Note: Click on any photo to make full size. For a deeper dive, click on the hyperlinks. Several weeks ago while in port at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, I noticed a floater in my left eye. I had previously experienced this on a couple of occasions in the past, but they had gone away pretty…

Originally posted on July 31, 2026… I pulled this post out of the trash now that Tex is off the boat. This is too good to leave in the draft folder! Note: Click on any photo to make full-size. For a deeper dive, click on the hyperlinks. This and the last post of mine are…

Tropical Storm Narra has been stalled over the Gulf of Tonkin and caused our departure to Ha Long Bay to be moved up about 24 hours. Nearly constant rain and winds would be in the weather forecast for the foreseeable future. Thursday – August 20, 2026 Thursday was a sea day. At about 9 a.m.,…

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…

Sunday – August 16, 2026 If you would have asked me a year ago if that lovely pint of Guinness was half full or half empty, I most assuredly would have opted for the latter. I’m not proud to admit it now, but I used to relish wallowing in my persistent negativity. I would call…

Saturday – August 15, 2026 Readers and sports fans of a certain age may associate this Spanish phrase with Roberto Durán, who famously uttered “no more” in his native tongue before quitting a World Championship welterweight boxing match in 1980. This morning, I uttered “No más!” Good judgment I sometimes lack. It was on full…

Friday – August 14, 2026 Having had two really enjoyable days of sightseeing in Nha Trang, I decided today would be less about touring and more focused. I want to buy a back-up phone and get a haircut. I have always enjoyed the experience of haircuts in foreign lands. Some particularly memorable ones were in…

Thursday – August 13, 2026 On this journey through Southeast Asia and my on-going journey of self-discovery, I am constantly learning. Today I learned how to say “thank you” in Vietnamese: Cảm ơn. The reason I titled this post “Cảm ơn Nha Trang is that I want to express gratitude for another really, really great…

Wednesday, August 12 I’m not going to lie… I’m a bit freaked out right now. After a wonderful start to my day with a cappuccino and land sighting from the front of the ship and a quick workout consisting of 78 pull-ups in about 7 minutes (impressive, aren’t I?), I grabbed some breakfast. At the…

Days 3 and 4 – Monday and Tuesday, August 10 & 11 It’s 11:20 a.m. on Monday and I’m already exhausted… but in a good way. Yes, I had another crap night of sleep, but my room is cooler and the bed is plenty comfortable. I just don’t sleep well anymore. And that damn aging…

Day 2 – Sunday, August 9 I woke up again in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep… maybe 6 hours total. I noticed lying in bed that every so often the entire room would shudder for a few moments. I later learned that this is perfectly normal and the result…

Day 1 – Saturday, August 8 I woke up in the middle of the night for my one, sometimes two, occasionally three nightly trip(s) to the bathroom. Oh, the joys of an aging bladder. As I made the short trip (the room is 140 square feet, for heaven’s sake), I felt like I was drunk.…

A week ago, the readership of my blog consisted of perhaps a couple of dozen of my friends, acquaintances and family. And because of a poor decision on my part, it is now being viewed often by an entirely different audience, most of whom have an interest in matters pertaining to the Odyssey. This blog…

It has come to my attention that the information I shared in my last update about  the Odyssey was incorrect. I realize, in hindsight, that I pieced together bits of information based off of assumptions that I made. I apologize sincerely to my sources for the misrepresentation of their words.

Note: Click on any photo to make full-size. For a deeper dive, click on the hyperlinks. While trying to come up with a clever title for this post about my trip to South Africa, this is the best I could come up with. It’s from “The Wizard of Oz”. What make this even more ridiculous…

Wednesday evening… Clearly, the the jet lag, time zone changes, and lack of sleep have affected me. In my last post, I said we were leaving on Thursday. That’s incorrect. It’s Friday afternoon, so I will have another day tomorrow in Singapore. Today, I ventured off the ship in the morning and visited a nice…

No news is good news, I guess. As far as I know, we are still scheduled to depart Singapore on Thursday afternoon. I bought a one-way ticket here, so I’m along for the ride until such time as I want to get off. In the meantime, I am continuing to enjoy Singapore which I will…

For those of you who read my Facebook posts, you already know that I am in Singapore aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey. A very appropriate name, indeed. I’m still suffering from jet lag following my 18 hour journey from Malta a couple of days ago, so not sleeping well. I was up in the wee…

So… “why Luxembourg?”, you might be thinking. Aside from it being a country I have yet to visit, it also happens to have a direct flight from Malta and is just a couple hours away from Kaiserslautern in Germany. And why would I be headed to Kaiserslautern? You will have to wait until the next…

Note: Click on any photo to make full size. For a deeper dive, click on the hyperlinks. This trip came about as a result of a visit to Colorado last September to visit an old friend. I have known John since Kindergarten where we both attended Lincoln Elementary. I didn’t like him much, so it…