The resort city of Pattaya is extremely popular, it is among the most famous and visited Thai resorts. Every year, Russian tour operators alone sell hundreds of thousands of vouchers to local hotels, not to mention the endless stream of tourists from other countries. As locals say, it is here that you can see both sides of Thailand – both dark and light.
There are no good beaches in the city. The city beach is heavily littered, and the sea is gradually washing away sand from it. In 2018, the reconstruction of the beach was started, and sand is brought from other islands. However, most tourists prefer to sail on the ferry to the nearby island of Koh Lan to swim and sunbathe. Only Russian tourists come to Pattaya as a family vacation. Most of the guests from other countries come here for nightly entertainment.
This city bears the unofficial title of “world capital of entertainment for adults.” In recent years, the Philippine city of Angeles has acquired a similar reputation. The wrong pronunciation of the name of the city was fixed in Russian. In fact, the emphasis in the word “Pattaya” is placed on the last syllable. Outside the tourist area of Pattaya is a completely ordinary Thai city, quiet, calm and quite comfortable. The most famous place in the city is Walking Street, full of bars and clubs. But because of this fame, the prices are high here. Those who are looking for nightly entertainment can easily find them in similar, but less expensive places, on Soi 6 or in the streets near the Central Festival shopping center.
By the number of tourists accepted annually, Pattaya among other Thai cities is second only to Chiang Mai and Bangkok. In Pattaya streets, you can see a lot of transgender people, and many of them are not involved in the tourism sector, working in the usual work, for example, in a pharmacy or in a store. Pattaya has its own international airport, Utapao, but since international flights from Russia still fly to Bangkok, it is cheaper and faster to get from the capital to the resort by taxi or bus than doing another flight.
