November 27, 2025

Next we were at Eden on the River, for a little nature walk and a swim in the cool refreshing water. This place was great with giant rocks to slide down, inter-tubes for floating and rope bridges to climb. All set in this gorgeous park with tons of flowers & fauna.

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Then we did our longest stretch of road, with a quick stop at the Blue Lagoon, then onto the northern tip of island to the fantastic views atop Top Rock  and lastly to the spot where they filmed the reality TV show SURVIVOR - VANUATA !

Lastly, this nasty little creature is killing palm trees all over the South Pacific! They believe he came to Vanuatu through a shipping container, most likely carrying coconuts and from Papau New Guineu. They bore into the fruit and kill the tree in the process. This one was found on a residents balcony on our Ship and that is the reason they now have a rule that all cruise ships, freighters and none local boats have to leave All Vanuatu ports, before 4pm, because they come out at dusk. Such a shame, has been plaguing them for 10 years - not in all 83 islands of Vanuatu and they hope this ship rule helps keep that spread down.

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 7, 2026
Today, I braved the heat ( it's a blazing 84) to walk around a little bit and get the feel for life on Tioman Island, Malaysia . The Village of Tekek is where we tender to and this is where the Ferry , the Island's National Secondary School, Health Clinic and Airport (really just a strip) are located. The most notable feature is the Rainbow Bridge over the inlet.

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 6, 2026
Fun day in the waters of Tioman Island, Malaysia snorkeling with friends. Life is good! It was nothing fancy, a boat & captain, who spoke minimal English and barely interacted with us, for roughly 7 hours. We started the outing spotting a group of dolphins and was quickly at anchor drop 1 of 6. The distances between the 6 snorkel spots was minimal, which gave us lots of time in the water (at least 45 minutes, at each spot) with an added stop for a lunch break at local restaurants. Even the restaurants were fast and efficient, definitely used to catering to the boat crowd.

HAPPY 4th of JULY from SE ASIA SEA!

By Pat Patrick • July 4, 2026
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)