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Pattaya is more than just a beach resort and once you tire of beer, sand and water sports its time to check out some of the attractions in the Pattaya area. There is something for everyone - Underwater World, Thailand's largest zoo and the Elephant Village to name a few. Some of the more popular attractions are listed below.
Click here for an overview of Pattaya's hotels, shopping, sports and entertainment.
Anek Kusala Sala (Viharnra Sien)
Built by the Chinese-Thai community in honour of His Majesty the King, Viharnra Sien (‘Abode of the Gods’) is a fascinating repository of arts, artefacts and religious statues from China and Thailand that is both a museum and place to worship Chinese gods. Visitors can discover a host of cultural treasures in this traditionally decorated pavilion next to a lake within the royal temple of Wat Yansangwararam. HM the King opened it in 1993, bestowing the name of Anek Kusala Sala (‘Multipurpose Pavilion’).
Interesting items include replicas of the famed terracotta warriors, white jade statue of Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy), brass sculptures of Chinese gods and a pair of huge granite Peking Lions.
Open: 8.00 am - 5.00 pm (weekdays) or 5.30 pm (Saturdays and Sundays)
Fee: 50 baht
Tel: 66(0)3823 8367
Khao Kheow Open Zoo
Thailand's largest zoo is open plan, meaning the animals roam freely without fences, enabling visitors to get close and personal with them. Covering 2,000 acres with over 300 species located in twelve themed zones, including Africa, Cats Complex, Walk Through Aviary, Penguin Park and much more, there's plenty to occupy a day with nature discovery and picnics. Visitors can drive their own cars around, or catch one of the zoo's guided auto-trams that cover a seven-kilometre route through the various zones, allowing you to get off and on where you like.
Additional attractions include the daily Animal Show, where cute animals perform amazing stunts and tricks; Night Safari by auto-tram to discover the nocturnal habits of many animals; Zoo School (with accommodation) offers curricula for students to learn about animals and the environment. Visitors wanting to support the zoo's activities can join the Animal Adoption Programme to sponsor food and medicine for the animal of their choice.
Open: 8.00 am - 6.00 pm daily
Tickets: 50 baht (adults), or 50 baht (cars plus occupants)
Night Safari: 7.00 - 8.00 pm
Tickets: 100 baht (adults), 50 baht (kids)
Animal Show: 11.00 am, 2.00 & 3.00 pm (weekdays)
plus 4.00 pm (Saturdays and Sundays)
Tel: 66(0)3829 8270, 8195
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Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden
For a superb day out, Nong Nooch's 600 acres of beautiful gardens offer activities for all the family to enjoy. Here is one of Asia's largest private plant collections and research facilities, laid out for visitors to explore in a series of exquisitely landscaped themed gardens linked by pathways and skywalks. Highlights are enormous varieties of palms (1,400 species), bromeliads (over 300 species) and orchids (more than 670 native species), plus the stunning French Garden. There are also wonderful displays of ferns, cacti, bougainvillea, bon sai, and remarkable clay pots.
In addition to the plants, Nong Nooch has a butterfly house with over 1,500 attractive inhabitants; a mini zoo offering touch and photo opportunities with friendly birds and monkeys; a lake with paddle boats and canoes; a conference hall; a lakeside garden for theme parties; two restaurants; plus overnight accommodation in Thai-style houses. For some excitement, Nong Nooch puts on daily cultural shows of music and dance from Thailand's regions, Thai boxing, and a wedding ceremony, followed by fun elephant shows with the pachyderms showing off their skills at games, painting, and disco dancing.
Open: 8.00 am - 6.00 pm daily
Tickets: 100 baht (for gardens only);
400 baht (gardens and shows)
Cultural shows: 9.45 & 10.30 am, 3.00 & 3.45 pm
Elephant shows: 10.15 & 11.00 am, 3.30 & 4.15 pm
(Note: number of shows may increase according to demand)
Tel:66(0)3842 9321, 3870 9358-62
Pattaya Elephant Village
Opened in 1973, the Pattaya Elephant Village is a private sanctuary where former working elephants can live out their lives in dignity, looked after by professional mahouts. The sanctuary generates funds to support the elephants by organizing popular tourist treks to highlight the rural way of life plus a daily show that demonstrates how elephants live and work, enabling visitors to ride and interact with them.
The Elephant Show every afternoon demonstrates bathing techniques, training methods, logging skills, ancient rites for elephant round-ups, and a performance of the War Drum ceremony (Glong Sabatchai), followed by a short elephant ride. There are also two trekking excursions: a one-hour Elephant Back Trek through fields and forest held four times daily and a Combination Trek twice daily that begins with the Elephant Back Trek and continues with a jungle walk, rafting, oxcart ride and a meal at the Village restaurant.
Elephant Show: 2.30-4.00 pm; 500 baht
Elephant Back Trek: 9.00 & 10.30 am,
12.30 and 4.00 pm; 900 baht
Combination Trek: 10.30 am & 4.00 pm; 1,800 baht
Tel: 66(0)3824 9818 or 9853
Ripley's World of Entertainment
For fun, thrills and even a few scary moments, Ripley's World of Entertainment offers some unusual excitement in four fascinating attractions. Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum houses a unique collection of over 300 oddities from around the world in ten themed galleries, including the world's tallest man, shrunken heads, a six-legged cow and microscopic bibles among many other curiosities.
If strolling through a museum sounds tame, Ripley's Haunted Adventure will frighten the life out of you. The scary story of the Grimsby and Streaper Casket Company, as told by actors, is guaranteed to bring screams at every twist and turn. Or how about a thrilling ride in Ripley's 4-D Moving Theatre, where special glasses, moving seats, digital surround and a giant screen will whisk you on a thrilling ride into another dimension. The latest attraction is Ripley's Infinity Maze, a spectacular illusion of mirrors and light that will turn reality inside out.
Open: 11.00 am - 11.00 pm daily.
Tickets: 580 baht for all four attractions
Tel: 66(0)3871 0294-8
Genesis Stock Photo
Underwater World Pattaya
Move into the intriguing habitat of fish and other sea creatures without getting your feet wet. Underwater World features a 100-metre-long acrylic tunnel surrounded by water containing many varieties of colourful fish, plus the latest attraction -- the Leafy Sea Dragon. It's just like walking along the bottom of the sea.
Start by finding out what sea creatures feel like at the Touch Pool. Then head off down the tunnel on a voyage of marine discovery through three themed zones: Coral Reef, with creatures and plants that live among the coral; Sharks & Rays, with some distinctly dangerous inhabitants; Shipwreck, a place where fish love to congregate. Feeding times are twice daily at different times in different zones.
Open: 9.00 am – 6.00 pm daily
Tickets: 360 baht (adults), 180 baht (kids)
Tel: 66(0)3875 6879
Text by John Leicester
Text (c) Tourism Authority of Thailand News Room
www.TATnews.org
Genesis Stock Photo
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