November 16, 2025

Another great day exploring the South Pacific! Today as soon as our ship docked in Honiara, and we were cleared by customs, I was off with 9 other residents, to get in 2 small speed boats and head out to Simon's Nature Reserve in the Solomon Islands. It was about an hour long ride across the Iron Bottom Sound but so worth it to experience this special place!

Lyn, Alex & Chaz, Lori & I were in one boat and Phil & Kim, Sue & Ed and Ben were in the other.Simon's village and reserve was great. They greeted us with hand made super fragrant lei's and provided a huge "snack" tray to each of us ( was bigger than most lunches)  and had all their local favorites! My lei was honey suckle, a personal favorite, lovely!! The kids were so friendly and sweet and the snorkeling here was stunning! Video doesn't do it justice! This is not a typical tourist spot and Simon's preservation work for the last 20+ years really shows. Google Simon's Nature Reserve Baroni, Solomon Islands.

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After spending the morning at Simon's we headed to Roderick's Bay which we thought was just another snorkel spot and were delighted to find out there was a German expedition cruise ship the MS WORLD DISCOVERER wrecked there since April 30, 2000. They struck an uncharted reef and the captain was able ground the ship to prevent it from sinking on  the edge of this small village and get all 79 passengers and crew off safely. It was declared a total loss and abandoned in Roderick Bay. Soooo Cool !! We had a great afternoon snorkeling here and they had another lunch feast waiting for us when we arrived!

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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)

BINTAN, INDONESIA - BUDDHIST TEMPLE

By Pat Patrick • July 2, 2026
Vihara Avalokiteshvara Graha or Guan Yin Temple is near 500 Lohan, so we also toured the grounds of this large Temple complex. It's dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy and is one the tallest brass statues of her in SE Asia. She is just over 55' tall, coated in 22 carat gold and is surrounded by scenic dragon fruit plantations. The tile work is intricate and textured with great details. The whole place is very tranquil and calming for meditation and prayer.