THE AIRCRAFT Carrier USS Nimitz will soon be heading for Phuket with other American warships in a friendly invasion that should boost the island's tourism income.
Local police are expected to take measures to ward off the counter-invasion of katoey ladyboys that has greeted the increasing number of visits by American warships recently.
The Nimitz, USS Pinckney and USS Rentz arrive on January 31 and will be anchored off the island until February 4.
Security is expected to be increased but there have been no incidents so far as the US Navy opts to make Phuket its favorite stopping off spot in South East-Asia.
Last year the USS Ronald Reagan, world's biggest warship, dropped anchor off Phuket. The Nimitz is on a similar scale and the prospect of thousands of sailors with money to spend will delight bar operators and tour companies.
Many of the sailors are usually permitted to stay ashore in local resorts, and sometimes wives, husbands and families catch up with their in-service relatives on Phuket.
Shore leave is usually controlled by Navy patrols and sailors are well-briefed on what to do and what not to do. Jet-skis and other hired vehicles are supposed to be off-limits.
However, according to photographs online, naked bungy jumping appeared to be a popular pastime.
One sailor did have an encounter with jet-ski operator Winai ''JJ'' Neiman that was taped and screened on Youtube.
That and an incident involving British sailors helped lead to world's first insurance coverage for Phuket's jet-skis.
The USS Nimitz is a nuclear-powered multimission aircraft carrier with a large strike-fighter squadron on board. The ship's history includes several ''hot'' contacts and it has become a bit of a legend through the 1980 film 'The Final Countdown' in which the ship and crew are thrown back in time via a wormhole storm to December 6 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy also featured F-14s from Nimitz .
USS Pinckney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and USS Rentz is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided missile frigate.
Senior officers and crew from all three vessels will be attending a welcome function organised by the Phuket Navy League from 7pm-9pm on February 2 at BBQ Hut Smokehouse in Rat-U-Thit Road, Patong (opposite the Mercure).
The cost is 200 baht for members and 400 baht for visitors. E: info@navyleaguephuket.org
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CommentsAdd your comment using the form below. @christos Where have you been? The sex trade has been operating here well before you or 99 percent of PW readers ever got here! Rightly or Wrongly it's what built Phuket! Posted by Antz Pantz on Friday January 22, 2010 at 13:19 More and more the sailors are less sailors then a bunch of computer geeks and high skilled technicians on a boat. The tech is too expansive for brutal brawn, it needs brutal brain. That maybe explains the sad and rapid decline in sailors behavior as we know it - just think of this poor and childish performance of those British sailors with JJ. Posted by Lena on Friday January 22, 2010 at 16:37 Editor: Hmmm . . . and all this time I thought Phuket was built by Burmese laborers. You must have worked hard, Antz Pantz Posted by Antz Pantz on Friday January 22, 2010 at 19:25 US Warships Visit Brings Ladyboy Crime Invaders Phuketwan Exclusive The visit by USS Ronald Reagan and other US warships to Phuket has triggered an invasion by ladyboys, bent on a crime wave. Here's what one of their first victims has to say. US Warships Visit Brings Ladyboy Crime Invaders Big Debate: US Warships Heading for Phuket Today's Big Debate The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and two warships are heading for Phuket . . . to enjoy the island's delights on shore leave. What will they be doing? Big Debate: US Warships Heading for Phuket US Warships Anchor! Phuket's All Set to Rumble Extra Photos Added The USS Ronald Reagan anchors off Phuket with other US warships and a stream of sailors begin heading for the island. It's a bonus for tourism after a lean low season. US Warships Anchor! Phuket's All Set to Rumble Phuket Transport Chaos: Taxis Plan Airport Blockade Breaking News A protest by 150 limo and taxi drivers with their families is planned for Wednesday and another is threatened for the airport as the island's transport system descends into chaos. Phuket Transport Chaos: Taxis Plan Airport Blockade Phuket's Flash Splash: Waterpark Sneak Preview Theme Park Photo Special It's opening on January 30. Here's the first exclusive review of Phuket's Splash Jungle, a world class waterpark that should delight up to 2000 people a day. Phuket's Flash Splash: Waterpark Sneak Preview Phuket Honeymoon Crash Victim Aims for Home Latest Aimee Malonzo hopes to be on a flight home from Phuket to Australia later this week. Her family will be with her, on a flight that will also carry home her husband, crash victim Michael Malonzo. Phuket Honeymoon Crash Victim Aims for Home |
Friday March 12, 2010
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Here we go again, welcome to all the sex-starved American sailors! Such a boon for the local economy! The local government and the US Navy conspiring to promote the sex trade in Patong.
Editor: From what we've seen, the US sailors visiting Phuket lately have been a remarkably well-behaved bunch. Naked bungy jumping is about as outrageous as it gets.
Posted by christos on Thursday January 21, 2010 at 21:26