Gary (FFG 51) - Naval Cruise Book

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The much awaited liberty port of Phuket. Thailand turned out to be a sailor ' s dream. The city greeted us with streets teeming with tw o of man ' s best friends: girls and dogs. What seemed to be whole families gathered side-saddle on a single moped. The vendors sold fake Rolexes and lobsters bigger than cats. For those of us who needed time to adjust our eyes to the bright lights of culture shock, a few steps off the bus was a big blue banner that met us saying. Welcome. U.S. Navy. We happened upon Southeast Asia ' s rainy season though even if we got caught in one of the many torrential downpours, we would dry out quickly as soon as the sun came back out. Sooner or later, we realized there were basically only two roads to walk up and down. Sailors could be found in such bars as The Butterfly and Alice ' s Place to enjoy cheap German beer or their classic American favorites. For the sober-type, such games as Jenga or Connect Four were also available in the bars to play either with the locals or some of the many other tourists. The exchange rate was in favor of the dollar so our baht seemed to go a long way. Being that even the great spirit of party is mortal, when the E-4 and above, who were allowed overnight liberty, needed to retire, they found the hotels to be quite reasonable, most being around SKI a night. Such hotels as the Manunai or the B and B Hotel found their business booming with sailor clientele. For those who ventured outside of Phuket there were many inexpensive tours available. Cultural places such as Buddhist temples placed outside ol monkey- filled caverns provided sailors endless entertainment. Perhaps movies are your thing ' ' PhangTai Island (known to the locals also as James Bond Island) became a pop icon when featured in the James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun. Some tours also featured lunch with Sea- Gypsies, a clandestine group of fishermen and women who live on houses built on stilts in the middle of the water. All in all. I think most of us left Thailand with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we did not want to leave, but on the other hand, no one could really predict what would happen to us if we didn ' t leave. The tropical, laid-back atmosphere was calming for all of us. knowing the stress that lay ahead of us in the Gulf.

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Mil

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BM2 Kinney - Surfing the World