Wat Tham Krabok

Wat Tham Krabok has been my favorite place we have visited thus far. It is known for its drug rehabilitation program. We received information about the rehab process, which includes 5 days of detoxification through drinking a secret potion (only the abbot and the pharmacist knows the recipe) made of over 100 ingredients. The potion is ingested once followed by lots of water and then vomiting until all the contents in the stomach are empty, for five day. This detoxifies the body and mind from the harmful drugs and can be considered a way of conditioning the addicts to associate disgust with their drug. After the first five days, black pills and herbal tea are administered and is an element of purification of the treatment. The steam baths also offer the effect of purifying. These are put in effect for the rest of the time. The total treatment length is 15 days. Meditation is also an important aspect of the treatment. It helps with gaining control of the mind and most importantly, oneself. Control and self-discipline is what helps the clients continue to stay clean after they leave Wat Tham Krabok.

Addicts leaving the steam baths

One thing I found surprising was that the treatment and accommodation is free of charge, and the only thing that needs to be paid for is food. This is very different from treatment centers in the US, where rehab has to be paid for, and can add up to be very hefty expenses. 

After we were invited to watch the vomiting ritual, we go the chance to interact with some addicts and ask them questions about their experiences. They ones I spoke were all at different points in their treatment, ranging from two days to eleven days. They seemed optimistic about their experience and were convinced that were not going to return using drugs. Their word is to be taken with a grain of salt, but I do wish the best for every single one of them. 

Lava statues

We then took a short walk visiting different monuments on the grounds. Every thing was beautiful and most were hand made/sculpted/built by the monks themselves... pretty impressive! 

This monk built the school, where Hmong refugees stayed in the 1980s

Just meditating

I was so impressed with this visit and learned a lot of power and addiction. At first I was a bit skeptical about the treatment and how effective it would be. I guess there is no real way to keep track of the clients after they have finished treatment and left the facility. However, according to one of the monks, he estimated that about 20% who relapse. After hearing the explanation and justification for the process, I do believe that it may help addicts fully recover. There is a sense of empowering and putting power and control back into the lives of the people whose addiction took over their life. Through interacting with the monks, meditating and learning a lot of self-discipline, the addicts learn to take back control of their lives and hopefully be able to live a normal life again after leaving Wat Tham Krabok.