Sapa – 25th May

It was another great day on Thursday 25th May, but sadly our last one in Sapa. I only had a 15 day visa exemption for Vietnam so I had to be out of the country before the 29th May, I also was still waiting on my next visa approval. I had a bit of a lay in until 7.30am and was surprised when I looked out of the window to see it was raining. Captain Caveman and I went for the buffet breakfast just after 8am and it was delicious. We decided that as it wasn’t great weather we would book in some hotel things to do. The hotel manager was brilliant and so on his game as we booked me in for one of the spa packages and then afternoon tea.
When we got back to the room I got an email to say my 30 day Vietnam visa was approved. Captain Caveman was glad to hear this as we were flying to Thailand tomorrow.
My Thai massage with Cherry was absolutely amazing and I almost fell asleep at the end. I went to Cat Cat bar afterwards to meet Captain Caveman who had brought me Carol’s (ironically of Fat Club fame) dress to change in to for our afternoon tea with a bit of a difference (I will see if you can tell what the difference was from the photos)!
I’d done so well to not have put weight on this week but now I found myself shovelling sandwiches and cake down a bit too greedily. As I was already dressed for the occasion, but wearing trainers because of the rain we booked the free shuttle bus in to to town.

We visited Saparis bar again for cocktails before doing the short uphill walk to Ganesh, the Indian restaurant. I tried to stay as healthy as possible with a chicken tikka (no sauce), rice and a spinach dish but I did have a couple of beers to go with it. The food was nice and filling, we walked back down the hill to the bus pick up spot and to say bye to Sapa town. Tomorrow we had another early start to what might be a long day of travelling.

Photo credit – some by Captain Caveman

Sapa – 24th May

Wednesday 24th May was another lovely day in Sapa, which started with me getting weighed and doing my measurements. Even though I was on holiday and knew I’d be veering off the Slimming World diet, it was important for me to still keep track. Miraculously, the scales showed I was 1.3kg lighter than when I got weighed 2 weeks ago on Steve and Michelle’s scales but, obviously, they weren’t Carol’s scales so we didn’t know if either of them were accurate. My measurements showed that I’d put 3cm on my bust but lost 1cm off my waist and hips. I thought I’d log on to the work system early so that I’d be free when Captain Caveman returned this afternoon. Unfortunately, the system wasn’t working and I couldn’t access anything. I sent an email to my boss but it was 4am where he was, and 2am in the UK, so nothing would be done until office hours started.
I went for the hotel breakfast and it was so good, on the way back I took photos as there were mysterious clouds around the hotel – someone had stolen the mountain view. After breakfast I kept checking the system to see if I could do any work but I couldn’t. Over the next 4 hours I kept checking as I didn’t want to be working in the afternoon but I had no luck. My boss was grateful for the alert despite no output and told me I didn’t have to work for the rest of the week so that we could enjoy our holiday together instead.
Captain Caveman returned having had a marvellous time shimmying up and down the mountain but needed a shower. He got weighed on the scales and was the same as he usually was so I assumed my weight was correct.

**Photo credit – Captain Caveman for the Ngu Chi Son trek photos**

We decided to spend the afternoon making use of the hotel facilities. We were the only ones in the swimming pool and it was lovely to have a swim for the second time on my trip, and since I left Turkey. I loved swimming in that pool but we soon got a bit thirsty and peckish so decided to head to the Cat Cat cafe bar.

Captain Caveman had an Espresso Martini and I had a Margarita, both were good. The place was so beautiful and it was nice to see Captain Caveman relaxing but not playing bridge on his phone, for a change. We booked the free shuttle to take us in to Sapa town at 6pm so we went back to get ready, I was going to wear my new dress!

We had a fantastic time out in Sapa that evening. Captain Caveman took photos of me in my new dress from Rico, which I really liked. I took a video of the ride on the free shuttle bus in to town, trying to show how steep the streets are in Sapa. We had a bit of a wander round before deciding to eat at O Quy Ho, another recommendation from Hoa. We went upstairs where there was a nice view over the town and we ordered beers. We ordered a mixture of food to share; spring rolls, chicken and some pork which were all very tasty.

After dinner we decided to carry on our night with cocktails at Saparis. Captain Caveman had long island iced tea and I had a margarita, both were good. We had a walk back in to town where we waited for our shuttle bus back to the hotel. We made it back in time to have a nightcap in the bar at Cat Cat cafe, however, when we got there it had already closed early. We went back to the room and ordered room service which was funny. Two members of staff came to the room with a wine list to ask us which we wanted when we had already ordered the house red. The wine arrived with the two members of staff again and the main guy came in to open and pour it. We had some smoked stringy cheese to go with our wine to end a really lovely day.

Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Sapa – 23rd May

While Captain Caveman was planning on doing a 2 day trek up Ngu Chi Son, I was happy to be working on Tuesday 23rd May. The peak that Captain Caveman was about to scale was almost as high as Fansipan (the famous one, the highest in Indochina) and shouldn’t be done alone so he had his trusted guide with him and had taken some emergency provisions. Here’s a link to info about the mountain range, for those of you who are interested in finding out more: https://vietmountains.com/destinations/ngu-chi-son-mountain-the-sacred-five-fingers-mountain/
Of course, Captain Caveman was up very early and left before breakfast but there was no way I was missing the buffet breakfast spread. I didn’t want to say it, but I actually felt a bit chilly when I stepped outside to a 21°C! The breakfast was spot on and the food and beverage manager was first class and so lovely. I had a nice table looking out towards some mountains, feeling quite smug that I wasn’t climbing one. The diet had gone completely out of the window as I had cereals, fruit, juices, detox shots, cups of tea, pho ga, bread, cheese, pastries, butter, waffle, bacon and a chicken sausage! Bugger it, I’d lose the weight again when I got back to Phong Nha!

I worked from 10am for most of the day but with a couple of hours breaks, and I sat in the lovely room at my handy desk. The outside temperature reached 27°C and I was reminded that it would still have been a tad warm for me to have done a trek. At 3.45pm I got a video call from Captain Caveman – he had already reached the highest peak of Ngu Chi Son (probably in record time)! He was so happy and even more pleased I’d not decided to try to do it, he said I wouldn’t have made the first 10 minutes! Back to work until 8.45pm but then I decided, instead of going in to town, that I would have a bath and order room service. This ended up being a Hawaiian pizza, which was pretty good but definitely not diet friendly and I bet I’d put weight on tomorrow, on Weigh Day. I got in the super comfy bed and tried to imagine how Captain Caveman must be doing, camping on the side of a mountain somewhere in the wilderness with just a Vietnamese tour guide to provide him with warmth and shelter. I set my alarm for 7am so that I could crack on with work before Captain Caveman returned, which was bound to be earlier than planned.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman for his trek to Ngu Chi Son

Hanoi to Sapa – 22nd May

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.