Pattaya
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พัทยา Pattaya |
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| Coordinates | 12 ° 56 '9 " N , 100 ° 53' 20" E | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Country | Thailand | ||
| province | Chon Buri | ||
| Pattaya | |||
| Amphoe | Bang Lamung | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | TH-S | ||
| height | 10 m | ||
| surface | 53.4 km² | ||
| Residents | 104,318 (2007) | ||
| density | 1,952.1 Ew. / km² | ||
| Post Code | 20150 | ||
| politics | |||
| mayor | Itthipol Khunplome (อิทธิพล คุณ ปลื้ม) | ||
 View of Pattaya
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Pattaya ( Thai พัทยา , RTGS : Phatthaya, pronunciation: [ pʰát.tʰá.jaː ], ) is an internationally known seaside resort. It is located in the district ( Amphoe ) Bang Lamung of Chon Buri Province in the eastern part of central Thailand . Pattaya is the only Thai city to have special administrative status alongside the capital Bangkok .
Pattaya officially had 98,992 residents in 2006. In 2007, the population rose to 104,318 people registered with their main residence in the city. The number of unregistered residents is four to five times higher, according to the Pattaya City Council.
history
Historical overview
The area around today's Pattaya is only mentioned in passing in Thai history. During the siege of the Siamese capital Ayutthaya by the Burmese, Phraya Taksin saw that he could not hold out on his own. So in January 1767 he made his way to Rayong and Chanthaburi via Nakhon Nayok to collect additional troops. He made camp between Na Kluea and Bang Lamung. On the way back from Chanthaburi by ship, he met Tong Duan, the later King Phutthayotfa Chulalok ( Rama I ) , south of Chon Buri , and both of them together were able to drive the Burmese out of the country forever.
In the 1950s, the stretch of coast between Si Racha and Sattahip only consisted of a handful of villages. The bay of Pattaya itself was only inhabited by a few fishing families, who appreciated the calm water and the safe location here, as they were protected in the north and south by headlands and in the hinterland by chains of hills. Sea salt was produced on the northern headland in earlier times, the current name ( Na Kluea - salt fields) still indicates it.
The real history of today's Pattaya does not begin until the early 1960s, when a US Navy base was located in Sattahip during the Vietnam War , and U-Tapao Airport was expanded by the USA as a military airfield . The GIs drove in their spare time to the nearby Pattaya, to relax there on the clean beaches. Soon the place became the "Rest and Recreation Area" (R&R) of the US military with a single hotel of international standards, the Nipa Lodge. Little by little, visitors from Bangkok also took advantage of the opportunities at the weekend, although the four-hour journey on bumpy provincial roads was quite tiring.
After the end of the Vietnam War, the GIs stayed away from 1975 onwards, but Pattaya developed into a major tourist center in Asia within a few years. In 1978 the place was declared a city with its own administrative statute.
Population development
The population of Pattaya increased by 64.9% between 1993 and 2007. The number of households grew by 111.1% over the same period. Population growth between 2002 and 2007 was 3.3% per year. While the male population was still in the majority in 1994 at 51.2%, their share of the total population fell to 47.3% by 2007. The female share of the population grew from 48.8% to 52.7% over the same period.
The table shows the development of the population and the number of households. Those officially registered with the residents' registration office with their main residence in Pattaya are taken into account. According to the Pattaya City Council, there are 400,000 to 500,000 unregistered residents. Above all, these are the numerous migrant workers who, due to tourism and economic development, move to Pattaya without registering their official residence there.
| year | Residents | Male | Share in% |
Female | Share in% |
households |
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| 1993 | 63,246 | 32,543 | 51.5 | 30,703 | 48.5 | 9.097 |
| 1994 | 64,078 | 32,795 | 51.2 | 31,283 | 48.8 | 9,405 |
| 1995 | 70,794 | 35,277 | 49.8 | 35,517 | 50.2 | 9,609 |
| 1996 | 72,412 | 35,946 | 49.6 | 36,466 | 50.4 | 9,871 |
| 1997 | 77,727 | 37,958 | 48.8 | 39,769 | 51.2 | 11,368 |
| 1998 | 77,794 | 38,417 | 49.4 | 39,377 | 50.6 | 13,491 |
| 1999 | 79,814 | 39.210 | 49.1 | 40,604 | 50.9 | 13,535 |
| 2000 | 82,133 | 40.127 | 48.9 | 42.006 | 51.1 | 14,192 |
| 2001 | 85,533 | 41,606 | 48.6 | 43,927 | 51.4 | 14,827 |
| 2002 | 89,413 | 43.123 | 48.2 | 46,290 | 51.8 | 15,445 |
| 2003 | 92,878 | 44,716 | 48.1 | 48.162 | 51.9 | 16,088 |
| 2004 | 91,855 | 43,812 | 47.7 | 48,043 | 52.3 | 16,992 |
| 2005 | 96,654 | 45,799 | 47.4 | 50,855 | 52.6 | 17,963 |
| 2006 | 98.992 | 46,828 | 47.3 | 52.164 | 52.7 | 18,436 |
| 2007 | 104,318 | 49,386 | 47.3 | 54,932 | 52.7 | 19.207 |
Source: Pattaya City
geography
Geographical location
Pattaya is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand , about 130 kilometers southeast of the state capital Bangkok . The city stretches about 15 kilometers along the coast.
The Pattaya administrative area covers an area of 208.1 square kilometers. Of this, 53.44 square kilometers are land and 154.66 square kilometers are islands and lakes. The municipalities of Nong Prue and Na Kluea as well as parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai belong to the administrative city area .
Neighboring counties are (clockwise from the north): Si Racha in Chon Buri Province, Pluak Daeng, Nikhom Patthana and Ban Chang districts in Rayong Province, and Sattahip (Chon Buri Province). In the west lies the coast to the Gulf of Thailand.
The Sukhumvit expressway connects Pattaya to the north via Chon Buri and Chachoengsao with the state capital Bangkok , and to the south via the provinces of Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat with the national border to Cambodia .
climate
The climate is tropical - monsoonal with three seasons. From November to February it is warm and dry with temperatures of 20 to 30 ° C and an average humidity of around 50%. The hot and humid period lasts from February to May, temperatures can reach up to 40 ° C, high humidity of 75%, and occasional rain. The hot rainy season lasts from June to October, due to the frequent rain, the humidity climbs to around 90%, the temperatures are between 25 ° C and 35 ° C. The most pleasant time, which coincides with the high tourist season, is around Christmas and New Year.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Pattaya
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politics
On November 29, 1978 Pattaya was granted the city charter. Since then, the city has been governed by the mayor and the city council according to a special autonomous system. Besides Pattaya, only the capital Bangkok has this administrative status outside the thesaban system.
Ittiphol Khunplome ( Thai นาย อิทธิพล คุณ ปลื้ม , RTGS Ittiphon Khunpluem ) has been the mayor since May 2008. With 17,743 votes, it received more than its two main competitors combined.
Unrest in the city with the storming of the conference center led to the premature termination of the ASEAN summit on April 11, 2009 and to an evacuation of the politicians who had already arrived after the state of emergency had been imposed on the city and region.
Culture and sights
Na Kluea and North Pattaya
The name Na Kluea (literally salt fields ) comes from the time before the tourism boom, it describes the main source of income at that time, salt extraction from the sea. Even today you can see the old wooden houses with small, traditional noodle restaurants and craft shops in the narrow streets. Fishing boats that are still in use lie on the beach.
Beach Road begins south of Na Kluea, with expensive hotels and elegant restaurants in stark contrast to the rather rural impression of the neighborhood. Parallel to Beach Road, Second Road leads past other hotels, shopping centers, bars, clubs and the tourist police office.
beaches
Pattaya Beach
Pattaya Beach is opposite the city center in close proximity to hotels, shopping centers and bars.
The former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ensured the construction of new wastewater treatment plants by awarding construction contracts, which has significantly improved the quality of the seawater.
The section from Central Road (Pattaya Klang) to the south to the harbor is right at the center of the nightlife and is therefore less family-oriented than Na Kluea, North Pattaya or Jomtien Beach.
Jomtien Beach
The beach of Jomtien or Jomtien Beach (หาด จอม เทียน, RTGS : Hat Chom Thien ), also often written Chom Tian on traffic signs and on road maps , is geographically separated from the actual city of Pattaya by the Phra Tamnak Hill ( Buddha Hill ), but there has been a new road since 2006 that connects the city of Pattaya directly with Jomtien via the Bali Hai Pier on the beach side. In contrast to Pattaya Beach, Jomtien is a family bathroom, residential buildings line up with beach hotels, bungalow villages, high-rise apartment buildings and restaurants. The 56-storey “Pattaya Park Tower” is visible from afar, it is the largest resort hotel in Asia. The "Ambassador City Jomtien" with more than 4000 rooms is also located here. The construction of further high-rise buildings is planned, for example a 91-storey apartment building, the Ocean-1-Tower, is to be built on Jomtien Beach.
Islands
Ko Lan
Ko Lan (Thai: เกาะ ล้าน - bare island ) is a 205 m high island surrounded by coral reefs about 7.5 kilometers west of Pattaya. It can be reached by speedboat or a ferry. The ferry ride takes 45 minutes and the speedboat only takes about 15 minutes. There are numerous beaches on Ko Lan that are known for their fine-grained sand and cleanliness. The water is much clearer than in Pattaya Bay thanks to the ocean current. The noise pollution is very high because of the numerous jet skis and boats. Also are coral reefs through tourism and the coral bleaching have been drawn already affected.
Ko Phai
Ko Phai (also: Koh Pai, Thai: เกาะ ไผ่ - bamboo island ) is a protected island, it is located about 23 kilometers off the coast of Pattaya and about 9 kilometers from Ko Lan. It has a 150 meter high limestone rock, numerous bays and diving grounds. Around Ko Phai there are other smaller islands, some with coral reefs, which are still a restricted military area.
On January 30, 2003, the landing ship HTMS Khram, completed in 1945 by the United States Navy in Houston , was sunk 300 meters east of Ko Phai . This created an artificial reef that became a habitat for diverse marine life. The 61.5 meter long and 10.35 meter wide HTMS Khram (ex USS LSM-469) was used against Japan in World War II and was decommissioned in 1946. On September 11, 1962, the Thai Navy took over the ship.
Sports facilities and amusement parks
Pattaya is very popular with golfers, they have a choice of several golf courses. Several amusement parks compete for visitors: The Mini Siam offers famous buildings in miniature. The Elephant Village has elephant attractions for tourists who want to go trekking on the back of the animal . In the Underwater World Pattaya , over 4500 marine life can be observed while walking through a 100 meter long underwater tunnel.
The private tiger zoo in Si Racha shows several hundred tigers and alligators as well as other animals; however, he has often come under fire for improper animal husbandry. The Nong Nooch Tropical Garden , 15 kilometers from Pattaya, is a very large well-tended botanical garden including an orchid farm . The “Cultural Extravaganza” show is shown there three times a day. Between Pattaya and Chon Buri is the Butterfly Garden , a park with small and large colorful insects. The large amusement park Pattaya Park is located between South Pattaya and Jomtien. It consists of a fun pool, an observation tower with a sky shuttle, a speed shuttle and the tower abseil as well as the "Funny Land".
In 2016 the indoor amusement park "Harbor" was opened on Central Road, in which there are several large playgrounds for children, a trampoline facility has already opened and other attractions such as ice skating, climbing, baby swimming, etc. will follow. There are also numerous shops and restaurants in the building.
There are also several modern adventure swimming pools such as the "Splashdown Waterpark" and the large "Amazone Water Park" from Cartoon Network near the Sukhumvit Highway.
Sports
Since 2009 there has been the soccer club Pattaya United , which played in the Thailand Premier League . The club played its home games on the Nongprue Municipality sports field. A new stadium should be completed in several construction phases by 2013. Originally, the stadium was supposed to offer space for 5,000 spectators in a first construction phase and after completion it should have 20,000 seats. However, construction of the stadium has been stalled since autumn 2013. The new stadium was built on Soi Chaiyapruek 2, next to the Pattaya Indoor Sports Stadium. In 2018 the club was dissolved in favor of Samut Prakan City FC .
The soccer club Pattaya Discovery United FC , founded in 2011, is based in Pattaya.
More Attractions
The Phra Tamnak mountain, a nearby hill, offers a view over the surroundings and the bay. Wat Yannasangwararam is a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) and is 17 kilometers outside Pattaya in the direction of Sattahip . It is a meditation center for Thais and foreigners. Khao Chi Chan , a large Buddha image in the rock, is located about 25 kilometers outside of Pattaya.
Another tourist attraction is "The Sanctuary Of Truth" (Prasat Satchatham) . The wooden building complex under construction (construction began in 1981, completion is planned for 2025) is decorated with elaborate carvings and shows mythological figures from Thai, Khmer, Laotian and Chinese cultures.
Regular events include the Tiffany's Show - Pattaya's most famous cabaret show and Alcazar - also a well-known cabaret show. "Ripley's Believe it or not" is an offshoot of the Ripley's museums with a 3D cinema. The Thai House Restaurant offers folklore performances and Thai classical dance performances.
The Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm is nine kilometers from Pattaya. On the 280,000 square meter facility there are old-looking stones and an attached crocodile farm with over 1,000 crocodiles and other animals. The Pipo Pony Club with horse riding is located nearby . The Wanasin Farm - Floating Market (market on boats on the water) offers dances and tasty fruit. The small amusement park Alangkarn is located just outside in the south of the city and hosts numerous shows and theater performances.
trade
Shops are open seven days a week until late at night. The majority of the shops are privately owned small shops or market stalls, which, however, have faced competition from large chain stores and shopping centers for several years. Numerous new shopping centers have emerged in recent years, as have jewelry stores and factory outlets.
Their composition is typical of large shopping centers in Thailand: supermarket, restaurants (mostly international fast food and restaurant chains) and “Foodmarts” (“Food Centers” or “ Food Courts ”), which are very popular with Thais . There are also small shops that are rented out to small operators.
The largest shopping centers in Pattaya are: The Central Festival Pattaya Beach , Beach Road, which opened in early 2009 ; Central Center Pattaya (until the beginning of 2009 Central Festival), Pattaya Second Road - a shopping center with a BigC supermarket in the center with an SF Cinema City cinema complex; BigC Extra Supermarket , Pattaya Central Road; Mike Shopping Mall , Beach Road; Royal Garden Plaza , Beach Road - three-story mall with a Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum and SF multiplex cinema center; Tesco Lotus , Pattaya North Road and Thepprasit Road (Jomtien) and Big C , South Pattaya Road; as well as Terminal 21, which opened in 2018, near the Naklua roundabout.
Economy and Infrastructure
economy
Since the 1980s there has been almost unrestrained construction activity in Pattaya, which increased the number of hotel rooms from 8,000 to 38,000 between 1986 and 2006. The tourism industry posted revenues of 53.2 billion baht in 2006 (2005: 48.5 billion). The city attracts numerous tourists from Europe, Asia and North America every year . There are hotels here that also meet high standards. The area is an important center for diving, and golfers always find new challenges in the area.
Pattaya is considered a center of sex tourism . The writer Michel Houellebecq describes Pattaya in connection with the sex tourism taking place there in his novel Platform . The city council presents Pattaya as a family-friendly seaside resort. However, little is officially done to curb illegal activities, above all the notorious jet ski fraud (the rental company claims that the jet ski was damaged during use by the customer and is demanding compensation). The ongoing two-price policy at the ticket offices of tourist attractions or leisure activities (e.g. in the Nong Nooch Botanical Garden, at the Crocodile Farm, at Underwater World, at the rides in front of the Pattaya Park swimming pool) offers further potential for conflict, and foreigners higher Entrance fees charged as a local and often sought to disguise this by using billboards with Thai numbers that most tourists cannot read.
According to the State Tourism Authority (TAT), 5.33 million tourists stayed in Pattaya in 2006. That was an increase of 17.26% compared to 2005. Among the guests were 1.36 million Thais (+17.48%) and 3.97 million foreigners (+17.19%). In comparison, Thailand visited 13.82 million foreign guests in 2006, an increase of 19.97% compared to 2005. Most of the foreign tourists in Pattaya came from the following countries: Russia (482,587), People's Republic of China (421,887), South Korea (346,371), Great Britain (299,056), India (226,003), Germany (225,791), Hong Kong (213,378), Taiwan (207,447), Vietnam (134,888) and the USA (110,386). The annual TAT statistics include people who stayed in a hotel, guest house or apartment building and were reported to the police. In 2010, the number of overnight guests had declined to a total of 4.007 million, including 1.013 million Thais and 2.994 million foreigners. The countries of origin of most of the guests in that year were Russia (927,031), China (456,134), Germany (232,994), Taiwan (170,050), USA (163,200), South Korea (109,599) and the countries of the Middle East (124,928).
In addition to the local police, the “Tourist Police” is available for the safety of tourists, which is organizationally independent and has a good command of foreign languages (primarily English).
The water supply is secured by a dam nearby, but there are often bottlenecks due to the high consumption and the ongoing construction boom. In 1985 Pattaya had two sewage treatment plants that could treat 13,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day. In 2002 a larger wastewater treatment plant with a capacity for 65,000 cubic meters of wastewater was completed. The water quality in the bay has improved noticeably since then.
traffic
plane
U-Tapao Airport (UTP), located south of Pattaya, was a US air base during the Vietnam War. Today Bangkok Airways offers national connections to the airports on Ko Samui and Phuket . As well as Solar Air to Hua Hin . Internationally, it is connected to Seoul ( Incheon International Airport ) by Korean Air . It is about 40 km from Pattaya.
Bangkok International Airport (BKK) is about 120 km from Pattaya. Approximately 100 airlines offer air travel options from Bangkok Airport, with every major international airline represented. In addition, the major international cargo airlines use the airport. Thai Airways International , Thai AirAsia and Bangkok Airways have their aviation hubs here.
Public buses
Pattaya has three bus stations. Air-conditioned buses to Bangkok and Bangkok International Airport leave from the small terminal on North Pattaya Road, while non-air-conditioned buses to Bangkok and other destinations along the Gulf Coast use the South Pattaya Road Terminal. Buses to Northern Thailand and Isan leave from the terminal at the end of Central Pattaya Road.
automobile
By car, Pattaya can be reached via Thanon Sukhumvit Thai Highway 3, as well as Highway 7 Bangkok-Chonburi Motorway and the Burapha Withi Expressway ( Bang Na Expressway ). As in all of Thailand, there is left-hand traffic .
railroad
Pattaya has a small train station, within the week the train is the cheapest connection to and from Bangkok. However, the trains only run once a day. The Pattaya Train Station is a little east of Thanon Sukhumvit , near the intersection with Central Road at the end of Soi Thepsurin.
media
The English-language newspaper Pattaya Mail, published by Pattaya Mail Publishing Co. Ltd., has been published weekly since July 23, 1993 with regional and national information. In 2002, due to great demand, the publishers decided to bring a German-language version of this newspaper ( Pattaya Blatt ) with a circulation between 4000 and 5000 copies on the market. The print edition has since been discontinued and there is only one online page.
The German-language magazine Der Farang was founded in 1993 by the Swiss Stefan Matter in Pattaya. In 2006 it was taken over by the Swiss couple Bussaba and Martin Rüegsegger. Martin Rüegsegger is also the founder and editor of the website Thaipage, which has been one of the most popular German-speaking Thailand websites since 1999. Today the magazine Der Farang is probably the best-known and highest circulation German-language newspaper in Thailand, which is published every 14 days. The associated news portal provides local and international news and is updated several times a day.
There is also a local radio station on FM (VHF), which broadcasts mainly in Thai but also in English.
Local cable TV has local news and broadcasts in Thai, English, Russian and German.
In many hotels, channels can be received in HD quality, especially international football matches. Arabic, Russian, French, Spanish (TVE), Italian (RAI), Indian, Korean, Japanese (NHK), Australian, Chinese, Vietnamese and German channels (Deutsche Welle) are received. Some channels broadcast films and series in the original English language version.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Population figures according to DOPA (Department of Provincial Administration) ( Memento from December 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (in Thai)
- ↑ a b Population 1997–2007 (in Thai): Pattaya City Hall ( Memento from June 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Official website Pattaya: Inhabitants 1993-2004, (offline) available at archive.org on October 20, 2009 ( Memento from January 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ สถิติ เมือง พัทยา ( Memento from August 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), website of the Pattaya City Council (www.pattaya.go.th), as of April 2010.
- ↑ 2. ประชากร, website of the Pattaya City Council (www.pattaya.go.th), as of April 2010. About archive.org (version of December 21, 2007) ( Memento of December 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Area of Pattaya (in Thai): https://web.archive.org/web/20071221051220/http://www.pattaya.go.th/app/thai/webportal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id = 97 & Itemid = 42
- ^ Pattaya Blatt: Result of mayoral elections 2008
- ↑ Violence in Pattaya: Thais force Asean summit to be canceled
- ^ The seaside resort of Pattaya - Development problems and perspectives of a Thai coastal resort ( Memento from April 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Thailand Diving: HTMS Ship Wreck - Another unique Pattaya dive site ( Memento from October 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS LSM-469
- ^ Harbor Group Property - Harbor , accessed December 2, 2018
- ↑ Splashdown Waterpark Pattaya ( Memento from June 16, 2016 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ Reports from the online edition of the Pattaya Mail
- ↑ a b Der Farang: Now the Russians are great
- ^ John Le Fevre: Family-friendly? The challenges facing Pattaya. CNN Travel, April 19, 2011.
- ↑ ข้อมูล พื้นฐาน ( Memento of August 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Pattaya City Council website (www.pattaya.go.th), accessed July 23, 2014.
- ↑ Pattaya Blatt: City Council of Pattaya advises on new water fees
Web links
- Link catalog on Pattaya at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )