USS Abraham Lincoln: US sailors unwind in Thailand by shopping and bar-hopping - BBC News

With military haircuts and moustaches, the US sailors stand out against the flip-flops of the usual Pattaya crowd.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be played

Watch: Why US troops have a history in this raucous Thai city

Far from hitting the bars and fleshpots of the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, in their first hours onshore most of the nearly 5,000 sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln seemed determined to go shopping.

At the Hard Rock Hotel – one of two beachside hotels where they were able to stay off the ship – they hung around clutching their recent purchases. But perhaps, after a record 250 days confined inside a grey steel warship, the normality of a trip to the mall might have been just what they needed.

With their military haircuts, moustaches and navy t-shirts, they stood out against the usual Pattaya crowd in flip-flops and beachwear.