Pattaya City

Pattaya City Information

Pattaya is nestled along a picturesque bay on the East Coast of the Gulf of Thailand, roughly 170 kilometers southeast
of Bangkok. From a fishing village in the 1960's, Pattaya has emerged as the favorite Southeast Asian vacation center.
A fascinating escape where tourists, holiday makers and vacationers from around the world unfold an incomparable
array of possibilities to unwind during an exotic holiday beach vacation. Unlike other beach resorts, where natural
surroundings are used as magnets to attract tourists, Pattaya makes an all-out attempt to provide the best of
everything.Here, everything means everything a tourist can imagine while on holiday: recreation, entertainment,sports
sightseeing and fun. To put it simply, Pattaya is a paradise for everyone, as it has a variety of attractions suitable for
all types of visitors. This is the place where you can fill your day, from dusk to dawn, with endless activities, or you
may choose to do nothing at all and relax.

Pattaya in the Past
Pattaya's name was originated from the march of Phraya Tak (later known as King Taksin the Great) and his followers
from Ayutthaya to Chanthaburi just before the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom to the Burmese invaders in 1767.When
Phraya Tak's army arrived in the vicinity of what is Pattaya today, he encountered the troops of Nai Klom who tried to
intercept him. When the two leaders met face to face, Nai Klom was awed by Phraya Tak's dignified manner and his
army's strict discipline, thereby surrendering without a fight. The place where the two armies confronted each other
was later called Thap Phraya, which means the Army of the Phraya. This was later changed to Phatthaya, which
happens to mean the wind blowing from the southwest to the northeast at the beginning of the rainy season. Today
the spelling ofthe name has been simplified to Pattaya.

For centuries, Pattaya was a small fishing village almost cut off from the outside world. But a big change occurred on
29 April 1961 when the first group of about 100 American servicemen who would join the Vietnam War arrived in
Pattaya for relaxation. Soon, sleepy Pattaya became Thailand's premier and most successful beach resort, which
annually attracts hundreds of thousands of pleasure-seeking visitors. A full range of accommodations from super
deluxe hotels to bungalows and mini-pocket guesthouses replaced fishermens huts along the beach. Fishing vessels
were adapted to become tourist boats and swimmers and sunbathers from various parts of the world frequented the
quiet powdery golden beaches. Places of nighttime entertainment have also sprung up and are popular among
international tourists.

Pattaya at the Present
Pattaya currently integrates the delights of a 1st class beach resort, city-like dining, shopping and night entertainment
facilities with more than 300 assorted hotels, thousands of shops, restaurants and bars. In addition, there are an
array of sports and recreational activities including beaches, golf courses, tennis courts, go-kart, gyms for working
out, weight lifting and Thai-boxing gear. Pattaya offers a broad range of things to do. During the day, one may enjoy
riding elephants or driving humble automatic mini-bikes, monstrous motorcycles, or even monster multicolored
convertible Jeeps. Others go for shooting firearms, scuba diving and surfing, deep-sea fishing, speed boats,
scooters, water-skiing parasailing, or aerial sports such as gliding ultra-lights and flying motor-propelled gliders.
On the other hand, at night, there are restaurants, bars, theaters, cabaret shows, night clubs, bowling halls, billiard
& snooker clubs, discos, sauna & massage parlors, not to cite its absolutely incredible shopping which is available
non-stop both day-and-night.