SocietyThailand
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SocietyThailandhttps://p.dw.com/p/5M6nb
286 days at sea, around 5,000 US Navy servicemen have docked at Thailand’s Laem Pier, a short ride away from the country’s most notorious and infamous city.
Here in Pattaya, Thailand is welcoming hordes of American servicemen spending their first days ashore in nine months, following a deployment extended in part by the US conflict with Iran.
But there are questions about what the US servicemen will be doing in Pattaya, given the city’s raucous reputation for sex workers, go-go bars, nightclubs and cannabis shops.
Pattaya’s connection with US servicemen dates back to the Vietnam War in the 1970’s when Thailand became a key American ally.
US forces operated from bases here in Thailand and Pattaya became the go-to rest destination for troops.
