by our friend, Mo (ex Oxalis colleague) and the previous owner of Greenfield Homestay. We arrived and sat overlooking the river on one of the platform style seating areas. It wasn’t particularly comfy for my achy legs but Mo was pleased to see us and was with another colleague of Captain Caveman’s, Nu, so they joined us. We had a cold beer, Mo brought us some vegan spring rolls and Nu gave us some vegan Banh Ep. Both were lovely but I was a bit distracted as it was already gone 5pm, it goes dark around 6pm and I hadn’t brought any lights. We said our goodbyes after a brief overview of the various activities that can be done there and set back off.
Our next stop was a quick nip in to Jungle Boss HQ, the boss was still not around to say hello to, but it was a good place for me to stop off to rest and use the toilet. We were due to meet Chung and Uy at 7pm but I was a sweaty mess and needed to go home for a shower. I’d drank all of the water we had between us so we had to stop for a coconut at Tree House Cafe on the way back home. I had a shower, then a naked lay on the bed in AC before rushing to get ready to go back out for dinner.
Captain Caveman and I met Chung at the Bia Hoi BBQ duck place, next door to Victory Road Villas. Uy was still on his was so we ordered the Bia Hoi beer which was about 60,000vnd (£1.98) for a small keg. Chung ordered food without Uy as it got to 8pm and he still wasn’t there yet but he arrived, a bit merry! It certainly was one of the more unusual anniversary celebrations I’d been on and turned out not to be much better than our own last year! Uy just drank and smoked but didn’t eat and another keg of cheap weak beer was consumed, mainly by the fellas. By the end of the meal, which tasted fantastic by the way, Uy was telling Chung she needed to do more exercise because she was fat. Luckily, the events of the last 2 days meant that Captain Caveman couldn’t possibly say the same about me today. Somehow, the birth of the LLC came out right there and then as Chung and I pledged to cycle together as the 2 founder members of the Lazy Ladies Club. The BBQ duck, veggies, noodles and beers came to a total of 400,000vnd (£13.20) which was a bargain.
We said our goodbyes and then instead of going home ourselves we had a sneaky bottle of red wine (also 400,000vnd) in The Villas to finish off our night. It was a good job, so that I could stop moaning that my bits were on fire from the 28km I’d managed to cycle on Bluey today on a very hot day! That was 3km more than yesterday, the furthest I cycled since before my injury and we did it in the height of summer. On the way home, I spotted a snake in the Stick or Snake game and it was alive in the Dead or Alive game, so I shouted to Captain Caveman behind me to stop so he could take a photo. It was heading back to the river after a spot of sunbathing and was slithering across the road, it was beautiful. I was glad to get in bed that night and at least we could have an easy, restful, quiet non-cycling day tomorrow, couldn’t we!?
Captain Caveman was due out of the cave on Friday 9th June so I had only scheduled myself to work in the morning. I had a sugar free plain yoghurt with a banana and an apple for my breakfast. I was starting to miss my Yorkshire tea and a nice bit of toast. I put a load of washing in and it would dry here very quickly but I noticed the white dress from Carol (of Dalyan’s Fat Club fame) had a mark on the pocket from where it had rubbed on the metal washing line. I worked from 8.30am to 3.30pm but with a long break for lunch. I ate my left over Indian food from last night and it was just as delicious. I didn’t need to reheat it as I left it on the bed for a bit to warm up. My sister got in touch and we spoke of plans for her forthcoming holiday to Dalyan, her and the family would arrive around the same time as me and my eldest niece really wanted to go horseriding. It looked like I might be about to agree to it but only if Gayle was going to do it too. Captain Caveman was back late afternoon and he had a couple of hours before he was getting picked up for his Gala Dinner. I arranged to meet Tatas again for more wine and we went to The Villas for dinner. I had one of my old favourites of confit duck leg on a bed of lentils, Tatas had a pasta dish with extra chillies and (there was a theme forming here) it still wasn’t spicy enough. It was my turn to buy the wine which was a reasonable 400,000vnd (£13.20) and the duck was 300,000vnd (£9.90). Captain Caveman joined us after he’d finished work, we had another drink, Tatas had a pho and then we cycled home. Tomorrow we had some exciting plans to go to Dong Hoi as Captain Caveman had some days off.
Wednesday 7th June was a much calmer day than yesterday. I was naturally up early with the sound of the lost Casio watch at 6.45am and it was measurements day. My bust had remained the same but I had lost 6cm from my waist and 3cm from my hips. I still didn’t have any scales so I wasn’t sure how much I’d had put on from our holiday. I decided to take myself off out for breakfast, seeing as I didn’t eat well yesterday. It was back to being hot and sunny again but it was early enough for me to cycle in to town to visit the supermarket. Phong Nha now has a Winmart and I was keen to get some ‘healthy’ provisions.
Here’s what I bought with the prices in Vietnamese Dong:
I’d completely forgotten how expensive apples are in Vietnam and should have bought bananas instead. I think 54p each for an apple may be a bit much but they turned out to be one of the nicest apples I’d had. At The Villas I had a mango smoothie and a beef noodle soup for breakfast. It came to 128,000vnd (£4.22) and was very nice. I was back home working on the laptop in the afternoon and had just a cereal bar, an apple and a KitKat for lunch. For dinner I had cheese with crackers and another KitKat – the KitKat diet was going well!
It was the 12th anniversary of Oxalis on Thursday 8th June so I was expecting there might be some sort of event either today or this weekend to celebrate. Captain Caveman and I had plans at the weekend but we would have to cancel them if there was an Oxalis party. So I was surprised when Tatas confirmed we would meet this evening for wine and then go for a curry. I asked her if there was any party planned but she said she’d not heard of anything. For breakfast I had a cereal bar, a yoghurt and an apple which meant I was back on the Slimming World plan. I worked from 9am until 3.45pm stopping for a lunch break at home of another cereal bar, 60g of cheese and 2 apples. I met Tatas at 7pm at Tree House for red wine and there was still no mention of an Oxalis anniversary party. However, one glass in to the bottle, she received a call to say there would be a bit of a do at Big Ben and could she come over after she had finished dinner. We drank the wine, which had to go in an ice bucket as it was still very hot at night here.
At Ganesh Indian restaurant I ordered chicken samosa for starter, then for main a chicken tikka with saffron rice and a garlic naan. Tatas, who likes everything extra spicy, ordered an extra hot chicken vindaloo with plain naan bread. We both had a couple of bottles of Saigon beer each. My food was amazing, even though my samosas looked like a pair of boobs and I’d brought my trusty Tupperware to take half home! Tatas was upset that her’s still wasn’t spicy enough despite it making me cry when I sniffed it! Here’s the prices of what we had so you can compare how much it costs where you are:
Towards the end of the meal, while I was still eating but Tatas had given up, the calls and messages from Tatas’ colleagues increased. By 9pm she had left me to go to Big Ben for the Oxalis anniversary party. I decided to chat to the staff at Ganesh and get some photos. When I left, one of the Indian guys came out to help me put my light on my bike as I had my hands full of tomorrow’s Indian takeaway! It was great to have an Indian restaurant back in Phong Nha and, although we missed Raj at Namaste, Ganesh was certainly one of my new favourites. I cycled home, popped my leftovers in the fridge and set my alarm for work tomorrow.
Sunday 4th June was a very long day with a memorable and unpleasant journey. We had some breakfast in the Emm Hotel which was very busy, then we packed and psyched ourselves up for the drive back to Phong Nha. Captain Caveman had booked us 2 seats on a minibus for the 210km which was estimated to take 4-5 hours. The pick up was from the DMZ bar in Hue so we took a Grab to there to get some lunch before the 1pm pick up. I had the local dish, My Quang, which was really good, Captain Caveman had spring rolls and potato skins. A driver arrived a little later and we were ushered in to a car with 3 European tourists. They drove us to the nearest bus station where we were crammed on to a bus and I was forced to sit on the back seat. The journey was up there in my top 10 of terrible journeys as the AC duct was broken and hot air was blowing on to me. The guy next to me had very big and open legs when he slept so I was a bit squished and far too hot to deal with it. I managed to get as far as Dong Hoi before dehydration got the better of me and I had a funny turn. We had to stop the bus and everyone had to wait for me while I found a toilet. We were in the middle of the main road but no obvious buildings, the driver pointed to what looked like a disused school but when I got there it was padlocked. I found an alternative but someone was already in and by this point passengers on the bus were calling out to try to help. I was in excruciating belly pain and spasms I’d not had since gastroenteritis in Goa! Once back on the bus feeling somewhat embarrassed, Captain Caveman realised where he was sat was not as hot as my back corner seat!
We arrived in Phong Nha at 6pm and got dropped off at Central Backpackers Hostel, we said bye to our fellow passengers and walked as far as Tree House. We passed a new bar which was called Dubai and looked really out of place in such a rural town. Captain Caveman plonked me down with the bags, had some water and then went off to go get the motorbike from Oxalis so we could get home. I was an absolute dehydrated mess so I drank a litre of water, a vanilla milkshake, a soda water with lime and a fresh coconut. It was actually hotter at Tree House cafe than on the bus but at least I had a fan.
We had no food in at home so we decided to go for an Indian and I vaguely remember being there but by this time the headache had kicked in. I drank salted lime drinks and ate some chicken tikka and rice before getting on the back of Captain Caveman’s motorbike to go home to sleep. Tomorrow would be my last day with Captain Caveman before he went back to work so I had taken the day off to do something together.
Captain Caveman was far more hungover than me on the morning of Saturday 3rd June. He had gaps in his memory from last night and wasn’t too chatty. We checked out and walked to the limousine bus company for our 2 hour (92km) drive to Hue. The bus was departing at 9.50am but it may as well have been 6am as we were both feeling fragile. Captain Caveman had booked us in to Emm hotel for our last night of holiday before taking another bus back to Phong Nha. I was so glad we weren’t taking a bus the whole way in such a hungover state. Captain Caveman slept and sweated all the way to Hue and when we checked in, fortunately our room was available early and we had an upgrade. Captain Caveman got straight in to bed and I had to top up his water. I ate mangosteens which we had brought with us and are my favourite fruit. The day was ruined because of too much frivolity last night but by 5pm, I’d had a nap and I was hungry. We got a Grab to a Vietnamese restaurant, called Chan, and I forgot to say ‘no chillies’ and had to eat round them on almost every dish. The food was good but I did get a reaction and had to stop eating. Our bill came to 411,000vnd (£13.56) for 3 soft drinks, 2 sticky rice, spring rolls, morning glory, pork and duck. The reason for booking the Emm hotel was so that Captain Caveman could visit the Imperial Craft Bia place nearby. Unfortunately, we had to force a beer down and then we went back to the hotel and straight to bed. Tomorrow we were off back to Phong Nha, the holiday was almost over!
Friday 2nd June was another busy and a pretty exciting day for us in Danang. After finishing work for the week, it was time for a spot of lunch. Captain Caveman had been to the shop on the corner and bought the following:
We called at the bus limo service office and Captain Caveman booked us our next trip which would be for tomorrow morning. We had a lovely lunch at Poomba’s Smokehouse where they have a great air conditioned room up a ladder style staircase. Captain Caveman had a Reuben’s sandwich, I had a slider trio and we both had beer. It was a ‘feels like’ temperature of 42°C outside, no breeze and high humidity so I was so grateful of the air con. On the way back to the hotel, we bought more stuff at the corner shop – 3 tubes of sensodyne toothpaste and 1.5l of water for 264,000vnd (£8.45). We had a bit of a rest in the AC at the hotel and then we got ready to go meet Caroline, she was back from Cambodia and it was about to get messy!
Captain Caveman had arranged for us to meet our friend, Caroline, at the Paradise Beach bar in Danang for sunset drinks. The traffic was bad but we had an over keen Grab driver who was determined to get us there without being concerned for anyone’s safety. We took a seat, not on the beach as I’m not keen on sand, then ordered cocktails while we waited for Caroline to get over from Hoi An. Service was pretty slow and it appeared that there was only one bar tender making cocktails but numerous other staff milling about. I realised I had mistakenly left the hotel wearing the shower flipflops, which didn’t really set off Carol’s (from Fat Club) dress too well. Caroline arrived and we had far too many frozen margaritas for us and long island iced teas for Captain Caveman while we caught up on what’s been going on.
At 8.30pm we had a table booked at Le Comptoir, a really lovely french restaurant and I insisted we ate inside in the AC as it was still boiling hot. We decided to have the Tasting menu with wine pairing as well as extra oysters for Captain Caveman and Caroline. We started off well but by the main course it was carnage; Caroline and I had an extra red wine while Captain Caveman lagged behind, when the main course came those two had disappeared and I had to ask for their food to be kept warm while I tucked in to mine. I ended up having 2 of the puddings and yet more wine before we staggered out in search of the nearest cocktail bar.
At the Craftsman I remembered having a lychee martini, Captain Caveman was wasted and Caroline wasn’t much better. We also were hoping to see our Phong Nha friend, Smiley Fox, who worked here but he wasn’t there. He messaged back to say he was actually in Phong Nha! We all went off in our Grab taxis very much worse for wear but having had an amazing night. I was not looking forward to the early alarm tomorrow and I suspected Captain Caveman may be slightly less enthusiastic about our arrangements than he usually would have been.
Photo credit – some photos by Caroline and Captain Caveman
I had planned to work my last 3 hours of the week on Thursday 1st June, however, it made sense to finish them tomorrow. Instead, we had breakfast at the Silkian Hotel then got ready and packed to check out before noon. We had an expensive day ahead of us as we were heading over to Danang for a couple of nights. But first I was off shopping at one of the best swimwear places in Hoi An. During Covid lockdown, Mommy Shark had helped me out with getting some swimmers and shorts sent up to me in Phong Nha (without having been in the shop) and they had fit. Now we were actually going to the shop which was a bit tricky to find but did have AC and a fan. Na and her mom greeted us and welcomed us in to the overstocked shop. I explained what I was looking for, she plonked Captain Caveman down on a seat with a fan and then started to sift through piles of items for me to try on. I tried a lot of bikinis and shorts on, some of which looked good, others that didn’t suit me or Captain Caveman didn’t like. We both loved the cycling shorts with hidden pockets in though and their matching bra tops.
Here’s what I bought at Mommy Shark and the prices in Vietnamese Dong: 1 red & white bikini 350,000 1 floral bikini 450,000 1 zebra print bikini 680,000 1 black bikini shorts 220,000 3 cycling shorts 750,000 2 sports bra tops 600,000 Total spent 3,050vnd (£97.60)
I wasn’t planning on buying so much but after losing weight, there was so much more stuff that fitted me and it’s better to get it when you can. I thought the prices were extremely good value too. We said our goodbyes and called a grab to head to the Meliora Hotel in Danang. We were a bit early for check in so the receptionist gave us a bottle of water and we sat in reception to wait, it was melting hot outside. Once in the room we made use of the washing machine and I got my Mommy Shark purchases out. We had to hurry along though as we had places to be and people to meet, as is usual.
After drinking 2 cold beers, which I’d got from the shop next door for 11,818vnd (38p) each and waiting for the washing to finish, Captain Caveman and I decided to visit an old favourite restaurant. The Nomad Kitchen, which was within walking distance from our hotel, had changed premises and no longer had AC. It did have a roof top with a bit of breeze and some fans so we went up there. We each ordered a glass of wine, I fancied the chicken salad as I had bikinis to look good in, Captain Caveman ordered pasta. The food was great, more wine was had (we should have ordered a bottle) and then his friend and former colleague came to meet us. Katie, her husband Sasha and her little baby, Sam, are really lovely and we spent a couple of hours with them chatting. We had a complimentary cheese cake, said hello to the owner and our friends shared a generous portion of fish and chips which looked great. I forgot to take a note of the bill as Captain Caveman paid online.
In the evening, I collected my new glasses from the opticians while slightly squiffy and was convinced I couldn’t see as well as before. The optician suggested I wear them and check again tomorrow. Captain Caveman treated us both to a fantastic meal at another one of our favourite restaurants, Olivia’s Steakhouse. Here’s what we had and the prices;
1 pepper sauce 65,000 1 750ml still water 70,000 1 grilled sweetcorn 100,000 1 macaroni cheese 120,000 1 grilled asparagus 145,000 1 bottle red wine 950,000 2 250g fillet steaks 2,400,000 5% service charge 196,000 Total spent 4,116,000vnd (£131.71)
This was probably the most expensive meal we’d had in Vietnam so far but it really was worth it. We were served complimentary bread and dips, which Captain Caveman asked for seconds of and we weren’t charged for. We also got 3 shots of complimentary chocolate vodka each for our dessert. Olivia’s has been one of our favourites for a while and the new venue was a winner. We also felt really lucky to have been able to go as Captain Caveman had only just got confirmation that he didn’t have to go back to work earlier than expected. We were back at the hotel by 9pm as I wanted to be up early for work tomorrow.
Tuesday 30th May was jam-packed with activity and a bit of drama! We left the Deluxe Boutique Hotel by pre-booked taxi, just as the sun was rising. Our flight with Air Asia was at 7.25am from Chiang Mai to Danang, we were off back to Vietnam with my 30 day visa. At the airport we didn’t get any breakfast or a drink but instead we spent 970 of the 1,000 Thai Baht hotel deposit on Duty Free. I chose a bottle a bottle of Prosecco and a bottle of Hardy’s red wine which came to £21.55. Our luggage allowance on the flight was only 7kg so Captain Caveman had taken most of the fresh laundry in his bag as I think mine weighed heavier because of my lap top. We landed in Danang around 10am and went to the official taxi queue where the man with the lanyard walked us over to a car and driver. The car was not an My Linh or a Vina Sun taxi, it didn’t have a yellow plate and there was something odd about the chubby taxi driver with foreign arm tattoos. We got to the opticians where I had an appointment at 11am but we were early, when we asked how much to the driver. He tried to more than double the fare and wouldn’t let us out. Captain Caveman told him the money was in the bag in the boot so he let him out while I was winding the window down to try to let myself out but it was locked. Captain Caveman gave the driver half of what he asked for but then he got aggressive, telling him to get back in the car. I took photos so that we could (yet again) report it to the airport authorities and Captain Caveman told him to F off. Once in the opticians we were a bit wound up and this was not the first time for it to happen to me. It was concerning as this could be a reason tourists would not return to Vietnam. Captain Caveman said he would report it and I sent him the photo evidence, which I luckily got. I had my eye test appointment and decided on transitional lenses in my new glasses to save swapping normal glasses to sunglasses all the time. I had all the protective/glare stuff on and finally picked some lightweight transitional specs to the total tune of 3,660,000vnd (£117.12) – so much cheaper than in the UK.
Our next stop was a taxi ride to Hoi An for us to check in at the Silkian Hotel, we used Grab to be safer. Captain Caveman had picked it because it was new, had a good price and was close to Caroline’s cafe. Unfortunately, Caroline had took off on an impromptu trip to Cambodia so we didn’t know if we would get to see her this trip. The hotel was nice, the staff friendly and our room was lovely. We dumped our stuff and popped to 9 Grains (Caroline’s cafe) for our lunch because we’d had no breakfast. We both had juices, hot drinks and bacon sandwiches all of which were great and I spotted, and bought, the last bar of ‘my’ particular soap which is made from coconut and helps my eczema. I worked from 1.30-6.30pm with super whizzy free internet at the hotel room, while Captain Caveman entertained himself and booked a table for dinner.
The Slimming World diet had not been going well of late but I really did push the boat out at Le Cabanon, one of my favourite restaurants in Hoi An. We ate baked camembert with rosemary and honey, a Cochonne pizza to share, drank 2 bottles of Viognier wine and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our bill was as follows: Camembert 360,000 Pizza 170,000 2 bottles of wine 1,360,000 Total spent 1,890,000vnd (£60.48)
There was an offer on for wine and pizza so our actual bill was less than this in the end. It was so hot in there and the waiter was absolutely fantastic as it was very busy so Captain Caveman did leave a tip.
We decided to have a little walk to find a bar Captain Caveman had been recommended, called Mescal. I was so impressed when we walked in as the building is amazing and it’s hard to find. Captain Caveman had an Old Fashioned while I went completely mad and ordered a trio of tequilas with a watermelon sangria. For 240,000vnd (£7.68) it was definitely up there with the most memorable drink choice I’ve ever had the pleasure of. It took me ages to drink it so Captain Caveman had a second Old Fashioned which were 250,000vnd (£8) each. I don’t recall getting back to the hotel that night!
On Sunday 28th May Captain Caveman asked me where I wanted to go for breakfast and I decided that the best thing I could go for would be SP Chicken. On the way, Captain Caveman wanted to stop off at a cafe, called Sun Ray, for a coffee. I ended up getting hangry and moany as they had an inefficient system for seating people and I hate pretentious coffee places. This time at SP Chicken, we ordered the chicken (obviously), rice and 2 plates of veggies. I always give Captain Caveman the skin from the chicken and it’s been barbecued on a spit so is reasonably healthy. It was so delicious that I said I could eat it every day! It was extremely hot, compared to what we had been used to in Sapa, so we headed back to the hotel. On the way there, Captain Caveman met an astronaut and I took his photo. At the hotel, I managed to book in at my favourite opticians back in Vietnam for Tuesday.
That evening, wearing one of my favourite dresses from a Dalyan friend, we went out to Why Ribs and Rumps. A place with a terrible name but excellent pork ribs, which we shared. I really liked it there and can’t recall the prices as Captain Caveman paid and I didn’t keep a receipt. For dessert we went to another old favourite, Cru, for wine and a cheeseboard. Aside from there being far too many tomatoes for my liking, we enjoyed it. We walked via a shop for beers and water which we had when we got back to the room, tomorrow would be our last night in Chiang Mai.
It was my first time, but not Captain Caveman’s, of visiting Sapa on Monday 22nd May. We were up too early to have any breakfast as the limousine bus was picking us up at 6.30am. The seats were comfy with massage function and there was plenty of space in the 9 seater air conditioned vehicle. Our journey was pleasant with a stop at a decent services after 2.5 hours, for a toilet break and to eat some fresh pineapple. I got talking to fellow passengers who had booked a rural homestay in Sapa and the wife was slightly concerned that she may be a bit too far out in the sticks. On previous holidays with Captain Caveman I’d also had the same concerns and knew how she felt, but not this time. We arrived at the Silk Path Grand Resort and Spa Hotel in Sapa after a 6 hour journey and I was so impressed with the look of it. Even the lady I was chatting to was impressed and wished us a nice holiday. Check it out here, Captain Caveman really had chosen well; https://silkpathhotel.com/en/Sapa/ Our mountain view room was ready early and, of course, I had to take some photos. We were booked in for 4 nights and I was really looking forward to that.
We were peckish, having only eaten a bread roll and the fruit so we got the free shuttle service in to Sapa town to look for food. Our friends, Phil and Hoa, had sent us some recommendations for eateries in the area. Sapa is incredibly hilly and it was very different to how I expected it, I loved that the temperature was so much cooler and I was impressed that my leg was completely recovered now. After a walk up and down hills we found Good Morning Vietnam restaurant and sat down inside with a menu. AC was not even needed but it was still shorts and t-shirt weather. We both ordered a Hanoi beer, Captain Caveman chose fried spring rolls and I asked if he was going to share. He agreed but didn’t want to have any of my tofu in tomato sauce. We both had another beer and I never got to try the spring rolls as Captain Caveman had snaffled the lot in record time. He often says he’s not hungry but then polishes food off quite greedily, today was one of those times. Our lunch with 4 beers came to 250,000vnd (£8.25) which wasn’t bad considering we were in a tourist town where beers were the same price as VRV.
We decided not to get the shuttle back to the hotel but to have a look around the town. We found Tag Beer, a nice bar with proper beer and a pool table. Although Captain Caveman had not played pool for over 6 months, he’d not lost his touch and proceeded to thrash me. After a couple of cheeky beers we walked up the hill to Little Sapa restaurant where we met Hoa for dinner. Unfortunately Phil had got Covid so he was isolating and couldn’t join us and we were all disappointed on his behalf. For dinner I had the sweet and sour chicken, Hoa had beef and Captain Caveman had pork. All the food was good and great value but, as Captain Caveman paid, I forgot to take a note of the price. Captain Caveman had arranged to go on a mini expedition tomorrow, while I ‘worked from home’ in luxury. Hoa had arranged for him to do a 2 day trek up a mountain with just a Vietnamese guide for company. After seeing Hoa, we sauntered back to the centre of town to get the free shuttle back up the hill to our hotel. It had been a great day and I was already quite taken with Sapa.
Foolishly, I’d hoped for quality time and extra snoozes on Sunday 21st May but, obviously, Captain Caveman had other ideas. As he had promised me a shopping trip, we had to get up early to get it done. I’m sure he gave a good reason why and it could’ve been due to the weather but I was too tired to note it. By 7.30am we were showered, dressed and in the hotel dining room tucking in to a shared fruit plate. We both had the chicken noodle soup (pho ga) and a hot drink before Captain Caveman insisted we look lively for today’s mission. At 8am it was already 31°C with a ‘feels like’ 39°C and the air quality was not good in the capital city. Just a couple of weeks ago, Hanoi had suffered a heatwave with the highest temperatures ever recorded. We got a Grab taxi, which are really cheap in Hanoi, to the shopping centre to find we had to wait for it to open. Once inside, we headed straight for Uniqlo where I’d been online to check the choices and had taken screenshots of a few items I liked the look of. It didn’t quite pan out as well as expected because the largest they had in stock for almost everything was an L (about a size 12). Captain Caveman helped me pick out a few practical items and I headed to the Fitting room a little too optimistic. I hate shopping anyway so I did get a little despondent when the first couple of things didn’t fit. I had to remind myself that this time last year I wouldn’t have even got in the XL (size 14 approx) if they had any. In less than an hour I had managed to spend 3,194,00vnd (£108.60) of Captain Caveman’s hard earned cash on 6 items and I was happy to have 2 pairs of skorts, which I’d never had before! We dropped my wares off at the hotel and I had a little fashion show with my new clothes while Captain Caveman took terrible photos of me in them, from the position of him laying on the bed. I’d not even been here quite a week and he was getting bored of taking photos on demand.
Our next stop was to meet two Phong Nha friends for lunch; Leonard, the old guy who stayed at Funny Monkeys from before the pandemic, now lives in Hanoi, and our good friend Kat, who divides her time between Hanoi and Phong Nha. Both were available on the same day so Leonard had chosen one of his nearby favourite restaurants, Pizza 4 Ps. Captain Caveman and I were the first to arrive and we decided to order a cider that came with some cheese as a pre starter! Leonard was the next to arrive with his arm strapped up after breaking his collar bone in a fall. Other than that he was on good form and it was great to see him. Kat arrived next and was only able to stay for an hour due to her having an upcoming painful dentist appointment. We were having such a good catch up that I almost forgot to take some photos and I had a weird incident in the toilets with the cleaner who wanted me to rate the toilets, on an electronic board, as ‘needing improvement ‘ and then comment on why. The toilets were fine, so I wasn’t quite sure what she was getting at but Leonard said a similar thing happened to him. The half and half pizza which I shared with Captain Caveman was fantastic, the salad was a bit too drenched in balsamic vinegar for me but I managed to get it down me with another cider (no cheese).
After lunch and walking Leonard back to his hotel, Captain Caveman and I walked to the gold shop to exchange some foreign currency and it was so hot that I was getting a bit moany. We had to make a refreshment stop at Puku cafe where, to my delight, they had the iced slushy drinks with passion fruit at 80,000vnd (£2.72) each. Just as I thought we were off back for a siesta or a rest, Captain Caveman announced we were meeting Lien, our old Vietnamese teacher and friend. We got a Grab taxi to Oliberry cafe where Lien was already waiting. We got chatting about clothes shopping and Lien recommended a woman’s independent clothes shop nearby called Rico Clothing. Within minutes, I was on the back of Lien’s Honda Cub heading to Rico, where I picked out a few dresses to try on. Captain Caveman walked it there and caught us up to give his opinion on the clothes I tried on. I bought a lovely dress and even tried a Size L which was too big for me, I also found a couple of pairs of knickers that fit me too. We said our goodbyes and I hoped we’d be going home to freshen up and get ready for our dinner date tonight – no, we were out out. Captain Caveman and I had arranged to meet Johan, a friend through caving and Andrea, for tapas with a bit of a difference at Pinchos. We were a little early so we called in to 7 Bridges for a pint of ale, as you do.
At Pincho’s we shared sparkling water and red wine but we didn’t go mad as Johan was on a strict regime and would be up early for boxing class before work tomorrow. Pincho’s was easily one of the best meals I’ve had and it was amazing to be able to eat so much meat and cheese. We tried quite a lot of the different tapas dishes and I only got a surprise chilli the once, luckily I could smell it. We were back to the Aquarius Grand Hotel by 9.30pm and were already setting our alarms for another very early get up. Our day had been an amazing one and when I got in I had to try my new dress on, which I liked more the second try on. The hotel room had cost 765,000vnd (£26) per night and well worth that price, which included breakfast. Captain Caveman paid our bill which also included the 400,000vnd car pick up service (£13.60) from Hanoi airport to the hotel. We also paid in advance for 2 bus tickets at 480,000vnd (£16.32) each as we were off to our next destination for 4 nights at 6.30am tomorrow!
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!
I was so hot that I couldn’t sleep and was still awake at 1.40am on Friday 19th May. I got up and drank a lot of water with Oresol in, to keep hydrated. At 3.15am I was checking out prices of my return flights with Scoot and they were quite pricey. I had about 6 weeks left until I was due to go back and I wasn’t quite sure how I would survive this heat. I also remembered I was meant to have applied for my next visa as I was only allowed to stay in Vietnam on the 15 day exemption until 28th May. I dozed off around 3.40am and woke up with the loud speaker at 6am, which was irritating. Of course Captain Caveman’s lost watch went off at 6.45am then I went back to sleep, despite the room being a bit warm already. I’d arranged to meet Veronika at VRV for lunch at noon, so I got myself ready for a cycle in red hot sun. I borrowed Captain Caveman’s trousers and a T-shirt to protect me from the 38°C sun and I took a dress to change in to. I have Factor 50 sun cream with me but I find it runs off quite easily. Veronika had been looking after her eldest grandson for a whole month, while Ben and Bich were in Australia. She was eager to get out and celebrate her freedom as they were back in Phong Nha now. When she arrived she had a bottle of our favourite fizz in the fridge and she asked for it with an ice bucket and 3 glasses. Another lady, Jenny, was joining us and we decided to order lunch too. I had the courgette salad, Veronika had the duck and Jenny had a pho. All of the food was good and we were having a lovely lunch when a customer started chatting to us. It turned out that the customer and her lively young son knew the Wiringi family and had come here on Melissa’s recommendation. Captain Caveman arrived back from his Son Doong tour and came to join us around 3pm at The Villa’s restaurant before he had to go to his Gala Dinner at 5.30pm. He was a bit cross with me that I’d still not got round to applying for my 30 day visa so he did it for me, he also brought me a backlight for my cycling home in the dark. Veronika had booked to stay the night at VRV so she went for a Nannan nap, Jenny went for a swim and I started work. I only had 2 hours left to work this week so planned to work 4-6pm and today I was working on something new. At 6pm, Veronika came back to join me, as well as Tatas, Jenny had returned to the Farmstay. I decided to be naughty and ordered my favourite Villa’s pizza, the Showstopper. It had salami, blue cheese, fig jam and spring onion on and is not in the least bit Slimming World friendly. It was delicious and we had a great night. Captain Caveman rejoined us after he’d finished work. I had some work queries and corrections which needed finishing so I had to do another hour’s work from 8.30-9.30pm so that the task wasn’t left until Monday. This meant I would only work 15 hours next week which was fortunate as Captain Caveman now had at least 2 weeks off, with a possibility of it being 17 days holiday. This was great news, as he had been working a lot recently and he really was ready for a break. He’d also planned a really great holiday for the two of us, including a trip to Thailand, starting from tomorrow!
My bill for today’s food and drink at The Villa’s restaurant was as follows:
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