September 19, 2024

There's our pretty lady! Off the shores of Belfast.

No, I have not missed her inaugural sail! Hopefully, I will be on board for that next week! We are sooo close! Don't want to speak to soon, but today VVR did private testing to make sure all systems are working as they should, and they did!! Thanks be to God! Tomorrow the ship will be loading with fuel, and four containers of provisions, medical equipment, coffee makers, supplies and parts. Then Friday, we have our hopefully final SEA TRIAL with the testing agency, DNV to get our final compliance certificate to SAIL! Then we need insurance and department of health sign offs Monday and hopefully by Tuesday, we have the green light to live on the ship and sail away!! We are supposed to then head to the Azores, then Bermuda and then down to Nassau, Bahamas, where we will rejoin our planned third segment in the Caribbean. Once we set sail and they post the revised itinerary, I will let you all know so we can make some plans to hook up. So, I am going to enjoy my last few days here in Philly with some more pool & friend time and a little work too!

WAT BANG KUNG & TRAIN MARKET - Bangkok ,Thailand

By Pat Patrick • July 21, 2026
Wat Bang Kung Temple was a quick stop along the way to the Train Markets . What makes this unique is the Temple is completely enclosed by roots of four giant trees (a banyan, bodhi and others). From the outside, it looks like nature has swallowed the building. Inside the chapel is a golden Buddha image, that locals still visit to pray. It was quite active during our short visit there. The Temple dates back over 250 years and survived the Burmese invasion.

BANGKOK, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

By Pat Patrick • July 21, 2026
We picked Sunday, hoping for less traffic, to explore two famous Markets. First we traveled about 1.5 hours to the Floating Markets at Damnoen Saduak . We hired a driver with a van for the day, to take the group of us. Below is some of the interesting architecture along the way.

BANGKOK, TALAD NOI Neighborhood, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • July 21, 2026
I was looking for a neighborhood to walk around in Bangkok , hoping to escape all the thousands of people and shady sex elements, that were all over the area ( Nana, Sukhumvit ), unfortunately where we booked our hotel, for supposed transit connivence. Shame on me for trusting others recommendations and not doing more research on my own, lesson learned! Thankfully Talad or Talat Noi provided that escape for me, for one night. Sadly we didn't make it there till after sunset, when a lot was closed. But I still enjoyed the quiet and chatting with Sherrie, as we explored the neighborhood's knooks and crannies.