I found myself in Thailand. I don’t mean that spiritually. I mean I found a guy who leads Meetup groups on unusual adventures around Bangkok similar to the unique tours I lead around Portland. This week Joan and I joined him and a small group of people to visit a haunted statue garden, a floating market, and the tallest standing statue of Ganesh in the world.

Last year I spent a couple of months in the Thon Buri neighborhood of Bangkok, which is on the west side of the Chao Phraya river. I’d wanted to immerse myself in more of the Thai culture, but it was long before I found myself missing the conversations and company of fellow westerners. The solution came in finding that Bangkok has a very active Meetup community.

I attended game nights, bike rides, city walks, and even ice baths. The most interesting events I stumbled across were hosted by a group called Go with the Flow, led by a guy who calls himself Mr. Bakery. At the event where I met Mr. Bakery, he told me that he was studying to be a tour guide and that he led off the beaten path tours primarily attended by people living in Bangkok. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet him until I was about to leave Bangkok, so it wasn’t until this year that I got to attend one of his adventures.

When Joan and I arrived in Bangkok, I took her to a musical bingo Meetup, but when I got a notification that there was an opening in the typically full Go with the Flow event the next weekend, I signed up immediately. Not only was it a chance to see things in Bangkok most locals don’t experience, it was dubbed as a haunted statue park, and Joan loves the supernatural.

We met the group outside a Starbucks near Independence Monument, and we were the only ones who hadn’t attended one of his events before. While the group consisted of people from all over the world, most of them had lived in Bangkok for several years, and we had a great conversation with a couple of Thai guys who were born in the USA but living in Bangkok now.

Conversation hushed as we approached the Ajarn Suan Ashram statue park. In part, it was because we’d been on the main highway for about an hour, and then we transitioned to a narrow concrete road elevated above emerald green rice paddies. It made for a fitting transition as we pulled into the jungle just a few minutes down the road.

We were greeted by the caretaker who shared some information about the shaman who created the 100 statues. The most fascinating detail is that the statues were made of the ash, bones, hair, and skin mixed with concrete. They even had openings in the back where more bones could be added. According to our guide, people choose a statue to confide in based on their wishes. He also told us that some people spend the night in the park, but most of them are foreigners as Thai are very superstitious. The Thai people in our group confirmed that there was no way they’d come after dark.

The number of statues was impressive, and we spent a good amount of time following the stepping stones through the jungle. Each turn revealed another statue. When we finished, we were all drawn to the rice paddies outside the entrance. Perhaps it was to shed the pall of death and embrace the vibrancy of the young rice stalks and bright white egrets standing among them.

Having shaken off the voodoo, we left the statue park and drove about 30 minutes to the Wat Bang Kra Chet floating market. Like the markets I mentioned previously, this one is no longer served by boats but by people who set up stands along the water. To pay tribute to the historical floating market, the tables for eating are made out of boats.

We spread out to find food and regrouped at one of the boat tables. Everyone tried something different, and some foods were so inspiring that some of us abandoned our original choices and went to get a serving of the envied foods.

Because this was the first time Mr. Bakery had done the tour, he had allotted extra time, so instead of heading to our next destination, we chartered a boat to take us up the river for about an hour to visit a bird sanctuary. Even if the sanctuary hadn’t been inhabited by hundreds of storks nesting in the trees, it was still a lovely trip along the river that gave us the opportunity to peer into rural Thailand.

When we returned to the market, the director came over to ask if he could get a photo of our group in front of it. He said that they rarely see foreigners there and would be proud to show that we’d visited the market. After the photo opp, we headed to our last stop, Khlong Khuean Shri Ganesh International Park.

At 128 feet tall, it is thought to be the tallest standing statue of Ganesh in the world although what really stands out is the size of his bottom since he is facing away from you as you enter the parking lot. Perhaps the creators intended that you arrive by boat and not by car since he is facing the river. Regardless, we were presented with a dramatic, if not traumatic first impression.

The pedestrian entrance near the river gets you re-calibrated, and you can look up in awe as you approach the statue. Along the way, we witnessed several religious practices that we had to ask Mr. Bakery about. First, we saw several people whispering into the ears of giant stone carved rats adorned in jewelry. Then we saw people shaking cans full of red sticks.

It turns out the people were whispering their wishes to the rats. Our guide warned us though that if the wish came true, we would have to return later to give them a gift. The similar tradition held true with the sticks. You shake the can filled with sticks at a slight angle until just one of the sticks falls out and hits the ground. You then take that stick over to a chart on the wall and match your number to a fortune. Again, if your fortune comes true someday, you must return to give thanks.

Rather than risk my wishes on chance, I decided to head to the concession stand and purchase a chocolate milkshake. Eventually, the rest of the group ended up there despite having not agreed to a meeting place or time. The nature of the hot weather in Thailand eventually forces people into air conditioned spaces, so as a tour guide, that’s probably the best place to look for missing people, especially when there’s an attached gift shop.

We headed home after a full day of new experiences, and I talked with Mr. Bakery about his future aspirations. He said he hoped to start a tour company, and I confirmed that he had a unique product I’d love to share with my friends.