Saigon – 9th June

Thursday 9th June was not a relaxing day, we were off back to Phong Nha as Captain Caveman had to be at work for 6pm.
After finalising some packing, and Captain Caveman getting cross with me for not having sufficiently wrapped the Stilton cheese, we were ready to check out of Melia River View apartments. Our flight was in the afternoon so we still had time to meet up with another friend, Quyen, in District 1 of Saigon. We temporarily left our luggage at her place while we walked round to a nearby restaurant. As luck would have it I’d requested a Japanese restaurant and it couldn’t have been a better choice location wise. I ordered a peach tea drink and a pork dish, the other two had fishy stuff. We got brought some warm boiled gingko nuts which look like pistachios but taste more like a slightly off, cheesy chestnut.
The food was delicious and we had a nice catch up with Quyen, who’d I’d not seen for quite some time. After our meal we went to a cafe round the corner for a hot beverage and then it was sadly time to say bye to Saigon and Quyen. We were off to the airport for our 3.30pm flight to Dong Hoi, there was still no rain which was lucky.

At the airport Captain Caveman found some Ron Zacapa rum, which was a lovely surprise and he bought a bottle to take with us. By 3pm we were near the front of the queue to board the flight and I should have known it would happen. Captain Caveman got in a separate queue to me, so he didn’t have to speak or listen to me for the next half an hour while we waited to be let through the gate and on to the bus to the plane. He made out it was because 3 Vietnamese men had pushed in by starting a second queue but he was doing the same by becoming the 4th person in it.
We were lucky to not have anyone sitting on the aisle seat on our row so we spread out after take off, I had some dried mango and Captain Caveman had Pringles.
The flight was quick, slightly delayed but landed in Dong Hoi around 5pm. I left Captain Caveman getting our luggage while I went to the toilets, they had soap which only I used. I remembered a couple of years ago some Vietnamese women telling me they didn’t like to use soap as it makes their skin look older. The pandemic was obviously a thing of the past for hand washing with soap in toilets again, but of course everyone wore a mask over their mouth and nose. Captain Caveman had arranged an Oxalis car and driver to pick us up from Dong Hoi airport, drop me off and take him to work. He would cycle back after work, to where I would be staying for at least another 3 weeks.

When we arrived at Elements Collection, the villa where Captain Caveman has been staying since September 2020, he was pushed for time. He left the luggage downstairs, gave me his keys and got back in the car to go to the Oxalis office. Part of his job, as a cave expert on the Hang Son Doong tours, is to meet the guests at their briefing and dinner on the evening before their 4 day expedition.
I started to move the bags and looked for somewhere to unpack my stuff. I also took a jar of mystery contents from the freezer to defrost for my dinner.
Unfortunately, in the time that Captain Caveman had been away in Saigon, he had
forgotten to inform anyone at the villa or Phong Nha Farmstay that I was coming back. There were only half the pillows and towels in the room and the place was not looking like it was ready for me coming to stay. I was a bit miffed about this as I thought Captain Caveman would at least have moved all his winter clothes out of the wardrobe, or cleared me a drawer or shelf to use. The stuff I had left here back in September had been put in storage in the Glass House and were still over there. I put all my clothes back in my suitcase and got myself a can of cold Huda beer. The pulled pork that I had got out of the freezer still hadn’t quite defrosted 2 hours later and I was peckish. Instead, I had spaghetti with pesto mixed in – basic but tasty and it would do.
Captain Caveman cycled Bluey, my bicycle, back from Phong Nha so that I would be able to get about while he was away for the next few days. By 9.45pm he was back and we were having a Huda beer before an early night, as Captain Caveman had an early start tomorrow.

Saigon – 8th June

I was back on track for getting some sleep now and on Wednesday 8th June I woke up feeling almost human again. Storms with very heavy rain were forecast for the afternoon and it was our last day in Saigon so Captain Caveman had a plan. He booked a Grab taxi and we went to Lubu for lunch. Almost 7 years ago to the day I met a lady called Beth who I went on an Easy Rider motorbike trip with from Phong Nha to Hue, via Khe Sanh, as a group of 4. She has a son, who we met while he was the manager of Mekong Merchant in Saigon, when we caught up with Beth again a few years ago. Her son, Jay, is now at Lubu, and we happened to see him. Captain Caveman took a terrible photo of me with Jay to send to Beth and he gave us a glass of wine each on the house, which was really nice of him. Captain Caveman and I ordered the lunchtime special which I would definitely recommend. I ordered a green salad starter (get me!), the steak and chips with garlic butter and a pannacotta type dessert. Captain Caveman went for the Gazpacho, chicken schnitzel and ate both of our desserts. This surprised me as he doesn’t ordinarily like sweet stuff and I don’t like the texture of a pannacotta. My complimentary red wine was lovely so Captain Caveman decided we would have a bottle of that. We sat and relaxed while sipping our beverages and discussing plans for when we were back in Phong Nha.

Our next stop was to have a wander in to the Annam Gourmet shop where I wanted to get some treats. They had bottles of Prosecco for 550,000vnd (£19.25) but Captain Caveman wasn’t interested in buying any to take back with us. I spotted the 4 Limited Release Lab Series gins from Lady Trieu too but we didn’t even buy any of that, on account of us not really having enough luggage space. We wandered our way through District 2 and by 3.30pm we were in the pub. I’d already been warned there were no late night bars open in Phong Nha so I was making the most of it. We met Andrea for a couple of ales in Bia Craft (one with an indoor AC section), I accidentally ordered a snack of shredded cheese, not realising it was sprinkled with hot chilli flakes and I had to drink a lot of beer, rather quickly. The snack menu had a Caeser salad on there but I didn’t point out to Captain Caveman that it had egg in it! When Andrea’s colleague and friend, Amarjit, joined us we had one more drink before going out for our last dinner in Saigon.

Captain Caveman and I had chosen Baba’s Kitchen because we love it there and it’s my favourite Indian restaurant in Saigon.
The food was lovely, the drinks flowed, I was pretty merry so I forgot to take any decent photos.
We also ordered 2 portions of Chicken Jalfrezi and 2 Butter Chickens to take away. It was a lovely last night which Captain Caveman and I finished off in a bar where we discovered a sport I’m good at; shuffleboard. We had several games of it and I am much better at this than pool or darts, maybe we needed to find one in Dalyan for the winter. The storms held off all day and night so I had been lucky to not encounter any rain yet. When we got in, Captain Caveman made sure our curries were in tupperware boxes, sealed properly, in the fridge. They would be packed to take to Phong Nha, tomorrow.

Saigon – 7th June

I didn’t wake up until 7am on Tuesday 7th June, although it was still 3am on my Turkish watch. I was missing having 2 pillows and having to get used to a hard bed again. Captain Caveman was already up and about in the kitchen making himself peanut butter wraps because he was hungry. For lunch we went to the same place as for breakfast yesterday, as Captain Caveman was complaining that I couldn’t walk far, or quickly enough. I thought my foot was ok but I just wasn’t used to walking at his pace so it was starting to hurt a bit. I was back to walking several metres behind my man again and it felt weird.
While Captain Caveman ordered a Caesar salad and a smoothie I ordered chicken fried rice and a draft Platinum beer. When Captain Caveman’s salad arrived it had poached eggs on which I commented was unusual. Our first argument happened because now Captain Caveman was insisting that there is always eggs in a Caeser salad. I agreed that eggs were in the dressing but I had never seen cooked/poached eggs in one, but of course he had to argue the point until I really couldn’t care less if it did or not. I could see I was going to have my work cut out for me as I’d temporarily forgotten how much Captain Caveman likes to argue and be a know-it-all. I still maintain he is wrong but I just said ‘lovely’ then drank my beer and ate my chicken fried rice without speaking. My food was ok, it didn’t have much flavour to it, but the beer was good so I had another one. We were sat in the shade, with a fan on, it was only 30°C but I was melting – the humidity was a bugger!

By 4.30pm we were on our way to meet Keith from Grimsby, who lives in Saigon. I’d asked Captain Caveman to think of a bar which had AC as I didn’t want to drink in this heat and become sick with dehydration. When we arrived at Bia Craft, which I already knew would be an outdoor place, we picked a table near to a fan in an attempt to keep me cool. It was still unbearable but of course we were here now so I may as well get a beer. I chose a beer made with rice in the attempt that I wouldn’t consume too much gluten and have a bad stomach. It tasted ok but when Keith arrived he let us in on one of his top tips that there is another beer which is a lot cheaper if you buy the bigger size. We all had one of those and ordered food. I had already decided I was having a rack of pork ribs with chips, Keith ordered a burger and Captain Caveman ordered a sausage but was giving Keith his chips as he’s not a fan of them. My ribs were so good and we had several more of the better value beers.

Next, Captain Caveman had arranged to meet his friend, Hung, at a Bia Hoi place not too far away so we invited Keith to join us. When we got there Hung was already on his way and had several Bia Hoi containers at the ready and snack food. There was duck and beef jerky, later he ordered frog. I was too full to eat anything more so I just stuck to the beer. It was a great evening and I enjoyed catching up with Hung and Keith from Grimsby as it has been a long time since I’d seen them, due to the pandemic. Keith was the first to leave as it was a school night, but luckily he didn’t live far from the Bia Hoi bar.
By 9.45pm I was ready to say bye to Hung and go back to the apartment, I was so full of beer and still jet lagged. I could tell Captain Caveman wanted to stay out so I said he could and I would go back by myself. It was decided we would both leave as I don’t yet have a working Vietnamese phone or access to the Grab app.
Back home Captain Caveman got the washing out and was annoyed at me that I had not secured the Stilton cheese in a Tupperware for transporting all this way, so some of my clothes still smelled of cheese. I thought he’d be excited to try some of Kate’s fruitcake because he does like fruitcake, but he didn’t want any. As soon as we got in to bed Captain Caveman was snoring very loudly so it took me a while to get to sleep. At least tomorrow we had no plans to be up early, as far as I was aware of!

Saigon – 6th June

Monday 6th June started off with me being rather crotchety at not having had enough sleep. Captain Caveman had set his alarm for 7am and then turfed me out of bed to get a shower and get ready for the day. I was confused as my watch still said 3am, the blackout curtains fooled me in to thinking it was still night time and, at that moment, I didn’t really care what the plan was. I wanted to stay in bed and go back to sleep but Captain Caveman was insisting we needed a hearty breakfast because today’s activity would require sustenance. All I could think was ‘please don’t let it be an outdoor/adventurous pursuit’!
First, we went to a nearby cafe for breakfast where I got to watch Captain Caveman shovel in a plate of my least favourite breakfast items in one meal; avocado, tomatoes and poached eggs with toast. I had Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) with a pot of earl grey tea.

After breakfast we asked a security guard to call us a taxi and we headed to Bach Dang ferry terminal.
Captain Caveman had booked arranged for us to go on a gin tasting experience which we were told to meet at 9.30am for – I love a good gin but, crikey!
We were early and it transpires we weren’t getting on the ferry anyway. I had a wander about, used the portaloo (which was quite clean and had soap) then saw a statue of Vo Thi Sau, a girl who had fought in the war against the French occupation, more about her here:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/vo-thi-sau-the-story-of-vietnams-guerilla-girl/
Captain Caveman’s friend was sending a speedboat to pick us, and a few other select guests, up. I’m not one for speedboats, I was even seasick on one in the Maldives, so I was a bit apprehensive. The others arrived and we all walked across the ferry to get on to the speedboat. We got our life jackets on while Captain Caveman explained to me how these ones with CO² cannisters work. They automatically inflate in water and so, as we sat at the front of the boat, I moved my bag from across my chest in case it inflated by accident and injured me.

We were on the speedboat for quite some time and as we passed District 12, where Captain Caveman had cycled yesterday, we saw a big fire. It turned out that a tyre factory was in flames and was nicely polluting the area. After a total journey of 75 minutes we had arrived at a small area where we could use the facilities and wait for a car. When the car came, the guide expected the 8 of us to get in, but the 4 western fatties amongst us looked at him like he was insane. In no time, one of the guys was on the phone to request a 2nd car. By 11.30am (7.30am on my Turkish watch) we were at the distillery of Lady Trieu gin, having a water and meeting the very talented master distiller.

It was a strange feeling to have been out in Dalyan (Turkey) on Friday night, travelling to Vietnam all weekend, eating Lebanese food in Saigon last night and now it was Monday morning – it didn’t feel real.
We liked Adam, the Master Distiller at Lady Trieu, straight away. He was knowledgeable, engaging and funny as he ran through the process of how they make gin here. The downstairs part of the warehouse was super hot for the 8 minutes we were stood listening to Adam. We went upstairs to an AC room which was set up for us to taste the gins in and at 11.46am, Vietnamese time, we were about to find out more and taste the Limited Release gins. The clientele were reminiscent of us being in a corporate meeting but that didn’t stop me trying to smell and taste my way through the gins with much enthusiasm.

For the gin lovers amongst you, here’s the Lady Trieu Limited Release gins we tried, neat:
1. Mekong Delta Dry Gin – has star anise, pepper, kumquat and orange peel flavours. I liked this one and could see me drinking this with a dry ginger ale, as I don’t like tonic.
2. Dalat Flowerbomb Gin – floral with chrysanthemum, jasmine, citrus, lotus and coriander. I didn’t think I’d like this but I did and would definitely buy this one.
3. Sapa Citrus Tea Gin – the oolong tea and pepper flavour was amazing. This became my new favourite of the 3 and I’d fancy this as a martini cocktail, so no need for tonic.
4. Hoi An Spice Road Gin – ginger and black cardamom flavours which was fantastic and would go well with a curry.
By the 4th neat gin tasting I was starting to get tiddly and hungry but we still had the newest and best gin to taste. It was also apparent that almost everyone in the room, except for us, were suffering the after effects of a whisky event yesterday. One of the guys had popped out of the room to get himself a coke and a banana. Meanwhile I was getting right into it and my seasickness feeling was back with a vengeance. Lady Trieu, named after the famous warrior, was being sampled and reviewed by 12.20pm, this time I tasted it neat then with the recommended Fever Tree tonic and ice. I loved it.

In my mind it was 8.20am and I was pretty sozzled already as we went in to the next room, which had even more AC on and was where the magic and science happened. There was also a shelf with lots of glass bottles on which Adam, the Master distiller, explained were the ones that didn’t make it in to the final gin. By 1pm we were back downstairs, getting pictures with the rest of the Lady Trieu team and we were honoured to be allowed in the store cupboard to look at, touch and smell the ingredients. By 2.20pm we were in cars and almost back at the speedboat. As is usual for me, Monday madness was only just beginning and we happened to have an extra passenger!

As we got back on to the speedboat at 2.30pm, I foolishly thought we would have a calm ride back and then a taxi back to the apartment where I might get a little nap before whatever shenanigans Captain Caveman had slotted in to the schedule for tonight.
We had brought Adam, the Master Distiller, with us and within 2 minutes of departure he was driving the speedboat. While Captain Caveman and I looked on at the impressive speedboat driving skills, the others were sat at the back of the boat drinking bottled water and eating plums. On the 75 minute journey back, anyone who wanted to drive the speedboat down a Saigon river, could. Well, when in Rome! I can now drive a speedboat and I loved it. Captain Caveman could already drive one, obviously – what can’t he do!? Unfortunately I peaked too early and, after the real driver took back control, I had to have a little sit down inside the boat, while the men chatted business. I was so jet lagged, tired and drunk, that I took my Volleys (shoes) off and had a short siesta.
When we got off the speedboat Captain Caveman, Adam the gin man and I said bye to everyone else and jumped in a taxi. Captain Caveman had booked a grab to take us to a bar he likes, which I’d never been to before and couldn’t tell you where it was. I found that our new best mate liked Pulp as we blasted ‘Babies’ out and sang along to it. When we arrived at The Orient, I insisted we go in the AC, our friend Andrea, arrived to meet us. Unfortunately Adam, the Master Distiller, couldn’t stay out for more than the one drink and we said our goodbyes and thank yous.

We, on the other hand, managed another beer before going on to a restaurant of Andrea’s choosing where the 3 of us shared 2 bottles of lovely pinot noir red wine and 2 cheese and meat platters. Needless to say, we had an absolutely fantastic first full day together in Vietnam, I don’t recall getting back to the apartment over 12 hours after we left it, but I do remember wondering why all my clothes smelled of blue cheese.

If you want to find out more about Lady Trieu gins, they have a Facebook page here:https://www.facebook.com/LadyTrieuGin/

Phong Nha – Top 10 things I’m looking forward to the most

When I wrote my list of what I will miss when I leave Dalyan it automatically meant I was thinking about what I was looking forward to in Vietnam. Some of them are pretty obvious:

1. Captain Caveman – after 257 days apart I was really looking forward to seeing my other half again.

2. Pork – I rarely eat pork in Turkey whereas it’s a very popular meat in Vietnamese dishes.

3. Tropical fruits – I love mangosteen, pomelo, pineapple, jackfruit, dragon fruit and passion fruit which are pretty cheap in Phong Nha.

4. Our own private pool – not having to worry about a boob popping out when swimming, or sharing the pool with a neighbour who clears their airways in the water, is always a bonus.

5. Cheap beer – at 250,000vnd (£9) for a case of 24 Huda cans I can get used to leaving the Efes behind for a bit.

6. The Staff – living in a managed property means we get our own team of lovely people to assist us. Whether it be cleaning the pool and rooms, doing the laundry, tending to the garden, driving us to or from the nearby Farmstay makes it feel like I’m always on holiday.

7. Buffalo – I love seeing the buffalo every day, especially when they get too hot and have to wallow in the muddy rice paddies.

8. People – while there are far less expats or westerners in Phong Nha there are still lots of locals returning now, so I will get to see friends I have missed.

9. The rice cooker – I never did buy one in Turkey so I’m looking forward to having plenty of perfect rice once again. I definitely plan to bring one back with me as they are so much cheaper in Vietnam.

10. Less distractions – with Captain Caveman down a cave a fair portion of the time, and me not being able to work in Vietnam, I’m looking forward to having spare time to work on a few projects and return to Turkey better for it.

Singapore to Saigon – 5th June

As we were getting ready to land in Singapore on Sunday 5th June at 6am local time (1am Turkish time), it dawned on me that I had been on my way for almost 24 hours, already. I still had not had any sleep and I had a bit of a sea-sickness feeling. I drank lots of water and asked the air stewardess if I needed to pre-book the free tour in Singapore. Unfortunately, she informed me they were no longer available due to Covid restrictions. I now had 12 hours to kill in Changi airport and it was the busiest I had ever seen it. We landed at the same terminal which my next flight was going from so there was no need to worry about going to a lounge anywhere else. I thought I would try to find a place to sleep for a bit first. Masks are still required and are enforced in Singapore so it would be a long and uncomfortable lay over. I got the free WiFi to update people on my journey but there were no quiet seats available anywhere. In fact, it was so noisy everywhere, as if the world had forgotten that headphones for phones existed. I decided to head for the lounge and would be there from 6.50am until 10am, I wasn’t boarding my next flight until 4.30pm so the staff at the lounge said I could book another slot later on if I wanted to, which was nice. By 7am I was having paneer tikka and rice with a Tiger beer and it was lovely, you had to keep putting your mask on and off though, to go up to get drinks and food, which was a bit of a pain but I obviously adhered to the rules. I had another beer, some more food and tried a pasty which I have no idea what the mystery filling was. I had a chicken stew, more curry then tried to get some Prosecco but it was finished because it was breakfast time! I had a couple of vodka and oranges as I was determined to get my money’s worth and then had ham, cheese and salad sandwiches. For afters I had lots of fresh pineapple but then had more bread and some more drinks. I left at 10am, although no one came to kick me out, I was going to have a shower but the queue was long. I decided I wouldn’t book the lounge again for later as I just really needed to get some sleep.
The day dragged a lot, I managed to write a couple of lists for my blog which were things I’d miss in Dalyan and things I was looking forward to in Phong Nha. I took the opportunity to rehydrate and pee a lot. I eventually found space in a group of sleeping Indian men and took my chances to make a bed out of 2 chairs, with my hand luggage under my thighs, and my trusty neck pillow from Chung and Uy. I slept for 1 hour and woke up when my ‘neighbours’ became loud. I walked around looking for better places to sit/sleep but none of the places I went for were good enough to get any sleep. I kept checking the boards for flight information and there were no changes to my gate, terminal or flight time and I set an alarm. At 4pm there was an update that my flight was now leaving from a different terminal and I had to take the sky train then walk, quite quickly, through the new terminal to the gate, the furthest away possible. I met a robot hoover on the way and took photos and a video, not realising I was running late. The robot was great as he blinked when people got in his way and I liked him – clearly I was depraved of sleep. I only just made it in time to the gate and then noticed that my seat was a window one when I had requested an aisle. I asked a Singapore Airlines staff member at the water cooler if it was too late to change it and he sorted it out for me. We left at 5.15pm local time and were due to land in Saigon in 2 hours and 10 minutes.
On the plane I was so tired I have no idea of the passenger next to me, only to recall the flight was full. I remember having a water and an apple juice with a meal of Singapore noodles which were super tasty.
I must have nodded off on the short flight because I woke up to the jolt of us landing at Tan Son Nhat airport at 7pm. It was 3pm in Turkey, I had no WiFi and still had to collect my luggage, find a taxi and get to the apartment in Thao Dien where Captain Caveman would be waiting, hopefully!

I headed for the passport queue and, as is usual, it took quite a while to get to the front. I had to move to a different queue twice as the official at the desk went for a break. I got my stamp in the passport and I remembered to check the date was correct before leaving the passport control section. Next, I waited for my suitcase which arrived wet, slightly damaged but still wheeled. I headed to the exit and was astonished as to how busy the international arrivals section of the airport was. The heat, at almost 8pm, was pretty consuming and I could tell the humidity was high. I booked a taxi, as advised previously by Captain Caveman, which was 380,000vnd (£13.33) and was a bit on the pricey side. I also had to wait quite a while for a car to come and the staff organising it suggested I should share with a Vietnamese bloke in front of me. He was also going to District 2, but if I didn’t share, I would have to wait 30 minutes but, as I’d already paid, I said I wasn’t sharing. Without a working phone I knew that option was likely to be fraught with disaster and the Vietnamese are not known for their sense of direction at the best of times. I got chatting to another westerner in the queue and he was trying to calm me down by kindly explaining how things work with taxis in Vietnam. The taxi was big, comfortable and had lovely Aircon on which made me feel better as we drove for about half an hour to where I would be joining Captain Caveman for the next 4 nights. When I arrived outside Melia River View apartments, there were no signs of life and a barking dog was trying to see me off. I looked for a reception or a staff member but couldn’t find anything, a man came out of the dark and asked if he could help. As I asked which way was room 101, I saw Captain Caveman look out of a window upstairs. He came to get me, and took my cases to the lift, I got in with them but there was no room for him so he did the stairs. When I got to the room it was nice but there was no time for a rest or much else. I had a quick shower, put the cheese and fruit cake in the fridge then Captain Caveman hurried me out. It was already 9pm gone and he was worried we wouldn’t get fed. He had chosen a nearby Lebanese restaurant, called Beirut, and neither of us were quite prepared for the experience.
It would be 5pm in Turkey now and we let family and friends know I had arrived after 42 hours of travelling. I was so tired that I seriously could have slept in my soup, had I ordered any. As it turned out, it was a great choice for dinner as it certainly kept me awake. We had Baba Ganoush and hummus with flat bread for starters while 3 belly dancers gave us a show. There were only 2 other couples in the restaurant and we didn’t know where to look as the girls isolated their ribcages and got their boobs shaking.
Captain Caveman was more interested in the falafel and chicken liver while I seemed to be hypnotised by belly dancer boobs, as I tried to work out their nationality. It was a pretty tasty meal, the white wine was good and I would definitely eat there again. It was 11.15pm when we left, by this time my sea sickness feeling was taking over and I really needed to go to sleep. As we got in bed, I expected to be having a long lay-in tomorrow, as requested. Unfortunately, Captain Caveman told me that it was no longer the case and we needed to be up early because he had a surprise planned. He set the alarm for 7am!

Dalyan to Singapore – 4th June

I was a bit sloshed and very tired as Fikri drove me from Dalyan to Dalaman airport, in the early hours of Saturday 4th June. We were there before 2.30am and it had cost me 325 lira (£16.25) for the one way trip. I was able to check in straight away for my domestic flight at 3.30am to Istanbul, there was no queue. I didn’t bother with the airport lounge at Dalaman as there was no point, but I intended to go to the one in Istanbul, using my freshly acquired Priority Pass. The flight was on time, we got water and a cheese sandwich on the flight and when we landed I was so tired that I hoped the lounge had comfy reclining seats.
I got the free ‘one hour only’ WiFi code in the airport, sat down to check messages and let Captain Caveman know I had arrived in Istanbul, it was 9am over there but only 5am here. I couldn’t check in for my flight until 10am so I waited, in various uncomfortable metal seats, until it was time to get in the queue. The check-in finally opened late, at 10.45am, and the woman dealing with me had an issue. My visa specified that I will land at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City but my ticket was to Saigon. She had no idea they were the same place so, even when I told her, she still had to get her manager. We were wasting valuable lounge time here so I chatted to her a little in Turkish, I told her I was learning the language and that I’d been on holiday in Dalyan. She loves Dalyan so she became more friendly while we waited for the manager. Eventually I was sorted, nothing else was checked and my luggage would be checked straight through to Saigon.
I was boarding at 12.40pm so I was disappointed that I now had less than 2 hours in the lounge. I had a couple of draught Efes before getting a couple of bowls of lentil soup, bread rolls, cheeses, olives, salads etc. The breakfast food was still out but they started to put out the lunch so I grabbed a couple of sandwiches then went back to the bar for more beer. My next flight to Singapore was the longest part of my journey, we set off on time at 1.25pm (Turkish time) and would be landing in about 11 hours time. I hoped I might get some sleep on the way but it was a full plane and there was not much chance of that. We got a nice meal of beef with veg and potatoes but I left the dessert which was a chocolate Cornetto – Singapore Airlines food is pretty good though. I managed 3 glasses of red wine, seeing as it was free but then there was a bit of turbulence and we all had to sit down for a few hours. The woman next to me was from Indonesia and spoke no English so that was a bonus, her daughter at the other side of her was nice and polite. She told me of a secret waterfall near Dait, where she lives in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and invited me to go there. Maybe Captain Caveman and I would visit it one day, as he has been to, and has friends in, East Kalimantan.

Dalyan – Top 10 things I will miss the most

A friend kindly pointed out that when I left Dalyan, after a 36 week and 3 day stay, that there was probably a lot I would miss. Here’s my list of what I think I will miss the most:

1. People – obviously I’m going to miss my family and friends. This visit has also meant I’ve been lucky enough to meet up with both old and new friends. I’ve been so grateful to meet some very special people who I love spending time with. I will particularly miss the banter and jokes that I can have with friends in Dalyan, it’s hard to find that same sense of humour when I’m away.

2. Independence – it’s going to be tricky having to get used to fitting to Captain Caveman’s schedule again. I’ve had 8.5 months of being able to do what I choose to do, when I want so it will take some adjusting to.

3. Boat trips – I’d been doing a few per month so it was going to be hard not to be enjoying all the lovely boat trips and swimming in the turquoise water.

4. Food – of course I will miss the massive choice of food available in Dalyan. Not having an oven in Phong Nha will take some getting used to. I was also going to miss Kate’s fruitcake and the fresh bread for only 3 lira a loaf at the local bakery.

5. Speaking the lingo – I’d made a bit of progress learning the Turkish language and was beginning to like being able to make myself understood. Despite having kept up some Vietnamese practice on Duolingo no one in Phong Nha understands a word of my Vietnamese, and never has.

6. The dry heat – although I’m not good in high temperatures I find it much easier in Turkey with the dry heat than the humidity of Vietnam.

7. Booze – in Dalyan there is so much opportunity and choice where alcohol is concerned. Going to a bar to drink or to someone’s house for a wine or two is no problem and mostly within walking distance. There’s never a day goes by without an invite to something involving a drink.

8. Supermarkets and shops – I’m not much of a shopper but I will certainly miss being able to walk or cycle to a supermarket, pharmacy or shop to buy essentials.

9. Exercise classes – I’m going to miss being able to go to Zumba and Pilates every week as I’ve really enjoyed how they had benefited my bad leg.

10. Transport – I’ve been spoiled by being able to use Mark and Kate’s electric bikes, I will certainly miss being able to whizz about with assisted pedalling when it’s hot or hilly. It’s also easy to go out and about with a taxi or a bus to a nearby place in Dalyan. It’s not as simple or as affordable as that in Phong Nha so it means relying on lifts and other people.

Dalyan – 3rd June

I think the words ‘hanging out of my own arse’ have never been truer than on Friday 3rd June, when I woke up to messages from Captain Caveman. He was suddenly excited to be seeing me and had sent me a blurred photo of a flight he had booked for when my visa expired, in case I needed to show it at check-in. I stayed in bed to transfer money to him for the electricity and water over the next few months. I’d had some really lovely messages from friends who’d been unable to come out last night, Sue managed to bring a tear to my eye with her kind words. Mark and Kate had invited me, Matt and my parents over to their place for a final farewell in the afternoon. I had a bit of a laugh at Matt, who may also have been hungover, when he posted on a group chat to say he would be going over to Mark and Kate’s for bacon sandwiches at 1pm. Mark had also replied on the group chat to ask me or Matt to bring bread and that it might be sausages as they were having trouble locating the bacon.
My parents had the workmen in and so they couldn’t go, which hindered my plans slightly as I was meant to be cycling to Penny and Phil’s. The idea was I would ride Bluey2 to their’s, slightly before the others got the taxi to Mark & Kate’s. I could then drop Penny’s bike off and get in the taxi for the rest of the way. Instead, Matt would cycle over about 1pm, my Dad would wait in with the workmen and my Mom would come and help me pack. I would then cycle to Mark and Kate’s but drop the bike off on the way back before going out for my final meal.
As my flight had been changed it turned out I could have gone to a Jubilee party after all. I checked the Jubilee group on Facebook so I could see what time to perhaps pop in but I’d been removed already. I’m not really in to the Royal family any way but maybe they’d found out how bad we had been on questions about the Queen at the Retro bar quiz and I had got an automatic ban – it might be better to leave it to the more patriotic.
When Ma arrived her facial expressions were a treat as she couldn’t believe how far off being ready I was!

Luckily for her, I’m a list maker and I had a note of all the jobs still to do (before 1pm ideally):
1. Print out my Vietnamese visa (I don’t have a printer but Kate was going to do it)
2. Pack away all my belongings in to the various lockable cupboards
3. Store all the non-perishable kitchen items in the lockable cupboard
4. Sort out 2 loads of washing
5. Empty the kitchen cupboards of spare food
6. Empty the fridge and decide who to give what to
7. Empty the freezer and give everything I could to Mom
8. Bin anything that wasn’t going to last or be donated
9. Empty the bins
10. Do the washing up
11. Pack my suitcase
12. Pack my hand luggage
13. Charge my laptop and phone
14. Defrost the fridge freezer

My Mom suggested I should let Mark, Kate and Matt know I’d be late and that it would be better for Matt to get the bread. I messaged (not in the group) to say I would leave mine at 2pm and then Mom and I got on with it.
It was the hottest day of the year so far and it didn’t help that yesterday one of the Aircon remotes had stopped working. We had done a couple of hours without AC but we were both a drippy mess by noon. Luckily, I didn’t need any lunch on account of me only just remembering that I had eaten cheese on toast and the half portion of beef wrap from Hotel Dalyance at 3.45am this morning – more luck than judgement, really.
Ma was instrumental in helping with the pots, sorting out the piles of clothes, packing and sorting the fresh and frozen produce out with me. She also managed to fill a whole bin liner of stuff to throw away.
My Mom left looking frazzled and a bit bewildered as to why I hadn’t done all this sooner. She had a bag of store cupboard stuff, some frozen stuff and some very nice home cooked meals to see her through the week. I also ended up with a large bag of stuff for Kate, as I knew she wouldn’t have me throw stuff away, including a jar of pickled red cabbage. All I needed to do now was hang the washing out and cycle over to Mark and Kate’s for another last farewell.

I arrived at Mark and Kate’s house at just after 2pm, a hot and sweaty mess. I had the bag of stuff, including a meat pie, brown and BBQ sauce, Lurpak butter, the curry paste which Kate had made me, but I’d not used it yet, and a few other bits and bobs. Mark sorted me out with a shandy while I squidged items in to the fridge and freezer. Matt was already sipping a shandy and had brought plenty of bread for the hot dogs. We had a couple more shandies, then Mark got cracking with the sausages. He even treated us to fried onions with them and we used up some of the BBQ sauce I brought. Kate offered us all fruitcake with butter and Red Leicester cheese on but I didn’t want to upset Mark, I declined but Mark and Matt enjoyed some. I had even packed some of Kate’s fruitcake, Red Leicester and Stilton cheeses to take with me to Vietnam. I decided to change in to my swimmers so that I could get in the pool, I noticed my pink towel on the terrace railing, which was odd. I hadn’t remembered putting it in their bag last night so that I didn’t have to carry it round. Then it was time for my farewell treat; Prosecco! It was the real stuff too and it was bloody lovely, in fact we ended up having 3 bottles between 3 of us, Matt just had the 1 glass. We took some photos and we almost forgot to print off the visa, as Kate was in charge but getting a bit merry. I realised I’d still not been in the pool but it was almost time to leave. I still had to drop Bluey2 off at Penny and Phil’s, get home and get ready for dinner with my parents. In my head I’d mistakenly anticipated having time for a nap at some point today but that wasn’t going to happen. Kate and Mark kindly offered to sort out the returning of Penny’s bike and suggested I get a taxi back to mine so that I wouldn’t be too late. Matt left earlier than me, I gave him a big hug and then had 1 more glass of Prosecco. When it came to saying goodbyes I was sad, I said I’d call them from time to time, Mark and Kate said they’d keep in touch too. I got to say bye to the cats who were already glad I was going because they had ‘my’ bed to themselves. Fikri dropped me off at my apartment and we confirmed my airport pick up would be Fikri personally later, at 01.45am to be precise. I’d only just finished packing when it was time to go out.

We were booked in at our favourite restaurant in Dalyan for my last meal here. My parents and I arrived at 7.30pm and had a lovely table on the mosque square side of the restaurant. I’d already decided I would have steak and I think it was a given that we would have a bottle of wine. We love Bistro Blue because of the great food, excellent service, but also because we like the owners and staff, plus it has a lovely ambience which makes you feel relaxed.
My Dad had one of his favourite dishes, the liver and onions with bacon, served with mashed potatoes. Mom decided she would have steak with onions and chips while I ordered my favourite, the pepper steak. The wine flowed, the food was excellent and I even got some good photos for our last night together. Our evening at Bistro Blue would not have been complete without seeing Selahı get out his huge grinder and pepper Annie’s plate, which made my parents laugh more than it should have. It was a little strange that we had no idea when we would see each other again or even which country it would be in. I’m lucky that I have residency in Turkey until October 2023 but my parents and Captain Caveman are only permitted to stay for 90 days in an 180 day rolling period, which is somewhat restrictive. The residency rules in Turkey have since changed and only 6 months as a maximum is allowed now.
After saying bye to Annie and Selahı we had a wander home and, as you can probably imagine, Ma was up for a nightcap. My taxi wasn’t coming until after midnight so we went to Tez bar where I enjoyed another glass of red wine, my parents were on the spirits!
Roy, Melanie and Gareth happened to turn up and so I got to say bye to them before I went, still disappointed I hadn’t been able to say bye to Debbie (Darling) or Sue who’d have probably had me crying. On my short walk round the corner I was able to quickly say bye to Jamie too, as he was at Lukka bar.
I tried to be brave when I said bye to my parents but I was quite tearful after they had gone. As Fikri arrived to pick me and my cases up, I don’t think it had quite sunk in that I was actually going back to Vietnam and Captain Caveman!

Dalyan – 2nd June

It was my last full day and night in Dalyan on Thursday 2nd June and I wasn’t at all ready to leave. I was obviously looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman again, after 257 days apart, and was keen to find out what he had planned for when I arrived. Captain Caveman is a good planner but a man of very few words so he was keeping anything he did have in mind to himself. He did send me a photo of the place we would be staying at when I landed in Ho Chi Minh City. I was pleased it looked like the monsoon rains there were subsiding a bit and it was mainly happening in the afternoons.
Here, in Dalyan, it was a lovely sunny day and definitely bikinis and pool weather. Our complex was full of holiday makers in or around the pool and it was the first time I’d seen it busy.
At lunch it was time for my next leaving ‘celebration’ as I’d been invited out to Hotel Dalyance. Angela had organised for us to have a little gathering with Nick, Maddie and Lyndsey as they were unable to make my party that evening. I met them at Casablanca hotel first and had a coke before we wandered round. I was tempted by the chicken and mushroom alfredo but was conscious I needed to not have a reaction to the creamy sauce so I ordered the beef wrap with chips. I was not disappointed as it was delicious and a very generous portion for a lunch time meal. Others did have the pasta dish, Lyndsey had an omelette and everything looked amazing too. I even had a glass of red wine with my food but found I couldn’t manage all of the beef wrap and took a doggy bag home. It was a lovely afternoon and I was going to miss my friends, we were already talking of reunions in September. Just before it was time to say bye, both Maddie and I had bad stomachs, as is often the case with the pair of us, so Nick had to drive Maddie home without me saying farewell. I cycled home but had to take some stomach medication to make sure I was ok for tonight’s excitement. Kate had certainly pulled out all the stops with what she’d organised for my party tonight and I was looking forward to seeing everyone! By 5pm I was not any closer to being packed for my departure to Vietnam. The apartment now looked like a bomb had hit it and there were various half filled boxes all over the place. It was hot and I had a dodgy stomach so I had a little rest and lots of water before setting off for my leaving celebrations. I still had all day tomorrow to sort everything out and get packed – loads of time, what could possibly go wrong!!?

I had to cycle Bluey2 to Kaan’s Tequila boat, the venue for my final leaving party at 6.30pm. Kaan helped me on board as the promenade had not been finished and it was a bit of a to do to access the boats. He was also a bit worried that we had too many people as I think Kate had almost 30 potential attendees at one point. As I got on, one of my friends was stressed and came straight over to me, he had to get off because his wife was at home, quite ill and they couldn’t make it, which was understandable. Sarah arrived and had her dog, Yaps, in tow. Kate is allergic to and not a fan of dogs so then I had to faff about several times taking Yaps off the boat, but she kept getting back on. Yaps didn’t understand when I told her she wasn’t invited, and the boat was already too full for her to come, she just wanted to stay with Sarah. Kate had made one of my favourites, lemon drizzle cake and buns, which she had put on the table for all to share. She had brought my delivery from Trendyol (an online shop) for something that had arrived just in time for Vietnam. Kate had also took the opportunity to invite Shiela to bring her accordion and guests had been encouraged to request some songs for her to play later. I was very happy, who gets a real life accordion player at their leaving do? It was certainly a new first for me and I was so pleased. Mark had kindly taken over dog watch at the back of the boat as he could see I was getting thirsty while we waited for some stragglers! We waited another 10 minutes after the departure time, until 6.40pm, as we were still missing a couple of people who had not shown up yet. As we had only booked Kaan and the Tequila boat for 2 hours, we wanted to make the most of our booze cruise. Kaan’s fridge was so fully stocked with everyone’s preferences that we were certainly on for a great trip.
Kaan was much happier that we had only 20 people on board; 4 had cancelled because it was a bit too busy for them, 2 no shows, 2 because of sickness, 1 had to work, and 1 decided to wait in Aşkın’s bar as we would be back by 8.30pm.

Kate and Kaan arranged for us to go to Jimmy’s island, I did a short speech to thank everyone for coming. I confessed I would miss everyone and that I was lucky to have had the chance to have spent so much time with such fantastic people. I was so surprised to see so many come to see me off (or make sure I left). I cut the cake and everyone had a slice or a bun, it was so delicious and perfectly moist. I played waitress for a few minutes, to help Kaan out and to make sure everyone had a full glass as we sailed along the river. Mark told me he had a present for me but he hadn’t wanted to give it to me in front of everyone (oo-er, that would get the gossipers going)! Kate had even suggested it would be more convenient if I could get it tomorrow, at their place, instead and I wondered what it could be. They both signed a card with a cat on to give me and I would keep it in my diary, which Ann bought me (to remind me of Dalyan).
Kate had got her play list at the ready and had selected a relaxed stargazing selection which had worked well for her before.
Shiela got her accordion out and we went on to sing a variety of songs. It was mainly Kate and I who did the singing but it was good to see Nanny Kay joining in on the ones she knew from singing group. Ma & Pa joined in too and Adam was forced to get involved when it was time for his request. Shiela had been learning ‘Friggin’ in the Riggin” by the Sex Pistols all afternoon and did a pretty excellent job while Adam, some of the men and I gave it our best shot.
It was absolutely brilliant, Shiela played lots of great songs and we all loved it. When Mark questioned Kate’s choice of playlist, as Van Morrison crooned ‘Moondance’, she decided to turn it up a notch with her playlist, to party and dance mode.

The drinks flowed and we were positioned in a beautiful location at Jimmy’s island. Adam got off for a wander and found some donkeys and an English caravan club member to occupy him.
I’d asked Annie to take some photos which was fortuitous as I either forgot, or took terrible ones. As we danced well past 8.30pm I realised I had a party dress stuffed in my bag, as well as a bikini and a towel which didn’t get used. I managed to change without going to the toilet, not revealing anything inappropriate, and I tried to get as many drunken photos with everyone as I could. I missed a few people out though which was disappointing.
Kaan was amazing, and much to my astonishment, didn’t set off back to Dalyan until 10.30pm because no one had given him the instruction to. Of course, I’d had no WiFi while on the boat so the people who had gone to Aşkın’s for 8.30pm had either gone home without seeing me or were a bit peeved when I turned up a lot later than planned. In true leaving party fashion, I was hammered, so were most of us who made it out out! Matt, Mark and Kate were almost as plastered as me and were so funny at Aşkın’s. Adam and Kath were definitely merry on account of none of us having eaten a meal since lunch. Viv’s husband, Paul, was glad to see her and Nanny Kay were back safely and was happy we’d had an incredible time. Jamie was still there and I’m so glad I got to have a hug and a chat before I left, especially as I’d hardly seen him this visit. Even Gareth and Julie were still out with family so I got to say farewell to them too. Debbie (Darling) and Roy had waited as long as they could but I was very disappointed I wouldn’t get to see them one last time. When I went back to join Ma & Pa at the table, Matt was buying a T-shirt and was trying it on – he doesn’t usually do many boat trips so I was impressed and happy he had made it. I even said Vanessa should go away more often as Matt was on top form, being the life and soul of the party a few times.
We had more drinks at Aşkın’s then went on to Sofra bar, which I don’t remember an awful lot of. I do remember my parents, Matt and I thinking we were the lasts ones standing at Sofra bar and deciding to go to Sunset bar for a last drink. They set off walking and I went to get my bicycle to ride there. When I arrived they weren’t there and I suspected they had given me the slip, but I still rode back to Sofra to check. Luckily, Davut and Şükrü miss nothing and said they had walked down the left path towards home. Merrily I cycled back to Sunset bar where I had drinks with Annie. We finished the amazing night off with me playing gooseberry and drinking Amaretto until about 3.30am. Good old Bluey2 managed to get me home, somehow unscathed. I didn’t quite appreciate the fact that this would be my last chance to sleep in a bed, until Sunday night in Vietnam.

Photo credit – Annie Miller

Dalyan – 1st June

Wednesday 1st June was a very busy day and also another time to say my goodbyes to more friends.
I had my Turkish class at Casablanca Hotel with our usual group, Vanessa was still in England. After the class I chatted with a couple of the ladies while Kate had her Turkish class. Kath arrived and joined us, I had a swim with my friend, also a fellow student in the same class, and then the 3 of us joined Kate and our teacher for a leaving beer/wine/lunch. I had a chicken wrap with homemade chips which is great value and very tasty. It was a lovely afternoon and my foot was getting better so that I could take the plaster off now.

In the afternoon Kate and I cycled to meet the pool gang at Rehab bar. On the way we called at Waterfall bar to say bye to Dick, I returned his bag and he gave me some Stilton which had been forgotten about. When we arrived at Rehab bar a fair percentage of the chaps were very drunk. The Long Island Iced Teas had been doing the rounds, Kate and I were greeted by a spare one each, which we didn’t particularly want, as we had already ordered a pint of draught lager from Tayfur. Adam went home with a ‘medal’ for being a champion pool player and John tried to leave by electric bicycle. Kate followed him home, concerned he may be too drunk and he was pretty wobbly.
When Kate returned she helped me sort out the purchasing of my Priority Pass for airport lounges and we had to force the cocktails down to save anyone else drinking them!

It was quiz night again at Retro bar but Kate and Mark had decided to have a night in. I still joined my parents there, this time I’d managed to be better dressed and not drunk. Not having Kate on our team turned out to be unfortunate as there was a whole round about the Queen of England which we didn’t get any points for. We had a good night, I got to say bye to Nazim, Nusret and the Retro and Smyrna ‘family’ before I left, and we got Gonca a small birthday present from Maizie Moo. I got in about midnight and made myself cheese on toast with some of the Red Leicester cheese from Dick.

Dalyan – 30th & 31st May

I was surprised to find a snake at the bottom of the steps on Monday 30th May, it was dead and possibly a black whip snake.
I had a chicken and red pepper sandwich for breakfast and then my Mom called round for us to go to sort out her internet at Captain Net. It was the first of my leaving events in the afternoon with Ann. We met at 3.30pm at Okyanus, I just had a salad and a beer, Ann had a chicken wrap and a cider and we had a good catch up.
After lunch we said our goodbyes and I hobbled back home, where I emptied all the stuff out of the cupboards in an attempt to start some packing.
For dinner I had sausage casserole with Yorkshire puddings and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had a bit of a stressful morning on Tuesday 31st May; I got an email to say my flight from Dalaman to Istanbul had been changed to 5 hours earlier, meaning I would fly at 3.30am. I accepted it, not realising it was for an earlier date so I had to spend ages trying to contact the airline to change the flight. In the end, I managed to get the right date but it still meant I had a lay-over of 8 hours in Istanbul, but that was better than the 32 hours I nearly ended up with.
News in Vietnam didn’t fill me with confidence as rain was causing flooding and it may be that when I landed I would be knee deep in water.
After sorting all my clothes which were needing to be packed away, I went to meet my parents for dinner. I had to cycle as it was more comfortable than walking and we had a drink at Bistro Blue first. We wanted to eat there but it was too full and we hadn’t booked a table. Instead we had a drink there and we booked a table for my last night in Dalyan. We were meant to be going to Gonca’s birthday party but Yaşar messaged to say it was cancelled.
For dinner we went to Kebapçı Yusuf and the food was really good as always. I was quite tipsy on account of not having eaten much during the day so when I cycled home I went the main street route, where it is better lit, while my parents walked home the direct route.

Dalyan – 29th May

My parents and I had a very important appointment at 10.30am on Sunday 29th May. Nusret and Gonca had invited us to Retro bar and Smyrna hotel to have breakfast with them and Yaşar. It was a hot day and I noticed that Phong Nha, where I would be in a couple of weeks, was hotter by about 5°C. I’d already cycled to the bakery to buy some baklava to take with us as a small gift. We sat outside under a parasol as Yaşar and Gonca brought so much delicious food to the table. It was really kind of them to invite us, they were very generous with the food and their time. I found myself lacking in Turkish vocabulary somewhat and we had to rely on Yaşar to translate my basic Turkish or Google translate.
The food was phenomenal and plentiful, my parents loved it too and we were made to feel like part of their family. I would miss them when I had to leave and we promised to keep in touch. We also got invited to another event for Gonca’s birthday in a few days.

Back home I had a whole chicken in the slow cooker which smelled lovely and was meant to be for dinner. I’d invited my parents over, they didn’t fancy chicken but would meet me later for a drink. We went to Tez bar for a couple and bumped in to Penny and Phil, which was nice as I’d not been out drinking with them for a while. I invited them to share my chicken dinner too but they had other ideas. I had another drink and then Penny, Phil and I got a taxi to their place where Penny and I got in the pool to cool down.
Penny and Phil were the perfect hosts, we had a couple of gins and a curry. I had a rather tasty chicken korma and they had a delicious jalfrezi. It was so good but they wouldn’t tell me where they got it from as it was top secret. I had a great night and I was going to miss Penny and Phil, they are a really good laugh and have been really kind friends to me. In a few days Bluey2 would be making her way back to their place and I would have to say bye to her too.

Dalyan – 28th May

I didn’t have breakfast until 11.15am on Saturday 28th May, mainly because I was super tired from all the excitement of the past few days. I was also struggling to put weight on my big toe and had to cancel a proposed trip to the market with my parents. They did bring me some strawberries and cherries as a treat, which I was grateful for.
I had less than a week left in Dalyan so plans for a bit of a leaving celebration were underway. Kate had very kindly agreed to organise my send off and had already started to message everyone for a party on Thursday.
About 5pm I decided to venture out on Bluey2 as I needed to go to the ATM. I found it easy to cycle but not so easy to walk so I went on to Rehab bar to meet up with the pool gang. By the time I got there, not many people were left so I got to join in the game of Killer with Matt, Adam, Wolfie and Mark and I wasn’t the worst player of the day! Tayfur had installed a draught pump so that Efes was now available on tap and I had to try a couple to make sure it was up to scratch – it was.
After Rehab, I went home for a homemade dinner of bacon pasta, another of my items from Dick which I was looking forward to having. I treated myself to cheese (also from my recent English delivery) with Quinoa crackers later too, before an early night. Tomorrow was going to turn out to be another food-lovers paradise!

Dalyan – 27th May

On Friday 27th May I’d called Mark when I got in, at 4.30am, to check he hadn’t fallen in to a ditch on the way home and he’d been fine. Kate messaged me around 9am, asking if I had been out with Mark last night. He’d got in around 4.30am but was unable to tell her what happened as he had fallen asleep. I updated her on the goings on and, when I told her about my foot she was very helpful. She offered to bring painkillers and a dressing because today we were off out on a day trip, which Kate had organised. By the time I had showered and checked my cut toe I had received a message from Des which was simply a photo of him having a beer while waiting for his airport pick up with Fikri. I messaged Maddie to thank her again as she’d been worried about me going home alone and had offered to come over if I needed her to.

My parents came to call for me, as we were meeting at Kaan’s Tequila boat at 10.15am, but I could hardly walk. There was spots of blood on the apartment floor and my sandals were ruined. As I hobbled towards the boat I told my parents of last night’s shenanigans. It was going to be a long day, luckily I hadn’t drank much last night but I could only imagine how bad Mark must be feeling this morning!
On board Kaan’s Tequila boat we grabbed a hot drink on our way to pick up Mark and Kate from their jetty, then off to a calm little bay for swimming. Kate sorted out my foot and dressing so that I could get in the water for a swim at Hole Island and Kath lent me her pink crocs so I could do the steps easier. Brenda (from Barnsley) gave me some paracetamol and within 20 minutes the pain had eased. There were a couple of hiccups before lunch; Kate cut her foot on some rocks and Kaan had assumed today’s guests preferred Efes Malt to normal and there wasn’t going to be enough for everyone. Kate decided to swim over to the neighbouring boat and do some beer swaps so that there would be more of what everyone wanted. Kaan made us a lovely BBQ lunch and we had a really tasty meal followed by quite a few vodkas for me, Adam, Mark, Kate and Kaan. There was plenty of swim stops, Mark and Kaan even treated the ladies to a ‘diet coke ad’ type shower together, which none of us can ever unsee. It was an honour to be in such winning company; not only had Kate brought her medal to show everyone but another guest had brought her swimming t-shirt for when she took part in the recent swimming event from Iztuzu beach. Mark chose to model both the shirt and the medal and we all got to touch them!

In the afternoon Kate banged on her playlist and we had a good old dance. Linda was the best dancer of the day as, not only was she a great mover, her stamina was worthy of a medal. Despite my recent injury, I managed to dance, my parents had a good boogie too and it was such a lovely bunch of people. On the way back in to Dalyan we dropped Mark and Kate off at their jetty and they were definitely staying in tonight. After another amazing boat trip a few of us went to Tez bar for another drink. I had invited Kaan to join us but he was too busy getting ready for Tequila bar tonight and his next boat trip tomorrow.
I could see my parents may have been persuaded to be out out, as they chatted to Adam, Kath, Jill, Mark, and Linda but I was begging for mercy. All I needed was to stop walking/dancing on my cut foot and rest up a bit.
I hobbled home, had a shower and a bacon sandwich while watching some TV, but was in bed by 11pm. I even managed to sleep through the loud Jazz Bar noise.