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PATTAYA |
Being on the gulf,
sporting opportunities abound both on land and water, and include
golfing, game fishing, and scuba-diving. Theme and amusement parks,
offbeat museums and lush botanical gardens offer numerous forms of
leisure activities and cultural entertainment. And after dark,
Pattaya offers all the allure and magic of a
truly vibrant nightlife with a spectacular variety of restaurants, night
clubs, bars, discotheques, cocktail lounges and cabarets.
Pattaya can be brash, bold,
beautiful and offers everything an authentic
international beach resort can.
The culinary side of Pattaya has benefited
from its development and attraction by foreigners and local Thais. Not
much more than a dozen years ago there were only a few restaurants you
would consider noteworthy, including most hotel venues as well. Now with
more than 700 restaurants, many considered fine
dining, Pattaya has earned its
reputation as an ocean resort city with a full range of quality dining
establishments and not the reputation of most beach areas as just having
cheap seafood fished in the nearby sea. Its world-class hotel, the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort’s Grill Room won the US Wine Spectator magazine award
in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and shows the standards that have continually
excelled.
With the Eastern Seaboard’s booming construction of new communities,
hotels, and resorts the restaurants have followed. Once a separate
entity, Jomtien Beach, just south of
Pattaya, is rapidly becoming the center of
the culinary scene with many upscale restaurants either moving or
building new establishments making it a small food region.
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Pattaya
History |
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Fifty years
ago Pattaya was a sleepy little fishing village,
dwarfed by her neighbors to the North, Na Klua, to
the south, Rayong. Its only claim to fame being that
it had, in the 13th century, been a resting place for the battle forces of the
great King Narai during his campaign to oust the
Burmese invaders. From that overnight bivouac, Pattaya
derives its name. Then came the Vietnam war and incursion of foreign troops.
Thailand supported the American efforts in the area! providing bases, manned by
thousands of young Americans wanting to take advantage of the crystal waters,
great diving, beach bars and restaurants. American G.I.'s
arrived in the village of Pattaya on leave from
their base at Nakhon Ratchasima.
On arrival in Pattaya they rented houses belonging
to Phraya Sunthorn which
were along the southern end of Pattaya Beach, now
know as the "Strip". The marines stayed for about a week and returned to base.
Having had a great time in Pattaya With the friendly
residents, they spread the word. A new group of marines kept arriving
periodically and the village geared up to cater to their every need. |
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