July 30th to August 5th, 2026 We've gone from saying "Hello" in Chinese (Nǐ hǎo) to saying "Hello" in Japanese (Konnichiwa) back to saying it in Chinese again (Nǐ hǎo), all in one week. To be fair, most people in Hong Kong speak English (Hello). Hiroshima, Japan Thursday, July 30th, 2026 - Today we took the free hotel shuttle to Hiroshima Station and purchased passes for the Hiroshima Sightseeing ...
In nautical history, "shanghaied" meant being forcibly recruited or kidnapped to serve as a sailor on a ship, often through trickery, intoxication, threats, or violence. Shanghai, China, was a common destination for some of these voyages, which is how the term originated. But we're okay. We're just touring in Shanghai, China as I write this. But first... Travel Log for July 23r...
A quick flight brought me from Koh Samui to Phuket. I spent the night in a no-frills hotel that was surprisingly clean, modern, and affordable. It wasn't luxurious, but for a short stopover, it suited me just fine. Travel Log for July 14th to July 22nd, 2026 Hong Kong Tuesday, July 14th, 2026 - The next day, it was back to Phuket Airport for my flight to Hong Kong. The journey was s...
Yep—I'm in Siam! Well, what we now know as Thailand. For centuries, this fascinating country was called Siam before officially changing its name to Thailand in 1939. After World War II, it briefly reverted to Siam in 1945, only to adopt the name Thailand permanently in 1949. Whatever you call it, it's a land rich in history, culture, and unforgettable experiences. But before I dive into my adventu...
For the second time, we arrived in Singapore on June 17th. Ongoing global geopolitical tensions have made marine fuel both scarce and costly. To support our continued journey, Villa Vie secured millions of dollars' worth of marine-grade fuel in advance, ensuring both stable pricing and reliable supply. Singapore serves as one of the key locations where this fuel is available, which is the main rea...
You may have noticed a slightly differently look to the website. I moved the website to a new server and updated much of the software used. A few other minor changes were made. Please let me know if things don't work as expected. Travel Log for June 3rd to June 9th, 2026 I was excited to visit Manila in the Philippines, and we arrived there on Sunday, June 7th. A shuttle bus took us from...
It was a long flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia. We time traveled to the future, as we left late at night on Feb. 17th, flew for 15 hours, but arrived the morning of Feb. 19th! Since we arrived in the morning, we were concerned about what to do with our 6 cases of luggage! We didn't think the hotel would let us check-in this early, so we hoped they had a place to store ou...
The sailing to New Zealand from Australia went smoothly. However, we quickly got our indoctrination into this groundbreaking method of cruising. The Villa Vie Odyssey is a "proof of concept" for the idea of living fulltime on a cruise ship, sailing around the world. The Odyssey has only been sailing as a "residential" ship for 15 months. This is her first trip around the world and new lessons...
In 2004, when we started travelling fulltime in a motorhome, I wrote an article about "slowing down" and enjoying life. Now that we're cruising fulltime, this philosophy is being applied every day to the maximum. Not only as a philosophy, but also literally! The ship usually cruises at less than 10 knots. This is less than 12mph. I look out over the ocean and can spen...
With the events taking place in the world, fuel prices have sky-rocketed and are becoming scarce. At least in Asia and Australia, fuel is getting hard to find. Australia imposed a restriction on providing fuel to "foreign" vessels. They're giving priority to domestic ships, which caused the Odyssey to re-evaluate our travel plans. Since fuel wasn't going to be available in Darwin, we did...
