Love it or loathe it, Pattaya is where Asia's mass tourism started

if you're reading this at one of Asia's many spectacular tourist destinations, please spare a thought for the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. Isolated in the Ural Mountains, this military-industrial center once produced half the Soviet Union's tanks—its nickname is "Tank City." It has also been called the most contaminated place on earth. Chelyabinsk's million or so citizens have endured three nuclear catastrophes, one caused by an explosion at a waste-containment unit, which spewed Chernobyl-level doses of radiation into the wintry sky. One of Chelyabinsk's advertised tourist draws is "a visit to a treatment center for victims of radiation poisoning." Spare a thought for Chelyabinsk, but for God's sake don't go there.
Very possibly the most beautiful thing from Chelyabinsk is a 24-year-old English teacher called Zhanna Balagurova. She is tall, blond and positively glowing—not with radioactivity, thankfully, but with the sheer, unalloyed joy of not being in Chelyabinsk. Zhanna is holidaying with her boyfriend Oleg in the sun-drenched Thai beach resort of Pattaya. It is her first foreign vacation.

"This is a great place for a Russian," she beams. "It is warm, it has a nice sea."

"And the whiskey is cheap," winks Oleg.

Zhanna laughs. "And the Thai people are so funny and friendly and warmhearted. Not like at home. They seldom smile in Chelyabinsk."

Zhanna sounds like she's died and gone to heaven. But this is Pattaya, which is not only easier to get to, but with about 5 million visitors every year, probably a lot more crowded. Boosters call the resort Thailand's Riviera. To others, it is a mystery and an affront. Pattaya is "designed to attract the worst kind of Western tourist," sniffs Lonely Planet, meaning the randy males who trawl the girlie bars, brothels, short-time hotels and massage parlors that dominate the city. Thailand's Riviera? Not quite. This is Sin City, Sodom-on-Sea, the Gomorrah of Tomorroh. So why do tourists flock there? Three reasons, huff its critics: 1) sex; 2) golf—there are six courses within a 20-minute drive; 3) what could be called the Chelyabinsk Factor—if you hail from a post-Soviet hellhole, then Pattaya is paradise.

Christmas Day

Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. It refers both to the day celebrating the birth, as well as to the season which that day inaugurates, which concludes with the Feast of the Epiphany. The date of the celebration is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various cultural customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. Although a Christian holiday, it is also observed as a cultural holiday by many non-Christians.

In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen's Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart.

The word Christmas originated as a contraction of "Christ's mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038, compounded from Old English derivatives of the Greek christos and the Latin missa.^[1] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.^[2] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.

After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol,^[1] the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word 'Yule' is derived.^[3]

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (25 December – 5 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.

Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace.

Historically Pattaya

Historically, Pattaya has had comparatively high levels of crime, sometimes attributed to organised crime in, and preying on, the sex industry as well as the easy availability of tourist cash in a country that had a per capita Gross National Income of US$7500 in 2005. In recent years, Pattaya has served as a hideaway for foreigners with connections to organized crime in their home countries, and dozens of Thais have been murdered in gang-related disputes.^[7] The authorities also intermittently crack down on underage sex workers and their clients and a number of high profile arrests have been made in recent years.

Visitors are more likely to encounter petty crime, usually limited to pickpocketing and confidence tricks, particularly in and around major tourist areas such as Jomtien and Pattaya Beaches and on the "baht buses", than in other Thai tourist destinations. To help curb this problem, a special Tourist Police division has been established to aid foreign tourists (farang) who are victims of crime.

Pattaya, along with the rest of Thailand, is also known for its abundance of pirated DVD movies, music CDs and software.

Pattaya Media

Media

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 television programs with news and video reports from Pattaya. There are also several tourist magazines, most of them coming out monthly.

Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife

Pattaya is renowned for its nightlife. The city has hundreds of beer bars, go go bars, and night clubs/discotheques. The most famous include Tonys, Marine Disco, X-Zyte, Lucifer, Hammer. New clubs and bars are opening all the time. Nightlife in pattaya is changing, many discos and bars have live music catering to singles,couples,tour groups and families alike.

Many bars, discos and nightclubs are venues for independent sex workers. There are also several large massage parlours which serve as fronts for prostitution. Genuine massage parlours exist, and are obvious immediately by their manner of dress and professionalism.

Since the "social order" crackdown of 2004, there are fewer sex shows (such as the ping pong shows). Depending on the enforcement climate, go go dancers may be seen fully nude, topless or in bikinis on different days or weeks. However, with the political crisis, there is little incentive to be strict about the former laws.

Muay Thai (Thai boxing) matches aimed at tourists can be seen at several open-air beer bar complexes.

Boyztown, Soi Sunee Plaza, and the Jomtien Complex areas are famous for their many beer bars, cabarets and go-go clubs. Pattaya probably has the largest concentration of male prostitution based establishments in Thailand. Many specialize in certain types of hosts (slim, muscular, effeminate), while others have a broad range of men available. There is very little in the way of gay nightclubs or bars in the Western sense, the vast majority of places are no different than the venues that target heterosexuals, both featuring sexual entertainment.

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

Another important, but understated aspect of Pattaya are the foreign restaurants. Often run by expatriates, most offer quality food at prices far below those found in Bangkok, Samui or Phuket.

Pattaya Shopping

Royal Garden Plaza

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 BigC; also has a SF Cinema City branch.
• 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, Haagen Daz, Pizza Company, Delice de France, and a large food court. The Marriott Hotel is adjacent.
• The Avenue, Second Road (near Royal Garden) is in the midst of a soft opening with the following either open or their spaces being fitted out: a 22 lane Bowling Alley, Au Bon Pain, McDonalds,Thanachart Bank, 8 Major Cineplex theatres, Boots, McDonalds, California Wow! a major gym/fitness spa (open for subscriptions), Shenanigans, Iberry, Pizza Pizza, 20 Nails Spa, Starbucks, Kasikorn Bank, Bank of Ayudhaya, and a 24/7 Villa Market, which carries imported goods difficult to find in other supermarkets.
• Tesco Lotus, Pattaya North Road
• TukCom, Pattaya Tai (South) Road, boasts a large computer/IT complex offering reasonable prices.
• An outlet mall is next to the Tesco Lotus selling discount clothing from many European and Emerican brands.

In front of Royal Garden Plaza, Pattaya

At least one other new large mall is under construction.

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

The closest department store to Pattaya is Robinson's, located about 30 minutes away in Sri Racha.

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

Pattaya Economy

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden

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^[5]. There was a major bird flu outbreak at the zoo later that year^[6].

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.

The Wat Khao Phra Bat temple overlooking Pattaya Bay features a Buddha statue more than 18 meters tall.

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical 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 Koh Samet island

Pattaya Girls

Pattaya Sexy Girl VDO Clip

Jomtien Beach

Jomtien Beach (Thai: หาดจอมเทียน) 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 water sports 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, parasailing and small sail boat (Hobie Cat) rental. Dongtan Beach, just past the Avalon Beach Resort in Jomtien, is known as the gay beach, and is busy every day of the year. It is very popular location for sex workers and vendors of all types to solicit their services or goods.

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^[3]. 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^[4]. The Jomtien district is already home to one of the largest resorts in Asia, the 4000+ room Ambassador City Jomtien.

Pattaya Beach

Pattaya Beach

Pattaya Beach at sunset.

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 the beach, as has the practice of dumping sewage in the ocean. 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. Elderly foreign men walk hand in hand with young Thai ladies here by the hundreds or even thousands.

Most sections of the beach are covered by rented deckchairs run by local beverage vendors during daylight hours.

Pattaya 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.

Weather averages for Pattaya
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °C (°F)	30.7 (87)	31.0 (88)	31.8 (89)	32.9 (91)	32.4 (90)	31.6 (89)	31.3 (88)	31.1 (88)	31.0 (88)	30.6 (87)	30.4 (87)	29.9 (86)
Average low °C (°F)	23.0 (73)	24.3 (76)	25.4 (78)	26.4 (80)	26.5 (80)	26.5 (80)	26.0 (79)	26.0 (79)	25.1 (77)	24.2 (76)	23.4 (74)	22.2 (72)
Precipitation mm (inch)	13.7 (0.5)	12.0 (0.5)	52.5 (2.1)	61.6 (2.4)	154.6 (6.1)	149.9 (5.9)	87.0 (3.4)	98.6 (3.9)	217.1 (8.5)	242.6 (9.6)	82.8 (3.3)	6.4 (0.3)
Source: World Weather Information Service[2] Nov 2007

Pattaya Demographics

The city had 101,378 registered inhabitants in 2007. But that figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya (many come and go for tourism related work) but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors. Including non registered residents, the population numbers around 300,000 at any given time. Other estimates put the figure as high as 500,000

Pattaya Demographics

The city had 101,378 registered inhabitants in 2007. But that figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya (many come and go for tourism related work) but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors. Including non registered residents, the population numbers around 300,000 at any given time. Other estimates put the figure as high as 500,000

Pattaya History

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 all over Southeast Asia, including the United States Air Force base at U-Tapao in neighbouring Rayong province began using the area for "rest and recuperation" (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 single men looking for companionship, from Europe and America, brought a new lease of life to Pattaya.

The rapid growth of tourism brought about many negative consequences, such as pollution and petty crime. 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-focused entertainment is increasingly available; however, the core sex-industry has ensured that Pattaya retains its position as one of the world's most renowned party destinations. In 2005, more than 35,000 hotel rooms were available in Pattaya and it has seen a large increase in family tourism in recent years, thanks to efforts to present a more wholesome image. Despite these efforts, Pattaya's sex industry is the city's raison d' etre. Pattaya is an especially popular vacation destination for families from Russia, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Pattaya also has a large international expatriate population, especially British and Russian residents.

Pattaya

Pattaya (Thai: พัทยา, RTGS: Phatthaya) is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand (12°55′39″N, 100°52′31″ECoordinates: 12°55′39″N, 100°52′31″E), about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chon Buri.

Meaning the 'south-west monsoon wind" and correctly pronounced "Patti-yah" not "Patt-eye-yah" this lively destination located roughly 150 kilometres from Bangkok ranks as one of the most successful beach resorts in the world, with some 5.4 million visitors arriving in 2005. Pattaya receives a large number of repeat visitors - professional people, families, and retired couples. Increasing numbers come from the former Soviet Union and East Asia.

The city of Pattaya is a self governing special municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Kluea and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. It is located in the heavily industrial Eastern Seaboard zone, along with Si Racha, Laem Chabang, and Chon Buri. However, it remains mostly a tourist city, with very light industry.

Pattaya is second only to Bangkok in high rise buildings, as many condos for foreign residents are built, and has a modest skyline. The city's economy benefits from its relative proximity to Bangkok.