About Pattaya City

Pattaya is located on the eastern coastline of Thailand’s exotic Gulf of Siam and is approximately 140 km southeast of the capital city of Bangkok and about 90 km from Suvarnabhumi Airport, the new Bangkok International Airport. Pattaya basically comprises of five areas: Central Pattaya, North Pattaya, South Pattaya, East Pattaya and Jomtien Beach.

40 years ago Pattaya as we know it now, didn’t exist. On the stretch of coast between Sriracha and Sattahip there were only a small number of fishing villages. In Pattaya bay itself, there were just a few fishing families who had settled here because of the calm waters and the safety of the bay, protected by headlands to the North and South and by mountains behind. Their nearest neighbors lived just around the headland to the north, where, in the past, salt had been produced (Naa-Klua means salt fields) but later there were mainly fishing families. People traveled about by foot or by bullock carts because, except of the main road from Bangkok to Sattahip, only a few dirt roads and tracks existed.

 
The pace of life was slow and it seemed as if Pattaya would remain an out-of-the-way place forever. Even up to 30 years ago there were only a few buses serving the 100 or more families who lived here. Visitors from elsewhere were few and far between. However things were destined to change. During the Vietnam War the U.S.A. sent soldiers to build an air base at U-Tapao and many of these soldiers spent their leisure time (and money) in Pattaya.

The beaches were clean and the sea breeze made atmosphere pleasant and cool. People in the surrounding areas were quick to spot the business opportunities so bars guesthouses begun to spring up. The fisher - folk probably resented this intrusion, but it provided a good market for their catches and they soon found they could generate new business by offering fishing trips to Koh Larn for about 50 Baht per head. Gradually, visitors from Bangkok also begun to use the resort at weekends, although at that time the trip was a tiring 3 to 4 hours on the old two-lane road.

Later the US Military based in Thailand began to use Pattaya for rest and recreation (R&R) and bigger hotels and entertainment places and venues (including the oldest profession of them all) were built to cater for them. Thus the 1960s and 1970s saw the most rapid change and development. In view of its new importance, in 1964 Pattaya was raised to the status of a village and in 1979, elevated to that of a Teasban Nakhon (Municipality), responsible for its own administration.

Today Pattaya is one of Thailand’s premier beach resorts and attracts more than a million tourists annually from all over the world. Pattaya provides the whole range of accommodation from low cost budget rooms to high standard 5 star hotels, as well as offering a huge variety of restaurants, sports, entertainment and shopping facilities. The resort is one of Thailand’s most important diving centers. Pattaya with many high class courses is also a paradise for golfers.

The official population of Thailand is now just over 65 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.4%, one of the lowest in the region. The figures for Pattaya are around 65,000 but the total should probably be considerably higher as it is difficult to account for the fluctuating population of migrant workers connected with tourism. Tourists and expats are also not included in these figures. It is believed that there are around 50,000 expats who live in Pattaya for 6 months or more each year.

The season changes are not as dramatic as those in Europe, USA or Australia for example, but they are enough to make a difference.
(November to February) - Usually short sharp showers (known as Mango rains). Humidity around 50%, Temperature around 20-30 C. The best time to enjoy the nice weather.
(February to May) - Normally occasional rain. Humidity around 75%. Temperature around 30-40 C. Watch the spectacular thunder storms from a safe place, not the golf course!!


(June to October) – Sometimes heavy prolonged (couple of hours or so) rain. Humidity approximately 90%. Temperature around 25-35 C. The monsoon season need not keep you indoors. An umbrella is useful when going out.