For a long time everyone thought Pattaya began and ended with the walking strip, which is nothing but one bar after the other jostling for space. But over the years this destination has been cleaning up its act and adding other attractions to its portfolio. Nestled along a picturesque bay on the East Coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Pattaya is roughly 170 kilometers southeast of Bangkok and worth a visit.
If you pick up a tourist brochure, or look at a website, or even talk with one of the expatriates who live there, you’ll keep stumbling on the phrase “paradise” used to describe Pattaya. On arrival the casual observer may be a little mystified by this. The beach is rubbish, the whole town is concrete and there’s sleaze on a truly dumbfounding scale. Koh Phi Phi this ain’t. Yet the town has the highest concentration of expatriates outside Bangkok and sees two million visitors every year (second only to Phuket). So what draws people to this seaside resort town, just to the southeast of Bangkok?
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