Pattaya

Pattaya (Thai: พัทยา,  pronunciation , rtgs: Phatthaya, Thai pronunciation: [pʰát.tʰā.jāː]) is a city in Thailand, a beach resort popular with tourists and expatriates. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi.

Pattaya City (Thai: เมืองพัทยา; rtgs: Mueang Phatthaya) is a self-governing municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. The city is in the heavily industrial Eastern Seaboard zone, along with Si Racha, Laem Chabang, and Chonburi. Pattaya's census population figures of 107,000 only account for residents who have formally registered in the city. Pattaya is the center of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area - the conurbation in Chonburi Province - with a total population exceeding 1,000,000.

History

The name Pattaya evolved from the march of Phraya Tak (later King Taksin) and his army from Ayutthaya to Chanthaburi, which took place before the fall of the former capital to Burmese invaders in 1767.