April 11, 2026

Day 1 @ Eco Cove Resort we met this lovely young couple, Camille and Timothe from France. At the 6:30 pm nightly briefing, we found out we were randomly paired with them for the next day's excursion to the famed Melissa's Garden in the Fam Islands, which is about a 35 minutes boat ride from resort. We sat with them at dinner and instantly connected.

Melissa's Garden (named for the daughter of the Discoverer) is such a world-renowned dive site, it is even pictured with the FAM ISLANDS on Indonesia most used IDR currency! As soon as we hit the water snorkeling this bio- diverse pardise we had WOW moments,  one after another! Here are some of the highlights Day 2 ( video credits to Timothe, who is part fish himself!)

After the morning exploring this Wonderland, we went to a nearby spot know as Piaynemo where we had a rest room break, before climbing 300 stairs to get to the amazing view at the top of the Fam Islands (drone footage again compliments of Timothe)!

We came down and had started to eat lunch when this total shocker happened, TIMOTHE PROPOSED MARRIAGE TO CAMILLE!

She was so speechless, she said nothing! They actually came all the way down, told us, we congratulated them, took some pictures  and then they went back all the way back up the stairs, to document again! He was so nervous and she was so shocked !!

SO HAPPY FOR THEM AND HONORED TO BE THERE TO SHARE THE SPECIAL MOMENT.

They have been together for 10 years and just bought their first home together right before they came on this 4 week vacation to Indonesia. Camille has a Doctorate of Pharmacy and works in a local village store and Timothe works in Systems Technology for large refrigeration plants. They also have a golden labrador Mia and cat Ava.

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)