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Pattaya  is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand (12°55'39'N, 100°52'31'E Coordinates: 12°55'39'N, 100°52'31'E), 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 annually. 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 and prostitution.

For centuries, Pattaya was a small fishing village. But a change occurred on April 26, 1961, when the first group of about 100 American servicemen who were fighting in the Vietnam War arrived in Pattaya for relaxation. From this beginning, Pattaya became a popular beach resort which now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. Fishermen's huts along the beach were replaced by resort hotel and shopping malls. Fishing vessels were adapted to become tourist boats. And of course, Walking Street evolved to serve the servicemen's need for sex, shortly followed by centres for gay prostitution.

The city has around 100,000 registered inhabitants. However this figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors. Current estimates usually put the population at more like 500,000.

So what's here and what makes Pattaya so special?

Climate

 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.

The Beaches

Pattaya Beach

Apart from the night life, Pattaya's main attractions are its beaches. 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. 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.

Jomtien Beach

Jomtien Beach is divided from the main part of Pattaya by Buddha 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'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. This may soon be overshadowed by the proposed 91-floor Ocean 1 ("O1") Tower construction of which is due to start "in late 2006", with completion scheduled for 2011. With an overall height of 367 meters, it would be the tallest building in Thailand and one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. The Jomtien district is already home to one of the largest resorts in Asia, the 4000+ room Ambassador City Jomtien.

Islands

For a change, why not visit one of the islands with its crystal clear waters?

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.

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.

Shopping

In recent years, new shopping malls, outlet stores and jewelry stores have opened up, which has helped in increasing the length of stay of visitors to the city. Among the shopping malls are:

- Central Festival, Pattaya Second Road – Indoor mall anchored by a large department store; also has a SF Cinema City branch, branches of all the major banks and a large number of restaurants. Particularly prevalent here are the Japanese restaurants. .

- Carrefour, Pattaya Central Road

- Mike Shopping Mall, Beach Road

- Royal Garden Plaza, Beach Road – Three-story indoor mall with a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum and an SF Multiplex cinema. Also has a Sizzler restaurant, Au Bon Pain, KFC, McDonald's, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, ZEN Japanese restaurant, Swensen's, Hagen Daz, Pizza Company, Delice de France, and a large food court. The Marriott Hotel is adjacent.

- Tesco Lotus, Pattaya North Road

- TukCom, Pattaya Tai (South) Road, boasts a large computer/IT complex offering reasonable prices.

 Pattaya has many large home improvement stores including Home Mart, HomeWorks, Home Pro, Kanyong and True Value.

 There are several large nightly markets in different parts of town.

Nightlife

 Pattaya is renowned for its night-life, which caters primarily to foreigners. While some of this is unrelated to prostitution, the central Pattaya Beach Area is known as a destination for sex tourism (alongside several districts in Bangkok and Phuket). While prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, it is widely tolerated.

The city has literally hundreds of beer bars, go go bars, and night-clubs/discotheques. Virtually all of these are venues for in some form. The nature of commercial sex varies widely; the standard system of "bar fines" is the most common, but there are many exceptions. Most notably, discos and nightclubs are venues for freelancers, while the bars on Soi 6 are essentially brothels. There are also several large massage parlors.

The Boyztown, Sunee Plaza and Jomtien Complex areas are famous for their many gay nightclubs, cabarets and go-go clubs. Krazy Dragon itself is located in Sunee Plaza, the heart of the Extreme City. You can find all the information you want about Sunee Plaza on their website - www.suneeplaza.info This site gives a list of all the events going on in the Plaza, as well as brief descriptions of all the bars, clubs, restaurants etc.

Pattaya is known for its cabaret revues featuring kathoeys (male-to-female transsexuals), with Alcazar and Tiffany's being the largest and most elaborate.

Unlike some nightlife areas in Bangkok (particularly Nana Plaza and Patpong) there are not at present any dedicated kathoey go go bars, although there are some smaller bars which have kathoey staff.

Since the "social order" crackdown of 2004, there are very few 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 or in bikinis on different days or weeks.

Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) matches aimed at the tourists can be seen at many of the open-air beer bar complexes.

Another important but understated aspect of Pattaya are the excellent foreign restaurants. Often run by expats, most offer excellent food at prices far below those found in Bangkok, Samui or Phuket. High quality German, British, American, Mexican and Indian food can easily be found.

Healthcare

Many foreign tourists come to Pattaya for dental and medical care, for first class treatment at reasonable prices. Large hospitals in the area include Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Pattaya International Hospital, Banglamung Hospital, and Pattaya Memorial Hospital.

Other Attractions

We can recommend a great company for supplying tours to other areas - their service is efficient and reasonably priced. Check out Pattaya Gay Guides. They provide a number of standard packages, but can organise a trip anywhere you like. They will escort you to the local beaches, if you've never been, take you to the elephant village, around the temples, or to the fabulous Nong Nooch Gardens. All with competent Thai guides.

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.

Other attractions in Pattaya: The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm, 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.

Hotels

Our top choices!

  • Two Guys Guesthouse - Small Guesthouse in Pattaya - very near Sunee Plaza - April 700 Baht per night.
  • Howards Pattaya Hotel-  Medium sized hotel on Soi VC not far from Sunee Plaza From 600 Baht per night.
  • Marina Inn Plaza Hotel - large Hotel in the heart of Sunee Plaza, from 600B to 3000B per night - thoroughly recommended!

Also worth trying:

  • Ambiance Hotel - Medium sized hotel right in the middle of Boyztown. 45 rooms from 1200 Baht per night.
  • Don Plaza Club - Right in the heart of Sunee Plaza - from 1250 Baht per night
  • Ganymede Guesthouse - New residence in Jomtien Complex - from 600B per night
  • Le Cafe Royale Hotel - Medium sized hotel in the middle of Boyztown. 43 rooms from 1100 Baht per night.
  • Poseidon Hotel - Boutique guesthouse in Jomtien  from 1380 per night.
  • Room-Club - Boutique guesthouse in Jomtien from 1700 Baht per night.
  • San Suk Apartments - Small set of apartments next to the San Suk Sauna, just outside Pattaya. 1500 Baht low season, 2000 Baht high season per night. Includes admission to sauna!

For more information contact Pattaya Gay Guides