Welcome to  Pattaya, named after the strong winds which come from the South West at the beginning of every rainy season. Pattaya, up until 40 years ago was just a sleepy fishing village, the Vietnam war changed this. America sent soldiers to build the air base at U Tapao (40km sout of Pattaya) and many of these took to spending their leisure time and money in Pattaya. Today Pattaya is Thailand's premier beach resort and attracts annually more than a million tourists from all over  the  world. Pattaya provides high standard hotels, restaurants, sports, entertainment and shopping facilities. The resort is Thailand's most important diving center and the east coast is also a paradise for golfers and an ideal place to learn kiteboarding.