US aircraft carrier docks near Thai beach resort Pattaya after record 250 days at sea

After a record 250 days at sea without a port stop, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has docked in Thailand, giving its nearly 5,000 crew members a much-needed break.

The ship is docking close to the beach resort of Pattaya, known for its raucous nightlife and for sex tourism. For the US it also carries strong historical echoes.

When the weary sailors walk into the city's bars and restaurants, they will literally be treading in the footsteps of the hundreds of thousands of US troops who came here for R&R – rest and relaxation - during the Vietnam War.

They transformed it from a sleepy fishing village to one of the world's most famous and frenetic party towns.

Today the neon-lit alleys running down to the beach are much quieter than usual. The bars in the city's famous Walking Street still screen videos on their walls of pole-dancing women, trying to lure customers inside.

But there are not many of those customers, and most seem to be family groups from the Middle East more interested in the Turkish ice-cream vendor than the go-go bars.

The Iran War, which has affected tourism and consumer spending, has hit businesses hard here. The prospect of thousands of American sailors, with nine months of salary unspent while at sea, offers a rare opportunity to local businesses.

The US carrier left San Diego last November on what was supposed to be a six-month assignment in the Pacific and South China Sea.