Pattaya hotel, hotels and resorts in Pattaya Thailand

Pattaya

Pattaya is 147 kilometres south east of Bangkok, and
faces the Gulf of Thailand. Pattaya is Asia's premier beach resort, and caters with equal appeal to Pattaya's relaxing tropical ambience and is synonymous with every ingredient necessary for a memorable holiday.

Accommodation ranges from luxuriously appointed beachside hotels with superb convention facilities to simple guesthouses.

Sporting opportunities abound both on land and water, and include some of the finest golfing, game fishing and scuba-diving anywhere in Asia.

Theme and amusement parks, offbeat museums and lush botanical gardens offer numerous forms of leisure activities and cultural entertainment for all family members.

And, after dark, Pattaya offers all the allure and magic of a truly vibrant nightlife with a spectacular variety of restaurants, nightclubs, bars, discotheques, cocktail lounges and cabarets.

Pattaya can be brash, bold, beautiful, and offers everything an authentic international beach resort can.

Residents and Lifestyles

Pattaya has many expatriate residents, and is essentially an international tourist resort and expanding city, so the Thai population is itself very internationalised. Most notices are in English as well as Thai, and you will find plenty of signboards in German and even Russian. Most vendors are used to non-Thai speakers and are ready with at least a smattering of English or German, vigorous miming, a smile, and an ever-ready calculator. Few of the Thai residents can claim to be natives of the locality. Even so, they haven't abandoned their traditional culture, and beneath the glossy city veneer you will still find evidence of underlying ethnic beliefs and customs.

Local Culture
Within twenty years, Pattaya has been transformed from a sleepy fishing community
into an international resort often referred to as the 'Thai Riviera'. Pattaya is literally a place where East meets West, both in colour and character, and is probably the most cosmopolitan place in Thailand after Bangkok.

History

Fifty years ago Pattaya was a sleepy little fishing village, dwarfed by her neighbours-to the North, Naklua, to the South, Rayong. Its only claim to fame being that it had, in the 13th century, been a resting place for the battle forces of the great King Narai during his campaign to oust the Burmese invaders. From that overnight bivouac, Pattaya derives its name.

Then came the Vietnam war and incursion of more benign foreign troops. Thailand supported the Americans efforts in the area by providing bases, manned by thousands of young Americans requiring rest and recreation.

How is it possible to fix the date of an historical trend? Whilst Pattaya had achieved some popularity with a few adventurous souls who braved the rough road from Bangkok to take adventage of the crystal waters, great diving and soon following them, beach bars and restaurants, let us take the time when, on the 29th June 1959, four or five transport trucks loaded with American G.I.'s arrived in the village of Pattaya on leave from their base at Nakhon Ratchasima. On arrival in Pattaya they rented houses belonging to Phraya Sunthorn which were along the southern end of Pattaya Beach, now know as the "Strip" The marines stayed for about a week and returned to the base. Having had a great time in Pattaya with the friendly residents, they spread the word. A new group of marines kept arriving periodically and the village geared up to cater to their every need. This can be considered as the birth of Pattaya as a tourist resort.

Pattaya continued to grow in popularity at such a rate with both Thai and foreign tourists, that the local government could not cope with the administration. Administrative and infrastructure combination with Naklua, took place in 1976 and the government promulgated the Pattaya a City Act in B.E. 2521 (1978), there by joining Naklua and Pattaya to form the fifth local government municipality. Thus Pattaya City born, and thus, with and ever-increasing influx of visitors and residents from the burgeoning surrounding industrial estates, has it developed into what it is today.