My Thai Life

Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand about 165 km southeast of Bangkok in the province of Chon Buri. It is one of the largest centers of tourism in Thailand, with some 5 million visitors arriving in 2004. Tourists visit Pattaya for many reasons including luxury hotels, beautiful beaches, friendly people, excellent shopping, reasonable prices and a wide variety of nearby tourist attractions. Others come for the world renowned nightlife and prostitution.

The city had 101,378 registered inhabitants in 2007. This figure excludes the large number of Thais who work in Pattaya but remain registered in their hometowns, and many long-term expatriate visitors.

Pattaya was simply a small fishing village until it was discovered as a beach resort by Bangkok residents in the 1960s. Soon thereafter, American servicemen from the U.S. Air Force base at U-Tapao in neighbouring Rayong province began using the area for “rest and recouperation” (R&R), causing a huge boom in prostitution. When the Americans left following the end of the Vietnam War, the city fell into a crisis. However, modern mass tourism, particularly Sex tourism from Europe and America brought a new lease of life to Pattaya. In recent years the City has pushed hard to clean up its image and family-focussed entertainment is increasingly available, however the core-sex industry has ensured that Pattaya retains its position as one of the World’s largest red light districts.

In 2005, more than 35,000 hotel rooms were available in Pattaya. Pattaya has seen a large increase in family tourism in recent years, thanks to efforts to present a more wholesome image. Pattaya is an especially popular vacation destination for families from Russia, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Pattaya also has a large international expatriate population and many services meet international standards.

The rapid growth of tourism brought about many negative consequences, such as petty crime and prostitution. These problems seemed beyond the capabilities of the Central Government. In 1976, the Pattaya City Act was passed by the Thai legislature, making Pattaya a self-administrating municipality governed by a Council-manager government. However, many argue that this administration system has drawbacks (for example, the mayor may disagree with the city manager). Critics have recommended abolishing the system.

Ok, people keep asking me about the Thai Visa laws. So, here is what I think is going on. I’ll keep it short and simple.

To my understanding, the new Thailand visa laws only affect the Tourist Visa. All other visas need not worry.

You are allowed 3 stamps in 3 months. That is it, then you will have to go out of the country for 3 months before returning to Thailand.

Some people tell me about how they get a new passport and then get a new stamp each time. It is only a matter of time before that catches up with you. Now, some people say that there is no way to check this, well, considering they will need a computer at every entry point, then I don’t see how they could catch that. I think Thailand is a few years off of a fully computer automated system that checks your entry date digitally.

Why you ask are they doing this? They want to crack down on the illegal people working in Thailand. This is all about money.

So, your only option looks like a Non-Immigrant B Visa. Or just leave and come back in 3 months.

MyThaiLife