DISCOVER PATTAYA, Thailand

Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok in the province of Chon Buri. It is one of the largest centers of tourism in Thailand, with some 5 million visitors arriving in 2004.

Tourists visit Pattaya for many reasons including luxury hotels, beautiful beaches, friendly people, excellent shopping, reasonable prices and a wide variety of nearby tourist attractions. Others come for the world renowned nightlife.

The city had just over 100,000 registered inhabitants in 2007. This figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors.

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CLIMATE OF PATTAYA

Pattaya enjoys a tropical wet and dry climate, which is divided into the following seasons: warm and dry (November to February), hot and humid (March to May), and hot and rainy (June to October).

The most comfortable time of year coincides with the peak tourist season, which is over the Christmas and New Year period.

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HISTORY OF PATTAYA

Pattaya was simply a small fishing village until it was discovered as a beach resort by Bangkok residents in the 1960s. Soon thereafter, American servicemen from the U.S. Air Force base at U-Tapao in neighbouring Rayong province began using the area for "rest and recouperation" (R&R), causing a huge boom in prostitution. When the Americans left following the end of the Vietnam War, the city fell into a crisis. However, modern mass tourism, particularly sex tourism from Europe and America, brought a new lease of life to Pattaya.

The rapid growth of tourism brought about many negative consequences, such as petty crime and prostitution. These problems seemed beyond the capabilities of the Central Government. In 1976, the Pattaya City Act was passed by the Thai legislature, making Pattaya a self-administrating municipality governed by a Council-manager government. However, many argue that this administration system has drawbacks (for example, the mayor may disagree with the city manager). Critics have recommended abolishing the system.

In recent years the city has pushed hard to clean up its image and family-focussed entertainment is increasingly available, however the core sex-industry has ensured that Pattaya retains its position as one of the world's largest red light districts. In 2005, more than 35,000 hotel rooms were available in Pattaya.

Pattaya has seen a large increase in family tourism in recent years, thanks to efforts to present a more wholesome image. Pattaya is an especially popular vacation destination for families from Russia, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Pattaya also has a large international expatriate population and many services meet international standards.

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PATTAYA BEACH

Whilst Thailand has some of the world's most beautiful beaches, Pattaya's is not amongst them. Despite recent efforts to improve the beach, it remains in a sorry state. At high tide the beach is, in places, less than a meter deep. Pattaya Beach is situated along the central city in close proximity to shopping, hotels and bars. The over-abundance of jet-skis and speedboats has contributed to the pollution of the water along Pattaya Beach, as has the sewage outlet at the end of the pier. The section of beach from Central Road (Pattaya Klang) south to the harbor is adjacent to the core of Pattaya's abundant nightlife area, hence it is less family-oriented than the North Pattaya, Na Klua and Jomtien beaches.

Most sections of the beach are covered by rented deckchairs run by local beverage vendors during daylight hours so finding an available spot of sand is rather difficult and also unadvisable due to the poor condition (dog faeces etc.) of the beach. Visitors are advised to avoid the beach after dark. Although the Beach Road itself is busy and brightly lit, some criminal elements find the unlit beach useful as a cover for their activities. The local police have started to target this area in various ongoing clampdowns.

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JOMTIEN BEACH

Jomtien Beach is divided from the main part of Pattaya by Pratumnak Hill, just south of the city. In contrast to Pattaya Beach, Jomtien is a popular spot for family vacationers and watersports enthusiasts. Jomtien is essentially a residential area with beachside hotels, bungalow complexes, condominiums and restaurants. A wide array of watersport activities can be found, including jet-skis, para-sailing and scuba diving. Dongtan beach, in Jomtien, is known as the gay beach, and is busy every day of the year.

Jomtien Beach is divided from the main part of Pattaya by Pratumnak Hill, just south of the city. In contrast to Pattaya Beach, Jomtien is a popular spot for family vacationers and watersports enthusiasts. Jomtien's most visible landmark is the 56-story Pattaya Park tower, part of the Pattaya Park entertainment complex which also features a water park, roller coaster, monorail and children's activities. The Jomtien district is already home to one of the largest resorts in Asia, the 4000+ room Ambassador City Jomtien.

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ISLANDS OF PATTAYA

• Ko Lan: Ko Lan is a small island situated 7.5 km west of Pattaya. Ko Lan is accessible by speedboat and ferry. The ferry departs hourly, and is a 45-minute ride costing just 20 baht each way. Speedboats are more expensive, but can reach the island in less than 15 minutes. Ko Lan has several beaches, which are known for their cleanliness, relaxing atmosphere, soft white sand and crystal-clear water.

• Island groups: Off Pattaya there are two small island groups, the "Near Islands" (Ko Sak, Ko Krok) located close to the northern shores of Pattaya, very near Ko Lan, and the "Far Islands" (Ko Rin, Ko Man Wichai, Ko Hua Chang, and Ko Badan), located offshore directly west of Pattaya. These islands, especially the "Far Islands", are the primary scuba diving destinations in and around Pattaya.

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OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Other activities include golfing at the area's many golf courses, and there are 21 golf courses within 1 hour of Pattaya, go-cart racing, visiting the construction site of an elaborate private wooden temple known as Sanctuary of Truth, and different theme parks and zoos such as Mini Siam, and Elephant Village.

The private Sri Racha Tiger Zoo features several hundred tigers and thousands of alligators as well as some other animals. It has often been criticized for the animals' living conditions, and a worker was killed by tigers in 2004. There was a major bird flu outbreak at the zoo later that year.

The Vimantaitalay tourist submarine takes customers underwater to see corals and marine life just a few kilometers offshore. There are many boat trips from an hour to all day trips available, mostly leaving from Bali Hai Pier, near Walking Street.

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is located some 15 kilometers east of Pattaya. The 500-acre site has well maintained botanical gardens and an orchid nursery. Moreover the facility has lively cultural shows in a Thai village setting. In addition trained chimpanzees and elephants are seen at the garden.

Other attractions in Pattaya: The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, Elephant Village, Pattaya Park Beach Resort Water Park and Funny Land Amusement Park, Siriporn Orchid Farm, Underwater World Pattaya (world class aquarium), Alankarn cultural show, Sriracha Tiger Zoo, Bottle Art Museum, Mini Siam, Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, and Walking Street.

Some tourists take daytrips to nearby Rayong for beautiful beaches, as well as Ko Samet island.

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NIGHTLIFE AND PROSTITUTION

Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife, which caters primarily to western and Japanese foreigners. While there is much nightlife that is not directly related to prostitution, the central Pattaya Beach Area is known as a destination for sex tourism in Thailand, (alongside several districts in Bangkok and Phuket).

While prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, it is widely tolerated. An age limit of 20 is strictly enforced by the local police, with frequent police raids on venues, in order to uncover younger women. The raids also search for drugs, for which Thai law has very harsh penalties. The city has literally hundreds of beer bars, go go bars, and night clubs and discotheques. Virtually all of these are venues for selling sexual services in some form. The precise nature of how and when sexual services are sold varies widely. Most discos and nightclubs are venues for 'freelancers', while the bars on Soi 6 are essentially brothels. There are also several large massage parlors.

Since the "social order" crackdown of 2004, there are very few live on-stage sex shows (such as the ping pong shows) although they can sometimes still be found. Depending on the enforcement climate, go-go dancers may be seen fully nude, topless, in bikinis or shorts and tops, on different days or weeks.

Another important, but understated aspect of Pattaya are the foreign restaurants. Often run by expats, most offer quality food at prices far below those found in Bangkok, Samui or Phuket. Muay Thai (Thai boxing) matches aimed at tourists can be seen at many of the open-air beer bar complexes.

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MEDIA IN PATTAYA

Pattaya has several foreign language newspapers, most come out weekly. The English newspapers include Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Today, Pattaya People. Additionally, there are French, Norwegian, German, Russian and Japanese publications. There are several English language cable t.v. programs with news and video reports from Pattaya. There are also several tourist magazines, most of them come out monthly. One of the best known of these is the EYE Magazine.

From Wikipedia.org

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