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NSTU, Pago-Pago American Samoa - GCA International, Inc tel 684 699 7877 fax 684 699 6655 CONUS POC (tel) 623 935 6520 fax 623 935 6568 (aircraft ground handling company). Rainmaker Hotel (dump) is the only hotel that is survivable. Roaches, rats, mildew and no cable. The air conditioning works almost half the time. Good places to eat are a ten minute walk away and will be obvious as you walk by. DO NOT CREW REST HERE. ~I concur the Rainmaker sucks, But there is hope the Pago Pago Inn and there

Tashkent, Uzbekistan is a real gem in the rough. The Hotel Intercontinental (011 998 71 120 7000) is a great place. The embassy gets the per-diem rate. Food in the hotel is xpensive so try to eat on the economy. You get bags of money here as Per Diem, but can eat at local restaraunts... with beer for about 5-7 dollars... The hotel would run you about $20. The bar in the hotel has Happy Hour from 5-8 where you get two for one beers or local vodkas. That makes the beer about 3-4 dollars each if yo

Fujairah, UAE - When TDY to Fujairah you are at the whim of the Navy ATOC. There are four hotels they will send you too. They are the Hilton, Siji, Oceanic, and the Ritz. Stay in them in that order. The Hilton is on the water and is really nice. The Siji has just been renovated and is downtown, the rooms are the size of racquetball courts- pretty nice. The Oceanic is on the water and the hotel is nice. It's flaw is that it's a 45 minute bus ride away- standard tiny buses, it sucks. The Ritz is t

Erkelit, Turkey - Hilton Hotel was a palace! Just returned from a week-long trip to the European Tactical Airlift Meet in Turkey. Erkelit AB is the home of most of Turkey's Airlift forces. Hotel was incredible. Most rooms have California Kind-Sized beds (some have 2 twins... roll of the dice). Bathrooms have real Turkish Cotton towels and large, CLEAN bathtubs with showers. The breakfast buffet was included in our $50/night room rate and is second to none: 3 kinds of eggs, sausage, fruit galore,

Saudi Arabia Toro says this place stinks. If you are coming here, pray (to Allah) that is only a TDY where you can gas and go, then get the f*** out of there while enjoying a month of tax free. The people are rude, the drivers are worse than any country I have ever been to, they shut everything down five times a day to pray, you can't get s*** done because nobody has any sense of urgency, and working with the Saudis makes me want to shoot myself if the face on a daily basis. No booze, all

Al-Udeid, Qatar - I also spent several days as a transient at Al-Udied in Qatar. That place just went up after Sept 11th. It's so new, on the rotator out, NOBODY could tell me where Al-Udied was. It wasn't until I was in Bahrain that anybody had a clue. They still have a lot of stuff to work out. Persco/billeting was a disaster. We had to fight to get our flight from there to Seeb--calling ATOC several times per day. They also use the 3 beer/day rule, but it's 7 days a week. They serve from 0700

Islamabad, Pakistan - If you ever get stuck at PAF Chaklala overnight, there is a one man TALCE crew that will take you to the Serena Hotel, about 30 minute drive. This place is the best kept secret in the AOR. Not only is meal per diem $63/day, but this place looks and feels like a palace. I would not wonder far off from the serena, but if you have plenty of time and need a drink, catch a ride to the AmerEmbassy (about 4 blocks away). Go to the only club/eating establishment on the compound (it

Muscat (Seeb Int'l), Oman - The C-130 base ops put us up at the Hotel Intercontinental in Muscat, awesome place. (Phone: +968-600 500, fax: +968-600 012 email: muscat@interconti.com) About 25 minute drive from the base. They have a buffet on the ground floor, a little pricey, but ask for the American Embassy meal cards from the C-130 base ops before going down town (then your meals will be paid for without using your perdiem!). Has a great pool and health club. Be careful, the Flight meals you o

Ganci Airbase - Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - Tent city set up after 911. Good services: BX, gym, rec centers (x3) with a 2-beer limit via beer ration card, movies, barber, library. No Burger King, Pizza, etc. Chow hall is a mix of UGR's (bulk MRE's) and some fresh food. Possibly expect MRE's for inflights or stock up on pretzels and coke at the BX. If staying long, morale trips into downtown available. Email/internet work good. Tents have proper bunks with mattresses. Check NOTAMS well. Local control i

Amman, Jordan - Le Meridian hotel was a Palace! Modern European style hotel. The embassy guys can hook you up with this place. Several places to eat at the hotel and two bars in the lobby! Avoid going through the airport terminal on the way back to the aircraft if possible. The "customs" officer is well known for shaking down the crews for "gifts" for his "friend in customs". He will hit you up for money to buy smokes to give to his friend in order so "smooth" over a fictitious problem with your

Ali Al Salem AB, Kuwait - As of 14 Dec 2003, there are four types of rooms available for the flyer types. Small Room, Smaller Room, Smallest Room and Tent. The aircrew will get stuck with two or three per room. Some of the rooms have their own bathroom or the common bathroom in the middle of the building. If you are there for a while, the tents are a better option (more room). Dining hall is marginal - if you can stand all the cats and rats running around. Beg, borrow, steal a vehicle from Trans

Kirkuk AB, Iraq- Kirkut is a nice place to spend your time in Iraq... Everyone is now in Mods and the Army are in their Pods. Chow hall is good, hey lets face it there is nothing wrong with eating ice cream during alarm conditions. Beware in the rainy season as there dust there turns to mud and gets very deep. Rooms were sitting 7 for Airmen, 6 for NCO 4-5 SNCO Officers 3-4 per room and commanders have their own pod. Tallil, Iraq - Transient Tent was okay. Had to spend the night when the herk

Cairo, Egypt - Tiger Aviation Services will take great care of you and are very reliable. Tiger will do all of the handling including paying for transportation to and from the Hotel. Sheraton Heliopolis (2022677730) is 10 min from Apt., other hotels closer to downtown can be over 1 hr in peak traffic times. Hotel is great, and within per diem rates, pool, gym, good security with over 5 restaurants. ~Swissotel, El Salam was great. Very nice hotel, 3 restaurants (Italian, Indian/Thai, French Style

Dhaka, Bangladesh - Paradise Garden Hotel Ltd Pvt. was decent. One of four embassy approved places that air crew can stay at. There is no fire protection here, no sprinklers or fire extinguishers here. The ability to have any kind of force protection is non existent as there is easy access to the front of the hotel, no gates, and the hotel staff will give out room numbers and names to anyone who asks. Our entire crew got sick when we were there, but that could have been from any place. The inter

Bahrain - Book rooms at the Diplomat Hotel through the Navy ATOC. Hotel is amazing for the Middle East. Great Irish pub downstairs and just short cab ride away from the islands bars. Great pool and poolside bar(usually being visited by British Airways flight attendants); Good restaurant. Highly recommend hitting the Savage Garden disco a few blocks away. Note for aircrews, make sure you get everyone's room number since the staff sometimes had trouble looking up English-sounding names. The Gulf H

Waterkloof AB, South Africa - USDAO Pretoria will set you up well. They provide a contracted embassy driver to take you wherever you wish to go. The drivers know the best places to go (as well as where to avoid) for food, clubs and souvenirs. The embassy will even set you up for a photo safari. South African Air Force is a great host. They'll set you up with anything you need flight wise and will normally greet you with at least a case of the local brew. Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport is a nic

Dakar, Senegal - Presidential Meridian is decent and is the nicest hotel around. It is on the water and offers plenty to do right there at the hotel/resort. The poolside restaurant might be the most ideal spot for seeing the topless French ladies and the food is pretty good. Nine of us on the crew decided to go downtown to the market (free hotel van both ways) for some shopping; Don't Do It! Usually nine crewmembers all together are pretty safe....not here. As soon as the van rolled away, we wer

Niamey, Niger - Grand Hotel was a dump! Stayed one night, thank god! We were in the bungalows, which left a lot to be desired. The air-conditioner worked well, but the bathroom was disgusting. One crewmember found a camel spider in his room when he turned his lights on. On a good note, the food at the grill was very good. I had the brochettes of steak, they were excellent. You pay for the food and drinks separately, I guess everyone has to make their own money. Bring cash, credit cards of any ki

Merrakech, Morocco - Sheraton was only10 minutes from the airport, this hotel has excellent pool and restaurant. 2 bars with normal and professional action. Cabs can take you to the souks for shopping and seeing the sites. Only falls w/in per diem in summer and fall.

Mombasa, Kenya - Travellers Beach Hotel was nice. Stayed in Mombasa for two nights, awesome place, definitely a recommend. The primary place you will get set up by the Embassy Rep there is the White Sands Resort, which is even better. We drank there and went to take pictures, but they were full so we stayed at the next hotel over (Travellers Beach Hotel), which was great. $85/night which included breakfast and dinner. A good place to hang out is about a 400 shilling($5) cab ride away is Pemba Di

Djibouti - Djibouti itself resembles a landfill. There is garbage everywhere. The rooms on the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors are nice at the Sheraton Djibouti (253 25 1287phone /253 35 5892 fax) ...what one would expect from a Sheraton. They are $120 per night and include breakfast. However, the rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors are heinous. There are roaches in the bathroom as well as roaches in the small refrigerators that are in the rooms. Some of the toilets work and some don't. When I turned on my

N'Djamena, Chad - Novotel hotel was decent. Overall, it was better than expected. Beer and food at the pool restaurant was very good- the pizza was impressive! The rooms were livable and the a/c worked nicely. They do accept the gov\'t credit card. There is a business with internet, but they opened late and we didn\'t get to use it (the only way around to check weather and NOTAMS). Do NOT take any pictures- they say you can be shot, especially around the Presedential palace.

Yaounde, Cameroon - The Yaounde Hilton was a dump! There's a nauseating smell in the air, inside hotel, and your room (I think it was the locals). The rooms are clean and free of insects, however, the water IS NOT potable and the water color is light brown. Two nights were spent here, the first night the water ran clear after 15 minutes; the second night the water stayed light brown. Disgusting!!! The restaurant in the hotel is suitable. There is at least something on the menu an American will e

Boscome Down RAF, Salisbury, UK - Boscombe Down is just SW of RAF Lyneham. Slightly smaller base, but much bigger town. Kings Head Inn had probably the best pub in town, packed every night, good food. Rooms were average, no broadband or wi-fi internet. After the pubs close go to the Mill across the street from Kings Head or down a few blocks to The Church. Another decent place to stay was the White Horse Inn. No pub there, average rooms, but the have free wi-fi. Brize Norton RAF, United Kingd

Moron AB, Spain -If you're coming to Moron, you're either going to war or supporting some contingency (ie some AEF swap out or in and out of a stage) or you won't be here for very long. Regardless, life's going to suck while you're on base. There is no such thing as staying off base (since there's nowhere to stay). If you know you're going to be here 30 days or more, call in EARLY to the Hotel Frontera (DSN: 314-722-8098, Commercial: 011-34-95-584-8098) and reserve a room. The reservations clerk