Tuscaloosa (LST 1187) - Naval Cruise Book

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Before long, the more curious of the Sail- ors and Marines began to venture further away from the Naval Base to places such as Manila, the vastly growing metropolis and well known international center, and Angeles City, home of the Clark Air Base. Other places of attraction were the rice terraces at Banuae, and of course the Pagsanjan Falls which featured a one and a half hour boat ride up the Pagsanjan River to the beautiful cascade of water falling down 200 feet off of a jagged-edged cliff. Grande Island offered an excellent oppor- tunity for us to bask ourselves in the hot sun on the picturesque beach or to suit up with SCUBA gear and explore the underwater coral reef. The BataanCorregidor Peninsula also attracted the attention of many Sailors and Marines. This small strip of land was rich with history from the days of World War ll. How proud the Marines felt as they retraced the footsteps of the fighting men who had once worn the same uniform on the Bataan Death March and through the Malinta Tun- nel, sacrificing their lives in defense of our country. ln many respects, much of the Philippine Islands has become a tourist attraction. The Filipinos exhibit a style of life and culture that is all their own. 83

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TI-IE PHILIPPINES The Philippine Islands, what an exper- ience! Probablythe most accurate word to describe the feeling gotten by Sailors and Marines visiting the Philippines for the first time was culture shock. But after mooring pierside along Subic Bay's Naval Flepair Fa- cility on five separate occasions, we came to know and better understand these unique surroundings. To begin with, there was Olongapo City, which is located just outside the maingate of the Naval Base. After crossing the bridge, the mysteries and wonders of Magsaysay Drive were straight ahead. Deceptively quiet throughout the day, Olongapo came alive at night, providing all the liberty hounds with shopping and entertainment. Many of us de- cided to pay a visit to the assortment of shops and boutiques which housed tailors, wood carvers, painters, craftsmen, barbers, and the list goes on. Meanwhile, others tried one of the many restaurants which ranged from small carts selling unique barbeques to larger establishments specializing in oriental cuisine. qw ff 1 ' QTOPI: The infamous Magsaysay Drive IABOVEJ: Market Place in Baguio City

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PATTAYA BEACH Soon after wading ashore following a con- venient bangka boat ride, we discovered that Pattaya Beach was not only a relaxing beach front area, but was also surrounded by several small off-shore islands. Basically, all of Pattaya consisted of one straight road approximately 2.5 miles long. Both the northern and southern parts of the beach were bordered by more than 30 hotels and a great variety of taverns and restaurants. Nu- merous cabana umbrellas and palm trees stood between the beach and the main road. Transportation was amply provided for vistiors going both up and down the beach through the use of the 5 Baht buses, which were small open sided trucks capable of car- rying about 12 people. The hotel accomondations ranged from 'I .f deluxe international hotels to petite, 395- breeze cooled bungalows on the beach, Dozens of food stalls were located along the main drag offering the more adventurous Sailors and Marines a strictly Thailand meal, At the upper end of the beach, there were some restaurants that did offer international cuisine. And for those eager to partake in Thailand's exciting night life, there was a wide variety of Nite-Clubs and dancing eg- tablishments which supplied truly fabulous entertainment including the intensely com- petitive Kick-Boxing matches or the capti- vating Elephant and Snake shows. The Golden Budda was found by accident when a destruction company was extending the port of Bangkok. Experts believe that the Golden Budda was camouflaged to keep the invading Burmese from finding it in the early 18th century. 84 5525? 'W