Phong Nha – 19th May

On Wednesday 19th May Captain Caveman had gone to Phong Nha and I had agreed to chop potatoes and onion so that he could make a Spanish omelette when he got back. Captain Caveman had a shopping list of provisions to collect on his way back and I had dragon fruit for breakfast. I put all my chopped stuff in the fridge and was about to go upstairs when Veronika asked if I was going on the shopping trip at 11am this morning. I didn’t have any money on me so I messaged Captain Caveman to get back in time to give me more or join the shopping trip.
Captain Caveman got back in time but decided not to come to Dong Hoi, Veronika and I got picked up by Ben and he drove us to the Farmstay where there was a switch of driver and we set off to Dong Hoi, just Bich, Veronika and me. Bich decided we would go to 7th Heaven for lunch and I was happy with that choice as the food is lovely there and the menu has lots of choice. Veronika ordered chicken schnitzel, Bich went for bruschetta and Australian beef steak from the specials menu and I ordered a starter of sweet potato fries (they are so good) and then sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice and raw cabbage for my main course. The food was delicious and I was glad I had a spare tuppaware container in the car for mine as I had half left over for dinner later.

Our first shop was the An Nong organic shop where I couldn’t believe my luck – they had cherries!!! I have not had cherries since I was last in Turkey and I love them so much so, despite the very expensive price, I had to have them (and they were the last ones on the shelf)!
Our next stop was off to the Co-op Mart where I got my main supermarket items and then our final shop was at the red supermarket where I found some great mixers for the gin (as I don’t like tonic). I splashed out a bit really but I would later not regret the choices in this shop.

Below is my shopping list, as I know some of you love a nosey at what’s in my shopping basket and a list! £1 is equal to 32,555vnd and the cheapest items are listed first and per shop;

An Nong
Cherries 186,000

Co-op Mart
1 bottle of orange Twister drink 9,800
1 box of freezer bags 22,000
4 bananas 29,332
1 tub of mints 35,000
1 carton of orange juice 38,600
1 bottle of mouthwash 39,000
1 bag of Peanut M&Ms 39,600
1 box of grapes 45,386
6 cans of tonic water 45,600
100g of Edam cheese 47,000
3 cans of Strongbow cider 55,500

Red Supermarket
1 can of ginger ale 32,000
1 bottle of sparkling pink grapefruit 55,000
1 bottle of sparkling peach 55,000
1 bottle of BBQ sauce 125,000
4 apples 140,000
1 packet of blueberries 140,000

The total spend for this week was 1,179,419vnd which is about £36.50 so quite an expensive shop and quite a few treats.
When I got back home Captain Caveman had made the Spanish omelette and had been in the pool so had enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. He was off to work around 5pm at Oxalis Home for his next Son Doong briefing – there may have been a pandemic going on but so far domestic customers were still coming for tours to the biggest cave in the world.
My evening was just getting started as I got prepared for a farewell party with a difference!

The final part of my day on Wednesday 19th May was a massive first in my life – attending a funeral via the internet! I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had the tissues at the ready for what I knew would be heart breaking. I’d only known Graeme since the end of 2019, when I was introduced to him by his husband, Jamie, in Dalyan. I had become good friends with Jamie when I was living in Turkey and we had some really great nights out. When I met Graeme we got on straight away, mainly because he had such a great sense of humour, loved dogs and was brutally honest – things I love in a person! The funeral started at 7pm (my time) and so I got myself a gin and pink grapefruit to drink as we said goodbye to Graeme at his farewell party. I couldn’t believe it when the first song to be played was the famous Lesley Gore hit ‘It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to’ – I laughed and cried at the same time and I even composed myself enough to join in on the second chorus. It was only fitting that even in death, Graeme was still making us laugh and I was so proud of Jamie when he delivered such beautiful words with composure and some humour with his beautiful tribute to Graeme, whom he adored. He told us tales of their life together and it was a touching but, again, funny song which followed; McFly’s ‘It’s all about you’ which I laughed and cried at again! I had a bit of a sing along while thinking of the too few drunken nights out at Lukka Bar with Jamie and Graeme. I liked the hymn ‘All things bright and beautiful’ and the 4th song made me smile; Vera Lynne’s ‘We’ll meet again’. The last song though, had me sobbing and laughing in a bit of a mess; Will Young’s ‘I think I’d better leave right now’. Even at the end of Graeme’s life we would all remember the humour and how he liked to be a little mischievous. One of our geckos, Billie, must’ve been a girl because a new baby gecko appeared – I decided to name him Graeme.

I finished another gin and pink grapefruit, sorted out my face and had a little lay down. I was a bit tipsy after 4 gins and forgetting to eat dinner so I warmed up the leftover sweet and sour chicken with sweet potato fries and ate that. Captain Caveman got back from his briefing and was washing out his flask with boiling water while I was washing up. After shaking up the full flask and trying to pour it in to my washing up water I said no and then it shot out over us and burned the back of my hand. I had to put ice on and go to bed with a proper face on after Captain Caveman tried to say it was my fault for not moving out of the way! He only had to wait for me to wash 1 plate, 1 knife and 1 fork, where are his manners and patience!?

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 12th May

I had a busy and quite exciting day on Wednesday 12th May. Captain Caveman came home in time to join a trip to Dong Hoi with the Phong Nha Farmstay. Ben even brought along a fridge to keep any chilled shopping cold. Our first stop in Dong Hoi was for lunch at Geminai, previously a hotel and restaurant which has now been done up in to a lovely Thai restaurant. Ben and Bich had been before and so had recommended we try it, I had already looked at the extensive menu online so I knew what I could have. When we arrived there were iPads to view the menu on, written in yellow on a purple background. I ordered a prawn Pad Thai, Captain Caveman ordered a beef Pad Thai, everyone else who wanted food ordered and then we moved to an upstairs room to dine in our own private room. The food was excellent and plentiful and I really enjoyed my meal, Veronika said her calamari was very good too. We even tried hibiscus flower juice which was ultra sweet but rather nice. I’d drank my Gastropulgite before I ate, I’d ordered gluten and dairy free food, I’d even left off the chillies or any extra sauces but, nevertheless, I still suffered.

We went to a few different places to shop, it was much easier for me in some ways with Captain Caveman there, but more tricky when I can’t see the shopping list. While Ben and Bich had some other business to attend to in the city the rest of us had a quick visit to Tree Hugger for refreshments. Captain Caveman and I managed a couple of white russians before our fun bus came back to collect us.

Back home, after putting away all our shopping, we had a little swim and it was nice to see Captain Caveman finally being able to relax by the pool with a beer, instead of working. That evening we had a few glasses of red wine, the nice Israeli one given to us by Hung, and Captain Caveman made us bacon and mushroom sandwiches for dinner – we are wild like that sometimes!

For those of you who are wondering what Captain Caveman and I had in our shopping bags, here’s a list:

Prices are in VND, I’ve listed the cheapest thing first in each shop. £1 is around 32,700vnd.

Co-op Mart supermarket
2 onions 9,342
Tomatoes 18,250
1 red dragon fruit 18,564
1 white dragon fruit 21,244
1 packet of sanitary towels 23,700
1 packet of spaghetti 29,200
Mayonnaise 32,200
4 potatoes 36,230
2 packets of bacon 111,000
6 chicken breasts 135,000

Pharmacy
10 Antihistamines 34,000
20 Ibuprofen 60,000
30 Gastropulgite 102,000
3 months contraceptive pill 195,000

An Nong Organic shop
1 bunch of asparagus 24,225
1 yellow dragon fruit 53,900
1 box of brown rice crackers 90,000

We spent just over 1,000,000vnd which is about £31, so we spent less this week on shopping but more on lunch and cocktails.

Phong Nha and Dong Hoi – 5th May

I woke up at 6am on Wednesday 5th May feeling like I could drink a dirty puddle and did not welcome the leftover Jameson’s nightcap on the bedside table next to my pillow or the amount of daylight streaming in to the room at Phong Nha Lake House. Tatas was still fast asleep, in the bed next to mine, completely under the cover and grinding her teeth. Luckily there was water in the fridge and I had slept in the robe provided rather than my own dress so I drank water then tried to go back to sleep and couldn’t. Tatas had her overnight bag with her because she had planned to stay at mine but I had nothing but a short backless dress to go to breakfast in! Tatas said she would be ages getting ready so I went without her and had a pho bo and an apple juice trying to sort out my hangover from hell.

I remembered that I had agreed to go to Dong Hoi on a shopping trip with Veronika in less than 2 hours! Tatas said she would give me a lift home on her motorbike and when we arrived at Elements Collection the gardening lady, who had seen me go out last night, saw me arrive in last night’s clothes – I’d be the talk of the village again! I went to get a shower but there was a huge spider in the bathroom so I had to message Duyet to come and get it, with his gloves on! I had just a bit of time for a lay down on the bed until 11am when we went to sit outside to wait for Bich to pick us up.

A firm favourite, Tree Hugger cafe in Dong Hoi was our first stop, for lunch. Veronika was tetchy because she hadn’t had any coffee and was being a bit demanding about having her coffee immediately, but the waiter had to come back upstairs to the table to say they didn’t have my chicken salad, only beef salad and she asked he get her coffee now! I shared my salad and some spring rolls with Bich who had a mixed smoothie with extra ice-cream in.

The afternoon was a long one as we went to every supermarket and organic shop in Dong Hoi for the next 3 hours. Medicare, VinMart, Toan Viet Gourmet, Thinh Tien, An Nong and Co-op Mart all with a hangover still and a tight budget, but I managed to get most things on my shopping list. Captain Caveman had returned from his 4 day Tu Lan trip and had gone straight to Chay Lap for the after party that night and so he decided to stay at the Glass House. I had some bread and butter with crisps for my dinner, 2 of my favourite foods and didn’t get a bad stomach! I tried to go to bed early but couldn’t sleep and so I finished watching Below Deck on Netflix.

For those of you who like a list and love to know how prices and produce can vary in a different country, here is what I bought, while hungover and not too focused on what I was doing, on Wednesday 5th May:

Prices are in VND I’ve listed the cheapest thing first in each shop. (£1 is around 32,500vnd).

VinMart supermarket
A baguette 9,000
1kg of carrots 14,504
10 eggs 26,700
2 cans of Strongbow cider 37,000
M&Ms 75,400
270g mushrooms 75,522
250ml extra virgin olive oil 91,300
700g of green grapes 96,466
400g pasta sauce (Bolognese) 122,000
250g butter 137,000

Tuan Viet Gourmet supermarket
1 pack of plain crisps 11,000
Green beans 14,100
Tissues 15,000
500g Rice noodles 25,000
1 red cabbage 33,000
Spaghetti 59,000
Pasta sauce (tomato) 99,000
GF crispbreads 105,000

Tinh Tien supermarket
Wild berry boiled sweets 65,000
2 jars of popcorn kernels 104,000
1 bar of 85% dark chocolate 105,000

An Nong Organic shop
1 small white cabbage 18,560
1 tin of coconut milk 40,000
6 bananas 40,275
1 chicken thigh fillet 87,500
1 box of brown rice crackers 90,000
1 chicken breast fillet 102,675

Co-op Mart
I spent nothing as the only things on my list that I still had to buy weren’t available – BBQ sauce and pickled onions.

The shopping total came to 1,671,867vnd which is £51.83 in English money. My lunch and a coke cost me around a fiver so quite an expensive day but a fuller cupboard and fridge.
How does this compare with your shopping? Did it surprise you that butter is so expensive here?

The Shopping basket – 8th February

Are you the type of person who wonders what is in other people’s shopping trolleys or fridge? If you have a partner who goes shopping without you, do you like to know what they bought and how much things were? I am that person, so on Monday 8th February when Captain Caveman got back from his shopping trip to Dong Hoi, I had a good check at all the stuff he had got and how much it was. If you’re interested in what we bought for the week, read on! Today’s exchange rate makes 50,000vnd equal to £1.55, US$ 2.17, AU$ 2.80 or 1.8 Euro, so you can work out costs of items.
Here’s a list in order of most expensive first in Vietnamese Dong (vnd):
• 1 box of dates 238,500
• 24 cans of Huda beer 238,000
• 1 bag of walnuts 149,000
• 1 jar of cashew nuts 129,000
• 1 jar of tomato based pasta sauce 126,000
• 4 apples 120,000
• 1 tub of hummus 100,000
• 5 chocolate and nut protein balls 100,000
• 1 packet of bacon 98,000
• 1 whole-wheat/sourdough loaf 80,000
• 1 packet of dried dragon fruit 78,000
• 1 packet of unsalted butter 73,000
• 1 jar of pickled garlic 71,000
• 1 big tupperwear box (for rice) 70,500
• 1 big bag of Naturals crisps 70,000
• 1 packet of contraceptive pill 67,000
• 4 red peppers 60,000
• 10 ibuprofen 400mg 60,000
• 24 sanitary towels and 20 liners 60,000
• 1 tube of Sensodyne toothpaste 55,000
• 1 jar of popcorn kernels 52,000
• 4 Snickers bars 48,000
• 1 box of biscuits 47,000
• 2 chicken breasts 45,000
• 1 packet of Haribo cola bottles 45,000
• 1 packet of mushrooms 42,000
• 3 washing up sponges 38,000
• 3 toothbrushes 36,000
• 1 box of raisins 36,500
• 2 dragon fruit 36,000
• 1 bag of cherry tomatoes 33,150
• 1 tube of Pringles 32,000
• 1 big bag of Lays crisps 31,500
• 10 eggs 28,500
• 3 rice crackers 22,000
• 1 packet of radishes 19,500
• 1 packet of watercress 19,600
• 1 baguette stick 9,000
Some of it surprised me as, although I know nuts and dates are expensive here, I wasn’t expecting some of the items to be so highly priced. Also, I only eat apples for convenience of getting fruit in to my diet but I think they are too expensive here. Chicken is cheap and very good quality so we bought a few packets. What surprised you the most? Do any of you analyse your shopping and make changes to help keep in budget?