Friday 19th January and we took a long-tailed boat from Ao Nang to Railay Beach. From there we walked to East Railay and then on to Phra Nang Beach where this Cave is located at one end of the beach and Ko Rang Nok tower at the other.
This is the second of two caves along the headland both have rather unusal shrines in them. However this is larger of the two caves, as result has more contents inside it.
There was a bit of confusion and no clear information about the names of the Cave. For the purposes of this review, this one is Phra Nang Cave and the smaller one is Princess Cave.
Having visited the smaller cave first we were neither surprised nor shocked to see the contents of this Cave and it's shrine.
A statue of Phra Nang sits on a table, with legs crossed, holding a bowl in front of her. The Shrine is surrounded by colourful floral tributes and pieces of cloth. There are two smaller statues perched behind Phra Nang, one on either side of her.
Around the cave there are vast numbers of wooden phalluses, erect penises, in all shapes and sizes and painted in different colours and embedded in the sand. There is a pile, towards the rear of the Cave of discarded phalluses.
The Cave is a sacred place and should be treated with respect by visitors. Fishermen and boatmen come here to make floral offerings and burn incense ensuring a safe return journey from sea.
There is a sign requesting that visitors do not leave the following five items for Phra Nang as "she is Indian, not a God and she believes in the phallus or Ungam as a symbol of the Hindu God Shiva".
The items are sex toys, red water, red flowers, traditional Thai costumes or strange offerings.
There are many legend and myths about who Phra Nang was, one is she was an Indian princess who was killed in a shipwreck nearby and her ghost occupies the cave.
Another story says that Phra Nang was the wife of a local fisherman, whose husband was lost at sea and she lived her life in the cave waiting for his return.
Fishermen and boatmen still make offerings in the form of incense and flowers to ensure a safe journey. They believe that Phra Nang, Princess Goddess lives in the Cave under the cliff
This Shrine is definitely one of the most unusual we have ever seen.