This rather unattractive beach, 20km southeast of Phetchaburi (you'll need private transport to get here) attracts a mix of beach and book lovers. Although the locations in the epic Thai poem Phra Aphai Mani were fictional, it has been surmised that this beach was writer Sunthorn Phu's inspiration because he did visit here.
In his honour, a partially submerged statue of an ogress stands offshore with an outstretched hand and a forlorn expression, depicting a character from the poem who disguised herself as a beautiful temptress to win the love of the hero and imprison him on the beach. But he discovers her treachery (and her true ugliness) and with the help of a mermaid escapes to Ko Samet.
