I started my last day in Dalyan on Tuesday 20th May, with a bacon sandwich and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I had lots to do including packing, work related stuff and some project related social media posts. For the last 10 days I had been doing a free course with Strategist Lisa Johnson and had rather enjoyed it. I did some promoting of my favourite vegan restaurant in Vietnam, Phong Nha Vegan, and I chatted on messenger to the staff and owner there. I missed them and their delicious and healthy food. By lunch time, I was using up ingredients in the fridge by making myself chicken, sweetcorn and egg fried rice which was so tasty. I cracked on with my busy to do list as I needed to be over at Vanessa’s at a decent hour and I was fast running out of time. I took a breather about 4pm to nip to the shops for some snacks, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Today the exchange rate had risen again to 52 lira to the pound and the temperature had reached 30°C. Meanwhile, I was making a mental note to get a big coat and socks added to my packing as it was going to be cold in Manchester compared to Dalyan. I realised I still needed more items for my journey back to the UK and went back out again.
Migros Supermarket 2 small waters 7.90 Mentos 20.95 Haribo jellies 22.45 Biscuits 31.95 Dubai chocolate Magnum 75.00 Total spent 158.25 lira (£3.04)
Parlak bakery 1 loaf 15 lira (29p)
I ate the Magnum on the way back home and really enjoyed it – it would be my last one for a while! I didn’t have time to make any dinner so I ate the last of the radishes and some olives. I packed, put any perishables and leftover veg in a bag for Matt and took leftover chicken, lettuce, bacon and cheese with the bread to make for Vanessa and my airport pack up. My bags were heavy so I was lucky to bump in to Murat and his dog, Latte, who gave me a lift on his mobility scooter. Over at Vanessa’s, we had some cups of tea and chatted before getting ready for an early night and a very early get up. We were leaving at 5am so I set my alarm for 4am.
Gratitude List 1. Bacon 2. Fitting everything in my small case 3. Managing to finish in time to get to Vanessa’s.
While Captain Caveman went to Bridge Club on Friday 11th October I set about trying to sort my life out and get back in to a regular job, with a longer term potential. I decided if I waited to do something based on what Captain Caveman was going to do, I would become too stressed and skint. I’d worked out that, even when Captain Caveman left Turkey in January (after his 90 days), I would still need to remain here to apply to renew my Turkish residency once again. It was a shame that I wouldn’t be able to go back to Vietnam until after I received my new residency card which would be April. I could apply again from the 19th February but, if approved, I would only be granted permission to leave Turkey for a maximum of 15 days until my new card came, 2 months later. Obviously, I was not able to work in Turkey so I was looking for online/remote work that I could do anywhere, but based in Dalyan or the UK for the winter period. I applied for a Training Assistant position at a well-known UK charity and a couple of admin related roles with head offices in London. I went to the bank (yet again) to do more depositing and came back to a late breakfast of overnight oats. I made a bolognese using beef mince that I’d had in the freezer and had defrosted, then put in the slow cooker. I put the washing out and it was so hot on the back balcony that I was dripping in sweat when I came back in. When Captain Caveman returned from Bridge Club, we had my homemade leek and potato soup with fresh bread. I was finding it impossible to resist the fresh bread that Captain Caveman was buying almost daily. It is one of my favourite things to eat, but it’s not good for my stomach or the Slimming World plan. I had a couple of oranges in the afternoon and was reminded how little Captain Caveman likes fruit – he rarely eats it. He had already posted another Sunday Walk Facebook event for the coming weekend and I screenshot and sent it to my Mom as it looked like one of them had blocked the other so my Mom could no longer see anything that Captain Caveman writes on Facebook, or vice versa! Both were of the opinion that the other one must have done it, as they hadn’t, and neither could add or find the other any more. Captain Caveman and I decided to go for a short walk along the river so I could get some fresh air before a video call meeting about a prospective job. Back home, we had a go at meal planning for the week, something that I always do when I’m living here on my own but had not done since Captain Caveman arrived 6 days ago. My meeting went well and for the first time in ages, I was thinking that this job opportunity could be perfect for me. We had the bolognese with pasta for dinner and shared a bottle of red wine.
Breakfast was tea and toast again on Friday 4th October after I’d given Norman & Edna their biscuits. Captain Caveman was due to leave for the airport at 1.30pm Turkish time so I was getting excited for his arrival. I spent the morning cleaning up and moving my stuff to accommodate some free space. I saw that Captain Caveman had already invited people to a Sunday Walk in Dalyan, on Facebook and thought it wise for me to accept the invite so that I could be sure I would get to see him this coming weekend. He’d already said for me not to bother meeting him when he arrived as he would probably have a shower and a sleep while I looked after the dogs tomorrow. I got the feeling that Captain Caveman wasn’t looking forward to seeing me as much as I was him. While Norman had a mid-morning snooze, Edna helped me with some writing. I had a Slimming World pizza wrap for lunch and was about to go out when Jamie called to say a delivery he had ordered was on its way. After taking the delivery from the man who refused to bring it in to the house, I nipped to the bank. That evening I tried a new Slimming World recipe; a courgette risotto and it was amazing. After the dog walk, both dogs cuddled up and we watched a bit of TV, The Chase as it’s one of Edna’s favourites.
For breakfast on Friday 27th September I had half a tub of overnight oats and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I spoke to Captain Caveman around 10am my time, he was at Caroline’s and she had gone to 9 Grains for a meeting while he stayed home with Vee, the dog. Captain Caveman was now free to book his flights and so he did that and sent me his flight details straight after the call. He would leave Saigon on the 4th October, fly via Bangkok to Istanbul with Thai Airways and then get the Turkish Airlines flight to arrive in to Dalaman at 9.05am on 5th October. What a relief, he was finally booked and just had to avoid the next bout of stormy weather that was heading in that direction soon. I remembered I needed to get back to the shops so off I went, prices in lira of what I bought;
Bim Supermarket 1 Notebook 12.50 Bin liners 21.00 Total spent 33.50 lira (73p)
Şarküteri shop 1 Small (142ml) Henderson’s relish 1 (400ml) tin of coconut milk 1 (150ml) bottle of rice vinegar 1 (150ml) bottle of Oyster sauce Total spent 335.00 lira (£7.33)
All of these items are classed as foreign and so include import tax, making them quite pricey compared to back in the UK.
Migros Supermarket 1 bag 0.25 Bay leaves 24.95 Wholemeal sliced bread 44.50 Basil 44.95 650g yoghurt 77.50 10 eggs 99.95 Feta cheese 114.90 Total spent 407.00 lira (£8.91)
Over the last 2 days, I had spent the most in ages on provisions and groceries as I had not known how much I was going to need for my residency renewal. With that finished, it did mean I could actually get a little bit back to normal and actually spend some of what I had put aside for housekeeping and bills. My next task was to pay for another month of internet at Captain Net where the lady was reluctant to give it to me because of my residency card expiring on the 19th October. I showed her my piece of paper and explained as best I could that I was waiting for my card but it would come after the 19th of next month. She would only let me renew the internet for one month and told me that I must have my card by the next time I came to pay. This was unlikely as the new cards were being sent about 2 weeks after the old ones expired. It cost 400 lira (£8.75) which is a bit of a bargain for a whole month of internet and I don’t even have the best plan, as we no longer watch TV so I don’t really need it. For lunch I had a mini wrap with curried chicken, veg and yoghurt in and it tasted amazing. I had a green tea and completed the last of the Planner Ideation course with Claire Clarke. I’d enjoyed it and I had got plenty of free training and information out of the course, which was good. I did mean to top up my Turkish phone with credit but I decided to wait until Captain Caveman arrived as it wasn’t essential and I didn’t really go out much these days to need it. I complained again to the pool and gardening company that the pool water seemed very low and there was no pump on (they also had still not cleaned the grounds). To my surprise I got a reply almost straight away to say they were already on it and fixing the electrics because it was broken and he needed 400 lira from each of the 10 owners. I thought it a very convenient amount (the same as the hose) and asked for a receipt. His answer was that he could not provide a receipt or bill as the workman would then charge more for it – the joys of living in Dalyan!
In the evening I was reunited at last with my rice cooker and I had an amazing chicken curry and steamed rice for dinner, washed down with 2 gin and zero calorie tonics. I chilled out and watched some Netflix in the evening and even worked out how to get music on the TV after not being at home properly, since March.
I helped myself to a delightful sage tea on the morning of Tuesday 24th September after feeding Norman, Edna, Coco & Bebe who were all just so cute. I was outside before the sunrise and it was really lovely to enjoy the river views at Julia’s while the dogs had a good sniff about in the garden. I’d not heard from my parents yet, but they arrived in Dalaman about 12.30am and were probably sleeping. I did finally hear from Captain Caveman and he gave me a call from The Villas in Phong Nha, where he had popped in for an early lunch. I told him I got the residency, he was pleased that I had got the result I needed. He was a bit distracted, though, as he was planning his leaving party for tonight at the floating restaurant on the Son River. It would be at 5.30pm Vietnamese time, so 1.30pm Turkish time. I told him I had some wine left so I would do a video call to join the party and do a cheers with him and everyone to commemorate leaving Oxalis. I also messaged Tatas to say I would do this and to ask her to ring me to facilitate – she agreed. I finally got some breakfast down and noticed a great tip if you’re trying not to eat too much; all 4 dogs were always the other side of the fridge door when I opened it, or if the toaster was in use they would wait for a little morsel. They looked at me with those puppy dog eyes every time I opened that fridge door as if to ask what I was eating (again)! I sat some more outside and ate some plums. After breakfast, while the dogs napped, I did some preparation for a course I was starting this afternoon. It was a free course on Planner Ideation with Claire Clarke, who has a business producing planners, journals and such like to enhance businesses. I thought this would be a good idea for the future if I decided to set up my own business. I was very much sure that I would be going back in to the travel industry in some way and I just needed to figure it out.
Just before I got ready to join Captain Caveman’s party from a far, I got a reply from my Mom. I’d mentioned getting together before they left for Cappadocia in a couple of days time but unfortunately she messaged to say she wasn’t sure they would have time and would have to see how things went. Obviously, I was disappointed but they were only going to be away for a week so I sent her a cute photo of Coco & Bebe. For lunch I polished off a cheese sandwich and a pot noodle, for convenience, poured myself a glass of wine and went down to the river front ready for Tatas to call me. I messaged her and Captain Caveman to let them know I was here and ready to virtually join in the celebrations. I also recorded a video as I suspected that they might be having so much fun that they would forget to call me. I was right and, after an hour of waiting, I finished the wine and went back to the house.
In the afternoon I received notification of the water bill for Captain Caveman’s apartment and it was 7 times the amount of the previous month, which was a bit of a shocker when money was tight and I’m between jobs. Apparently, the electricity and water prices had increased quite a bit recently. At 3.30pm I attended the first session of the planner course and it was quite informative and full of ideas. This was good as it helped give me some motivation and guidance for the ideas I’d already had. By 5.30pm I was relaxing in one of the huge hammocks and assuming that Captain Caveman would now be pretty drunk. I made pasta for dinner and totted up my syns for the week, ready for weigh in tomorrow. I had consumed 394 syns so it wasn’t going to be a good result, especially as I had been out, eating and drinking with my family and while on holiday with friends over the last week.
Captain Caveman was still out drinking at stupid o’clock Vietnamese time, when Chung and Uy called me to say he was at their house. Now it was my turn to not be that interested in speaking to him as I was trying to cook and he’d forgotten earlier. After 2 sets of walkies and trying to beat the mozzie spraying vehicle back home, Bebe came to me with one of her toys for snuggles and was so cute. Norman and Edna slept in their beds but Coco and Bebe were a little more clingy while their mom was away.
The first thing I heard from Gayle on Thursday 12th September was that she was still harping on about not having any marshmallows in her marshmallow martini at Tapa yesterday. She knew from last year that she had definitely had a proper marshmallow martini (or 2) with marshmallows on the top. I had bread with butter, a cup of tea and some plums for breakfast and then got on with work as I was off gallivanting later. I also saw an alert on Facebook that Rhodes Town was flooded, due to stormy weather and I hoped it would be ok for the weekend for my friends’ arrival. I still didn’t know if I was joining them there, either. I had a quick cheese sandwich for lunch and then finished work around 2pm so that I could speak to Captain Caveman before another one of the Ladies only moonlight boat trips. Captain Caveman was safely back in Phong Nha and visiting Greenfield Ecostay, he seemed ok but we still didn’t have any firm plans for his return date.
Our ladies moonlight boat trip started at 4pm and we met in the tea gardens. We sailed across to Köyceğiz and got off for a walk, where Vanessa, one of the other ladies and I all strolled to the tea gardens at the end of the promenade, then back. As usual, we got to swim until sunset and we had a bit of a laugh swimming around the boat and chatting to everyone. There was a delicious meal and some Sultaniye wine to share, plus I had another couple of wines. We got back just before 11pm and I’d spent a total of 1,750 lira (£39.24) for 7 hours of fun, food and drink with some lovely ladies.
I only had a cup of tea on the morning of Sunday 8th September as I was busy checking out the updates on Typhoon Yagi and the havoc it had wreaked in Hanoi, before I headed off on a day trip. I was happy that Captain Caveman was safe in Hanoi now but still worried he would be ok on the 5th floor of a building. He assured me he was fine, despite the capital city looking like it was a scene from the film ’28 Days Later’.
I was off on a boat trip which started at 10am with Captain Fuat on Adıl boat with some friends and family. There was a quick introduction for everyone then tea/coffee and some simit to nibble on as we sailed out towards Köyceğiz and the lake. The sun was shining, the scenery was lovely and I was looking forward to a day out with Gayle & Neil. Captain Fuat put on a delicious lunch which catered for everyone’s requirements easily (and there were quite a few of us that needed different allergies taking in to consideration). I obviously was not really concerned about the amount of syns I shoved in. I ate chicken, pasta, salads, meatballs, bread, fruit and, later, cake.
We did quite a bit of swimming, where we met a friendly terrapin who we called Bob. He took a shine to Ann’s chest and kept going really close to her, even though she wasn’t keen. He even went off and brought 2 more friends over who swam amongst us and seemed to want to play with us. We called these 2 terrapins Rita & Sue and then when we thought Bob had returned, but it was actually another terrapin who was slightly more interested in the ladies and their chests, we called him Bob 2. I probably found it funnier than most other guests that we had called our new friends Bob, Rita, Sue & Bob 2 after the film. The day was really relaxed and easy going with lots of swimming, which I loved. By the time we got off the boat I was quite merry and I’d gone way over my usual wine consumption by having 5 glasses.
We got off and said our goodbyes to everyone. Ann, Stuart, Gayle, Neil and I were walking the same way home so we ended up stopping off for a quick drink in Askın’s where I ordered a pint of draft Efes. I ended up having a gin & tonic at Neil’s insistence, back at theirs and then Jamie, Drew, Norman & Edna were passing for the dog walk so they popped in to say hello. Edna took to Neil very quickly and wanted to sit on his knee while Norman had a sniff about to check for any scraps of food. I did the dog walk with Jamie & Drew and then realised I was a bit tipsy and peckish. The night ended with me getting pizza that I didn’t recall until the next day. My Sunday had been so good and I still managed to do it on a budget; the boat trip plus drinks on the boat 2100 lira, a beer at Askın’s 120 lira and pizza 310 lira – a bargain total of 2,530 lira (£52.81).
Photo credit – Vietnam ones taken from various news and Facebook pages. Boat trips ones shared from various attendees.
It was a busy day in my world on Thursday 5th September. My sister and her husband were arriving tomorrow so I had to make sure that my parents’ place was ready for them. I only had a biscuit for breakfast as I had to go to meet the cleaner at my parents’ apartment. There is only 1 key so I said I would meet her back there at noon I had a morning in Ortaca where I first went to the council office to identify which property I actually lived in on their maps and get an address certificate, then I paid the council tax up to date at a cost of 2426.20 lira (£54.16) to bring everything up to date in order to proceed with my residency renewal application. The next job was to call to see the insurance broker where I got myself a new annual policy for 1,924.20 lira (£42.95) but was very basic cover and probably doesn’t really cover anything but accident and emergency. Back in Dalyan, I walked over to my parents’ trying to get there in time to pick up the key. It was hot and I hadn’t put any sun-cream on as it was packed. As I arrived at 11.59am I saw the cleaner riding away on her motorbike. I left my bags, including wine and stuff for the fridge, outside the door and walked to King Emlak to retrieve the keys. Once there, I had a bit of a chat with Leanne, picked up the keys and walked back, a sweaty mess. I stayed there for a glass of water and a pot noodle then had a call with my boss. Things weren’t very good for him as his son was in hospital in Hanoi, and it was quite serious. I warmed up a mystery defrosted dinner and added some pasta to it for my dinner. Tomorrow I was going to enjoy a leisurely day before my sister and brother-in-law arrived.
It was a long day on Friday 6th September. My sister, Gayle, and her husband, Neil, were going to be arriving at Dalaman airport at 10pm tonight so I was making sure everything was ready for their arrival. My Mom had given them a spare key for the apartment but she wasn’t sure if it worked as it was a newly cut one that had not been tried yet. I had the other key so it had been arranged that I would be at the apartment when they arrived tonight. I started the day with tea and toast while reading the news that a typhoon was about to hit North Vietnam. Captain Cavemen was currently in Sapa but was due to travel to Hanoi very soon. He called me while he was out walking with our friends and didn’t seem unduly worried about the weather at that point. I got on with as much work as I could and tried not to worry about the weather in Vietnam. I just had a cheese and crisp sandwich for lunch. I had a break from work and popped over to check the elusive gardener at Captain Caveman’s apartment, it was impossible to tell if he’d done anything and it still looked uncared for, in my opinion. Then I popped to Captainnet to sort out my parents’ internet and extend it for the month. This cost 675 lira (£15.13) for the top plan, as my Mom would be organising for the TV Firestick to be put on for Neil. I bumped in to Drew who was at Mono & More with Pete & Carol so I stopped for a pot of green tea. It was very hot today and I was all of a fluster so it was nice to sit and have a quick catch up. The tea was really good and only 60 lira (£1.35). I also called at the bank to transfer the rest of the required amount in to my Turkish account, this then meant that I could get the print out of my account to show the deposits for the last 8 months, including this month. On the way back, I noticed that there was a new clinic in town, next door to Şok supermarket in the old market square, where they displayed information and access to a private ambulance, as well as various cosmetic procedures like mammoplasty, gastric sleeve, hair transplant, liposuction, botox and filling. I said hello to Lou Colson who was working there now, as the receptionist, so she was the first point of contact to book appointments for these sorts of procedures which were very popular in Turkey now. The rest of the afternoon was spent working and then I went over to my parents’ apartment to make sure everything was ready for the new arrivals. Luckily I had my laptop and something to eat at the ready so that I wasn’t sat about doing nothing. I warmed up a chicken casserole for dinner and opened a bottle of rose wine while I tracked their flight. Unfortunately, they were delayed but when they arrived they were very excited to be in Dalyan. We opened a bottle of fizz that I’d had chilling and Neil had a beer in an iced glass. Gayle is coeliac so I’d got some rice crackers with prawn, pork and spring onion (Banh Ep, from Vietnam) for her to nibble on. It was 1.30am when I got to bed and I was quite tired so I didn’t take long to fall asleep.
When I woke up on Saturday 7th September, I checked the news to see that Hanoi had most certainly been hit by typhoon Yagi and it looked pretty horrendous in parts of the capital city. Captain Caveman was safely in Sapa but was going to head to Hanoi today. I was concerned and said he shouldn’t travel but stay where he was until the storm had passed. He thought it better to get out while he still had the chance. I got on with lots of work and decided, while my boss was caring for his sick son in a typhoon, I would make the most of finding new sales opportunities from Facebook and news articles where Travel Agents were posting about the weather conditions.
I’d mentioned going to the Saturday market with Gayle & Neil but they couldn’t be bothered so I went much later than usual and it was unbearably hot with a full rucksack. I got some bargains, here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;
Saturday Market Mushrooms, Grapes & 3 peaches 85.00 4 onions 5.00 3 red & 3 green peppers 15.00 Plums 30.00 4 Apples 30.00 16 fresh figs 100.00 Total spent 265.00 lira (£5.94)
On the way back I also called at the shop for other essentials;
BIM Supermarket 1.5l Water 6.50 2 soda water 12.00 3 tins sweetcorn 61.75 Total spent 80.25 lira (£1.80)
I still needed more and had to drop the stuff off then go back to the supermarket. I decided to treat myself to more water and some juice as I was super thirsty. I was surprised to see the difference in the price of a bottle of water between Migros and BIM, though.
Migros Supermarket 1.5l Water 25.25 Croissant 27.95 Milk 28.25 Washing up Liquid 33.95 Cherry and Apple juice 49.95 Total spent 165.35 lira (£3.71)
I had juice and a croissant for breakfast which was not Slimming World friendly and then another cheese sandwich for lunch. I worked for the rest of the afternoon and the AC from the bedroom cooled the dining area enough too. Captain Caveman arrived during the eye of the storm and managed to get to his hotel unscathed, but the damage in a lot of Hanoi was bad. I had a quiet Saturday night in and had figs, plums and grapes while cooking a really good mushroom risotto for dinner. I had an early night, while Hanoi got hit by the worst storm that they had encountered since 1964.
Photo credit – Vietnam photos taken from various sources/new articles.
I took it easy on Sunday 25th August, I did some work and didn’t get much of a lay in. I had and amazing fresh fruit salad for breakfast with a Yorkshire tea. At lunch, time I made a cheese and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread (no butter) and researched what I needed to do in preparation for my residency renewal application. Jamie had offered to take me to Fethiye tomorrow to update the passport number at the Government office and I’d said yes. In the afternoon, once I had finished work, Captain Caveman called me from Victory Road Villas in Phong Nha, while he had a beer and a pizza. He’d finished his last Son Doong cave tour and was planning his departure from Phong Nha once any loose ends had been tied up. He would take a bit of a holiday in Vietnam to see and say bye to friends before he booked a flight to Turkey. In the evening, I made a bit of a strange concoction for dinner; I cooked pasta with chickpeas, tomatoes, marmite, tomato puree, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, chicken and a small amount of sucuk (Turkish salami). It was also another zero spend day and I was pleased to not have had any alcohol either. My will power was holding up as long as I didn’t go out but that was fine for now.
On Saturday 20th July the weather was glorious which was a shame as I was catching up on work, having taken yesterday off. I’d done 2 hours work before Ma got up and I was having Shreddies and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. Ma and Pa had no set plans for the weekend but we were thinking we might see Gayle and family as Neil, her husband, was back from working in Scotland. Ma got the washing out as the sun was out and ideal for getting the bedding dry. Lunch time bacon sandwiches from Mom were much appreciated even though I was on 50% more syns than at the same time last week. I managed to get 7 hours of work under my belt before the garden furniture cushions needed putting out. Gayle was popping over for a cup of tea but I knew what that really meant. Dad had already been checking the wine stocks in each fridge. Captain Caveman was getting his flight from Heathrow at 5pm and had already checked in when Gayle arrived with cakes for the cup of tea. I don’t think she even got offered a tea as I cracked open the Prosecco, another thing on the must do list. We all sat outside, ate the cakes, drank the fizz, went on to the other wine and then started snacking on mini cheddars or Seabrook’s salt and vinegar crisps. There was discussions about an impromptu BBQ or pizza for dinner but with Gayle being coeliac Ma wasn’t sure if she had any suitable foods in. She decided we should ring Neil and the kids and see if they fancied an Indian at The Vine in Mosborough. Before Dad could enquire about whether he should open the Chardonnay, we were booked in and it was all systems go as we needed to get there. April was working and couldn’t make it, but Morgan and Neil didn’t need asking twice.
The Vine was absolutely packed full and we had been lucky to get a table for the 6 of us. The food was amazing, both Gayle and I tried something different due to us being a bit tiddly. We all had drinks, starters, mains and sides and it came to £35 per person, which was the most expensive meal I’d paid for so far but I did get a really good doggy bag to take home and I’d thoroughly enjoyed my 4th curry in the 12 days of being in England.
It was Captain Caveman’s last day off on Sunday 21st July as he landed in Saigon just before midday. He had his next Oxalis briefing tomorrow evening and I think he was happy to be going back for his final few weeks of this year’s season. The UK is 6 hours behind Vietnam so he had already landed before I woke up. There was some issue with his flight from Saigon to Dong Hoi that afternoon being cancelled, meaning he had to stay overnight in Saigon. I was a bit hungover and I just had tea and toast for breakfast. I’d been invited to a music event in Leopold Square in Sheffield but I was working today so I declined. My parents were invited but they prefer not to go in to town and didn’t accept either. For lunch I had my left over curry which was still as delicious as last night. For dinner Mom cooked pizzas and garlic bread which were very nice but I was now on 430 syns for the week already and it was still Sunday. At 7.15pm I met my friend, Kerrie, who I hadn’t seen for 2.5 years but it felt like longer. I was still hungover and she was driving so I had a nice cup of tea and then we went on to the alcohol free Erdinger beer which was only £3.50 for 500ml. We had a good catch up and a laugh while reminiscing and then it was time to say bye but with plans to meet up again. I wrote down Kerrie’s availability for the next week or so which I could refer to as she’s usually such a busy person. It wasn’t a late one as we both had work in the morning and I’d got plans to go clothes shopping in the afternoon.
It was crumpets for breakfast with a hangover on Friday 19th July. Last night had really been so good, I had no regrets and I was a bit sad to be seeing Captain Caveman off today. He decided it would be a good idea for us to go into town early so we could get some lunch, our last meal together before I met him in Turkey in just over 10 weeks’ time. It was time for him to say farewell to my parents but they would also be in Turkey when he returned. My Mom mentioned that there was some global IT system outage and we dismissed her when she suggested that the buses may be affected because of it. Leaving me with a suitcase half full of his clothes and shoes, we went for the 10.55am bus in to town. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn up until 11.22am and then it had a driver being trained by a gobby woman from Chesterfield who was doing nothing for my hangover! We’d gone about 6 or 7 stops and when we had to stop at Birley and wait for a mechanic. The Chezzy trainer shouted to us all that we would just be 2 minutes as they needed to fill up the water. Unfortunately, this was not true and 2 buses, which we could have got on to, sailed past. Captain Caveman’s National Express bus to London Victoria was leaving Sheffield at 12.45 pm so now we didn’t have time to go anywhere for lunch. Instead, when we got to town we rushed to Marks & Spencer’s – our first walk on Fargate and we were shocked at the state of it. Captain Caveman got himself a Roast Beef sandwich (£3.90) and an Orange & Mango juice (£2) but we didn’t have time for me to choose or even fathom what you can get in a meal deal these days. Captain Caveman was determined to have a coffee from Macdonald’s on our way back to the bus station. It was £1.59 for a double Espresso and you buy it by touching a massive screen and paying on card , which felt weird to me. Then you still went to the counter to collect it but there were staff stood around and no customers at the till. On the way to Pond Street there were a few too many obvious druggies around and it was so noticeable. At the National Express bus, it was busy with the driver faffing about with a ramp user who he had left to sit in his wheelchair in the bright sun for too long. I said my goodbyes to Captain Caveman and he did remember to give me a kiss and a hug this time, which was nice! I waved the bus off and then went to get my bus ‘home’ which was meant to be at 1pm but was late. This was fortunate as I had time to buy my lunch from WH Smith where I took advantage of the meal deal, thinking I was getting a bargain. I had a chicken wrap, some salt ‘n’ vinegar Walker’s crisps and a juice for £5.99 and it was nowhere near as good as a M&S sandwich. The bus finally arrived at 1.14pm and the young chirpy driver explained that my Mom was correct and the world had come to a bit of an IT related standstill. He had a giant sippy cup of Yorkshire tea and was ready for the abuse from all the passengers he was late for. Back home, my parents decided it had heated up enough for some outdoor lounging, drinking and eating. I helped Dad move the garden furniture and put out the cushions, a job that would become more frequent over the next few days. Ma made a curry and Dad got the wine out, but not the Chardonnay that was in the garage fridge – he was saving that. The chicken bhuna was excellent and Ma even surprised us with a couple of naans and some onion bhajis. The Pinot Grigio went down well too and it was nice to be out in the garden still at 8.30pm in a summer dress and not complaining I was cold!
Monday 15th July was another great day aside from the fact that Captain Caveman had his breakfast without me and left me a toilet gift that kept on giving! After Captain Caveman made me beans on toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea for my breakfast, it was time to pack and check out of White Cottage. The Giffgaff SIM we both had didn’t work in Askham so we couldn’t phone a taxi. Captain Caveman attempted Uber, which is the UK’s equivalent of Grab, but there was no luck. We left White Cottage which had cost £520 for 3 nights (no wonder it had been nice!) having had a really nice stay in Askham. At the Askham Grocery shop, we called a taxi and got a hot beverage each while we waited for the car to come from nearby Penrith. There is a bus but it only goes once per week, not on Mondays. The taxi was £20 so it didn’t break the bank and we got our train tickets at the station for £8.70 each. We were off to meet Watto and Chrissy for lunch in Oxenholme and they picked us up from Oxenholme train station. While we were waiting, we noticed the train station had a really good shop and cafe so we shared a sausage roll which was fantastic. It was great to see Watto and Chrissy, who we know from Phong Nha when Watto worked with Captain Caveman as an Oxalis cave expert and Chrissy was my fellow CWAG (Cavers Wives and Girlfriends). Phong Nha wasn’t the same without them making us laugh but it was good to see a retired Watto looking very well. They drove us to the Station Inn where we had decided to have lunch on a bit of a whim. We were the first in the pub and of course Chrissy and I didn’t need any persuading on having a bottle of white wine. We were so busy catching up that I didn’t take photos of the food but it was really good. I had the red pepper and tomato soup for starter and the scampi for main, both of which were really lovely and a good sized portion. We didn’t have room for a pudding but we did have a hot drink and the staff were really nice, friendly and accommodating. I remembered to get a group photo to commemorate the occasion but the lighting and angle weren’t the best.
Watto and Chrissy drove us to our next stop, which was to a house in Oxenholme. We were visiting another ex Oxalis cave expert as we were staying with Josh and Martha for a couple of nights. Martha opened the door and welcomed us but we had already decided we would drop our bags off and have a walk in to town. She works from home and would be busy and Josh was still at work so it gave us the time to have a wander. We had a walk in to Kendal where Captain Caveman encouraged me to have 2 pints of Guinness and a bag of pork scratchings in the Clock Tower pub. It was a proper boozer and the drink prices were reasonable so we were quite happy there until Josh came to meet us after work. It was great to see Josh after 6 months, we last saw him and Martha in Turkey at Christmas. We had another pint, then we walked back to the house where Martha’s friend had popped over to lend us an inflatable bed, which was ace. Much hilarity ensued as we all got involved in pumping it up in the spare room. We were lucky to be in it as that room was earmarked for the cinema room as they were doing up their relatively new home. The house was so lovely and we definitely made ourselves at home. Josh cooked us a great vegan dinner of mushroom risotto, which we had with garlic bread. I had a glass of wine and we all chatted and took the micky out of Josh. It was really good to see Josh and Martha again and we could’ve stayed up all night but tomorrow Martha and I had work to do.
I had tea and a buttered crumpet for breakfast on Tuesday 16th July after a pretty good night’s sleep on an inflatable bed. Captain Caveman and Josh had the day free so they took themselves off for a walk and a visit to Kendal castle. Martha and I said we would meet them later as we both had work to do. When I finished, I walked to meet the fellas who were in Cortillo restaurant having a beverage and waiting for us to join for lunch. I got a bit lost but turned out I was only about 50 metres away. My Giffgaff SIM still didn’t have any signal and was turning out to be a waste of money. I ordered a lemongrass and ginger tea and perused the rather extensive menu while we waited for Martha to finish a meeting. Josh, Captain Caveman and I all chose a version of a breakfast while Martha order 3 tapas of chicken wings, patatas bravas and garlic bread. The food was lovely, the decor quite unusual and we had a great lunch. Josh and Martha left us to find our own way home as Captain Caveman had decided he wanted to take me to Kendal castle where he had been this morning. I wasn’t too bothered, given that I was carrying my laptop in case I needed to reply to some emails and I’d just had a massive breakfast. I went to the toilet as I knew as soon as we set off walking, I would need to go. A mother and daughter were in a cubicle together, both using the toilet and I was shocked to see that when they came out, neither of them washed their hands – they just walked straight out! Captain Caveman and I walked towards Kendal castle via the shops and I saw a Herdy shop. I love their stuff and I wanted to pop in and see if we could get a gift for Josh and Martha. While I was there, I saw a bag for myself and, as I had just been paid, I decided I wanted it. Captain Caveman said I didn’t need one but my existing bag had a tangled strap and wasn’t practical. We got talking to the shop assistant while we couldn’t agree what to buy but eventually I bought the Herdy bag for me and a set of Herdy coasters for Josh and Martha. I know Martha likes a brew so I thought it would be a nice reminder of us when she was enjoying a cuppa. We carried on walking towards the castle and it did look a bit overcast as we approached the bridge. By the time we were in the field and close to the Castle, I needed the loo as I had a bad stomach. I was really bad and could hardly move, I didn’t even look up at the castle as we hurried in search of a toilet. As my phone didn’t work I asked Captain Caveman to Google toilets closest to the castle and I was so desperate that I considered knocking on a door to see if I could use the loo of a local. Captain Caveman didn’t look properly for a toilet and made me walk all the way back to Josh and Martha’s, almost bent double in pain. I ran in to the house and Martha could see on my face that I wasn’t well and put the radio on in her office, next to the bathroom. I can’t even whistle so I was grateful!
I worked until 4pm and then Captain Caveman, Josh and I decided to go to the local pub for a pint. When we got to the Factory Tap I realised it was within walking distance of the castle and a place we could have come to earlier when I was having a spasm, so I was a bit peeved with Captain Caveman. I managed a pint of Gluten free beer, crisps and pork scratchings as my belly was better. Martha joined us and I managed another Gluten Free beer and she had a gin and tonic. It was a really nice pub with a beer garden and the sun was out. Josh went back home a bit earlier than the rest of us, as he was doing us a veggie dinner at home and we finished our drinks. The veggie wraps and wedges were really tasty and I ate quite a bit, washed down with a glass of wine. We all got comfy in the living room and watched Below Deck, a first for Captain Caveman who really took to it. We’d had such a good time seeing Josh and Martha and were sad to be leaving tomorrow morning. Our next stop was my home town of Sheffield, Captain Caveman had just 2 days there before he had to go back to London, then Vietnam.
My flight from Bangkok to Istanbul on Wednesday 26th June arrived 40 minutes early. I’d purposely not booked an earlier flight in case of delays, so now I had even longer to wait until my flight to Dalaman. Before 5am it was a very chilly 17°C and I was feeling the cold in the airport, even with jeggings and a fleece on. I retrieved my luggage and had a faff about with the trolleys which you have to pay for. My flight wasn’t until 12.15pm and I was feeling a bit jetlagged. I logged in to the free WiFi, which was easy to get at a kiosk using my passport, and let people know I was on track. I’d booked Sonuç to pick me up from the airport and he messaged to check all was as planned. At the terminal in Istanbul airport, I checked if I could drop off my bags earlier and to my delight it could all be done on the self service machines. I weighed my 2 hold cases which had lost 1kg since Saigon and were now 17kg and 7kg. Due to my tiredness, I completely forgot to take my laptop out of one of them and then proceeded to worry my case would get lost. My next bit of good luck was when I decided to go to the lounge, which I had booked for 2 hours before my flight. It was before 8am so I explained I was early and they checked to see if there was space on the 09:55 flight. It was already full so they told me I could still enter the lounge until my flight and didn’t seem to care I would be there for 4 hours. There is no alcohol in the Turkish Airlines lounge but it was breakfast time and I was really hungry. I’d been given a spicy dish on the plane which I couldn’t eat and the breakfast meal was omelette which I didn’t eat either. I got myself cherry juice, Turkish tea, herbal tea, water, croissants, pastries, bagels, cheese and olives and tucked in while using the free WiFi. The call to board came at 11.40am and the bus was directly from the lounge and half empty. I had chosen an aisle seat and we even got given a chicken sandwich and a water on the 80 minute flight. I arrived on time in to Dalaman and didn’t have to wait too long for my luggage, where I was glad to see my laptop had made it. Sonuç was waiting for me and carried the luggage, had water for me in the car and we drove safely to Jamie and Drew’s new villa. I had planned to stay there for a week or so and it was really kind of him as he also had other guests visiting. I was so hungover that I don’t remember much about that afternoon apart from seeing Norman and Edna, Jamie’s dogs, who seemed to be pleased to see me. The villa was gorgeous and I had a lovely twin room with an ensuite which I couldn’t wait to go to sleep in. I’d made it just in time for Fat Club but, unfortunately, it was cancelled this week. I had no idea about my weight but I did take my measurements after a much needed shower; Bust no change, Waist +1cm, Hips -1cm. I had a glass of wine with Jamie, Drew and their house guests, Nick & Mark, before heading over to see my parents, who I hadn’t seen since January. The weather was nice and warm but definitely cooler than Phong Nha.
That evening, we had our first meal together at Duble, one of our favourites. We all had the chicken soup as it’s so good, then I had a chicken shish, Mom had fish and Dad had a chicken casserole. Ma & Pa had beers but I stuck to soda water and we had 2 lots of fresh bread. The whole bill came to 1,720 lira (£41.25) which worked out less than £14 for a starter and a main plus drink and a free shot each. I’d expected prices to be worse given the moaning I’d read on Facebook so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a late one as I had work to do tomorrow and I was desperate for sleep.
On Tuesday 25th June Captain Caveman was heading back to Phong Nha as he had a briefing in the evening. I was saying bye and flying back to Dalaman via Saigon, Bangkok and Istanbul. We ate the rest of our Mangosteen from Hoan for our breakfast and Captain Caveman decided he would come to Danang airport to see me off. We got a Grab taxi and went to check-in but, unfortunately, the woman on the Vietnam Airlines desk was not my friend. My allowance for all my flights was 25kg hold and at least 7kg for hand luggage. The domestic flight from Danang to Saigon didn’t specify that my 25kg had to be in 1 case but that rule was enforced as I tried to pass my 2 cases through. Captain Caveman came into his own when she refused them and instantly went in to ‘super-packer’ mode at top speed! I tried to hastily move my lacy red knickers and random dirty washing as he squeezed the contents of a case at 18kg and one at 7kg into the one case, with the laundry from my hand luggage. He triumphantly set it back on the scales and I thought he looked like he wanted a badge in recognition for it weighing 24.9kg. I managed to get an aisle seat so I was happy but I would struggle to carry that case at the other side. My international tickets both allowed me to take 25kg over 2 pieces so I could do a repack in Saigon. We said our goodbyes and Captain Caveman went to get a taxi to the train station for the 10.22am train to Dong Hoi. I went through the passport control and stopped at a shop to get a snack. I bought a croissant for 35,000VND (£1.09) and a pack of pomelo for 70,000VND (£2.18). The flight departed a little late and we landed in Saigon at gone 11am. I retrieved my bags and then rationalised the space a bit better by splitting the 25kg case back in to 2. I was meant to be getting a taxi to Kim’s house to go to eat pho, made by her mother. Keith (from Grimsby) was on standby to meet for a farewell drink too. The left luggage queue was chaos and it took me a long time to get to the front of the queue. When I reached the front there was a sign, pricing left luggage per item and a few ‘at owners risk’ notices displayed – and now I had 4 bags, 3 of which I wanted to leave. The cost of leaving luggage at the airport plus 2 taxi fares, teamed with having to check-in for the international flight in less than 4.5 hours, made me reluctant to leave the airport. I didn’t have a great track record with Saigon taxi drivers so I messaged Keith (from Grimsby) to ask his opinion. He had flown from Saigon recently and advised not to do it, the queue to leave Saigon had been long previously and had took over 2 hours to get through. I wouldn’t risk it for a delicious bowl of pho and a cheeky beer so I also messaged Kim to cancel. In the end, I had done the right thing as it didn’t feel long in the airport at all. I checked out the cost of a Burger King; a regular cheeseburger was 120,000VND (£3.74) so I didn’t bother. Instead, I spent 125,000VND (£3.90) on some cherry throat sweets and a pack of Mentos. At 4pm, I was peckish so I treated myself to a pack of crisps and a vegan baguette for 105,000VND (£3.27) from Puro Gusto and thoroughly enjoyed it. Once through security, which did take quite a while as Keith had warned, I splashed out on some Clinique moisturiser for $32 (£25) which I had been waiting to buy in a Duty Free. My next extravagance was a glass of red wine in Saigon Cafe, an airport bar, which cost a whopping 315,000VND (£9.82) and was the cheapest wine on the menu. It was very nice and I savoured it as I waited for boarding time. On the plane to Bangkok I had an aisle seat, the in-flight meal was a rather tasty chicken with veg and rice and a glass of red wine. I didn’t bother with any TV as the flight was ready to land as soon as we had eaten. We landed in to Bangkok an hour later than scheduled, it was raining outside and it was cold as we disembarked on to the shuttle bus. I only had 1 hour to get on the next plane, bound for Istanbul, which was quite a rush. I had a bad stomach so I had to go to the loo while in Bangkok airport and I was lucky to arrive at the gate in time. On the 3rd plane, I had a middle seat and I coped for quite a bit of the flight until the chap next to me, wearing a sunhat and earplugs, became more difficult to get past for toilet visits, so I moved to an aisle seat at the back of the plane. We were due to land at 5.25am tomorrow, Turkish time, where I had several hours to kill in Istanbul airport.
Ordinarily when I leave Vietnam to go back to Turkey, I have to wait a while to see Captain Caveman again. Not this year, Monday 24th June might have been our last full day together but only for 14 days! We were lucky enough to be getting to visit the UK in the middle of the caving season and we were both looking forward to a family wedding, among other things. We went to ByC for breakfast and it was really beautiful. I ordered a pot of earl grey tea and a pancake with bacon, Captain Caveman had an iced black coffee and a şakşuka. Both were amazing and, even though I was full, I didn’t want to leave any. Our bill came to just 415,000VND (£12.95) for the 2 of us.
On the way back to the hotel we bought a 1.5l bottle of water for 14,000VND (44p). I worked until lunch time and Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone. At 1pm we met an old friend from Phong Nha who now lives in Danang. We hadn’t seen Diana for a while so it was good to meet at Vietnom Eatery where the staff are deaf. Captain Caveman had a coffee and a bao bun and I had a My Quang style dish with a watermelon juice, both of our meals were rather tasty. Captain Caveman paid the bill of 240,000VND (£7.50) which was very good good value. We had a good but too brief a catch up and then it was back to work for Diana and I.
That evening, we had been invited to join June and Steve at Happy Buffalo in Hoi An but I wasn’t feeling too lively. I didn’t want to ruin my long journey tomorrow so we decided not to go. I still needed a new laptop bag so we found a phone shop and bought one for 150,000VND (£4.69). We couldn’t be bothered to go too far for dinner so we ate at nearby Pizza 4Ps. We both had a cider and brie to start, which we order every time we visit. Captain Caveman ordered a breakfast pizza which had cheese, spinach and eggs on it while I tried to go healthier with a Spaghetti Bolognese topped with a burrata. Captain Caveman had a second cider, without the cheese, but I’d had enough alcohol yesterday. Our bill came to 769,800VND (£23.89) including VAT, which wasn’t bad. It wasn’t a late one as my flight from Danang was tomorrow morning at 9.10am and I needed an early night. We ate mangosteen when we got back and I was sad to be leaving Vietnam.
joloyolo 