About Pattaya

Pattaya at Sunset

The fast road to Pattaya

(Phattaya)-and the world's longest elevated express-way - passes trough Chonburi, a charmless provincial capital, Si Racha, noted for locally made chili pepper sauce that bears its name, and Bang Saen, a seaside resort popular with Thai families, before reaching the string of beaches further down the Eastern Seaboard.

Pattaya began attracting visitors from Bangkok in the 1950's, thanks so the ease with which is long white-sand beaches could reached. Accommodation was a few simple bungalows, and the first hotel did not open until 1965. Development accelerated during the Vietnam War, when thousands of American soldiers went there on leave, and by the mid-1979's it had become a major resort, with hotels, restaurants and nightclubs extending the entire length of main beach. The environmental cost of such rapid expansion has been high, and most of Pattaya's natural charms are gone, though the water has improved greatly in recent years. The free-wheeling nightlife has been cleaned up slightly in response to foreign media criticism, and the town's new status as a residential and educational hub for industrializing Easter Seaboard means there are now malls and family attractions too, such as Ripley's Believe It Or Not and Pattaya Aquarium. Many visitors still enjoy its rowdy, laid-back atmosphere, however, and continue to come in large numbers. Those who prefer s quieter atmosphere and more privacy, at least after nightfall, can go further to less developed beaches like Jomtien or to offshore islands such as Koh Larn and Koh Sak. There are several golf courses in the area, as well as shooting ranges and other land-based sports facilities.

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