August 10, 2025

SENDAI, Japan is known as the City of Trees!

We had a Samurai  greeting as we docked at the port of Sendai, Japan.  It's a shame we didn't have more time to explore the city. The city center was a 40 minute shuttle ride from the Port, into the Central train /bus station. Once there, we had to navigate over multiple levels of transportation hubs and stores and TONS OF PEOPLE, to figure out what we wanted to do. Bosco and I decided to take their version of a Hop On / Hop Off tram to get an overview of the city. Sadly the vehicle was an old fashion Trolley car, that got packed to capacity. It made it hard to see anything out the windows, let alone stand upright, while the tram went up and down the winding hills. Sadly we only had time to do one hop off the tram and finish the loop, because we had to be back at the station at 4 pm, to get shuttle bus back to the Port, for departure.The one stop we got to was the former site of the Sendai Castle.

View more

This was our first shrine experience! We got in line and just watched what they did in front of us. Approach, make a coin donation, step back, grab ropes and pull to ring bells, clap hands twice, bow & pause, then move on. We were a little confused on what the intentions at this shrine was suppose to be, because the 3 people in front of us were all holding dogs?!?

Next we went onto our next lesson in ordering food for lunch and buying a cookie! Again lots to figure out and lots of questions but we finally got there! Couldn't figure out flavor but now know macha is default when green wrapper. They love green tea and Macha!

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.