Pattaya – Thailand's Foremost Holiday Resort
The City on the Gulf Offers Water and Land Sports, Nightlife and Fun
Oct 22, 2009
The new visitor to Pattaya finds it hard to imagine that this was once a languid and uncluttered seaside village whose main industry was fishing. The few pastel painted hotels that had sprung up around the natural bay and the pristine beach were quiet and beautiful to the western eye. Then US servicemen on leave from Vietnam discovered its charms, they came, they saw, they stayed and the local fishermen packed up their nets, erected straw huts and began serving beer and entertainment. Pattaya was now in the tourism business.
Pattaya, Thailand in the 1960's
The beach was cleaned daily by a team of elephants who ate the garbage left by the tourists. There were no deck chairs, no sun loungers, and no hawkers of tee-shirts, watches and porn. Instead, there were only a few fruit sellers, happy to sell a pineapple which they niftily peeled leaving the fruit on the stalk, or the soft drinks man content to sell a couple of bottles of lemonade or coke. Deck chairs and towels were provided by the hotels across the road whose staff accompanied guests to the beach to set up the chairs.
There was little to do during the day other than sit in deckchairs by the sea and swim, or take a boat to Coral Island for lunch. At sundown, tourists headed for the southern end of Pattaya where the trawlers landed their catches and where a few bars had sprung up catering for the new tourists. Darts, snooker, and a few shy young barmaids provided the only entertainment. Jomtien, now a joined up part of Pattaya, was like another town, a deserted beach.
Nowadays it is somewhat different. No city has changed and continues to change so fast or so furiously – stay away for a couple of weeks and a new hotel has sprung up, a dozen new bars and restaurants, and new roads have opened up into the hills.
Pattaya is now the second busiest city in Thailand, catering to thousands of visitors, a large proportion of whom are Thais who have now discovered the delights of beaches, swimming, and enjoying the array of attractions on offer.
Golf, Water and Land Sports in Pattaya, Thailand
First up comes swimming in the all year-round warm waters, surfing, jet-skiing, snorkeling, wind-surfing and diving (Pattaya claims to have more diving schools than any other Asian resort). Take to the air for para-sailing (Pattaya was the first place in Thailand to start this craze).
Golf is one of the big attractions in Pattaya and the golfer can play on a different pro course every day during a two week holiday and still have International Courses to play just an hour’s drive away. Expect manicured greens, raked traps and attentive caddies on courses designed by experts in the field like Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Gary Player. It is said that the most difficult course in Thailand is the Izumi design Siam Country Club which is not only difficult to play, but has the best scenery in Thailand.
There are ten-pin bowling alleys, archery ranges, tennis and squash courts, horse riding, snooker halls, cycling, and boxing camps. International races take place throughout the year.
Shopping in Pattaya, Thailand
Shopping, shopping, shopping. Whatever the visitor wants can be found in Pattaya, antiques, gold, good tailors, fake designer goods, textiles at knock-down prices, handicrafts, paintings, all in either shopping malls or open-air shops.
Nightlife in Pattaya
The nightlife is raucous and open, many think sleazy, but usually good-natured. The blaze of neon that lights the countless open-air bars and cocktail lounges attracts lookers as well as those who come to take part in the fun.
Today’s Pattaya is a world away from the fishing village of the sixties which attracted US servicemen. It has changed and continues to change, in some ways for the better, some ways for worse. But Pattaya, is always exciting.
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