Pattaya

Living and leisure in Pattaya

Why do we emphasize Pattaya when we are talking about Thailand top tourist destinations? Pattaya is quite "young" city and has appeared in the late seventies, following the rising popularity among tourists. Tourists are the main source of income for the city, therefore local administration and police are accepting the lifestyle dictated by local tourism. This fact has given a background for many legends and rumors about Pattaya as the city where everything is possible and accessible. Rumors about Pattaya have a certain basis and are often absolutely truthful.

Here we are giving comprehensive information about living in Pattaya.

Pattaya foundation

Pattaya Bay was first discovered by the soldiers of King Nari in the 13th century, during his campaign against the Burmese. Until the middle of the XX century, it was just a convenient bay, where local fishermen have settled and gave it the name Pattaya, in honor of the wind of the same name, which often blows in this area. Everything changed in 1959 when the first American soldiers came to Pattaya, whose base was a bit to the north along the coast. The US military personnel became frequent guests in Pattaya, which has sparked the infrastructure and amenities demanded by soldiers. This was the start of the Pattaya resort, and now, 40 years later, it became one of the most famous resorts in the world.

In the late 1970's the resort became so large that the administration of nearby villages simply could not cope with the management. Therefore, Thai government established a municipal unit covering Na Kluea, Nong Prue and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Postal addresses in Pattaya are still old and the correct address is written like: apartment no., House no., Street name, village (eg Nong Prue), district (Bang Lamung), province Chon Buri), country (Thailand). There are no spaces between words in the Thai language, therefore, it is allowed to write administrative units in one word: Nakluea, Banglamung, Chonburi.

Pattaya climate and weather

Basically, climate in Pattaya can be divided into three seasons:

• Cool season — probably the most comfortable season for the westerners, since the weather is not a single heatwave but rather warm, so you can enjoy your favorite comfy clothing.
• Hot season — perfect for the beach leisure lovers, however, will require some acclimatization, if you are traveling here from the "fridge".
• Raining season - quite unusual season for the westerner: nearly nonstop raining and high humidity.

The major part of tourists come to Pattaya in high season - from November to February. Although annual fluctuations in temperature in Pattaya are not as significant as in other parts of Thailand, it is still the coolest season: cloudy, the air temperature does not exceed 30 degrees in the daytime, at night about 20 degrees.
From early March to June there is a hot season in Pattaya. The temperature in afternoon sometimes hit up to 38, at night 25-30. There might be rare and small raining. A great time for a beach holiday.
July is the start of rainy season. During this period Pattaya turns into real tropics. Wet and warm air haze covers the town, the temperature is about 30 during day and night. In September, rains intensify, often leading to usual floods in these places, which, however, are not dangerous: Pattaya stands on the shore, so water flows down into the sea for several hours, and buildings and sewerage were originally built with the expectation of such a quantity of water.

Modern Pattaya: prices in Pattaya, clothing and food in Pattaya

Modern Pattaya is a well-known all over the world resort, famous primarily for its cheapness. Pattaya's relatively high standard of living attracts thousands of enterprising people from all regions of South-East Asia, as a result, the excess supply does not allow prices to rise high. In the beach area of Pattaya, prices are a few times higher than on its outskirts, which is compensated by a higher level of service. For example, at the Jomtien beach cafe, Tom Yam soup will cost you 130-180 baht. You will be served by a waiter, the soup will be in a faience dish, stainless steel cutlery. Five hundred meters from the beach, the same soup will cost 60 baht. The order will be served to you in a plastic plate with aluminum cutlery and you can eat it at a table under a thatched canopy.

Almost any products (including imported western products) can be bought in supermarkets and you can cook everything you want yourself.

Clothes and shoes are also a matter of choice and preferences: you can buy clothes and shoes from local brands in local supermarkets, cheap, but you need to carefully choose a lot not to get low-quality goods. You can buy clothes of world brands in the malls, the prices are quite affordable, as in Italy on sales days. It is not recommended to buy in tourist markets, if you don't want to overpay three times.