#2171 Phra Nang Cave

WARNING: this post might be considered a little risque. Parental discretion is advised. ;D

I just barely finished downloading all of our photos. We used MT's iPhone, my beloved iPhone and a Kodak digital camera. There are hundreds of photos between those three devices. We really enjoyed looking through them tonight and I'm excited to share some with you.

Figuring out how to tell the stories and share some the photos is tricky. Like I said, there are so many photos. I guess I'll just break it down as the inspiration hits me.

That said, I would like to share the story of photos of Prah Nang Cave. It is in the Krabi province, not far from the legendary rock climbing area of Railay Beach. It was our first stop on the island hopping tour we took on a longtail boat. We pulled up to a beach that was packed with boats and walked up a pretty beach toward the cliffs and the caves.

In this photo, I am by the cave, looking back toward the boats. Click to enlarge

There were lots and lots of people already on the beach. We weren't there for beach time, just to look at the caves.

As we got closer to the caves, I noticed that both the bigger cave and the smaller cave were filled with objects I couldn't identify right away. Were they buoys? Wood? There were so many objects of different sizes that until I was standing right at the cave entrance and could focus on one object at a time did I realized what I was looking at.

Phallic symbols. Lots and lots of phallic symbols in a variety of colors and shapes and sizes. Click on the photos to enlarge (LOL - no pun intended, but you've got to see this!)

Why are these two caves filled with penises? Well the legend is that there was a princess, Prah Nang, who was shipwrecked on the way to her wedding and she washed up on this beach and sheltered in these caves. Fisherman came bearing gifts to get her blessing for a safe journey and eventually others came with gifts to be blessed with fertility. At least that's what I remember our guide telling us. For a little more info and some more up-close photos, click here.

While I was busy cracking up at all the phalluses, MT's palms were getting sweaty while he looked at all the rock climbing possibilities.

For a few hundred baht (that's Thai currency), you could put on a harness and get a belay up these limestone faces. MT didn't do it, but if we ever go back to Thailand, I think he might give it a try. There are a lot of places to climb.

I was just trying to soak everything in. The view was pretty great.

I'm planning to write on odd-numbered days this month, and probably all of the posts will be about Thailand and Cambodia. Hope you weren't too put off by this post and that you'll come back!