On a typical day we spend time with one or more healers ...
One such day might be a visit with the 72 yr. old charismatic Buddhist Abbot monk healer, Prat Wichin. His remote Wat (Thai temple) clinic at the end of a very long rutted road attracts people with terminal illnesses, AIDS symptoms, and chemical addictions including opium and amphetamines. 10 - 20 day treatment programs are offered free to everyone, including foreigners, who come. Developed by Prat Wichin over years of experience, these treatments utilize daily meditation, vegetarian diet and a toxic herbal remedy to promote healing and spiritual well-being.
He has a remarkably high success rate and is eager to share what he knows, as are all the other Healers we meet.
We arrive in the evening and stay overnight as a group in a private room in the Wat hostel.
Very early each morning, Prat Wichin walks to the nearby village to receive donations of food in his "baat" or begging bowl from the villagers. Wat patients, visitors and resident monks are fed from these daily donations. Before breakfast, we receive individual blessings from Prat Wichian as we place gifts of food in his baat. After breakfast we accompany Prat Wichin on a guided tour of the Wat medicinal herb garden. He enthusiastically shares his considerable knowledge of herbal remedies and experience as a traditional monk healer. Prat Wichin enjoys meeting people from abroad and loves it when we come to visit.
After lunch (which is the final meal of the day for the monks) we are encouraged to talk with current patients (if they are not too shy) about their treatment experiences and we meet to continue our conversations with Prat Wichian. He encourages questions and shares fascinating anecdotes about his patients and his life as a Buddhist monk. Before our departure he prepares a medicinal tonic tea - optional for us to try. Also optional is the opportunity to join the patients in a meditation led by Prat Wichian in this delightful rural Wat.
In the late afternoon, we travel by minivan and Land Rover to a modest local guesthouse that is close to the Hmong Tribe village which we will visit the following day. Alternatively, if there is a collective group interest, we can stay overnight in the village schoolroom ... a very primitive but authentic experience. Enroute, we eat dinner in a typical outdoor rural restaurant.
Each day a useful Thai phrase is taught so that by the end of the adventure, participants “pud Thai nitnoi” (speak Thai a little bit). During the longer trips we receive a traditional accupressure massage and relax in a Wat herbal sauna.
Near the end of the trip, we take time for some “sanuk, sanuk” (fun, fun) .. an optional afternoon of elephant riding and river rafting.
