Monday – August 17, 2026 (Independence Day in Indonesia)
I’m establishing a wonderful routine here on the Odyssey. Multiple trips to the bathroom each night because I’m drinking more liquids than at any other time in my life to avoid dehydration. Every day in Vietnam this time of year, the heat index is well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Another solution might be to stop playing pickleball in the heat. Nope, that’s not happening. Too much fun.
I wake up and check the location of the boat on the CruiseMapper app, then I make my way to the front of the ship for a cappuccino and a view of the sunrise.
Then I’m off to grab a little breakfast before the 8:00 a.m. stretch class with Mark, the fitness trainer on board. I am really making progress with my flexibility though I’m still finding it hard to put my body in some of the positions that Mark and most of the others can. And my straining, groaning and grunting seem to be a bit off-putting to some of those near me. Don’t like it? Move somewhere else.
At 8:30 is the the high intensity ab/core workout. This one is rough but I manage to survive. I like Mark a little less than I did before this workout started.
Then my private training session with Mark starts… and it’s leg day. I know I’m in trouble before we even begin because I am a notorious slacker when it comes to leg workouts with weights. I mistakenly think that long walks/hikes and time on the elliptical is enough to keep my legs from shriveling into bean poles. Have you seen my legs? Clearly, it’s not working.
The workout is in a word: brutal. Squats, legs extensions, leg curls, lunges, dead lifts, hip thrusts…. is this workout never going to end? No, not until you do your sumo squats. Sumo squats? What the hell is a sumo squat? Now, I really don’t like you at all, Mark.
After the workout, Mark stretches me out and massages some of the lactic acid out of my burning legs. Aaaahhhhh….. I’m starting to like him again. Then he graciously agrees to get up extra early for my personal training session in the morning. The ship is arriving in Chan May and I have an excursion I have to get to.
Even though Mark probably has something diabolical planned for tomorrow, for now he is back in my good graces.
I made some new friends again today. Their cabin is just a few down the hall from me. We had a lovely lunch and conversation together. I left my phone in my cabin on purpose so I wasn’t able to take a picture of the wonderful meal I had. Borscht for an appetizer and brisket for the entree. I rarely get good brisket anywhere outside of Texas, USA. This was very good.
I got an interesting compliment from Rae. She used to be a nurse and was admiring the veins in my arms. Apparently, I am a dream come true for nurses should I ever need an IV or blood transfusion. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice…
This evening’s sunset was even more beautiful than this morning’s sunrise.
Thanks to Mark destroying me this morning, I fell asleep about 8 p.m. while trying to read. Then I woke up at 10:30 p.m. coughing. I have had a nagging cough since arriving in Singapore over two weeks ago.
I heard the faint sound of dance music outside my window. The rooms are well insulated from noise but the distinctive thumping of heavy bass was unmistakable. Then I remembered that there was a dance party up on deck for the crew and the residents/guests tonight because on August 17, 1945 Indonesia proclaimed their independence from the Netherlands. That also explains why we had an Indonesian themed meal at dinner tonight. It was excellent, particularly the chicken satay. Sorry, no pictures of that either.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day with a group excursion to Hoi An.
More about that in the next post. Good night.
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