History

When his army arrived in the vicinity of what is now Pattaya, Phraya Tak confronted the forces of a local leader called Nai Klum, who tried to intercept him. When the two met face to face, Nai Klum was impressed by the generous Phraya Tak method and his army's strict discipline. He surrendered without a fight and joined his forces. The place where armies encounter each other is known as "Thap Phraya", which means "Phraya Army". This later became Pattaya, the name of the wind blowing from the southwest to the northeast at the start of the rainy season.

Pattaya was a fishing village until the 1960s. Then, during the Vietnam War, American soldiers stationed in nearby Yu Tabao or other US bases in Thailand began visiting Pattaya. One story, unverified from a reliable source, indicates that it all started when a group of 500 American soldiers stationed at the military base in Korat were moved to Pattaya on June 29, 1959 for a week of research and development. They rented several houses at the south end of the beach from the prominent Thai Lord Sunthorne. Despite their short stay, the soldiers had a great time on the spot. The word spread among other American soldiers stationed in the area, and Pattaya soon became a hot alternative to Bangkok.

Demographics

The city (Mueang) had 320,262 residents and counted on the 2010 census (National Bureau of Statistics). [5] Most of these screened people are Thais, and most of the immigrant population has not been identified, although the details are very complex as even indigenous Thais are stateless, and since then migrant workers have been largely organized (albeit that Due to appropriate foreign pressure). Therefore, the population does not even represent the total number. As for the Thai citizens and legal permanent residents (very few) who register the city as their hometown, the number of residents who registered district authority reached 107,944 in 2010, and their number increased modestly to 118,511 by 2017. [6] As with the Bangkok metropolitan area, the registered population figure issued by an agency different from the National Statistical Office hardly embodies the scale of the urban transformation that has occurred over the time period - the economy depends on the large numbers of informal Thai workers working in the city, yet it remains registered In their hometown, and there Much labor turnover to and from the capital, as well as farm seasonal migration. Migrant workers from neighboring countries and many long-term expatriates who reside in the city as retirees, freelancers, or contractors are not traditionally counted. There was never a reliable figure for the total population, but it is believed to be very large (according to half a million people) due to the presence of migrant workers and their vast number of Thai workers. Pattaya excludes some nearby areas like Nong Prue (73,901 people in 2010 census) and Huay Yai.In addition, Pattaya has a massive influx of residents from short-stay tourism, with 2,000 hotels and 136,000 rooms available as of 2015.Due to the tourism industry, many people from the northeast (known as Isan, the poorest region in Thailand) have started working in Pattaya, and are counted for census purposes in their home cities. The majority of these northern workers hold positions in the Go-Go bar industry, and the wage they can earn is much more than their wages in their home area of ​​Isaan.There is a rapidly growing community of foreign retirees living in Pattaya. Immigration in Thailand has a special visa category for foreigners over the age of 50 who wish to retire in Thailand. Pattaya is attractive to many retirees from other countries not only because of its strange and easy climate and lifestyle, but also because the cost of living is lower than it is in many countries.

Physical geography

Pattaya is located on the Gulf of Thailand, about 160 kilometers (99 miles) south of Bangkok in the Bang Lamung district of Chonburi district.Pattaya is a private municipal area that covers the entire Nong Prue (Nongprue), Na Kluea (Naklua) and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. The town of Ban Lamung, which forms the northern border of Pattaya, covers parts of the arrows of Bang Lamung (Banglamong), Nong Blai Lai and Akhian Tia. Bang Sali on Pattaya's southern border.Greater Pattaya occupies most of the Banglamong coast (one of the eleven regions that make up Chonburi Province). It is divided into a larger northern section that extends to the areas to the east of Naklua Beach (the most northern beach) and Pattaya Beach (Main Beach) as well as Pratamnak Hill (often called "Buddha Hill" due to the temples on top of a hill) head directly south of Pattaya Beach , And a smaller southern sector covering the area to the east of Jomtien Beach (directly south of Tel Pratnamak).

Environment

Pattaya produces around 450 tons of solid waste per day. The city spends more than 300 million baht on waste disposal and disposal annually. On average, it pays 1,600 baht to process every ton of garbage.Large quantities of garbage are allegedly dumped at sea by cruise boats.

In November 2018, Pattaya City Council approved 188 million baht to repair the six wastewater treatment plants. Installed in 2000, the plants can hold 65,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day. More than a third of the factory equipment was found 40-50 percent worn out. The system treats waste from a 36 km2 part of Pattaya, or 68 percent of its urban area. No previous plans to increase the processing capacity to 135,000 cubic meters were implemented at all and existing factories were allowed to fall into disrepair. Pattaya uses more than 200,000 cubic meters of water per day, but claims to only pour about 70,000 cubic meters per day. The explanation is not explained. Once treated, there are no tests to measure the water quality before it is dumped back into the sea, which may be responsible for the malicious discharge.