March 4, 2025

OFF THE COAST OF RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL 

Last night Monday 3/3/25, we had an unexpected turn of events, one of our beloved crew, a security officer from the Philippines, had a heart attack on board and needed emergency medical attention. While at dinner last night, they announced we had to prepare for a helicopter arrival from coast guard and we had to take everything off our balconies. A few moments later, they said since it was dark, it was too dangerous for the helicopter, and they turned our Ship full throttle to head to Rio. We were about 80 miles off the coast. This gave us a rare night time viewing of the city, bustling to Carnival with 2M added tourist, to their already huge population of 14M! We were in the harbor by 10:30 pm and two pilot boats met us to get the crew member safely ashore. Today, we heard he is stable. Thanks be to God!

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.

BINTAN, INDONESIA - Buddhist Culture

By PAT PATRICK • July 1, 2026
500 Lohan Temple or Vihara Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the most interesting place we visited on Bintan Island . It features 500 hand sculpted, life sized, distinctively expressive statues of Buddhist disciplines (Lohans) surrounding a tranquil courtyard. They are arranged symetrical, in an arc and it's interesting how some pop out, as you look down the rows. The statues were crafted by artist in China from 2010 to 2017 when the temple was inaugurated; no two are alike.