Known for its luxurious beach side hotels, pulsating nightlife, thrilling water sports and exotic seafood; Pattaya in Thailand is an ideal holiday destination for both families and couples. The tranquil tropical atmosphere with a variety of leisure and entertainment activities invites lots of tourists from all over the world. Pattaya is also an ideal destination for water sports lovers as they get ample opportunities here for swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing etc. Let's see below what all Pattaya has in store for its tourists.

Tourist Attractions 

Art in Paradise Museum

Art in Paradise is one of its kind art galleries that have put on display over hundred interactive and funny 3D art pieces. It is also the world's largest illusion art museum. While visiting the art museum, you must carry your camera along as it's a great place to get some incredible life like photographs clicked. You can get some great camera shots by posing yourself as standing on the edge of a deep canyon, standing on a log across a waterfall or feeding elephants in the midst of a jungle. Considered to be the most innovative and interesting tourist attractions in Pattaya, this art gallery is a must visit for people belonging to all age groups especially the kids.

Mini Siam

If you want to see the whole world at one location, then Mini Siam is an apt tourist attraction in Pattaya as you get an opportunity here to see the miniature replicas of the world's famous places, historical monuments and sites. The most famous of the objects displayed include the miniatures of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Taj Mahal, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Bottle Art Museum

Located opposite the Mini Siam, the Bottle Art Museum is another great and unique tourist attraction in Pattaya where you get to see over 300 miniature art works contained in different shaped and sized glass bottles. The creations inside these bottles are impressive and showcase beautiful architectural designs and cultures from all across the world. You will be amazed to see the miniatures of Japanese Pagodas, boats and ships inside these bottles. Miniatures of famous monuments like the 'Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque' of Brunei, the 'Ho Chi Minh monument' of Vietnam, and the 'Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur' can also be seen.

If interested, you can also go through the video showing the entire process of bottle artwork. You can also attend the weekend classes that make you learn this beautiful art.

Do not forget to buy a small bottle art souvenir while leaving the museum.

Pattaya Elephant Village

Elephant village is another great tourist attraction in Pattaya. For the ones who have not seen these huge creatures from so close earlier, a visit to this village would surely be a thrilling experience. The village is a great refuge for elephants that once used to work in Thailand villages, but now due to ill health and injuries cannot be used for heavy work in the jungles. The entry fee paid by visitors is used for the welfare of the elephants. Fun activities that you will enjoy doing in this village include taking elephant rides, feeding the elephants with bunches of bananas, watching them being trained and getting some amazing pictures clicked with them. You can also take jungle treks on the back of these elephants. You even get an opportunity to visit a silk manufacturing unit where you learn the techniques for identifying real silk.

Sanctuary of the Truth

Located on the beach in Northern Pattaya, overlooking the sea, the Sanctuary of Truth (also known as Prasat Satchatham) is a beautiful building entirely made of wood. All the hand carved wooden sculptures made on its walls are based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs. The towers in the corners of the building display the wooden carvings based on the mythologies of India, Cambodia, China and Thailand. The intricate details and precision of these carvings is something to be truly admired. You will be amazed to know that the building is in place for almost 20 years and it would still take another 15 years to complete it. Hundreds of wood craftsmen can be seen here carving out new designs by hand on the rock hard teak wood.

The Million Years Stone Park and Crocodile Farm

The Million Years Stone Park & Pattaya Crocodile Farm is a result of lots of hard work and efforts of a Thai businessman Khun Suan who has for more than 30 years collected rare natural objects (like fossilized tree trunks that are aged millions of years, strange rocks shaped like animals that weigh up to 75 tons and special Thai trees that are more than 200 years old) to one day put on display for tourists from all over the world. Apart from these rare collections what draws people to this farm is the thought of getting a view of thousands of saltwater and freshwater crocodiles living in their natural habitat. 

Most thrilling attractions of this park are the live performance of a man fighting a giant crocodile. This performance is held daily and attracts thousands of tourists. If you are more of a thrill loving person and want to get close to the crocodiles, then there are ample opportunities to feed these wild creatures and get pictures clicked with them. For nature and animal lovers, this a must visit destination in Pattaya.

Pattaya Floating Market

Another fun tourist attraction in Pattaya is its world famous floating market. In this market, you will find hundreds of vendors floating over the water and selling authentic Thai dishes and desserts. You can hire a man powered boat that takes you through the market for around 30 minutes. Apart from food, you will also find stalls selling niche Thai stuff from four different regions (Northern, Southern, North Eastern and Central) of Thailand. You can buy wooden sculptures, paper handicrafts, wood crafted handbags, and Thai silk at very reasonable prices from this market.

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden

Another fascinating tourist destination in Pattaya is the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden that exhibits a wide range of orchid species from all over the world. You can enjoy strolls in well manicured gardens carpeted with colorful flowers. The Major highlight of this botanical garden is its elephant show that comprises of jaw dropping performances by elephants. You can see these elephants ride bikes and play football. This is a must watch show if you are with kids. Apart from the elephant show you can also enjoy cultural performances by Thai dancers dressed in elegant costumes.

If you are accompanied by kids and elderly people than you can even hire a tuk tuk that will take you through the entire garden and will stop at apt places so that you can click some nice pictures.

Wat Phra Yai (Big Buddha Hill)

Figures of golden dragon running along the handrails on either side of the stairway leading to the Buddha statue, also makes a remarkable site. Once you reach the top, you will see seven more comparatively small Buddha figures in different postures. From the top of the hill, you will also get panoramic views of the Pattaya city.

Khao Phra Bat

Also known as the Pattaya Hill, Khao Phra Bat is a popular tourist place from where you can get stunning views of the Pattaya Bay and the city. Tourists mostly gather at the hill top during the evening to get some spectacular views of the setting sun. Other major attractions on this hill include Khao Phra Bat temple, Navy broadcasting station and the statue of Jumborn Prince.

Food

Thai food is well known all around the world, so, trying out some authentic Thai food is a must when you are in Pattaya. Use of a variety of aromatic herbs and spices gives Thai food a unique taste. Some of the must try Thai dishes are listed below.

1. Pad Thai - A very common street food, Pad Thai is basically rice noodles served with a tangy and spicy sauce.
2. Som Dtam - A spicy and pungent green papaya salad.
3. Yam Kai Dao - A fried egg salad mixed with wedges of onions, tomatoes, chilies and lime juice.
4. Thai Noodle Soup - Soup of rice noodles combined with coconut milk, vegetable broth and lemongrass. 
5. Pineapple Fried Rice - Served in a boat made of pineapple shell, this available in both vegetarian and non vegetarian form.
6. Thai Chicken Satay - Barbequed chicken served with peanut sauce.
7. Baked Fish Fillet - Fish baked in authentic Thai style wrapped in banana leaves and served with coconut rice.

Apart from the Thai food, you will also find international cuisines from Europe, Middle East, Russia, Asia, America and Italy being served in most of the restaurants. World wide famous food chains like Mc Donals, Subway, Burger King and KFC can also be seen in lots of places in Pattaya.

Shopping

Your trip to Pattaya is incomplete without indulging in some fun shopping. Ranging from open markets to traditional Thai floating market to malls, Pattaya gives you ample opportunities to get some great stuff as a remembrance of your trip. Bargaining at the open street markets, the floating market and night markets is quite common. If you have those bargaining skills, then you get good quality products at very nominal prices. Some of the items that can be bought from Pattaya include handicrafts such as wooden carvings and Buddha statues, Thai silk fabric, gems & jewelry and electronics. 

The majority of shops in Pattaya does not accept credit cards; they deal in cash. Also, even where the credit cards are accepted, refrain from using them as Pattaya is famous for credit frauds. So, beware.

Nightlife

The Pattaya walking street is a hotspot destination for party lovers. With hundreds of beer bars, discotheques and pubs, this is the most happening place in Pattaya. The street starts getting illuminated with colorful neon signs during sunset and is flocked by an uncountable number of locals and tourists. You will find here everything related to your interest: live music and dance performances, cabaret shows, rock bands, casinos and gaming alleys; all are accompanied with great food and drinks. What attracts most of the night owls is the world famous Tiffany's Ladyboy Cabaret show wherein ladyboys dressed in extravagantly beautiful costumes perform and entertain the audience. Great choreography and special lightening effects add more charm to the show. Enlisted in world's top 10 shows, the Tiffany's show is a must watch when you are in Pattaya.

Image Source: Self and Wikipedia