July 20, 2026

I've been looking forward to exploring Bangkok, as it has always sounded so exotic to me. My first impressions - big sprawling City, highways just like USA, lots of traffic, it's hot and they really like their King. His picture and statues are Everywhere! The architecture of the skyline is nothing special, until you start noticing all the gold, stone, carvings and opulence of the Temples andThe Grand Palace is wow so over the top bedazzled!

The current King of Thailand is Maha Vajiralongkorn (also known as King Rama X - since he is 10th monarch of Chakri, the reigning dynatsy since 1782). He took over, after his father's death in 2016, 10 years ago. He's 73 and has 3 divorced wives,  2 current wives and at least 7 children. There is tons of controversy over the Royal Family but their laws strictly prohibit disrespecting them. One story about his poodle's (dog) birthday party and young wife, in only a g-string, was eye catching! Surprisingly, I just learned this Monarchy is the wealthiest in the World, with an estimated new worth between $30 to 70 US Billion.  

Above are other images I saw all around town. The first one is the Queen Mother Sirikit (the King's Mother) who passed back in October 2025 and they will typically mourn for a year. The middle photo is Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendiradebyavati, who passed away just before we arrived on June 11, after over 3 years in a coma, due to a heart condition. She was 47 and was the eldest daughter of King Rama X. The 3rd photo shows another image of her Dad, King Rama X.

We actually got to see the start of the official royal funeral for the Princess at the Great Palace, as they had a 10 km motorcade into the complex, while we were finishing up touring there, our first day in Bangkok. We saw the buses of military personal coming into grounds and then the dignitaries cars shown below. Princess Anne of Britain was in the 2nd vehicle. They laid the Princesses body out in the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall, which was the last photo I took below before leaving the Palace Grounds. 

 Video below captured by @Starr of the Odyssey (fellow resident) of motorcade.

Below is a fraction of The Grand Palace complex, it is a massive over 2.3 Million Square Feet. This was the home for the Kings of Siam ( later Thailand) from 1782 until 1925, when they moved to Dusit Palace.

  • Aerial view from web

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  • Emerald Temple

    The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

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  • Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall

    Where the King's daughter was laid out for Royal Funeral

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KUANTAN, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • October 12, 2026
Just the other day a friend asked me if I got enough down time while living this lifestyle. My answer was "you have to make it !" In the beginning, it was go, go, go, every port. We had lots of FOMO ( fear of missing out ) and we tried to cram in as much as possible at every port. Sea days, were our only down time and there were never enough. It was a tad exhausting. Now two years into this life, I can say there are some ports that just don't call me and I opt to get other things done. Kuantan, Malaysia was one of the Ports. I never got off the ship, either day we were here. I intended to this morning, but we had storms with loud thunder late into the night and then was awoken by a crew alarm around 6:45am. My energy was low, there were shuttle issues, town was an hour ride away and there is alot of air pollution, ( due to neighboring Indonesia burning organic materials, in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season ). So I bagged my plans and continued working on my never ending TO DO LIST!

Sad Passing of ODYSSEY Shipmate

By Pat Patrick • October 11, 2026
During our two years of sailing we have had several Shipmates come and go for a variety of reasons. Their health, has sadly been the reason for many departures. Cindy Harvey , would have loved to have lived out her days here on the Odyssey and even bought a second cabin and had an adjoining door added, to have a care provider, stay with her full time. However, Cindy's limited mobility, pain and confinement got to be too much - so she left us a few months ago. She went to an assisted living facility, on the coast of Oregon, to be near her family. Tragically she fell, was trying to recover, slipped into a coma and sadly passed away this week.

SANCTUARY OF TRUTH MUSEUM, CHONBURI, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • October 8, 2026
The Sanctuary of Truth Museum is the world's largest hand carved wooden castle, located on the coast of Pattaya, Chonburi Province, Thailand . Conceived in 1981 by Thai visionary Khun Lek Viriyaphun the structure is built entirely from 4 types of wood - Teak, Mai Daeng, Mai Takien & Mai Panchaat and put together using Thai nailless wood joinery - mainly dovetails, carrying poles and tongue & groove. We started the tour in the workshop where the artisan, mainly woman, were hard at work. Since conception, the Museum has been an active construction site, thus we all wore hardhats! The artisans continue handcarving sculptures and columns, daily and will most likely continue for years to come.