April 23, 2026

We met up with the Ship in Timor Leste or East Timor, one of the youngest countries in the World. This sovereign state just gained their independence on May 20, 2002 from prior Portuguese rule (1515 until 1975) and Indonesian occupation (1975 until 1999). The Ship was anchored off the coastal town of Dili, the capital city with a population of roughly 1.4 million.

It is such a shame that Timor Leste is not thriving, in their new independence. Civil war with Indonesia broke out over their rich oil & gas reserves, as soon as Portugal left, killing more than 100,000. Worse yet, now that they finally have their independence, their oil and gas reserves are drying up, leaving the country on the edge of collapse. Sadly becoming part of Indonesia again, is looking like their only solution. Over 50% of their population is under 35 and 42% are living in poverty, so they deeply depend on tourism and agriculture. We didn't get much time to see the Island as we flew in around 1pm and had to be processed by very slow immigration officials.  Above is our first views of the Ship - Home, Sweet, Home and some of the passing sights, as we took taxis to the tender port location. The Ship left our anchorage at 5pm heading onto our next port in Indonesia, LaBuan Bajo.

Off the Coast of PATTAYA, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
Off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand a talented and dedicated group of residents, the Odyssey Troubadours , performed A Night of Broadway for the enjoyment of all the other residents and senior staff on board. The group of 20 performed, 15 Broadway songs that had some special Odyssey edits, personalizing them to our journey. We loved it ! Such a clever, talented and fun loving group. I was upfront and focused on getting candid pictures of the talented cast.

NONG NOOCH TROPICAL GARDENS, Pattaya, Thailand

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
We were up for breakfast at 7 and then hired a private small tram to take us around the gardens, for an overview, because it came with a guide. Problem was, guide barely spoke English, so we had a hard time figuring out the history of this crazy place. Even with translate app his answers were questionable. Did it start as gardens? What's with all the statues? Is there a master plan? It seems to be growing with no real connections, that we could make out. Web & Chat GPT seem vague on details too! We had fun with it, finding more and more absurd things, until the heat won out!

PATTAYA , THAILAND ADVENTURE

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
I went on a 24 hour adventure with these fun shipmates into Pattaya, Thailand to explore Nong Nooch Wonder World. Noted on the web as one of the top 10 Botanical Gardens in the World, it is certainly the largest in S. Asia at over 500 to 600 acres. Since the place is so massive; open from 8am to 6pm; the heat is so oppressive and we are at a tender port, we decided to spend the night, so we could be there at the opening, the next day and make a fun night before too!