Welcome to Pattaya, Thailand, Southeast Asia’s most exciting city! Visitors call it “ Fun Town” and “ Insomniac City.” Those who live and work here call it Paradise.
Whether you like white sand beaches, extreme sports, bargain hunting, world-class golf courses, live music, fine cuisine, boisterous discos or deep sea fishing, Pattaya has something for you. You can take a quiet stroll on a palm tree-line oceanfront walkway and snooze under a beach umbrella or party the night away on the world famous Walking Street. When not diving, you can do everything from getting a relaxing massage to going bungee jumping.
The sheer quantity and quality of sports, dining and entertainment venues is what makes Pattaya such a great place to do your Aquanauts Instructor Training internship. There may be other places that offer year-round diving, but once you get off the boat, you’d better have a good book to occupy your time. But in Pattaya, once you hang up the wetsuit, the day is only just beginning. Ask any diver here and they’ll tell you Pattaya offers the “complete package:” Great year-round diving offshore and engaging, affordable living onshore.
The weather has a lot to do with that. With year-round sunshine and balmy temperatures, you’ll seldom get stuck indoors by inclement conditions. Of course Pattaya’s “winter” can be a bit rough: On some days the temperature can drop as low as 27 C / 81 F!
Not Your Grandfather's Pattaya
Located 150 km southeast of the capital, Bangkok, Pattaya has come a long way since its early days as a fishing village on the East coast of Thailand. Cut off from the rest of the world for centuries, this sleepy town was “discovered” by American military servicemen looking for “rest & relaxation” in 1959 and, as the Vietnam War grew, so did Pattaya. By 1976, the area had grown so populous that it was combined with next-door Naklua and the Pattaya City government was formed in 1978.
After the American GIs, Europeans were next to lead the tourist charge to Pattaya in the 1970s. They were followed by Arabs in the mid-80s, the Japanese in the early 90s and Russians and Eastern Europeans in the mid-90s. Now the tide is turning again with an appearance of tourists from China and other Asian countries like Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Today Pattaya attracts about 4 million tourists a year.
An International City . . .
Pattaya may be the most internationalized city in Thailand, maybe even more so than Bangkok. It is home to about 15,000 Western expatriates and offers many world-class facilities, including five international schools four major international hospitals. There are three shopping centers featuring large international supermarkets and department stores. Every type of cuisine is available, from steak and kidney pie at the many British-owned pubs to flaming Mexican food to gourmet fare at high-end eateries rivaling those in London or New York. And, of course, no tourist resort would be complete with more than a few McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway and Dairy Queen fast food shops.
The resort is also being noticed and becoming more popular for its water sports and the facilities these sports demand. Currently Pattaya is one of Thailand's most popular diving centers with fascinating diving sites that offer various coral species and a wide variety of tropical fish. The area is also a paradise for golfers, with 28 internationally PGA-rated golf courses within an hour’s drive of Pattaya Beach.
. . . With A Small Town Feel
Yet despite its international veneer, Pattaya is still a charming Thai town. While only 70,000 Thais are actually registered citizens, more than 1 million Thais live and work here, lured by the relatively big money that foreign tourism generates. Even amidst the razzle-dazzle of neon lights you’ll see evidence of underlying cultural beliefs and customs, such as large Buddhist shrines on the beachfront.
The Thai community is friendly and very tolerant towards tourists and expiates also known as “farangs." If you show respect and interest in their customs, they are most appreciative and gain mutual understanding and friendship. Even if you cannot speak Thai, you’ll be able to get-by with most Thai people in and around Pattaya because they’ve become use to farangs and will always try to be friendly. Many signs are written in Thai and English while most vendors are used to non-Thai customers and are ready with a smattering of English, German or even a little French and a calculator.
Finally, despite its population, residents and frequent visitors will tell you that Pattaya is really a “small town.” Most of what you need is along the two kilometer stretch between the Beach Road, the main North-South thoroughfare, and Second Road, the main South-North artery. While geographically the town is much larger, many people rarely ever go beyond the city core. Thus, it’s difficult to go anywhere in town without running into a friend or acquaintance at the store or on a taxi. The foreign community is tight-knit and, due to the great weather and relaxed lifestyle, usually in very good spirits.
In short, the living is easy, the cost of living low, the weather good, the entertainment plentiful and the people pleasant. See why we call it Paradise?
