Phong Nha – 21st August

For me there is not much differentiation between a Saturday and a weekday, here in Phong Nha, so Saturday 21st August was an easy going day. Having started the day not waking up until 8.30am and then sharing left over pizza with Captain Caveman I had a dodgy stomach! I read the news and looked at friends’ Facebook reactions to the city lockdowns. People we knew in Saigon posted of the army being deployed for military assistance with the ‘no one moves’ lockdown. Food will be brought to people, from Monday, and there will be no going out at all. However, not all areas in Vietnam are locked down, read more here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210821/vietnams-nha-trang-lifts-ban-on-outdoor-exercise-for-residents-in-virusfree-areas/62685.html
I did some more learning languages on Duolingo and was trying to learn more Turkish ready for being there soon. I also tried to improve the brownie by adding some heated condensed milk with vanilla in, then we put it in the freezer to set.
While Captain Caveman had a nice salad for lunch, with all the stuff I couldn’t eat, I stuck to a very simple plate of lettuce, onion, red peppers, olives and some vinaigrette dressing, boring but it didn’t make me ill. We had time in the pool and I had dragon fruit as a snack but was envious of Captain Caveman’s peanut butter on toast, that he wasn’t allowed to eat in the pool!
We got invited out for lunch tomorrow so I needed to make sure my stomach was back to being able to function so for dinner we had one of my favourite meals I’ve had in a while; steamed chicken, rice, sweetcorn, red peppers, aubergines and onions. I felt much better and even had gin and pink grapefruit by the pool in the moonlight.

Phong Nha – 20th August

The loudspeaker was early and extremely loud on Friday 20th August, Captain Caveman went to work and then called me to say there was a group of porters going for their 2nd vaccine and to be on standby so I got ready – nothing came of it, so still no vaccine! I had toast with cheese spread on for breakfast and read the news, as usual. I had to read this article just because of the headline – unbelievably kind in the circumstances:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210820/ho-chi-minh-city-provides-accommodation-vaccination-for-needy-foreigners/62681.html
It was reported that an even harsher lockdown in Saigon would start, from Monday as Corona deaths there are rising rapidly:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210820/vietnam-s-biggest-city-issues-stayhome-order-as-covid19-deaths-soar/62686.html
Meanwhile in Turkey, people who are fully vaccinated with Sinovac, but had not yet had a booster, were ending up in ICU with the Delta variant, here’s more info:
https://www.duvarenglish.com/number-of-turkish-patients-fully-vaccinated-with-sinovac-increasing-in-icus-news-58533
The housekeeping staff were in doing our rooms while Veronika was out at the Farmstay and so I took the opportunity to find things that needed using up to make some brownies. We had some dried bananas, which Captain Caveman had bought ages ago and they did not look appealing at all, plus the cocoa powder I didn’t like as drinking chocolate. I found a recipe that used those 2 ingredients plus some peanut butter and mixed them altogether then put them in the oven in trays for 15 minutes. I managed to catch my finger on the glass of the oven, burned it worse than I realised and didn’t run it under cold water, I just carried on as normal. The gluten and dairy free brownies looked good but the consistency wasn’t great, hopefully they would do as a snack. I did loads of washing up, watered the mushrooms and then I had a make-do lunch of steamed rice and sweetcorn with peanut salt because I knew we were having a feast tonight. After lunch I had a swim and then fell asleep on the sun lounger. It was pizza night at the The Villas tonight so Captain Caveman just got back home from work in time to get a lift with Ben at 6pm to The Villas, Veronika had already ridden her motorbike in because she had decided to have a night at The Villas for a bit of a ‘holiday’.
We arrived and joined Veronika, who was sat peacefully by the river, but not for long as Jack, Max and Stu arrived and joined us, shortly followed by a new returning visitor to the town and Tatas. This week it was made clear that all pizzas from the whole menu were only 100,000vnd so I went for the Showstopper (prosciutto, blue cheese, fig jam and spring onion). Tatas went off piste and ordered a half and half pizza, Hawaiian and Classic which was a good idea. Jack happened to order Smoked Salmon pizza and was sat opposite me, they didn’t tell him they had no salmon but instead just brought him Smoked Duck (obviously because the name had the word smoked in both). Veronika had successfully managed to order and get the new dish of smoked duck and mushroom pasta which did look good. We had a really great night and we were sensible to not order 3 pizzas this time, in fact I brought a Tupperware box and took half of mine home, including a slice of Jack’s duck pizza, just to help him out.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman’s photo of the views

Phong Nha – 19th August

We were fast asleep when the 4 cavers arrived safely at Hanoi airport at 4am on Thursday 19th August. It was in the Vietnam news about the ‘no sharing a car to the airport unless from same home or workplace’, see below:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210819/ho-chi-minh-city-helps-intl-air-passengers-make-trips-to-airport/62672.html
Captain Caveman was awake at 6am and made himself a bacon, mushroom and egg sandwich for breakfast before taking Trigger, the motorbike, to work for his 8am training session. I came down to a kitchen sink of Captain Caveman’s pots and, by the time I’d washed and dried everything, I couldn’t be bothered with breakfast so I just had a few pieces of dragon fruit.
By 10am I was regretting turning down a bacon sandwich from Captain Caveman early this morning, so I had a 2nd breakfast of a bacon and mushroom baguette (no butter or sauce) and a piece of carrot. I’d already chopped all the veg, prepared the stock (using Captain Caveman’s special recipe) and seared a couple of the beef fillets. I love using the rice cooker as a slow cooker and off I went back to the Aircon in the bedroom. At lunchtime I made myself an iced chocolate drink, which was a waste of calories because it wasn’t good, finished off the tortilla and had a couple of pieces of dragon fruit. It took a bit of willpower not to start eating the beef stew which smelled so lovely. Duyet found me a spray bottle for me to use on my mushrooms and the laborious task of spraying them several times a day began, a bit sad that I wouldn’t get to eat them as I’d have left!
Captain Caveman got home from work about 5.30pm and had spoken to Ben on the phone. He’d been able to speak to the owners of Elements Collection to see if they would consider allowing Captain Caveman to stay here after Veronika and I leave next month. They had all agreed which meant everyone was happy and I was relieved that Captain Caveman would have somewhere nice to stay, especially during the flood season. That evening we dined like royalty, we shared the bottle of wine that Tony had given Captain Caveman for his birthday (we have had it in the house almost a month and I’ve not drank it)! The beef stew was absolutely lovely and we had half of it left to pop in the freezer for another time.

Phong Nha – 18th August

Captain Caveman and Veronika went on the Phong Nha Farmstay weekly shopping trip on Wednesday 18th August, we had just 1 million vnd (£32) budget for all shopping this week but had hardly any meat left – it would be difficult but doable. I had toast with jam for breakfast and was feeling much better than I was last night, I checked the news and it was worrying that, without the vaccine, Corona related deaths in Vietnam were still high each day. Although, in the USA, where a lot of vaccines are available, it was awful to read that Corona deaths had got a lot worse, with more than 1,000 deaths in a day, check out the article here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20210818/us-reports-more-than-1000-covid-deaths-in-single-day/62643.html
I did some writing, learned some Turkish and started watching a new series on Netflix, called Somebody Feed Phil, which is really good. The shoppers returned with full bags and Veronika had trouble getting the frozen stuff she had bought into her full freezer while Captain Caveman had managed to buy 2kg of frozen chicken breasts to put in our freezer. Upstairs Captain Caveman gave me the receipts, not knowing how much he had spent, so when I added it all up I was impressed to see he did it within budget, although there were still a few items we couldn’t get. We rechecked our budget to see if it would last until the next pay day and we would only have 800,000vnd (£25.60) for my last 2 weeks here. Even if I delayed leaving until after the next pay day it wouldn’t make any difference so Captain Caveman said we would manage, somehow.
For all you shopping list lovers here’s what Captain Caveman managed to get on the Dong Hoi shopping trip:

(Prices in Vietnamese Dong and £1 is about 31,300vnd)

Red Supermarket
3 red peppers 41,712
2 cans of grapefruit drink 64,000

VinMart small shop
250ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil 95,300

VinMart Supermarket
1 baguette 9,500
Washing up liquid refill pouch 19,000
3 onions 20,925
Lettuce 22,920
6 aubergines 31,870
2 dragon fruits 39,237
250g Westgold Butter 80,700
8 frozen chicken breasts 177,800

Organic Shop
4 beef fillets 219,000

Grand total spent 821,964vnd (£26.30) on shopping plus he had an espresso coffee at the Farmstay and another at QB Casa, after the shopping, which came to 110,000vnd (£3.52) – to me, a waste of money but he was still within the budget.

For lunch we had the homemade vegetable soup, my stomach was fine and I was back to feeling ok – at least I didn’t have Giardia or anything nasty. In the late afternoon I made popcorn, Captain Caveman cycled over to Phong Nha to see the cavers off, all 4 of them were travelling together, they had all got their negative PCR results and were leaving at 6pm for the overnight drive to Hanoi airport, their flight was tomorrow at 12.30pm, via Singapore and I was keen to know how it would go as I would have to do a similar journey in a few weeks – they would be my guinea pigs! Captain Caveman came back on Trigger, Watto’s motorbike, and then cooked us a carbonara with the bacon we got from Stu for dinner – it was amazing!

Phong Nha – 17th August

I awoke fairly early on Tuesday 17th August but I didn’t bother with any breakfast while I checked the news. It was rather annoying that the UK still had Turkey on their Red list which meant going from Turkey to England required paid quarantine in a hotel and the cost was substantial (money I didn’t have). For some reason I was under the impression that the UK was already over 70% fully vaccinated but I was wrong, it was 60%. Vietnam couldn’t even compare for vaccination rates hence why there was consistently over 300 Corona deaths per day now. Captain Caveman came home fairly early and had enjoyed the party last night a bit too much. For lunch we had BBQ jackfruit with lettuce, cabbage, carrot, onion and garlic with a bit of bread and we arranged a taxi for tonight’s exciting night out. Ho Khanh was throwing a party for Colin and Watto leaving, at his place with all the Oxalis porters and cavers. I was invited so we booked Duyet for 5.30pm at a bargain cost of 300,000vnd (£9.60) return fare. Before we went I decided it would be a good idea for us to have a bit of tortilla as a snack, the porters are known for their drinking skills so I didn’t want to let the side down. I had my hair down and even wore a dress but by the time we got to the Glass House, which is opposite Ho Khanh’s, the party venue, I had felt a little unwell – I was convinced it was the egg. Luckily these days I’m much quicker at getting up the stairs so I went up to our room on the 2nd floor to use the bathroom there, then took some Gastropulgite medication. I felt better and we went over to the party just as it was getting set up; the cans of warm beer were being put in to buckets of icy water, hot chips and Vietnamese food were already divided on to a few tables, the cavers and Momma D were all sat at a table which we joined. Momma D was drinking alcoholic lemonade and kindly gave me one, her dog, Kevin, was trying not to get eaten by the resident Vietnamese dog, who was pretty aggressive towards other dogs. The Vietnamese insisted on splitting us westerners up so Colin, Captain Caveman and I were on a table with mostly porters and Hieu, a guide, while Watto, Howard, Deb and Momma D were sat by the river. The food was good, plenty of it, but unfortunately I had a taste of something spicy and it was a bit hot, after that I was quite unwell and I decided to go back to the Glass House to have a bit more privacy, toilet paper and the luxury of some soap. It felt like I had food poisoning and I was so hot it was unbelievable, I wasn’t sure I would make it back to the party and I was just forcing myself to go back, for the last half an hour, before Duyet came to pick us up, when Captain Caveman returned and said the party was already finished. He went to get me some rehydration tablets and some Giardia medication just in case I had got what the others’ had suffered. Luckily, I managed to get back to Elements without further incident and just felt really tired. Captain Caveman told me that a colleague had been informed he would get his 2nd vaccine by the 20th August so I hoped I would be on the same list to get mine, we were optimistic I would. He’d also been in touch with Bich who had confirmed there would be a shopping trip tomorrow, I decided Captain Caveman should go incase I still had stomach issues and then spent the next hour before sleep being roasting hot or freezing cold, I also felt a bit sick but had only had 2 drinks all night and not too much food.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman and various Oxalis team members

Phong Nha – 16th August

On the morning of Monday 16th August Captain Caveman had gone to work early and I came downstairs to get some breakfast. I grabbed a croissant and cut up some dragon fruit for my breakfast and went to read the news. There was some good news this morning; the UK government announced there was no isolation needed when coming in to the UK if you are double jabbed. But, unfortunately, it didn’t yet apply to me because it didn’t include if you had your jabs in Vietnam. It was good news for my family and friends who might be wanting to visit me in Turkey later this year, though, as they would be able to return to the UK without quarantine or isolation (once it was off the Red list). You can read the info here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/self-isolation-removed-for-double-jabbed-close-contacts-from-16-august
In Vietnam and Turkey there were reports of starting to vaccinate children and in Turkey I even knew people who were getting their 4th vaccine soon, mainly so they could get 2 Pfizer boosters to travel to see family in the UK, as Sinovac wasn’t recognised or had already worn off. While I was waiting (hoping) for a call about my 2nd vaccination I did quite a bit of Turkish on Duolingo and writing blog posts. For lunch I had leftovers of tortilla, salsa and bread, I’d not heard about the vaccine and so I went in the pool. I didn’t hear from Captain Caveman at all and he went straight from work to Colin and Watto’s leaving party, which Oxalis were throwing for them. Veronika went to Curry night at The Villas with Stu and I wish I had too, but to be honest we couldn’t afford to splash out and it wasn’t within our budget for this week. Instead I made popcorn, watched some Netflix and had a relaxing evening. I even ate fruit, cheese and bread for dinner and wasn’t ill. That night I had the bed to myself as Captain Caveman stayed at the Glass House, he had thought he might get a lift to Dong Hoi the next day to do a bit of shopping but I still hadn’t heard if this was the plan or not. As I was falling asleep I got an email from Easyjet, my Manchester to Turkey flight had been cancelled. This was expected but it did mean I no longer had a flight to or from the UK for my friend’s wedding. If I still had to do the 10 days isolation on arrival in the UK I needed to be there by the 7th September and Turkey had to be off the UK’s Red list for me to go there at all – it was going to be tight!

Phong Nha – 15th August

I was still in bed asleep on Sunday 15th August when Stu popped over to drop us the bacon and pulled pork off, Captain Caveman was already up and about in the kitchen making coffee and warming a croissant. He brought me up a cup of jasmine tea and then for breakfast I had a croissant, a banana and a mangosteen. I caught up on the news of various cities of Vietnam who were now facing longer lockdowns and stricter checkpoints to go in or out, locals had to provide documentation just to go to work and the hospitals in the major cities were at breaking point – makeshift ones were being built or disused buildings were being turned in to medical or quarantine facilities. I read about a terrible situation that occured with a sick man (not with Corona) who needed emergency care but didn’t get it (from 5 different hospitals) because they were dealing with more Corona cases, here’s the article:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210815/man-dies-at-home-after-being-rejected-by-five-healthcare-facilities-in-southern-vietnam/62591.html
When I went to get my towel for the pool it wasn’t there and Captain Caveman had decided to use mine, it was already wet through and round his waist. He already had one in the bathroom and one next to his bedside lamp – honestly! I went back in the bedroom with a face on and watched Sexy Beasts on Netflix which made me laugh. For lunch Captain Caveman tried to make amends for the using of all pool towels unnecessarily and went to make us some bruschetta. I’d already chopped the cucumber, tomato and onion for the salsa style topping but Captain Caveman had to toast the bread and add mango and olives to it – he forgot the olives.
In the afternoon I was hungry (as is usual) so we had a mid afternoon snack of tortilla with the last of the pickled onions. While Veronika went to the Farmstay for Sunday roast, I made us a cheap dinner at home; BBQ jackfruit with potato wedges, red cabbage and carrot which was also pretty healthy too.

Phong Nha – 14th August

I was still awake in the early hours of Saturday morning, 14th August, as I had a dodgy stomach from eating too much gluten or dairy, or both, last night. Before I’d fallen asleep I had spoken to Captain Caveman who had imparted on to me another rule to consider when leaving Phong Nha. Legally, only people of the same household or family are allowed to travel in a car together, or all passengers must have plane tickets for the same flight, as of today – well that meant I’d definitely be travelling alone (it would be unlikely that anyone in this area would be flying to Turkey any time soon) which would be expensive. He’d even shown me where to find the official document, I believed him!
I had bananas for my breakfast and caught up on the news where I read a very worrying report about the possibility of the virus being able to spread between the apartments of a building, if this is proven to be true then the cities are doomed:
https://vietnamlife.tuoitrenews.vn/news/vietnam-life-vietq/20210813/can-covid19-spread-through-apartment-building-ventilation-systems/62561.html
Captain Caveman ended up sorting gear with Watto at the Glass House for most of the morning, I had a second breakfast because I got peckish, of a croissant. When Captain Caveman got home he had some fantastic news; Watto had told Captain Caveman he could have his motorbike after he leaves which was so kind and a real help for getting to work and back. We had some of the veggie soup for lunch with some Lake House bread and it was very nice and felt healthy. I’d still not actually got my passport back yet, but Bich had it and had forgot to drop it off so we arranged to go to collect it at the Phong Nha Farmstay – I really wanted to know what date it had been extended to and if it had an XC written on to denote it being my last one.
We arrived at the Farmstay for Happy Hour and had a couple of beers while watching the sunset, the fields were full of cows, buffalo and farmers – it looked really beautiful. Bich came over with the passport and when I checked, it was a normal stamp, just like all the others, up until 9th September. So, that was my deadline – I would leave Vietnam on or before that date.

Back home we had another great vegetarian meal of mushrooms, onions, garlic and a tomato based sauce with spaghetti. With all the faffing about with the passport we still hadn’t had the chance to pop over to Stu’s to pick up the meat he’d smoked for us, we would go tomorrow.

Phong Nha – 13th August

On Friday 13th August Captain Caveman had gone to work and I was awake at the same time as him so I had buttered toast and a couple of bananas for breakfast but then was ill with a terrible stomach ache immediately after. In the news here in Vietnam, Saigon was extending the lockdown period until at least 31st August, possibly mid September, depending on which news you read. Here’s some info:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210813/vietnam-to-extend-movement-curbs-in-biggest-city-as-virus-toll-rises/62573.html
In Turkey one of the nearest big towns to where I would be, had quite a lot of cases and, despite a high rate of vaccination, Dalyan had some hotspots too. Melissa was in touch to say they had been loving being in Istanbul, where everything was so much more relaxed than in Vietnam, but they had decided to take on a house-sit next week not far from Kaş, about 2 hours drive from Dalyan.
I got the trusty rice cooker out once again and decided to make some soup. I used carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, vegetable stock, chicken stock and the ‘green beans’ to make a lovely soup of which I could refrigerate a couple of portions and freeze 2 more. I had a tester portion for lunch, it tasted good and made me feel better again. When I went out to tend to our small mushroom farm the staff had tied on some ribbon to hold it up with, which was really nice of them. Pizza night had moved from the Phong Nha Farmstay and was back at The Villas where it was their grand reopening. I’d checked to see if my passport was back and to arrange to pick it up there but was surprised to find it had already been given to Bich a couple of days ago. Veronika and I got a lift with Duyet in the jeep at 6pm and we drove to The Villas where Captain Caveman was sat enjoying Happy Hour and a Half with a few beers before going to the party at 7pm. He had found out that it was an anniversary of a death party which had been going on for most of the day. Veronika and I had a beer with Captain Caveman and then moved to sit at the bigger table, also outside. Trang, Andrew and Momma D arrived with the 2 year old boy and dog, Kevin. The bar had been moved and made it look a bit nicer inside but we were sat where the pool table was, right out the front.Veronika went walk about for a bit after she ordered a Greek salad, on special for 90,000vnd (£2.88), while I had been given the special pizza menu showing the ones that were available for only 100,000vnd (£3.20). I decided on the Momma D’s pizza which is really good and then, when the others ordered, they were told they could have any pizza on the whole menu for the reduced price, including my favourite one, the Showstopper – I wish I’d known! Kat, who I’d planned to meet, arrived just after 7pm, we discovered she was a hairdresser and Veronika was desperate for a haircut, Kat didn’t have her scissors so Momma D kindly stepped in and offered to bring Kevin’s new grooming set over to Kat at Jungle Boss tomorrow so that she could cut hair. Kat didn’t realise the pizzas were so big and ordered 2 (the showstopper and the smoked duck) for herself and we were laughing away, chatting about when we might leave Phong Nha and such. I had an extra slice of Kat’s pizza and she got the rest to take away. Captain Caveman decided not to cycle back home that night, but stay at the Glass House, he’d been hoping to have a drink with Watto before he left but Watto was still not too well. He did call me before bed, though, and had news of an interesting legal development which might just make things a bit more complicated for travelling to the airport from Phong Nha.

Phong Nha – 12th August

Captain Caveman had gone to work early on Thursday 12th August and I’d drifted back off to sleep. When I woke up I had a message from Duyet to say he had put my shopping on the kitchen table so I went down to look at what he’d managed to get.
I was completely astonished, he had managed everything but 2 things on the list, 1 of which had a replacement for something else instead, with a total spend of only 200,000vnd (£6.40) – I was impressed! The replacement was probably a language barrier as I had requested green beans but here, in Vietnam, the green beans are like a green split pea or lentil, they call them french beans for the long green beans we are familiar with. I had a banana and a croissant for my breakfast and caught up with the Corona news, a little later than usual. It was worrying to read that in Vietnam now, not just the old and vulnerable were dying of Corona and once people had been diagnosed they weren’t surviving too long either, more info here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210812/policeman-dies-after-contracting-covid19-in-southern-vietnam/62541.html
Captain Caveman went to Funny Monkeys in his lunch break and had an avocado smoothie. I had mini hot dogs with bread and tomato sauce (we were out of mustard) and another banana for my lunch. I spent the afternoon writing/editing blogs and going in the pool. When Captain Caveman got home from work he informed me of another party invitation which he wasn’t sure of the reason, it was next door to the Glass House and he suggested he hire a motorbike to come get me after work and we could stay at the Glass House that night and come home in the morning – tomorrow night was pizza night and I didn’t have many left so I decided it would be better for me to go to that instead, as I’d already agreed to meet friends.
For dinner I reheated a jackfruit seed masaman curry from the freezer and steamed some rice to go with it, usually when I have chicken masaman I am ill so I was wondering if I would be this time but was pleased that I wasn’t and really enjoyed the very filling meal. I’d still not heard about my passport and decided I would message to ask tomorrow, if I still hadn’t had an update, we were now 2 or 3 days after I was told I’d get my passport back.

Phong Nha – 10th & 11th August

Disappointingly, on Tuesday 10th August, it was reported that another large amount of Corona cases in Vietnam were recorded yesterday, read more here:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210809/vietnam-reports-secondlargest-singleday-rise-of-local-coronavirus-infections/62501.html
It was also worrying to read about how the faking stuff had already started to drift in to the Corona arena with fake test results, it had only been a matter of time – here’s the story:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20210810/police-break-up-ring-forging-covid19-test-results-in-northern-vietnam/62511.html
More concerning to my own personal situation was that Turkish Airlines had cancelled all their direct flights from Vietnam to Istanbul next month, which was a shame as I had my eye on booking business class (for the first time ever in my life) on any of 3 flights between 1st and 9th September for only £800! Now the Business class flights were more likely to be $1,500+ with Qatar, via Doha, or Singapore Airlines via Singapore so I’d have to remain in Cattle class which we had been told were not full anyway. There was some reports that the Government had announced that, for all foreigners who were in an area of lockdown whose visa was expiring, it would be waived due to the pandemic – bloody typical that we had just paid.
Captain Caveman had cycled to Phong Nha for a shave and a haircut so I’d already had 1 croissant for breakfast, when he returned I had another and he had one too, they are so good it’s unbelievable. In the afternoon it was really hot and I could feel Captain Caveman’s annoyance when work phoned him and said he needed to cycle back to Phong Nha, for the 2nd time today, because they required his vaccine certificate, which was to be replaced, for some reason. I’d already said we would meet an old friend and ex colleague who was in town with his girlfriend at 5.30pm for Happy Hour beers at the Phong Nha Farmstay so I got a lift with Duyet and Captain Caveman met us there later. I’ve not seen Buu for quite some time, his girlfriend and I share the same stresses of the tourist visa extensions every month. I’d had a beer by the time a sweaty Captain Caveman arrived and he had to get in the pool to cool down. We had a couple of beers but didn’t stay for shepherd’s pie, which Buu and Kat shared, as we were having spaghetti with chicken for our dinner tonight. Before we left Bich said she couldn’t do the weekly shopping trip tomorrow because she had work to do but we could ask Duyet to go to the market for us.

Captain Caveman was finally able to go on his Tu Lan take down trip to Hang Tien on Wednesday 11th August. It had been postponed until there was less water so that they could remove any equipment in the cave for the closing of the season. As I ate a croissant for breakfast I stumbled across an interesting post from an Australian about what was happening in Iceland where 69% of adults have been fully vaccinated, it’s worth a read if you have time:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=396895055125422&id=100044147934160
My morning was busy making BBQ jackfruit with garlic and onion in the rice cooker and lots of chopping while sat in front of a fan (harder than you think). I had some of the jackfruit for lunch with raw carrot and red cabbage and some toast and it was delicious, luckily, as I had made quite a lot of it. In the afternoon I tended to my small mushroom farm and the housekeeping and gardening ladies at Elements Collection watched and laughed when I told them how we had ended up with embryos instead of mushrooms to cook. One of the ladies even came to help me reseal the tops of them, asked how long they would take to grow and what we needed to do with them. I started watching another series on Netflix called Below Deck (Mediterranean) which I find hilarious even though it’s not meant to be amusing. We had been invited out that evening to An’s house in Phong Nha for a small party but as Captain Caveman was going straight there from work and I begrudged paying 300,000vnd (£9.60) for a taxi I couldn’t go. Instead I experimented with the oven and managed to make potato wedges which I had topped with some of the BBQ jackfruit for my dinner, it was really good too. So that Captain Caveman didn’t have to cycle home after drinking he decided to stay at the Glass House and I had a catch up with Duyet over my shopping list – I had written it in Vietnamese and went over to chat with him about amounts. To be honest I wasn’t expecting my Vietnamese or his English to have been good enough for this shop to work out but we would see when he went to Khung Ha market in the morning.

Phong Nha – 9th August

This was the day that I should have left Vietnam but because of the nice immigration man I was told I could stay for 1 more month. I’d not heard anything further since my request to do the visa extension without the flight booking I had been asked for. I decided not to bother asking as I was at the point now that if the passport got returned without the extension, or less days than I’d been promised, I would just leave – In some ways it would have been better to leave today, in others it would not have been so easy.
Today was also Captain Caveman’s first day in his new role at Oxalis as the Safety trainer for the Tour Guides, he’d done some planning over the weekend and was really looking forward to it. I had buttered toast for breakfast and 3 mangosteen while checking the Corona data. Our province, Quang Binh, had 47 positive cases which was a little concerning and I read that Turkey was struggling to reach 70% fully vaccinated as cases reach 25,000 per day, more here: http://sabahdai.ly/_vdg
By the time it got to 3pm I was rather peckish; I had steamed chicken, rice and sweetcorn all cooked together in the rice cooker which was a first for me to steam the chicken. I’m glad I did, as it tasted so healthy and fresh – I really enjoyed it and there was nothing to upset my weak stomach! At 3.30pm in our bedroom it was 29°C despite having the Aircon set at 25°C and I was just too warm, even the swimming pool was like bath water! Captain Caveman arrived back at 5pm in readiness for our Monday night out and this time it wasn’t for Curry Night at the Farmstay!!!

Often, in Phong Nha, Mondays have been our Saturdays and Monday 9th August was one of those times! Instead of cycling there, as was Captain Caveman’s preference, we decided to walk to the Lake House. We had made arrangements to have a few drinks and dinner with Tony and Tham who had reopened their hotel and restaurant at the weekend, after being closed for 2 weeks in accordance with the Corona guidelines. We also had an order of freshly baked bread and croissants to pick up so we could do it all at the same time. I forgot to time the walk there but I think it was about 20 minutes and mainly uphill so coming back would be easier. It was still hot and humid after 5.30pm and I arrived a sweaty mess, so much so that I had to have a wash in the toilets, just so that I could see. We had a refreshing iced lemon juice and I felt bad that Tony moved the massive fan on to us from his daughter, who was enjoying being sat in front of it. While Tham was busy doing stuff the 3 of us chatted about the construction industry over a couple of beers and some nicely made bruschetta style snacks. Tony decided to open a bottle of fancy wine which was from an area of Italy we love and it was absolutely amazing! Captain Caveman ordered chilli con carne for dinner and I had beef luk lak, both of which were so good that I completely forgot to take a photo, plus we were busy chatting and enjoying the Primitivo too much. Of course we had no will power to say no to a second bottle of wine, which went down well and we had a good laugh with Tony and Tham. It wasn’t too late when we went home but it was pitch black and I had the head torch in my hand while Captain Caveman carried the paper bags with bread and croissants in. It may be quiet in Phong Nha at the moment but we had really enjoyed an exciting Monday.

Phong Nha – 6th to 8th August

On Friday 6th August, while I ate buttered toast for breakfast and Captain Caveman rested on the bed, I saw that Vietnam had almost 400 deaths in a day yesterday and that we had a warning text from the authorities for us all to observe the rules and be careful. As Captain Caveman was still feeling a bit tired from the effects of his 2nd vaccine I decided to cook a chicken dish for lunch, with a sauce, the last of the cashew nuts and the steamed rice. He said he also felt a little bit unfocused and he couldn’t remember what he came downstairs for, Veronika and I do that a lot but it was unusual for Captain Caveman! After eating our food I was sat at the bedroom table when I heard a cracking noise near my right eye and ear. I put my hand up to try to feel what it was and my glasses fell off in to my hands, having broken at the part where the arm is joined to the frame – maybe I was turning in to Carrie!
It was finally Captain Caveman’s pay day so we sat down and did some budgeting together – it was going to be a tough month. He paid for my visa, a total of 2.3 million vnd (£73.60) and we had requested from the Phong Nha Farmstay receptionist our bill.
Pizza Night, which was at the Farmstay again, was a good one; we were joined by Stu and the kids and we had a good laugh. We also ordered a 3rd pizza to share and Captain Caveman had eaten 4 slices of it by the time I got back from the loo, I took 2 pieces home for the next day.

It was a very relaxed day on Saturday 7th August, and at 7am it was cloudy and less than 30°C (but not for long). Vietnam’s Corona deaths continued at a high rate and now the total deaths, since the pandemic had began, were over 3,000. The mortality rate was 1.53% which was worse than in Turkey and catching the UK up. Only 31.6% of the cases had recovered which was lower than we had been used to, so far. I had my leftover smoked duck pizza for breakfast and Captain Caveman cycled in to Phong Nha. When he returned he had fixed my onyx ring so that you couldn’t even see or feel the join and I was so pleased! Unfortunately the glasses didn’t hold at all and were completely broken. For lunch I ate a dragon fruit and an apple but then needed a snack later because I was still hungry so I ate the last of the gluten and dairy free brownie I had in the freezer, while Captain Caveman swam in the pool.
For dinner we had chicken with steamed rice, carrots, green beans and peanut salt but while I was stirring the chicken my onyx ring broke again and landed in the pan!

Our alarms went off at 6.45am on Sunday 8th August and I was still very sleepy. Bluey didn’t need her front tyre pumping up but her back one had gone down quite a bit so Captain Caveman obliged. I managed to cycle to the Farmstay in 9 minutes 4 seconds which was a minute faster than my last ride there. Captain Caveman ordered Eggs Benedict and I went for Pho Bo for our breakfast while we waited to say our farewell to the lovely Czech family, Lucie and her son, Martan. She was able to get her 2nd vaccine and so they were travelling back home to Hanoi with 2 other Phong Nha Farmstay guests. Because there were still no domestic flights or trains from the nearest town of Dong Hoi to Hanoi they were sharing a private car to travel the 500km North, this was also what the cavers would have to do and probably what I would need to do, when we left. After our delicious breakfast we cycled back in a hot headwind which I found difficult and it took me 10 minutes 3 seconds!
Captain Caveman mentioned that when he had picked up the mangosteens from Mina he had been given the mushrooms that I had ordered but I needed to check because I had accidentally ordered embryos. When I looked in the bag there were 2 fairly substantial mushroom embryos so that we could grow our own. Captain Caveman found it hilarious that I had now accidentally become a mushroom farmer of mushrooms I would probably never get to eat as I would have left! My friend Khanh Linh, Mina’s colleague, sent me the instructions in English on what to do and I set a plan of watering and watching them.
The housekeeping staff had been and done a little spruce up of the bedroom, made the bed and straightened the towels, they didn’t know they may also be helping grow mushrooms this time next week. Later Eric, the bee, stopped by for lunch and while Captain Caveman had a sandwich I made myself vegetable and egg fried rice. It was Watto’s birthday today and so there was a party at Bom’s River House for him. Captain Caveman went there but I didn’t, the return taxi fare is 300,000vnd (£9.60) which, to put it in perspective, is more than a crate of 24 beers, so he went by bicycle and planned to stay over at the Glass House. I made myself some veggie pasta for dinner and had a diet coke while watching a bit of Netflix.

Phong Nha – 5th August

We woke up at the Belafonte very early, and extremely thirsty, on Thursday 5th August – I had a terrible hangover, Captain Caveman was fine. After a drink of water at the kitchen table with Stu, who was up bright and breezy because he doesn’t drink alcohol, we decided to walk home before it got too hot – I wish I’d brought my sunglasses. I’m sure I would have appreciated Captain Caveman’s discovery of a shortcut much more if I wasn’t feeling so fragile as we wandered on paths that cut through the rural countryside. We even saw MAG (Mines Advisory Group) in the area, clearing unexploded bombs, workmen building an archway at a school gate, and a woman ploughing her field with a cow.

When we got to the Phong Nha Farmstay we needed breakfast and so we had a pitstop where we found out people were worried about us because they hadn’t seen us again since last night, even the Elements staff were concerned we hadn’t gone home, according to our waitress. We had messaged Veronika to tell her we weren’t coming home so she could lock the door, but nobody asked her where we were. Captain Caveman ordered one of his favourites for breakfast, Eggs Benedict and an iced coffee, I had my favourite of Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) with lemon juice. It was incredibly windy which I noticed every time I tried to get my soup on my spoon and it blew off, what I did manage to eat was very tasty.

When we got back home I got a message to say my passport was on its way to Dong Hoi by taxi and could I pay the taxi fare of 500,000vnd (£16) return which of course we agreed to but it was probably a good job it was the last one – we couldn’t afford any more extensions. I asked for the progress on the visa situation with immigration and I was told I would have my passport back on the 9th or 10th of this month – less than a week to get it back would be an absolute first ever and made me wonder if I would even be given a full month’s extension this time! We didn’t really do much for the rest of the day, mainly because of the hangover situation. For lunch we had hotdogs and I had a couple of cookies but, obviously, was ill straight away. We played it safe for dinner by Captain Caveman doing me a gluten and dairy free meal, mushroom risotto. He was still fine from his 2nd Astra Zeneca vaccination but just a bit more tired than usual and was asleep straight after dinner.

Phong Nha – 4th August

Captain Caveman was up early on Wednesday 4th August, excited to be getting his 2nd vaccine today. I checked my phone and there was no mention of a shopping trip but then all but a handful of guests had left the Phong Nha Farmstay so there was probably less demand. We did a quick check of the fridge, freezer and cupboard and thought we could probably make do without a shopping trip this week, anyway. Captain Caveman cooked us bacon, red cabbage, pumpkin and tortilla for breakfast, which was delicious, and he put my broken ring in a bag to take to Phong Nha to fix. Even though it wasn’t an expensive ring it was sentimental to me as I bought it on a trip to Marble Mountain, Danang, when I was with friends on their last visit to Vietnam.
Vietnam now had over 170,000 cases in total, more than 2,000 deaths and 50,000 recoveries. This was the highest the mortality rate for Corona had reached in Vietnam so far, 1.16% and it was increasing very quickly. There was, however, some good news for experts coming in to Vietnam, which could possibly include Captain Caveman (and the returning cavers) if he leaves Vietnam:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1003411/viet-nam-cuts-quarantine-for-fully-vaccinated-arrivals-to-7-days-health-ministry.html
For lunch I made myself some pasta with mushrooms and soft cheese and it was really tasty, although I had stomach ache afterwards, I wasn’t ill. Captain Caveman and his cave colleagues got the 2nd vaccine which was the same brand as the 1st, Astra Zeneca. Initially we had been told we would get Moderna for the 2nd jab but apparently there had not been approval for mix and match vaccines in Vietnam so they couldn’t do that.

When he got home he felt fine and so we got a lift in the jeep with Duyet, to the Farmstay, then walked all the way to The Belafonte, Stu’s place. We saw Bich on the way to say hello and although it was hot it wasn’t too sunny. It took 34 minutes to walk it from the Farmstay and my ankle was hurting when we got there. We had some cold beers and Multi was there on the rice wine, which Captain Caveman joined in with. Jack was keen to get me to try out his VR (Virtual Reality) game and it’s another first for me. I sat on a chair, opposite the TV with this thing on my head and eyes, then the fun started. I was in a dive cage under the sea looking at all the nice fishes and stuff which was a bit scary, the manteray made me jump but was cool to watch but towards the end a shark swam up and bit my cage and tried to eat me – it was terrifying! Stu even took videos of me screaming and putting my feet up so I wouldn’t get a leg bitten off. We had a few drinks, a delicious Vietnamese style dinner, a dip in the pool and a great night, all the way past midnight!