Patong in June 2004

[Jim W]

Does anyone know when the US Navy will be in town cause I am planning a trip over in June and think I may delay if the boys are in town at this time.

 

[Zorro]

Agreed...

I like the guys but when they are around it gets expensive and absolutely crazy - Maybe we should have an early warning system...

 

[Nick B]

Cobra Gold is between May and August. Thats all i know.

 

[Miss Pierce]

what is cobra gold?
and i been told that when they in patong it aint to bad,there never tons out at one time.is this true???i never seen them there in my 3 trips.
bet it good time to see some rucks,typical yanks think they run/own/have a say in everything.in pattaya i seen pictures of when they there and there where tons of em.but there shed loads more women in pattaya so it problably aint to bad and you can still get plenty of chicks.but i bet in patong its a nitemare.
steve

 

[JenV]

is ok i now no,i did a bit of research and it looks like 21 may to 6 june are pencilled in as it says on the apan forums.
i didnt really want to bump into any of em either so them dates suit me
steve

 

[BeYoNd It ALL...{{2.2.0}}]

Cool, I hope u double check your source, because this is a good news for me too !!!

Have good vaccation steve

 

[Pompal 09.]

I have been to Phuket twice when there has been the US Navy on a visit, but never during Cobra Gold, and have never seen any hassle or price hikes - though there are a few entrepreneurs selling bottles of beer out of cool boxes on Bangla. I have found the military police keep pretty close tabs on everything.
Quite a few of the "local" BGs don't like the USN ever since a BG was thrown of a balcony of the Royal Paradise, having been gang raped. Usually get a lot more girls coming into Patong from far away.

 

[Roman Legion]

I've been there twice when the American Navy has arrived and I thought the same as you guys but a strange thing happened. All the Navy boys partnered up with what I consider to be the "not so good looking " girls and left the stunners alone. I could'nt think of a reason why this would occur except one, maybe there was a prize for the ugliest BG and they all wanted to win it as we all know how competetive they are.

 

[Blazin_luvv]

MET THE YANKS[NAVY] IN JAN 2000.
THEY WERE THE MOST OBNOXIOUS BUNCH OF TWATS I EVER MET IN MY LIFE,THANK GOD MY TOUR IS IN JULY....145 DAYS AND COUNTING,I AM HOME 25 DAYS FROM MY LAST TOUR AND I AM STILL DEPRESSED......
JONNY

 

[[killer]kelli.(:]

Hi there. . .

I have to say that in my rather extensive experience with overseas travel, (around 35 countries now) I do find myself intentionally avoiding anything but minimal contact with American tourists. Not only have I found them overbearing and rude, but on the whole, extremely naive also.

I have seen them literally roaring at staff in many Restaurants, both in Bangkok and Pattaya, and snapping their fingers for service. I find this type of behaviour in someone elses country, totally obnoxious.

As far as the US Navy visits are concerned, I would certainly change my travel plans just to avoid them. I have heard of incidents of Thai stall owners being assaulted, because one of the items on sale were teeshirts with a picture of Osama Bin Laden on the front.

Conversely, I must say that having been twice to the US, I have found them to be quite pleasant and 'service oriented' in their own environment.

Cheers

Pdm3

 

[georgemaddenbarcelona]

I sometimes laugh at the yanks , one time i saw 3 young american guys walking up beach rd , mid-day burning sun and all of them had very long baggy jean shorts on , baseball shirts and caps , trainers (or sneakers ) and wait for it .....all had white socks on ...HAHAHAHA

 

[Don M]

I havent seen them much since September 11, before they used to come here every 2-3 months for a 4-5 days R&R.

The guys I have met have been very friendly and nice, althought many of them are just young boys wanting to have fun. I also arranged a party for the medical department at USS Bonhomme Richard and we had fun, we started at 01 in the daytime and continued all day and night. (The only time I had a busy bar during daytime!) They paid in advance for food and drinks and they behaved and were nice and friendly.

I guess the few of them with bad behaviour gives them all a bad reputation, but I never had any problems, althought I heard about fightings between them and one lady who worked at USS Bonhomme were raped and killed on the beach by another sailor, he was arrested and later picked up by the military police to be brought back to US.

Most of the time they also arrive in small numbers and you dont really noticed them, only a few times they arrived in numbers of 4-5000 sailors, which were good for the bars in low season to make some money.

 

[oldtownfolk]

Well, my only experience is of one four-day period in Pattaya twenty years ago, but then I found them to be easy-going, polite and friendly. The only problem was that prices rose by 50% until they left, but since they spent at the rate of a million US dollars a day (not sure how much that would be now), they were effectively subsidising us for the rest of our stay.

We never saw any sign of trouble, but that might have had something to do with the fact that our hotel had a lot of the Chief Petty Officers staying there and the Shore Patrol/MP's were everywhere. Or maybe they were just well briefed.

Equally, unsympathetic comments about 9/11 or Afghanistan or Iraq might well get right up their noses. Which is not a good idea if the other guy is part of a group, young, fit, trained to combat and slightly drunk.

As for being rude and arrogant, this is a class rather than a nationality thing. I have met many american tourists in Britain and 95% were nice people and good company. Take a look at the middle-eastern tourists in Thailand, or go to Greece or southern Spain and see how the Brits, Scandinavians and Germans behave. Those who have been brought up to behave will behave. Those who haven't won't.

Cheers

LL

 

[Ballet Dancer]

i was in patong when the americans were there in 2002 when that girl got killed and obviousely apart from that they seemed to behave fine in general,their was the odd gobshite,but could you imagine the carnage if 5000 british marines or paras turned up on the lash! so overall i was pretty impressed.And also now speaking from hands on experiance working in the travel industry i would say that the americans are among the most polite tourists in the world!(not quite asgood as the japanese though).

 

[theoneandonlycharlotte]

US Navy in LOS eh ? ...........thats a lot of se(a)men floating around ..hehe

 

[Pompal 09.]

Does this mean the y will be spending leisure time after the 6th or during the dates you mentioned cause I was plannint to come to Phuket early june.
Cheers.

 

[toad]

Can'nt really say i enjoy being in Patong when the US Forces arrive in town,
I have been there many times when they have arrived in full force,
A fella isnt so really sort after when there are more targets to choose from and there are of course lots less targets for me to choose from as well,
I usually enjoy a more relaxed "sit back and choose in my own time" holiday than a frenzied "gotta to get a good one quicksmart before they all disappear rushabout",
Low Season is the time for me, less Ferangs and a more relaxed time there,
Although it is good for the Ilsands economy i believe the Ilsand may well become more of a hit zone for terrorist activities wanting to take a swipe at the Americans and any other poor bugger there trying to holiday and have a good time
The Yanks generally have a reputation for being "Cheap Charlies" amongst the working women/Bars which in turn can stand the average bloke there trying to get laid in goodstead ,but there are usually so many of them there that the women do inevitabley get side tracked into chasing the elusive Yank Dollar,
I have known some working girl mates there in Patong to go off with a Yank Sailor/Marine for a short time and get paid up to 2000Baht,
Timed my friend once and she was back in the bar with a big smile within 30 min...,2000baht richer and looking for another !
I witnessed one poor Marine,a young fella, get caught buying dope from a person over the counter of a bar one evening,
He was seen doing this by a Marine MP,a big bloke built like brick shithouse and with a face hard as nails,
He was told in no uncertain terms "that once he was back on that boat his was life was going to turn to a world of shit"
Laughed me box off at that one as i thought the young fella was gonna piss his pants,
Some of my lady friends there once told me of a Horrific story where a young women was lured back to a hotel room and then gangraped by 6 others who were hiding in the toilet
The poor soul suffered severe internal injuries and needed immediate surgical attention,effectively screwing up her life big time,
The Culprits were never caught,
One lass i knew had a condom break on her,
She was wise enough to get the guy's ID and name in case she fell pregnant to him to which she did,
She then contacted the US Navy telling them of her woes,
How she accomplished this i do not know,
Tests were carried out,
The Dude is now paying Millitary Maintenance to her forced upon him by his Superiors,
But the Thai government being completely Foreign Currency Orientated will of course allow them to come back and visit,
I just hope they do not attract the attention of Terrorists,

 

[/<@te]

anyone has any updates on when the US Navy will be in Phuket??

 

[King Brace]

You know guys I am sure the US Navy, CIA, FBI and US Postal Service are monitoring this thread with interest thinking its a cover for a terrorist chat...

Don't be suprised when your front door is blown of its hinges and a dozen black jumpsuited gun monkeys come crashing through the bedroom window...

 

[Larry E]

In the past it was possible to get preliminary dates of their arrives from the beachguard or at his gold shop in ocean. One page with a schedule for the coming 6-12 months or something. Later they changed their policy and would only confirm one week before arrival.

But usually I could hear from the girls or hotel staff when they were arriving atleast few weeks in advance.