January 11, 2026
Tahuata Chief and Viv ( one of our New Zealand Residents) discussing language similarities, after his greeting with horn.
I missed the cultural greeting the locals on Tahuata gave a bunch of our residents. Which was impressive because they just got notice about an hour before we arrived. We had to sail by Hiva Oa because the swells in the harbor were too high for our ship to safely tender us into their port. The next day the same weather made tendering into Fatu Hiva too dicey, so we went back to Nuku Hiva's sheltered cove. Regardless, we still got to see so much of these gorgeous islands! Highly recommend the trip here.
Below are 2 teens who were doing a fun TikTok dance and they invited me to join them when we were hanging out in port. So sweet!
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.
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.
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)