The name Pattaya evolved from the Phraya Tak (King Taksin) March wherein his army traveled from Ayutthaya to Chanthaburi on 1767 (essentially happening before the fall of the ex-capital of Thailand to Burmese invaders). The strict discipline and dignified manner by which Phraya Tak controlled his army in the vicinity of what is now known as Pattaya awed the troops of Nai Klom. Pattaya was first called Thap Phraya (Phraya Army) before it was changed to Phatthaya (the rainy season's southwest-to-northeast wind) and later on Pattaya.
Pattaya's Tourism Transformation
For hundreds of years, Pattaya was nothing more than a village for fishermen. However, on April 26, 1961, the first group of about a hundred American soldiers from the Vietnam War went to this place as a stopover of sorts as well as a place for relaxation. Eventually, Pattaya transformed itself from its humble beginnings as a fishing village and blossomed into one of Thailand's biggest tourism moneymakers. In fact, it has managed to attract over four million vacationers annually. Fishing huts became resort hotels, large tracts of wilderness metamorphosed into Asia's largest beachfront shopping mall known as the Central Festival Pattaya Beach Mall, and Pattaya itself is quite known for its luxurious festivities and myriad of entertainment options.
