How US military presence spurred Pattaya’s rise into Thailand’s city of pleasure

The Amazon deliveries stopped reaching the USS Abraham Lincoln in February as it entered the conflict zone with Iran. A few weeks later – much to the chagrin of the sailors on board – even that most American of meals, the hamburger, was compromised by supply shortages when burger buns ran out.But as they unwind on their first shore leave in 286 days, the 5,000 crew of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier are finding out what tens of thousands of their forebears already knew: Pattaya will provide.“I lost a lot of weight on board,” said one young sailor, who was not authorised to speak to the media. “But I’m putting it back on here. We’re just eating and drinking as much as we can.”The USS Abraham Lincoln is seen docked at Laem Chabang Port, near the Thai city of Pattaya, on Thursday. Photo: AFPThe Lincoln, whose fighter jet squadrons have launched strikes on Iran, has spent a record time at sea, with complaints over food shortages and even the crew’s mental health reaching American media.The length of its deployment without shore leave has stirred fierce debate over the White House’s treatment of its service personnel during the war on Iran.It is a conflict, fought alongside Israel, that was meant to take a few days or weeks but is now in its seventh month as Tehran fights to a stalemate.For some of the Lincoln’s crew – certainly the younger ones – thoughts appear to have moved on from the pains of deployment to how to maximise the four days in Pattaya, Thailand’s unbridled eastern beach resort, where roads teem with raucous bars, restaurants and massage parlours.