Thai detox

Americans are paying big money for this. This just shows you how difficult it can be and to what lengths people will go to, to overcome addiction.

Since its foundation in 1959, Wat Tham Krabok, 85 miles north of Bangkok, has put nearly 100,000 addicts through its “cold turkey” detox program and given them a grounding in meditation to help them stay on the straight and narrow. The treatment — a far cry from the picture-postcard beaches, jungle trekking and wild nightlife that draw millions of visitors to Thailand each year — is not for the faint-hearted.

In what is now a well-choreographed ceremony, patients sit cross legged and side-by-side in front of a long open drain. Accompanied by drums and chanting they then try to drink a bucket of water before sticking their fingers down their throats.