September 23, 2025

Outrunning Typhoon Nando and Celebrating Christy Birthday!

Both events were three days long! Christy had a 3 day extravagansa to celebrate her 53rd  Birthday.  First there was the traditional Ship dinner in the Thistle Dining Room on Friday night. Saturday 11 of us got off the Ship, in the Port of Anping and traveled about 30 minutes by Uber, to downtown Tainan, and the upscale Shangri La Hotel. Here the 6 ladies enjoyed Spa services and the pool and the men went out for drinks and foot massages. Then we all had a lovely dinner at the Hotel and ended the night playing CATCH PHRASE in Christy and Gary's Suite. It was a lot of FUN! The next day we had to hustle back to the Ship by 10 am, as the Captain moved up our departure, to start outrunning the effects of Typhoon Nando. For the Birthday Grand Finale we had a sail away pool cocktail party on the roof deck, complete with guest DJ Brooklyn Shanti. Shanti is a good friend of resident Victor and he wanted to do an event for us, while visiting. I convinced him the perfect time would be during this sail away birthday party. It really brought a whole special element to the event, with great music, lots of dancing and a nice big crowd! It was great FUN!!

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Our fabulous Captain kept us well out of harms way and we cleared the path of Nando. We are the blue dot on above map. We had some choppy waters, but nothing that had people getting ill or scrambling to catch falling shelf items. Just some gusty winds and rain. 

2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SAILING THE WORLD

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!

APOPO, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.

Ta Prohm Temple ( AKA Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.