Day 61 - Sick Kids, Rice Fields & Sweet Pizza in Tam Coc

Day 61 started much the same as the day before. Everyone woke up still sick except me. I went to bed half expecting to wake up crook as well, but somehow I was still feeling fine.

The morning was very quiet. I headed down to breakfast and eventually Kia and Maddie came down with me while Emmett stayed upstairs. Maddie decided she didn’t want her omelette and wanted my chicken noodle soup instead. We swapped. I ate the omelette, she had some soup, then didn’t want any more.

Emmett came down a bit later and had some fruit, but the banana didn’t sit well. He vomited all over the table, which was not ideal. Kia jumped in straight away to clean it up and I helped where I could, got him outside, and told him if it needed to happen again the garden was a much better option. Thankfully that seemed to be the end of it. Once it was over, he actually felt a lot better.

He went up for a shower with Kia while Maddie and I stayed downstairs. I grabbed another chicken soup for Emmett and another coffee for myself. Breakfast became a bit of a shuffle. Maddie didn’t finish her soup, so I gave it to Emmett. Then I ate the new soup I’d ordered for Emmett since it’s what I originally wanted.

Back in the room, Emmett was noticeably brighter after vomiting and having the soup. Maddie was improving and Kia wasn’t feeling too bad either. We decided to take advantage of the small window of energy and go for a gentle bike ride. It was the first time Kia and the kids had actually seen Tam Coc properly, so it was nice to show them around.

We didn’t go far. We rode out along a quieter road to a temple and then stopped at a café with a small waterfall for coffee and lunch. By then, everyone was a bit hungrier. I had beef with rice. Maddie ordered a salad that could have fed four people. She ate about half and we took the rest away for later. Kia just wanted chips and Emmett did too.

The kids got tonic water. Maddie drank most of hers. Emmett had one sip, a couple of chips, and then started feeling unwell again. That was our cue. We packed it up and rode straight back to the accommodation.

Kia and the kids lay down while I headed out for a solo bike ride. I rode out the other side of town and into the rice fields, just cruising and taking it all in. After that, I found a small pub, had a couple of beers, and realised they did wood fired pizzas.

Later on, Kia called to say everyone was starting to feel hungry again. I suggested the pizza place and everyone was keen to try it, so we jumped back on the bikes and headed in.

The pizzas were interesting. The bases were quite sweet, like there was sugar in the dough. The barbecue chicken one had way too much sauce and was very rich. The other two were better. One was pepperoni and cheese, the other had ricotta which was okay but probably unnecessary. No one was blown away, but the place itself was great. They had Jenga, Connect 4, Uno and other games, so we played for a while.

Eventually the fatigue crept back in and everyone started feeling off again. We packed up, rode back, and called it a night. Everyone was in bed by about 7:30.

It was one of those days that sat right in the middle. Trying to rest while also wanting to get out and explore. A constant push and pull. Hopefully tomorrow everyone wakes up feeling better and we can properly start seeing this beautiful place.

Let’s see what Day 62 brings. Hopefully health.