Getting treated in Chiang Mai

Posted by Art man on November 1st, 2007 filed in Expat life, The North

Chiang Mai is a place where many tourists come to get some sort of treatment, whether it’s something therapeutic as the famous northern Thai massage or a spa treatment, or to get that pesky root canal taken care of. Thailand’s second city is well equipped, with many kinds of treatment centres available, be it traditional Chinese medicine or modern hospital care.

One of the great advantages to being treated for whatever ails you in Chiang Mai are the prices, which usually run at a much lower rate than the same service in Europe or North America. A casual stop in to one of the city’s many massage parlours will cost you an average of 200-300 baht, with more upscale establishments charging anywhere up to 1000 baht, still considerably lower than what an hour or two with a masseuse would cost back home. Some places also have herbal steam saunas for less than 200 baht, and the combination of the sauna followed by a massage will have you floating a couple of inches above street level when your afternoon of pampering is over.

One type of massage that is noteworthy is the traditional Thai session with a blind practitioner. There are a few shops around the city run by blind masseurs, who are not there to give you a relaxing time, but instead to get your meridian lines pumping energy more clearly and realign muscles; the process usually involving a great deal of discomfort, but as one legendary master in the game says, “No pain no gain.” He means it. And he’s usually right.

For further bodily care, there are a few yoga studios in town to get your mind and body back in alignment, whether you are after a Hatha yoga workout or something a bit more intensive like Ashtanga, you should be able to find a place that is right for you.

While these practices are usually classified as preventative exercises or to cure minor aches and pains, for more serious injuries there are still more options. One clinic of note is Mangkala on Ratchamanka Road, where the practice of traditional Chinese medicine is carried on. Many are the expats who have benefited from a few acupuncture sessions with the lovely doctors that work there.

One ancient practice that has been gaining popularity in recent years is the Indian philosophy of Ayurveda, a comprehensive system of care to keep the body functioning at high capacity. The Chiang Mai Ayurvedic Centre offers everything from coffee colonics to three-day detox programs to get everything up to top working order.

Even the tenets of western medicine are propagated here, with the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital boasting modern facilities that once again come in at a fraction of the cost of similar or identical treatment in a western country. Thailand is also known for its dentistry, with many coming here for serious dental surgery, and even with the airfare and accommodation through the process, the cost is still lower than going to the local driller back home.

With all this at your fingertips, Chiang Mai serves as an ideal place to come and convalesce, with the best fruit shakes you’ve ever tasted to sip your way through any recovery process.