Where to go in Pattaya? Attractions, entertainment, excursions, reviews

The answer to the question about where to go to Pattaya will be interesting for all lovers of travel and exotic rest, because Pattaya is the most popular and regularly visited by Russian tourists resort in Thailand, where you can find a lot of exciting excursions and beautiful places to relax and make an impression About this interesting eastern country.

History of the resort

Even 60 years ago it was quite a quiet fishing village on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand. According to one version, Pattaya became popular due to the American soldiers who in 1959 spent their vacation in this place, on the other, here began to build private cottages for the rest of the rich Thai people.

In the 60s, not far from Pattaya, there was an American military base, and soldiers often visited the resort for recreation. After the stories of the returning soldiers, the Americans began to come here to the resort, and the infrastructure of the village, and then the town was so rapidly developed that hotels and restaurants grew like mushrooms.

In 1978, Pattaya became a city and celebrates annually on November 29 as its birthday. Since the 1990s, tourists have come here from Eastern Europe and Russia, and now Pattaya is one of Russia's favorite resort towns. Every visitor is concerned with the question of where to go to Pattaya and what to see.

Pattaya Resort

This is a very active and vibrant city, where you can spend a fun and exciting holiday and fans of parties and restaurants, and families with children.

The most popular tourist excursions in this resort:

• Excursion on the river Kwai (duration 2 days);
• The main attraction of the resort is the entertainment area Walking Street;
• The "Mini Siam" park, in which there are copies of architectural attractions from around the world of a reduced size;
• Rest on the beach of Koh Lan and other islands, which can be reached by ferry;
• Nong Nuch Park, which allows you to enjoy the beautiful nature, make interesting photos, feed elephants and see the show;
• Visiting the Temple of Truth will be interesting to all visitors.

Before a trip it is necessary to take an interest in weather and quantity of the tourists who have arrived on rest to Thailand.

How to choose the optimal time for your trip

Depending on the season, the weather in this part of Asia is different: there are rainy seasons (September-October) or too hot months (April-May). For example, Pattaya in February annually withstands the maximum influx of tourists. It is at this time there is always a dry season, when the amount of rain is minimal. The average temperature in February is 26-28ºС - it is quite comfortable for beach rest, and by the end of the month it even rises to 34ºС, while water is 23-26ºС.

Beginning in March and April, the amount of rains increases, but prices for housing and entertainment begin to decline, since the high season has already ended. April is considered the hottest month in Pattaya (in the daytime up to +34º, water + 27º), so tourists who do not tolerate the heat, it is better not to go here.

The rainy season begins in May and lasts until October, although rains are very often short-lived and overnight.

September-October is the peak of the rainy season; for more than half of the month rains fall, but the tourist is waiting for low prices for housing (compared to the prices that Pattaya is famous for in February) and a wide variety of delicious fruits.

Since November, the resort begins a dry season, which lasts almost until May. The amount of rain is minimal (5-7 for several months).

Excursion to the Temple of Truth

The temple is located north of Pattaya on Cape Richvat, began to build it back in 1981 with the money of millionaire L. Viriyapan, who conceived this structure as the "House of All Religions." Viriyapan was so delighted with the culture of Thailand and the Eastern religions that he decided to unite them in one temple.

Outwardly the church looks very unusual: it is built entirely of wood and decorated with carved figures that depict mythological and religious heroes. Its height is 105 m (similar to a 20-storey house). The design is based on the philosophy and religion of Buddhism and Hinduism, and each of the corners of the structure has its significance. The process of construction continues even now, although his inspirer died in 2000: carving masters work and carve wooden figures and ornaments. Sometimes they even tell tourists about their plans and work.

Inside, the Temple of Truth is supported by pillars carved from mighty trees, before the felling of each tree, monks perform rituals and purify it of evil spirits. In the center are the steps before which each incoming one can pray to the sounds of the mantra.

There are separate halls assigned to the religions of Thailand, India, Cambodia and China:

• In the Indian Hall on each of the walls are images of the elements: fire symbolizes the dragon, land - flora and fauna, air - wind-swaying trees carved on the wall, water - ocean waves;
• The Chinese Hall includes a multitude of three-dimensional statues of a being that wanted to become a Buddha (Bodhisattva);
• The main decoration of the Thai Hall - 7 statues of avatars dedicated to all days of the week, as well as a stand for calculating the day of their birth;
• The last room is devoted to family well-being - there are statues of a wife, husband and three children, whose tourists can ask for the birth of their children (for this you have to rub the handle of the statue of the baby), the parents' health (rubbing the knees of the spouses).

All the walls of the temple, the roof, the ceilings, the stairs are decorated with unique carvings, where thousands of wooden figures of people, mythical animals and creatures intertwined in silent eastern dance are watching tourists .

Drive to the River Kwai

Excursion to the river Kwai from Pattaya is the most interesting and rich trip that lasts 2 days and usually includes many stops with Thai sights:

• The coconut farm is a very informative story about coconuts, the production of palm sugar and oil.
• Floating Thai market, located at the beginning of the river, where Thai boats sell various fruits and souvenirs (prices are overstated).
• The center for woodcarving consists of exhibition pavilions where you can see the outstanding works of Thai decorative art.
• The monastery of the Tiger Cave is a beautiful Buddhist monastery, located near Kanchanaburi, to which you need to climb 160 steps up the stairs. At the top there is a holy spring and three stupas representing various styles of Buddhist architecture.
• Beautiful waterfalls Sayok Noi and Saikok Yai, which fill only in the rainy season (at another time it's a small stream), next to them there is a small market with oriental sweets.
• The waterfall of Eravan has 7 tiers, at the bottom of each a natural bath with fish is formed, in which you can swim.
• Rafting on pontoons or boats ends with a bathing of all comers in lifejackets.

• Elephant village where you can ride these animals and watch the show.
• Cave with a Buddha statue, served in the 2nd World War as an air-raid shelter.
• Mineral springs with hot water (44 ° C).
• Excursion to the river Kwai from Pattaya provides for an overnight stay in a hotel located on the water.
• Railway bridge across the river. Kwai is also known as the "Railway of Death", since it was built in 1942-1943. Killed 16 thousand prisoners of war (from Asia, Germany, Australia, America and Japan).

Nong Nooch Botanical Garden

The tropical garden of Nong Nooch (Pattaya) is a world-famous park, characterized by the unusual and diverse events held on its territory. Its history began in 1954, when local residents of Nong Nuch and Pisit purchased 240 hectares of land for planting fruit plantations. But then, after Mrs. Nong Nuch's trip to Europe, where she saw European gardens, their plans changed - a large tropical paradise was built on this place. After its opening in 1980, the park became very popular with tourists and local residents, now it is visited daily by almost 2 thousand people.

In addition to the collection of tropical plants, a great interest for tourists are copies of various architectural and monuments of landscape art. For example, here in miniature are the gardens of Versailles, Stonehenge, small copies of Buddhist stupas representing various provinces of Taiwan.

There are gardens with orchids, bonsai trees and ferns, gardens of butterflies, birds and original potted plants. For the entertainment of tourists there are folklore shows and performances with elephants.

Nong Nuch (Pattaya) is divided into several thematic gardens (French, floral, cactus, palm, etc.) for convenience, and contains a zoo where animals can be fed (for a fee) and a pond where the largest freshwater fish Arapaima ( Length up to 4.5 m).

Big Buddha and observation deck

Big Buddha in Pattaya - a temple complex on the hill of Pratamnak - is considered one of the main sights of the city. The complex consists of several buildings, the main one being a golden statue of the Great Buddha (built in 1977) 15 meters high, to which the staircase leads, on its sides are snakes with dragon heads. Below are the bells, which can be telephoned with a wooden hammer, thus cleansing from sins.

Above the Great Buddha there are several small sculptures in different poses: a thick Buddha, ascetic, etc., each personifies his day of the week. There is also an observation deck with a view of the town and the tower of Pattaya Park.

At the foot of the stairs is a small building, it sometimes hosts services and readings for Buddhist monks. From them you can get a blessing (for money): the monk reads a prayer and in the form of an amulet tie a string on his wrist.

Night life of the resort

The nightlife center of Pattaya and the place of entertainment - Walking Street, which by the evening becomes pedestrian and corresponds to its name. It is located near the Main Beach and the pier, from where ferries depart for Koh Lan Island in the afternoon .

The street is very small - you can walk on foot in a few minutes - but crowded with restaurants representing all kinds of cuisine in the world, souvenir shops, nightlife (up to 2 nights), shops - this is the place where tourists will always be interested in going to Pattaya at night.

The main highlight is bars with striptease, erotic shows and institutions with local putans. Go-Go bars and half-dressed girls (as well as transvestites and boys) provide tourists with the full range of sexual services, but photo and video shooting is strictly prohibited.

On the same street there are 2 night discos (free entrance, but you need to buy alcohol), a lot of pubs.

Family holidays in Pattaya

Holidaymakers who come to Pattaya with their whole family will always be interested in where to go to Pattaya with their children, besides visiting the sandy beaches. Therefore, you can immediately reassure them: there are many interesting places, from which children of any age, together with their parents, can choose their own suitable ones:

• The Khao-Kheo Zoo, located 35 km from the city, is located on a vast territory where all animals live in the wild (8 thousand animals, including elephants, tigers, monkeys, kangaroos, etc.), here There are various shows with the participation of animals.
• Tiger Zoo "Si Racha", in which there are 400 Bengal tigers, as well as a crocodile farm, there is also a show (located a half hour drive from Pattaya).
• The oceanarium, located in the Jomtien area, represents 2,500 marine inhabitants, which children and parents can watch through the glass of underwater tunnels.
• Mini Siam Park is located not far from the city center, it houses miniatures of famous architectural monuments of Asia and other countries of the world.
• The newly opened Thailand's largest water park, Ramayana, has become one of the most popular holiday destinations where all parents can go to Pattaya with their children. The water park is divided into 14 zones: children's and wave pools, a slow river, water attraction "Vortex", various water slides and many other attractions.

Other attractions

In addition to tours that are represented in Pattaya by various firms and tour operators, there are many places where you can go to Pattaya on your own to all tourists:

• An ancient city, also called Muang Boran, will appeal to travelers eager to plunge into the history of Thai culture and architecture. It is an open-air museum where all the sights of Thailand (116 buildings) are built, only in a small amount. It is located 1.5 hours drive from Pattaya in Samut Prakan province.
• The temple complex of Yannasangwararam (30 km from Pattaya) is a favorite place for meditations of local and visiting Buddhists, where exotic temples are located in different oriental styles, on one of the rocks there is a footprint of the foot of the Buddha, to which 300 steps lead.
• The Museum of 3D-pictures in the hotel "Art in Paradise" presents 150 paintings of different subjects, where interesting photographs are obtained, when a person becomes a part of the picture.
• Night market on the street. Teprasit is very popular with tourists for low prices and local flavor.

Reviews of tourists

According to the reviews of tourists who visited Pattaya, it is the sights and exotic nature that left an indelible impression of the rest. Solving the question of where to go to Pattaya or how to go on a regular excursion never caused problems, because the choice is very wide and varied. Children invariably enthrall the zoo, the oceanarium and the water park. Even adults, as follows from the reviews, can watch for hours the underwater inhabitants and animals in their natural habitat. Well, the Botanical Garden admires its beauty.