Located in the north of Bangkok, at a hundred of kilometers of the Thai capital in a mountainous region, the Buddhist monastery of Thamkrabok has been offering for near half a century a program of detoxification and rehabilitation to the drug addicts of the entire world.

Very fast recognized on the national territory for its surprising rate of success in the treatment of dependences, it is from 1990 that the place began to receive foreigners. Since then, people from the four corners of the planet come to Thamkrabok.

A hundred monks ("Phra") and twenty nuns ("Chii") live to the monastery. Most of them are ex-drug addicts. Having themselves followed the cure, they know very well what awaits the new arrived in the center. They are thus able to lavish the good advices in the moments of doubt and suffering.

Detoxification follows two phases.

During the first phase of the treatment, it is a matter of eliminating poisons of the body. For five days, the monks dispense to the patients a drink made of a hundred medicinal herbs. Soon after having drunk the potion, the people feel nausea, which are invariably followed by terrible vomits. A psychological support is often necessary in these moments.

The second phase of the cure proposes a spiritual approach, based on the philosophy and the Buddhist faiths. So by integrating the treatment, it is necessary to take part to the ceremony of Sajja, which is a solemn vow, a truth that the patients realize by their actions.

During the stay, days are punctuated with tasks. Domestic duties, steam baths, and meditation are part of the daily routine. Patients also drink several times a day a tea made of medicinal herbes. This ritual is aimed to clean the body and the soul. A small amount of money is given to the patients as a reward for their work. It allows them to buy food.

The treatment lasts at least 10 days and at most 1 month.

Thamkrabok is a surprising place where men and women meet, sharing the same hope of giving up the use of toxic substances.