Pattaya
Resort City On The Eastern Gulf Coast, About Two Hours From Bangkok · Pattaya, Chon Buri
Pattaya is a big, brash resort city on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand, about two hours by road from Bangkok, that grew from a fishing village into a rest-and-recreation stop for American servicemen in the Vietnam War years and never looked back. Its reputation comes from the nightlife: Walking Street, a neon strip of go-go bars, clubs, cabaret and seafood restaurants that closes to traffic each evening, and the beer bars of Soi 6 and the side streets, where the sex trade is openly on show. But Pattaya is also a family and domestic resort with far more to it: the Sanctuary of Truth, a vast temple-palace carved entirely from wood and still under construction, the tropical gardens of Nong Nooch, water parks, the cabaret shows, Pratumnak hill's Big Buddha, the long quieter beach of Jomtien, and a short ferry to Ko Larn, where the water is far clearer than in Pattaya Bay. Baht buses loop the beach roads for a few baht, malls such as Terminal 21 fill the centre, and the scams are well known, so a little caution goes a long way.
Walking Street, Pattaya, Pattaya, Chon Buri, 20150, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: Walking Street closes to traffic from about 6 or 7 pm and its bars and clubs run until the early hours, with some zoned venues allowed to about 4 am; the Sanctuary of Truth opens daily from about 8 am to 6 pm; Nong Nooch from about 8 am to 6 pm; the water parks from about 10 am to 6 pm, with some closing one day a week or for maintenance in the low season; the Ko Larn ferries run from early morning to late afternoon or early evening; the malls from about 11 am to 10 or 11 pm. The traps that ruin a day are a Buddhist holy day or election day closing the bars, missing the last cheap ferry back from Ko Larn, a water park closed for maintenance, and a jet-ski or bill scam that swallows an afternoon. Confirm current times before relying on them.