If you are wondering: what are the strangest places in Thailand? What are those unique places to visit? What are the most unusual places to see? You are in the right place! Here, in fact, you will find 5 strange, curious, incredible and unusual places located throughout Thailand.
1 - Bangkok: Cabbages & Condoms restaurant
Cabbages & Condoms (C&C) restaurant, one of the most distinctive restaurants in metropolitan Bangkok, has attracted international attention. Conveniently located near one of Bangkok's main business districts, C&C is very popular with local and foreign customers.
In addition to promoting sex education, the restaurant also supports several non-profit organizations in Thailand, including the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a sex education and AIDS prevention group. He gave scholarships, school lunches and more to those in need after the tsunami. He also provided assistance to the Mechai Pattana school, where he created the BIRD, or School Based Integrated Rural Development program to end poverty. These are just a handful of the amazing programs and nonprofits the restaurant sets out to help.
2 Krabi: Penis Shrine at Phra Nang Cave
Phra Nang Cave (the Princess's Cave, as it is sometimes indicated on maps) is a sacred place and should be treated with respect by anyone who visits it. More curious, however, are the phallic symbols or lingam that are in the foreground at the entrance to the cave. Lingam are a symbol of the Hindu god Shiva and are associated with fertility and virility.
So who is Princess Phra Nang? There are several theories about her and how she was associated with this particular Krabi cave. A legend says that an Indian princess was killed in a shipwreck off her and her ghost occupied the cave. Another story says that Phra Nang was the wife of a local fisherman. One day her husband left for the sea but never returned. According to this story, the woman lived the rest of her years living in the cave and looking at the sea waiting for her husband to return.
3 Lopburi: Monkey temple
Lopburi is one of the oldest cities in Thailand. It is home to some spectacular attractions such as King Narai's Lopburi Palace and Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, a historic temple.
But what attracts foreigners the most are the monkeys, the real hosts.
THE MONKEY FESTIVAL; The festival started in the 1980s thanks to the inspiration of a local businessman. His idea was to provide a buffet of fruit and food for the monkeys as a way of expressing gratitude for the primates whose presence brought tourist income to the city. The event has grown in size over the years and thousands of local and foreign tourists descend on Lopburi to see the monkey banquet and associated festivals.
4 Koh Hingham: The cursed island of black rocks
It is a small uninhabited island that few have the courage to visit.
The gods - namely the god Tarutao, a Thai deity - are said to have cast a curse on the island. Any visitor who dared to take even a pebble from the island would be cursed forever.
Even if you can't take the stones home, you can play with them within the boundaries of the island. Thais, for example, use them to build miniature cheddis and kneel before them lay down their most ardent wishes and prayers.
Park rangers who work on the island receive hundreds of stones a year in the mail from people who have taken them from the island and who wish to remove their curse.
5 Wat Mae Kaet Noi – THE TEMPLE OF HELL
WARNING: Strong language and disturbing images
Wat Mae Kaet Noi, known as the Chiang Mai Hell Temple, is filled with grotesque statues and installations representing torture and suffering in the underworld.
Established by a monk who wanted to show believers the consequences of sin, the temple has now become a popular attraction.
The statues in Wat Mae Kaet Noi are displayed in brutal depictions of torture in extremely detailed scenarios: self-inflicted abortions, bloody orgies with demons and dismemberments, to name a few.
Reading about the horrors of hell is one thing, seeing them in graphic displays and life-sized statues is another. These "temples of hell" are accomplishing something far greater than just information about what awaits a life of sin - they are also making people cautious and fearful.
"It's definitely not a place I want to visit again, here or in any life", said one visitor.
Sa'ad, after all, had made his life's mission to warn the people of the terrors of hell and purgatory. He said he built the place after an evil demon showed up in one of his dreams of him.
Sa'ad's terrifying ideas for the temple were initially met with ridicule and disbelief, but once the garden was built, he realized how significant it has become to the community - however disturbing.
"A lot of Thais come here for birthdays, weddings and funeral." Sa'ad said of his work. "For them it is something different".
What other strange, unusual and somewhat mysterious places do you want to suggest to us?
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See you soon with the second part!
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