September 12, 2026

We did all our travel for this trip in China via high speed railway. We started in Hong Kong and traveled to Guilin in just over 3 hours. Then our longest leg, of 7 hours for Guilin to Zhangjiajie. Next was Zhangjiajie to Chongqing at 3.5 hours and finally Chongqing to Xi'An was around 5.5 hours. Some of the train stations were massive like Chongqing below and Xi'An. Signage was pretty good, with some English, so we could navigate well.

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We all did our reservations separately through Trip.com and therefore our seats were scattered through the many car trains - which could numbered between 1 to 15 depending on the popularity of that line. We would text each other our seat assignment once we were settled. Felt kinda like the Brady Bunch opening squares sequel.

Sometimes shenanigans was captured or a good dining car find came from Bob.

I decided to splurge for first class seating on the 2 longest legs, with the hopes of a good workspace to blog. The last leg to Xi'An was way nicer and fancier with snacks, then the longest leg to Zhangjiejie. Unfortunately, the Chinese men still make all kinds of rude and distusting noises in first class! So Gross! It's hard not to glare at them - they don't even notice you. And no one uses headphones; they put their calls on speaker and play their endless videos at whatever volume they can to drown out the one next to them!

Noise pollution is a real thing !! I craved quiet each and every day there.

Pattaya, Thailand - My healthcare

By Pat Patrick • October 23, 2026
This Blog is more than a journal of my travels around the world, it's a major memory tool for me in documenting all the events along the way. You often ask me how we take care of medical things, as we travel non stop and today is a perfect example. A fellow resident had posted on one of our WhatsApp groups ( this is the main way we all- residents, crew and stateside support all communicate ) that she had an excellent contact for anyone looking to get medical appointments in the Pattaya / Bangkok area.

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!