Tour

- went on a tour that Piak runs, went to the AIDS/HIV hospital (wasn't as informative and life changing as I thought it would be). Next we went to the sunflower field, then to the monastery where we met Monk Gordon, one of the Brown monks that broke off from the Golden Buddha monks. 300 monks living on 3000 acres of land. They help people with drug addictions and blame their addiction, not their religion. They believe that anyone can be cured of any/every disease because it's all in your mind. This place is called the Thamkrabok foundation. Website: www.thamkrabok.org.au. It started when 7 monks were praying up in the mountains. A young boy addicted to opium kept returning to them to ask for help to cure him of the addictions. They finally created a medicine made from 33 herbs, which made him vomit, and from this vomit they could find out what drug he was on and would create another medicine from it. the boy was cured. The boy's mother found out how and when she died, she left the monks her 3000 acres of land.
- after the tour we went to TAT to get info on Chiang Mai.
- then we had lunch (fish, spring rolls, prawn curry), then headed to 7-eleven for ice cream.
- Bri and Mike took a tuk-tuk to the New Town to get massages, only Bri got one.
- Judith and I went back to our hotel to get our massages, but I think they misunderstood us and they never came up to our rooms.
- when Bri and Mike got back, they gave us 45 minute massages.