"WESTPAC ; ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA" Asia by miner

Asia Travel Guide: 258,087 reviews and 690,919 photos

"There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea,and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates." JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

I visited Asia on the U.S. Navy travel plan.My first trip was an exploratory adventure and my second trip I was a little more experienced as to the places to go and the pitfalls to avoid.
In 1971 we were homeported in Subic Bay,Phillippines and the second WESTPAC we were homeported in Yokosuka ,Japan.We visited the same countries with the exception of Vietnam but our duties remained pretty much the same.Several times we were called on to tow target sleds while other ships shot at us,and sometimes they shot too close to us.
This page will be mostly of underway photos about life on the boat in the 1973- 1974 WESTPAC.and taken from my cruise book. It really doesn't do justice to the actual day to day life aboard a Navy ATF during a long voyage.

Pros and Cons

Pros:FASCINATING PLACE TO VISIT
Cons:LONG WAY BY BOAT
In a nutshell:AWESOME ADVENTURES

Last visit to Asia: Dec 1970
Intro Written Sep 18, 2002
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Reviews (5)

The transit seemed to take... Transportation (1)

The transit seemed to take forever.Some of the crew decided to take leave time and fly back home.It is a trade off of... more travel advice

Meet the people!! Favorites (1)

Meet the people!! The sights are beautiful,the food is delicious,but I have found that meeting the homefolks wherever I... more travel advice

Good manners and a smile... Local Customs (1)

Good manners and a smile always seemed to go a long way.It doesn't hurt to learn a few polite phrases like thank you.I... more travel advice

Enlisted men's and Petty... Restaurants (1)

Enlisted men's and Petty Officer's clubs at the naval stations had good food and were inexpensive.The other ports I have... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (1)
When traveling in Asia...

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Comments (26)

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pepples46 Jun 15, 2003 at 5:37 PM

first: belated >Happy Birthday John, hope you had a great day!! I love the 1970 Travelouges......good time to travel too:-))thanks for your memories
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globetrott May 30, 2003 at 6:36 PM

a great page for my sailor`s heart ! Great to see your souvenirs, including a non-smoker-smoking... ;-))
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bugalugs Feb 15, 2003 at 11:28 AM

Thanks John for sharing your experiences!
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Ronald_T Jul 10, 2002 at 8:53 AM

Very good info, pics and T-logues John...
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matcrazy1 Jun 28, 2002 at 4:39 PM

Great naval jorney! Excellent page!
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dedeckerm. Jun 11, 2002 at 10:40 AM

Excellent page ! greetings Marleen
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shellseeker Jun 10, 2002 at 9:54 PM

very interesting page for me! thanks.
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lauriejeanne Mar 21, 2002 at 4:35 PM

I so agree with your advice about manners!
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richiecdisc Mar 16, 2002 at 3:19 PM

Some pieces of advice are timeless, this is one of them.
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Sharrie Nov 17, 2001 at 7:35 AM

I`ve to polish my proficiency skill in looking busy ;-)