Dalyan – 6th to 8th August

I didn’t get out of bed to feed the cats until 7.15am on Sunday 6th August. I was feeling tired. After feeding the cats and watering the plants I did a bit of blogging. I was quite behind and really needed to catch up. I’d mistakenly thought I’d be able to do that while I was house and pet sitting but the internet wasn’t up to much. It also meant that I probably wouldn’t be able to work online from this house tomorrow and I decided to rearrange my work schedule. I had beans on toast for lunch and lots of fresh fruit. Kate suggested I turn her home grown tomatoes in to sun-dried ones but, instead, I made a fresh tomato sauce to go with some pasta and ate it for dinner.
I got messages from Kelly and Clare, who were looking forward to arriving in Dalyan later in the month and I was getting excited for their visit. Captain Caveman would also be back on their last day so we could all do something together. I was in bed before 10pm, picking out recipes from Carol’s Slimming World book.

Monday 7th August followed a similar pattern to the previous day; cat feeding, plant watering, blog editing. I’d decided to work from home once back at home so I had a little swim. Unfortunately, my eczema seemed to be getting worse, possibly from the chemicals in the pool. The cats were more playful today, especially as I tried to drink my tea from a Yorkshire tea mug.
I had mantı (Turkish pasta) for lunch and popped to Migros and Rehab bar on the puff truck in the late afternoon. I needed to pay my bar bill which was 240 lira (£7.22) for the 3 pints I had on Saturday.
At Migros I bought soup, cooked meats and some aloe vera gel (for my eczema) for a total of 114.26 lira (£3.44). Back at Mark and Kate’s, there was more cat feeding then I had a turkey and lettuce wrap for dinner. Another early night was had but I decided that tomorrow I would go back to our apartment to work from there in the day time.

When I woke up on Tuesday 8th August the power was off but I didn’t know if it was a widespread power cut or not. I fed the cats then I took the puff truck back to my place where the power was on and I messaged people who live in the same area as Mark and Kate to check if they had power. It turned out to be everyone in the area. I made Slimming World friendly pancakes from egg and banana for breakfast and did a bit of work. I had 2 Yorkshire teas as a nice treat before getting the laptop out.
I had an airfryer jacket potato with cheese and a Linden tea for lunch, which was lovely. I spoke to Captain Caveman for the first time in a while (he’s not one for keeping in touch or asking how I’m doing) and we came up with a holiday plan. Once he was over in Turkey, he could only spend 90 days here so he intended to go to England and Europe for about 40 days. He did ask if I wanted to go too but I just couldn’t afford it, so I said no. We did think I could possibly meet him in Naples or Rome though, as the flights between Italy and Rhodes were so cheap. I said I’d consider that and went back to work until 5.15pm.
Back at Mark and Kate’s I fed the cats and watered the plants, while our own garden seemed to be neglected in comparison and we have a maintenance company there. That evening, I spoke to Ma and Pa and suggested meeting in Italy as per Captain Caveman’s idea. They were also open to this plan and we said we would factor it in to our October holiday. It was almost midnight when I went to bed, tomorrow I had a busier day planned.

Dalyan – 30th & 31st July

I had a day with a difference on Sunday 30th July! As it was the weekend and I didn’t have to work, I decided to take Adele up on her offer of a trip to Fethiye. We had heard some hype about the new Barbie film and had decided we would go to see it at the cinema in the Erasta centre. I had cherries and blueberries for breakfast before meeting Adele at the Dalyan bus station. It was 40 lira (£1.20) from Dalyan to Ortaca where we grabbed water and mints and changed on to the Fethiye bus. That bus was 50 lira (£1.50) and took almost an hour. The cinema tickets were 105 lira (£3.14) each and the next showing wasn’t until 4.45pm. We went to a cafe where I had chicken, salad and pasta with a sparkling water, Adele had soup and a dessert. My food came to a very reasonable 150 lira (£4.49) and was very nice. We also bought cherries to eat in the cinema but we were too full to manage them. In the chemist I bought a Dove deodorant stick which was on offer for 94 Lita (£2.81) and comes in handy to roll on thighs to prevent chub rub on a hot day.
The film was weird and I wasn’t sure I’d have carried on watching it, if it had been on the TV but it was certainly interesting. A handful of people walked out which is a first experience for me to witness. We also saw some trailers for other films which looked of interest and hoped to come again.
On the way back to Dalyan, the prices of the buses were slightly different; the bus from Fethiye to Ortaca was 48 lira (£1.44), then the bus to Dalyan was only 20 lira (60p) which was half the price of the way there.
I had cheese and biscuits for a snack at home and then was off to bed, ready for a busy Monday!

I managed to work 6 hours on Monday 31st July, between 10am and 9.30pm. As it was still very hot in Dalyan, I’d found it was easier to spread my hours over 3 or 4 days rather doing it all in 2 days.
I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, fruit and quark for breakfast, then made a veggie wrap pizza for lunch.
When I finished work, I wasn’t hungry so I just did a chicken schnitzel in the airfryer.
The year seemed to be going so fast but this did mean that it was only one more month until I saw Captain Caveman again and only 30 days until I could start to apply for my Turkish residency renewal appointment date.

Dalyan – 23rd July

It was Gayle, Neil, Morgan and April’s last day and night in Dalyan on Sunday 23rd July as they were leaving tomorrow morning.
They had planned to have a cleaning, tidying and packing day followed by lounging and swimming round the pool for their last day. They had booked to go out for a meal and I was going to have another day off. We’d had a great time and, surprisingly, not one fall out or complaint.
In the afternoon I got flight confirmation from my friends, Kelly and Clare, who were coming to visit me next month. I was looking forward to seeing them after 4 years of not being able to see each other.
Later, I went over to where my sister and family were staying and we had a dip in the pool. Some friends from Fethiye and Mark stopped by just to say hello and I met them at the gate for a few minutes.
When I went back in, the family were getting ready and said I should join them for their last dinner out in Dalyan.

I’ve not been to La Bohème this year, it was very busy but we had a reserved table by the river, overlooking the rock tombs. We decided cocktails would be a good idea and I ordered a pornstar martini. We shared the meze plate for starters and each of us ordered some really good main courses. My surf and turf was one of the best meals I’d had in Dalyan. We shared wine and had a brilliant last night celebrating a wonderful holiday. As we came to pay the bill, there was a power cut which meant we all had to put our cash in to pay.

The girls weren’t too pleased about that as they had been promised a look round the shops. A lot of the shops were unable to take card payments but we did find a couple that could so the girls could get some souvenirs.
On our walk back towards home we decided that it wouldn’t be a farewell send off without a quick drink in Bistro Blue.
We must have left about 12.30am as I have a receipt for the drinks at that time and the electric in Dalyan was back on.

Dalyan – 16th July

It was the wedding of friends, Pamela and Glynn, on Sunday 16th July and it was a rather hot day to be dressing up. I didn’t wear the dress I bought in Germany, specifically for the wedding because it was too heavy and I would be too hot in it. Instead, I wore a flouncy trouser suit thing which was a lot cooler. Before the ceremony, the bridal party were all in the hairdresser’s getting hair and makeup done while drinking champagne. Kate had made the cake and sausage rolls (which I was looking forward to later) but it needed taking to the reception venue, The Rock Bar. When I arrived, Kate and I carried the cake up the street then I asked Big Alp to take the sausage rolls etc up on his mobility scooter as it was a tad warm. He obliged but first had to sample one, just to make sure they were good enough. I could’ve wrestled it off him as I was rather peckish, only having had fruit and quark to eat. The wedding itself was on a boat with their friend, Ali – in fact, there were 2 boats. Ordinarily, I would have been on the friends boat but as I was required for my tech skills (oh dear), I was on the main boat. It was important that Pamela and Glynn’s relatives back home could see the ceremony over the internet but the 4G and WiFi didn’t seem to be working too well at first.

It all worked out in the end, Rach and one of the bridesmaids filmed it. For the music part of the task, I was lucky that the other Jo had also been asked so we worked together; making sure Pamela’s playlist, played on shuffle but didn’t play the actual wedding song or the songs the live singers were doing, before they were needed. It was a lovely wedding ceremony, where the bridal party looked fantastic. Trish got up and sang acapella and it was moving and very impressive. Three of the bridesmaids sang tonus while doing a choreographed routine which went well despite it being on a boat after a Jo and I took our roles seriously and didn’t even have an alcoholic drink until after our stressful tasks had been completed.

The evening do was at the Rock Bar where there was live music, curry, and a fingerprint tree with paint which proved to be a bit of messy fun. I had some of the vegan curry which was very nice, I never did see a sausage roll so that saved me some syns as I was going to have one. The wedding cake, which Kate had made, was delicious and I had 2 pieces. By 10.30pm I was ready for home as it was a school night for me. I’d managed to have less then 3 wines at a wedding – could that be a first!?

Here’s Pamela’s wedding collage video for those of you who can view it on Facebook:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10227326639088993&id=1151065420&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=I6gGtw

Photo credit – various

Dalyan – 14th July

I’d been out of Vietnam for 2 weeks on Friday 14th July and I wasn’t missing the heat. Here in Dalyan it was getting hotter and today looked to be the hottest I’d had here yet. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, which was now on rations as I only had a few left.
At 4.30pm I was trying to work out what to wear for Pamela’s hen party tonight as the dress I’d bought in Rhodes was going to be too clingy in this heat. I went for the old faithful M&S pink number which I’ve worn quite a bit when it’s hot. My mom and sister, who were also invited, called for me and we headed up to Kaunos tea gardens to meet the rest of the hens. Kate was the maid of honour and had organised for us all to have Team Bride transfers on, ready for when Pamela arrived for us to get on the boat. There were 24 of us on a bespoke Captain Boris private cheese and wine boat trip for just a couple of hours. Of course, I couldn’t get my Team Bride tattoo to stick so I put the last spare one from Kate in my purse for later. On board we all had some champers and we got ready for a Mr & Mrs style quiz that Kate and I had organised. Pamela’s fiancé, Glynn, had refused to answer any of the more risqué questions but Kate and I didn’t let that get in the way of some comedy gold, by asking her the questions anyway!

Rebecca and Boris did us all proud with a feast of all sorts of cheeses, meats, fruits, jams, olives, crackers, bread, snacks and some lovely wine, served in decent measures. I finally managed to find somewhere to stick my Team Bride ‘tattoo’ and of course hens will be hens with a cheeky bit of bum biting from Tracy. We all loved the hen party boat trip with the copious amount of delicious cheeses and there was plenty left over to take with us to the next stop, the Rum Bar. I stuck to wine but the others tried all sorts of cocktails as we munched on left over fruit and Kate’s homemade lemon drizzle buns.

The diet had been put on hold yet again as some people went home but a few of us, including the bride to be, went to Rodrigo’s for another drink. My mom and Gayle wanted to get back to see how Dad, Neil and the kids were doing but the men were still out when they returned. I dropped some stuff off at home before bumping in to my nieces on my way to Rodrigo’s, Dad and Neil were still in Bistro Blue. I joined the remaining hens and we also met up with some of the other halves and friends.

Our last stop was one in Sofra bar, one for the road but n. I had a great laugh, mainly chatting to Harris who felt like an old mate from back home despite me only meeting him a couple of times before. I walked home by myself about 2.30am after a very good and funny evening. I’d managed to not go too mad as I knew we still had my parents’ last night and another 10 days with my sister and family.
The total amount of money I spent on the whole night was 1,215 lira (£36.30) – I don’t think I’ve ever done 9 hours of a hen do for that amount of money, it was an absolute bargain and I even had a bag of spare cheese in the fridge.

Rhodes to Dalyan – 8th & 9th July

Of course I was hungover and very woolly headed on Saturday 8th July. I vaguely remembered getting involved in tequila shots the previous night, which meant I should have gone home 3 hours previous to that. While Steve and Michelle were up and about, and even quite sprightly compared to me, my day was a bit of a right-off. I actually did nothing but loll about with some of the cats and Xena, the dog. I was in bed by 10pm on my last night in Rhodes, tomorrow I was off back to Turkey.

Having had a quiet Saturday night, I was awake early on Sunday 9th July. Steve and Michelle had commitments until late so came home after I’d gone to bed. The weather was still sunny in Rhodes and the forecast showed it was hotting up in Dalyan, where I was going back to tonight. A weather warning due to the wind, had meant a lot of boats had been unable to sail so I hoped my ferry was still going.
By 1.30pm Steve, Michelle and I were in Rhodes town, wasting a bit of time before I had to pick up my ferry ticket. We decided to have a Macdonald’s which was not one of my best choices. I’ve not eaten a Macdonald’s in years and, looking back, it was not the right time to reintroduce a Big Mac meal into my diet. I was convinced that I would be able to keep it down if I had a sea sickness tablet for the journey and didn’t worry too much as I shovelled it in. The Big Mac meal in Rhodes Town cost €8.85 (£7.58) so wasn’t cheap but it was one the nicest I’ve ever had. The last one I’d had in the UK had been cold and cost me less than £4 – I have no idea how much they are now.
I said my goodbyes to Steve and Michelle, outside the ferry port, after another great holiday in Lardos. I wheeled my luggage across the road a little sad but we had already arranged that I would be back again in early September so it wasn’t too traumatic a goodbye.
There were no sea sickness tablets left in the shop as it was so rough, they had all been taken. It was Sunday so all the pharmacies were closed, I would have to chance it. As I got on the ferry, my sister and her family were already having a relaxing first day in Dalyan with my parents. The ferry crossing was very choppy and I was lucky to be given the middle seats by a couple of kind Turkish ladies, who also offered me a lift to the bus stop when we arrived. I decided I had far too much luggage to chance a bus journey after over 2 hours of trying not to throw up a Bic Mac.
The taxi was charging €70 to go from Fethiye to Dalyan which was 2,000 lira (£59), a massive increase on the 1,100 lira (£32.47) I’d paid on the way out.
I got home and was absolutely knackered, there was no internet at home and my Turkish phone had run out of credit so I went to bed – tomorrow the family fun would start.

Rhodes – 2nd July

Steve and Michelle had invited me to join them on a friend’s day trip on Sunday 2nd July. We were about to cruise the open sea on a private yacht with Lindos Daily Cruises and what a delight it would turn out to be. We had to be at the boat to meet everyone at 9.30am and at 9am all 3 of us were still flapping about shoving last minute swimmers and sunglasses in to our beach bags and getting in to the car. We parked up at the top of the hill, overlooking the sea at Lindos then walked down the hill. I was glad to have my porter sandals on as we hurried down the steep streets. At the bottom, we met Louise and waited for the others to turn up. The lady who had booked the boat, Tracie, was India’s mom and they had 3 friends (Jen, Ines and Izzy). Steve was the only male and instantly became our cabana boy. We had a crew of 2 fellas who were very nice and we were reminded that the yacht trip was until 3.30pm, included free drinks, lots of swim stops, snorkelling equipment, an underwater camera, lunch and fresh fruit. I felt very lucky to be invited and knew it was going to be an awesome day as Steve passed round the bubbly, white wine and got himself a cold beer. Our host, Tracie, was lovely and I liked her straight away. She told us of an adventure with some goats on a beach a few days ago and we had a good old laugh. On one of the swim spots, Tracie, Ines and I decided to swim to the beach, I think it was called Red Sand beach, for obvious reasons. Tracie and Ines raced ashore while I took my time, thinking it might be further than it first looked. When I approached the shore, there were goats and the sunbathers were feeding them fruit and sandwiches. It was so sweet and Tracie thought they might be the same goats. We decided to swim back, Ines was like an athlete but Tracie and I found it a bit harder against the current. At one point she swallowed a wave and started to cough, I thought the yacht was getting further away. We were knackered when we finally climbed back onboard and we were both desperate for water. It’s probably worth mentioning that I’d neglected to reapply my factor 50 suncream after getting out of the sea! Lunch was served and Tracie had put in a special request for traditional moussaka with salad. The food was so tasty, the portion size was absolutely huge and they were not shy with the all inclusive drinks. It was a wonderful boat trip with such lovely company and the free flow fizz meant I didn’t notice how much sun I was catching.

At 3.45pm we were having a drink at the Lindos Yacht Club all giddy from our amazing day out. That’s when I noticed I was sunburnt! The walk back to car was easier but quite hot and the car was like a sauna as we blew off the salt and sweat on the journey back to Lardos.
Steve continued to be super helpful, even though his cabana boy duties were redundant, and sprayed my face with Aftersun. This was looking good for tonight’s plans that my boss had given me pink eye! Steve and the photographer had an evening meeting with a client, while I was to accompany Michelle, back in Lindos.

We arrived at Lindian House bar and restaurant which is absolutely gorgeous, in an old building with a courtyard for cocktails and a veranda with Acropolis views. They had a great cocktail and drinks menu so we both ordered a drink and sat in a comfy chair admiring the place. We spoke to one of the owners and our waitress encouraged me to take a look at the view point in the moonlight. I could have stayed all night but we had more business to take care of and to get back to pick up Steve. We decided to pop in to 404 Bar to see Louise, she was also sunburnt like me and we did look a pair! Rob played some real blast from the past tunes, which Michelle and I loved, but we couldn’t stay long. Next, we drove to Dapapa Lounge to pick up Steve and were offered shots of over proof alcohol with the photographer. I had to decline, my sunburn and heatstroke had taken their toll and I could hardly get up or down the spiral stairs to the toilet.
We got home and after another dousing in Aftersun and a naked blast in front of the fan, I was good for nothing but sleeping.

Photo credit – various photos used which were taken by guests/crew onboard

Saigon – 25th June

Saigon was a bit cooler than Phong Nha on Sunday 25th June and the forecast looked like thunderstorms, usually in the afternoons at this time of year. We had breakfast from one of my favourite bakeries, Micro Boulangerie, very close to the Common Inn. Captain Caveman had picked up a cream cheese and cranberry baguette and a caprese sandwich. We had half each of both and they were delicious, not cheap at 280,000vnd (£9.24) but so fresh.
By 9.30am we were getting out of a Grab taxi and walking round Decathlon looking for trainers for Captain Caveman. Within less than 12 minutes he’d bought some and we were on to the next shop of our extravaganza. I had a knee support on because I was having a few twinges and wasn’t really sure why.
I was surprised to see that Body Shop sold something I’d been trying to find for years, Elderflower eye gel, so we got that and some moisturiser before moving on to stock up in the pharmacy.
Here’s what we bought and the costs in Dong;

The Body Shop
1 Elderflower eye gel 229,000
1 face moisturiser 599,000
Total spent 828,000vnd (£27.32)

CH Medicare
1 pack Sanitary towels 22,000
1 Nivea deodorant 52,000
2 boxes tampons 140,000
Total spent 214,000vnd (£7.06)

We decided we needed orange juice so that we could have Buck’s Fizz tomorrow but it was harder than you’d expect to find orange juice in Saigon. We tried a couple of shops before eventually getting some at Tops supermarket for a fairly steep 59,000vnd (£1.95).

We had to hurry along because we had an appointment to meet up with Phuong and her family at The Jetty for lunch. When we arrived, it looked like rain so I suggested we sit at a table undercover and we ordered some sparkling water. Phuong, her husband (Jonah) and their 3 extremely well behaved kids arrived and we ordered lunch. I decided a salad might be a good idea, given that I’d not been sticking to the diet and I ordered the Halloumi and asparagus salad. We were too busy chatting so I didn’t take many photos but I got a video when the rain came. After lunch, it had stopped raining, and I played fetch with a random chocolate Labrador while we waited for our Grab taxi. By 2pm we were back at the Common Inn to have a little break before our next lot of shenanigans.

Video of the rain at The Jetty

Captain Caveman and I arranged to meet our friend, Andrea, and her friend at 6pm, for wine and dinner. Captain Caveman and I met them at Soho wine bar, another one of our favourites, in Thao Dien. The red wine was an absolute treat and we had several before we had to leave to go for dinner at a swish little place called Okra, recommended earlier by Jonah.

The restaurant was a real hit and we tried lots of different tapas style dishes, drank Primitivo red wine and got free tequila shots just for knowing Phuong and Jonah! By 8pm we were hammered and I was asking the chef how he made the charred red cabbage which was my favourite dish of the night.
On our way home we popped in to the pharmacy and bought the following;
1 bag 3,000
2 pack Loperamide 4,300
1 pack wet wipes 13,000
7 packs of salted lemon sweets 52,500
2 boxes Fexofenadine 260,000
Total spent 332,800vnd (£10.98)

Video of me, Captain Caveman and Andrea having our Tequila shots

Captain Caveman’s video of me doing another shot of Tequila

After saying bye to Andrea and her friend, the two of us went to a bar Captain Caveman had been meaning to try which did unusual cocktails. 86 Proof might have been where we had one too many and we were heading home when we accidentally had a night cap at Mad Wine Bar, where 2 big glasses of Malbec was 270,000vnd (£8.91). I was definitely drunk as I had made Captain Caveman pose outside a well-known coffee shop with a funny Vietnamese name, so that I could get a photo. It had been a long day as we didn’t get back to the hotel until gone 11pm.

Phong Nha – 18th & 19th June

I’d intended to work on Sunday 18th June but Chung, fellow member of the Lazy Ladies Club (LLC) had invited me for an early lunch. Phong Nha Vegan restaurant was having their monthly all you can eat buffet for 49,000vnd (£1.62) and I’d never been in town on the right day before.
I met Chung there at 10.30am and it was already pretty busy. In fact, there were so many familiar faces there and I got to say hello to quite a few friends and neighbours.The vegan food was amazing and I was so surprised at how the fake pork was like belly pork. I had 2 lots of food but then was stuffed.

In the afternoon, Chung and I discussed a plan to get ourselves doing some exercise, she was doing a clean up litter picking mission but I couldn’t make it. We decided we would cycle out for drinks and dinner later tonight and arranged to meet outside the glass house at 8.15pm.
We cycled down the street to Jungle Boss pub where we had a couple of cocktails and some food.
Here’s our bill;
1 Tequila Sunrise 100,000
1 Margarita 100,000
Fresh spring rolls 60,000
Veggie fried rice 75,000
2 apple ciders 110,000
1 pineapple cider 55,000
Total spent 500,000vnd (£16.50)

While we were there, we got to speak to an ex Jungle Boss Colleague who was in Australia and then Kat, Buu and their friends came to join us. We had a good night and the locals were surprised to see Chung riding a bicycle. As we rode off, Kat and Buu went past on their motorbike chanting LLC. It was a fun night and I enjoyed my leisurely Sunday with Phong Nha friends.

I started my week with a cereal bar and a sugar free yoghurt for breakfast on Monday 19th June. For lunch I had my leftover rice from last night and I worked in the afternoon.
Captain Caveman came back from Hang Son Doong but was rushing about as he had to speak to a colleague, meet up with a couple of friends from up North, and go to his briefing. Our friend Lucie and her family were leaving to go back to the Czech Republic so we said we would go to have a goodbye beer with her at The Villa’s. I cycled to Oxalis to meet Captain Caveman, who was saying hello to his friend, Josh, and his fellow cavers. We arranged to meet them later if Captain Caveman’s briefing finished in time for a late dinner. After hurrying to The Villas we sat and had beers with Lucie, her mom and son. They were sad to be leaving but hoped to be coming back to holiday in Vietnam soon.
I had a couple of shandies with Captain Caveman as we both had work to do and we said a sad goodbye to Lucie – perhaps we will see them in Prague.
I was peckish so had some veggie spring rolls and a jasmine tea before getting the bill. Four beers, 1 7Up and the spring rolls came to 300,000vnd (£9.90) which was cheap by both UK and Turkey prices.
I finished work at 7.45pm after learning something new and cycled to meet Captain Caveman, we both cycled to meet Josh and his friends at Ganesh.
We had a lovely evening and the food was as fantastic as always, we even shared another Sagwala but I forgot to take photos as I was too busy chatting.
We were still awake at midnight looking at air fryers, they were much cheaper here than in Turkey.

Dong Hoi & Phong Nha – 11th June

Bravely, I stepped on the hotel scales on the morning of Sunday 11th June in the Melia Vin Pearl hotel. I had put on 4.3kg since I was in Sapa 18 days ago – that’s almost 9.5lbs if the scales were accurate! My measurements weren’t too good either, with 1cm on my bust and hips and another 3cm increase on my waist.
Captain Caveman and I, undeterred by my weight gain, still went to the all you can eat breakfast in the hotel and had lots of delicious food. Looking out of the hotel window, it looked cloudy outside but it was deceptively hot and sunny, very humid. Captain Caveman and I had a walk to the pharmacy and Winmart to pick up some essentials, I also wanted to buy contraceptive pills as they were increasing in price in Turkey and often unavailable. Unfortunately, the ones I wanted weren’t available at any of the pharmacies near the hotel.
We bought Oresol from the Medicare shop for 17,300vnd (57p) but they don’t do medication, it’s more like a Superdrug type of place.

Here’s what we bought at the supermarket:

1.5l water 9,300
200g peanuts 22,600
100g dried mango 33,600
Pack of 12 toilet rolls 57,000
1 Tupperware tub 65,200
Total spent 187,700vnd (£6.19)

We checked out from a lovely stay at Melia Vin Pearl hotel at midday and asked to leave our bags. Although it was Captain Caveman’s second day of not working he was asked by Oxalis if he could pick up some guests from the train station later. He agreed and we planned to while away the afternoon hours in Dong Hoi. I was also fine with this as it meant we got to visit some new places and a couple of old favourites while there.

Captain Caveman had been recommended by our friend, Phuong (now in Canada), that The Ayatt Coffee cafe in Dong Hoi was a pretty relaxing place to pass a couple of hours. I ordered a pot of rose tea and Captain Caveman had a coffee and a smoothie. It wasn’t cheap but it was rather good and I’d definitely go again.
When a coach party of Vietnamese families with loud kids came in, we left.

Here’s what we paid;
1 black coffee 35,000
1 passion fruit smoothie 40,000
1 pot of rose tea 120,000
Total spent 195,000vnd (£6.44)

I really liked this place, it was close to the physio I spent so many hours at in the past but, as it was a Sunday, Thuy wouldn’t be there to go and visit. It was also a walk, which felt longer in the sun and without a sun hat, to the hospital pharmacies. They did have an alternative contraceptive pill which was double my dose. The engineer in Captain Caveman came in to force when he suggested I buy double the amount but take one every 2 days to counteract the strength. I decided to buy it and they cost 492,000vnd (£16.24) for 6 packets of 21 tablets, which by Captain Caveman’s calculations would last 9 months. In Turkey this would have cost me over £50 but, granted, still cheaper than the cost of a baby at aged 50!

Next, we decided to get a taxi to 7th Heaven restaurant, the driver wasn’t a registered taxi and he looked either drugged or like he’d been crying (maybe both). We got there unscathed and Captain Caveman just gave him the usual amount when he tried to ask for more.
We ordered beers and sweet potato fries to start us off. I love the sweet potatoes in Vietnam, they look like normal potatoes but taste amazing. For main, I thought I’d try to go a little healthier with a chicken breast salad, Captain Caveman had a steak baguette. When mine came it was covered in mayonnaise, I hate mayonnaise so couldn’t touch the salad at all but the Vietnamese love mayo, they even put it on pizzas with sweet chilli sauce! The chicken and roasted garlic was very nice but Captain Caveman enjoyed his lunch more than I did.

Our next stop was Tree Hugger for one of those iced mint and lime drinks which are definitely my new favourite.
At 5.30pm we went back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and wait for the Oxalis pick up car. While we were there, the message came that the train was delayed by 1 hour. The train ended up being 2 and a half hours late so we had to wait at the train station for far too long. Luckily the temperature had dropped to below 30°C and there was a squat toilet to use.
We met the guests who were the very last people off the train and drove to Phong Nha while Captain Caveman did his introductory chat. We dropped them off at Son Doong Bungalow where guests stay before their big cave trip and we got dropped at Oxalis. The car park where our bicycles were, was locked as it was gone 9.30pm so Captain Caveman had to get the security guard to unlock it for us. Bluey, wondering where we’d been, was rather whizzy on the way back to the Glass House. It had been an eventful weekend and I was ready for bed. I’d given up wishing for a lay in and looked forward to one of those back in Turkey next month!

Hanoi – 21st May

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!

Dalyan to Lardos – 7th May

I woke up at 5.30am on Sunday 7th May instantly regretting not drinking less last night and not going to bed earlier. I made sure the apartment was secure, a bit tidier and the power turned off. My mom didn’t come to get the beers and stuff I left her because of the rain yesterday so she would pop round in the week to sort that out.
Fikri was on time and we left at 6.30am for the taxi drive to Fethiye port. My ferry was at 8.30am but I had to be there at 7.30am to pick up my ticket and pay the nice lady which had been arranged by Steve and Michelle.
The ferry ride was a little tough going as I’d taken no seasickness pills and I was pretty hungover. The weather was a bit windy so it was choppy but nowhere near as bad as the time I went to Dublin for Little Jo’s birthday.
I arrived at the ferry port in Rhodes and was the first off and through. I waited outside at the bus stop where Michelle and her friend, Louise, came to pick me up.

It was just under 50km to where my friends-boss-work colleagues, Steve and Michelle, live, in Lardos. I’d been before with Captain Caveman and it’s a lovely small village which I was looking forward to seeing more of. Initially, the plan was for me to be house and pet sitting for Steve and Michelle for the next 5 days while they had a holiday. Sadly, they had cancelled their holiday at short notice because Steve’s brother had died. Instead, they had insisted that I still come over for a holiday and to catch up with work stuff before my, already arranged, flights to Vietnam from Athens. We stopped for the girls to get an iced coffee on the way, then to drop my bag off at Steve and Michelle’s house, before heading over to Louise’s house. I wasn’t quite expecting that the first time I’d meet Steve as my new boss that he’d be on his knees, sweating and holding a paint brush but it definitely set the tone for what was about to be a fantastic week in Rhodes!
I got introduced to Milokleftis, a lovely Greek cider, and, while Steve painted Louise’s patio floor and Louise sorted out an urgent work emergency, Michelle and I got through a few ciders. After some work had been done and some Milokleftis had been necked, Steve went for some takeaway pizzas. He was a bit disgruntled that they cost €45 (£38.52) for 2 big ones and a garlic bread but they did taste good!
That night, I slept so well in the spare bed which was super comfy. I thought I’d be working tomorrow but Steve had already said I could take the day off – what a boss!

Dalyan – 23rd April

I was not feeling very well when I woke up on Sunday 23rd April with quite the hangover. As I cleaned my teeth, I forced myself not to be sick then went downstairs to make a cup of tea. I saw the paper coffee cup with red wine still in it, which went down the sink. My phone wasn’t in my bag but my purse was and I had managed to bring my rucksack home. I looked in the rucksack as I needed to find my phone and was worried I’d lost it or left it at Sofra bar. When I opened my rucksack, the phone was in there but the battery was dead, I also realised my trainers were still at Mark and Kate’s place. I should have stuck to the diet but I was conscious I’d not eaten since yesterday lunch time. I joined Mark for a breakfast/brunch at Wonky’s, Kate couldn’t be bothered to come so she stayed at home. Wonky’s had recently reopened and we had a nice chat with the lovely owners of the bar, Eleonor and Şahin. Mark and I decided to share the rather generously portioned full English breakfast between us, as I don’t eat eggs or tomatoes and he doesn’t like mushrooms. While I made every attempt to keep an orange juice and a tea down me, at almost midday, Mark ordered a beer! Wonky’s had made some improvements and it was looking slick; the floor had been replaced, the bar/kitchen area extended and a lick of paint on the furniture. It felt clean and welcoming despite my terrible headache, while Mark and the owners harped on about alcohol a bit too much for my liking, in my fragile state. The breakfast cost 220 lira (£9 approx) but we struggled to finish it between us. We split it thus; 1 sausage, 1 bacon, 1 toast, 2 potatoes, all the mushrooms and half the beans for me then 1 sausage, 1 bacon, 1 toast, 2 fried eggs, 3 potatoes, all the tomatoes and half the beans for Mark. For the record the waitress was more than happy to give us a spare plate to divvy it up on to, and the extra knife and fork – we didn’t take it in turns to eat from the same plate! It was lovely but it took me more than an hour to eat my half and I ended up giving Mark a bit of my left over sausage.
I was about to get ready to pay and leave when Mark ordered another beer and set the pool table up. He was messaging the pool gang so he wanted to check out the table. I was so ill I thought I’d get 7 balled but it was a close finish in the end.
Back home, I went back to bed for a bit and when I woke up, it was dark. I ate a jacket sweet potato for dinner but couldn’t manage all of it. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and my diet was almost unsalvageable! I had 3 more days to go until Fat club and I was already on 196 syns after that night out and the very tasty breakfast!

Dalyan – 16th April

I had wholemeal toast and Yorkshire tea for breakfast on Sunday 16th April and was getting excited for the afternoon’s plans. By 9.12am I had an apology text from Cath, it turned out she had gone home in someone else’s jacket, which I’d helped her in to, and left her’s in Sofra which explained the missing keys. Cath was very grateful that I had kept turning down her offer to buy everyone shots, though, in an effort to stop them blowing their whole budget on booze. Still, it had been a good night from my point of view and I was glad not to have ended up in a tangle myself.
Drew had arrived at the airport at 2pm and Jamie went to collect him, excited for him being here for a few weeks. I met Jamie, Drew, Alicia, Nanny Kay and Ann at Lukka bar for Sunday lunch at 5pm and ordered a fresh orange juice. Drew, Alicia and I had chosen the beef, Nanny Kay ordered lamb, Jamie chicken and Ann had ordered a salad. The Lukka bar beef Sunday dinner was now 325 lira (£13.42) which is not cheap but it’s a lovely treat, comes with a pud and makes 2 meals for me, easily. The lamb and chicken options are cheaper and it’s not that often I have a Sunday dinner with a good excuse to see friends. I had brought my Tupperware as I knew I would only eat half and I was glad I had my gravy on the side as I prefer it thicker. The cauliflower cheese came without cheese so we let Katrina know we preferred it with the sauce. As always the impressive Yorkshire puddings stole the show and were massive. I really enjoyed my food, Nanny Kay said she preferred the lamb to the beef. The boys emptied their plates which was a tall order and they must’ve been very hungry.
We had a bit of a break before the apple crumble with ice-cream and I even took most of my crumble home. Jamie and Drew wanted to go on for drinks at Sofra and I was hesitant after last night’s fiasco. Ann was also only going for 1 drink too so I agreed and was sensible.
I stuck to my 1 drink of red wine, despite being boring for a change and went home for an early night before work tomorrow.

Dalyan – 9th to 11th April

I didn’t have any breakfast on Sunday 9th April as I had a bit of a lay in. At 8.40am the weather forecast wasn’t looking too clever and it was Easter. I didn’t even eat any Easter Eggs and only had a sandwich for lunch. In the afternoon I heard from Cath and Keith and she had been to Sofra to pay their bill, a little embarrassed. Elite Maintenance had been round to our complex to clean the pool so progress was being made over the communal situation, but I hadn’t seen any lights on as yet.
For dinner I had homemade curry which had chicken, cauliflower, aubergine, lentils and tomatoes in, then I had strawberries and quark for afters. I got a bit peckish in the evening as I looked at flights to Vietnam and ate a slice of turkey and a couple of toffees. I was already on 176 syns but it was better than I’d been doing for a while. I would be working for the next couple of days so I was hoping for a good result at Fat Club this week. Before I went to bed I had a rummage in the freezer and took out some mystery meat so that I could have the slow cooker on tomorrow.

As Easter in Greece, where my boss lives, is a different date and Turkey don’t celebrate it, we were still working on Monday 10th April. Before I logged on I had 2 slices of wholemeal toast with Becel spread on and 20g of Comte cheese, some strawberries and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I popped the meat, which I hoped was beef, and lots of veg in to the slow cooker then got on with work. It was a cloudy, cold day and I hoped it would warm up a bit in the month I had left here. Captain Caveman had sent me a photo of Thao and her new baby who he had gone to visit in Dong Hoi and we’d got a loose plan that I would arrive on 14th May. Strangely, the first time I went to Vietnam to visit Captain Caveman, 11 years ago, it was the same date! The morning at work went quickly and I warmed up some Slimming World Minestrone soup and nan bread for lunch. I drank a lot of water and snacked on Turkey slices when I got peckish late afternoon. I finished work at 6pm, I added Oxo, red wine, fresh rosemary and Henderson’s relish to the slow cooker concoction and had it with potatoes for dinner. It was amazing and had made a few more portions.
I was doing well on the diet until I accidentally ate some chocolate from an Easter Egg and then had 2 cream crackers with 30g of comte cheese. I’d had 28 syns today so I needed to be very careful tomorrow! It was my 4th day of zero alcohol this week but I didn’t have any exercise.

There was not much to write about on Tuesday 11th April as I was busy working all day. I cracked on as there was horrendous weather forecast and I was conscious that the power could go off at any time – I was lucky, it didn’t. I had another portion of beef stew with steamed rice ( I will eat rice with anything) and really enjoyed it. I finished work at 6pm and it was absolutely tipping down so there was no venturing outside today.
Instead, I decided to use more of the beef stew to reinvent the Cornish pasty in a Slimming World fashion. I used a wholemeal wrap and filled half of it with the stew and added some sweetcorn. I brushed the edges with beaten egg, folded it over to cover the filling and stuck it down using the back of a fork. More egg was poured over, messily as I didnt have a brush, then popped in the over for 20 minutes.
When it came out, it looked great but it was probably the best thing I had tasted in a while. It was so good that I made another one and had it with my homemade pickled red cabbage then showed it off in the Fat Club Messenger group.
I had a phone call with my parents who were due to come to Dalyan in 3 weeks and I was so excited to be seeing them again.