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No trip to Bangkok is complete without a tour of the city's opulent wats, or Buddhist temples. Tourists are awed by the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaeo and marvel at Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn . But for those who know where to look, Bangkok and its environs also offer a selection of weirder wats.

Consider Wat Hua Krabu, an unassuming temple in the seaside suburb of Bang Kunthien. Stacked amid the incense and amulets are more than 5,000 buffalo skulls, deposited by Thais in the hope of speeding their favorite beasts of burden to a happy reincarnation.

At Wat Khunsamutjeen in nearby Samut Prakan province, monks chant to the sound of lapping surf. Erosion and rising sea levels have turned the temple into an island. Worshippers negotiate a wave-lashed, rickety wooden walkway, take a boat from the mainland, or simply swim.

Back in Bangkok, check out Wat Phasee if you like your history gory. In the capital's early days, subjects who displeased the King were beheaded there. You won't see any skulls, but some of the monks swear they see headless ghosts roaming the corridors at night.

• JASON GAGLIARDI
• Temples off the tourist trail in Thailand