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Pattaya
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With its murky sea, narrow, rubbish-strewn beaches and streets packed with high-rise hotels,
PATTAYA
is the epitome of exploitative tourism gone mad. The town swarms with male and female prostitutes, and plane-loads of Western men flock here to enjoy their services in the rash of go-go bars for which "Patpong-on-Sea" is notorious. Yet watersports facilities here are among the best in the country, and it's not a bad place to learn to
dive
, though the reefs off the Andaman Coast are more spectacular. TAT-approved dive shops that run four-day certificate courses (B10,000) and diving expeditions include Dave's Divers Den (tel 038/221860) on Soi 6, Thanon Pattaya Beach; Dolphin Diving Centre (tel 038/427185) on Soi Post Office; and Seafari Sports Center on Soi 5, Thanon Pattaya Beach (tel 038/429253). Be wary of unqualified instructors and dodgy equipment when signing up at any dive centre.
Pattaya comprises three separate bays. At the centre is the four-kilometre
Pattaya beach
, fringed by a sliver of sand and packed with hotels, restaurants, bars and tour operators. The southerly bay,
Jomtien beach
, is cleaner and quieter, but lacks shops and restaurants and is not particularly attractive; it's 14 km long and Thailand's top windsurfing spot.
Naklua Bay
, around the northerly headland from Pattaya beach, is the quietest of the three, but much of the accommodation is inaccessible without private transport, and there's no decent beach. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Thailand,
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