September 26, 2026

I heard you can't come to Cambodia without seeing Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the World and a masterpiece of ancient human engineering, art and spiritual design. So even though I am "templed out"; it's the heaviest part of the Cambodian rainy season (May thru October) and Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat  is located, is a hour away by air or 7+ hours by car, I find myself on Air Cambodia, from our port in Sihanoukville, with 40+ ship people traveling to Siem Reap for a quick visit! I'll probably never get here again!

Cambodia is a very flat country - so when the rains come, they have no where to run off to. Street flooding is common, and some have more fun in it, than others. The kids are off on Wet Season School Break ,for the two months of September and October.

On our 90 minute drive from the airport to the hotel, our driver was very informative and seemed to enjoy filling us in on his country and thanked us profusely for coming to visit. Cambodia has been hurting economically ever since 1975 with the awful civil war / genocide known as the Khmer Rouge, led by radical communist Pol Pot. He was over thrown in 1979 but reconstuction was slow until hid death in 1998 when the radical factions gradually disbanded. The UN stepped in 2007 to 2010 but growth remained slow and then Covid hit the country hard. Siem Reap is very dependent on tourism, unlike the capital city of Phnom Penh which relies on factory work, employing over 4M.

We had a quick break at the hotel this afternoon, before setting out to explore the city and try and catch sunset at Angkor Wat. The streets were very busy, with lots of activity. At night it really come alive! Based on the above, the booming downtown appearance was so unexpected, I thought it was going to be much smaller and more rural.  We saw very little that showed a depressed economy. There  are tons of neon lights, shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, spas and people!

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We had a yummy Mexican Dinner at Maybe Later , a place highly recommended by other ship folk. It was so good!

Now off to sleep - because we have a 4:45 am sunrise pickup tomorrow!

SAIGON, VIETNAM - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE EVENT

By Pat Patrick • September 21, 2026
I joined in with 49 other Ship Residents to attend an event the next day at The Vietnam War Remnants Museum also known as The Museum for Peace. This was put together by our residents as part of our ongoing efforts with the Ship's Odyssey Rotary Club and our Global Flagship of Peace initiative.

HO CHI MING CITY, VIETNAM

By Pat Patrick • September 21, 2026
HO CHI MING CITY or SAIGON was our last port in Vietnam . The downtown area was an hour away from the Port , so most of us got Hotel rooms in town, as prices were so reasonable. Sadly, it was a rainy four days, but that kept temperatures moderate and we could still get out and do most things. We stayed in district #1 as most of the City highlights are in this area along with the nightlife. Traffic is very busy in the City, especially motorbikes. Crossing the streets needs to be done with intent and quickly as there are very few traffic lights or stop signs.

SHIP SHENANIGANS - CLUE PARTY

By Pat Patrick • September 16, 2026
It's never a dull Sea Day on the Odyssey! We have such creative residents, that are always coming up with new ideas to entertain ourselves and have a good time. This plot was the calculating of Eddie and Michelle - a Game of Clue! The rules were simple - find the party venue at 8:30 pm, come dressed as a character, weapon or room from the game and solve the mystery of who stole the Ship's bell.