Massaging a route to rehabilitation
Massaging a route to rehabilitation
While massage is commonplace throughout Thailand, an exponent of Thai massage in the northern city of Chiang Mai deserves special attention.
The Chiang Mai Women’s Correctional Institute is home to a facility that provides female inmates with training in the ancient art so they can secure employment as masseurs on their release from prison. Asian Trails is a supporter of this enterprise. Guests enjoy treatments in a training centre housed in a Lanna-style property adjoining the jail. The prisoners give exceptional massages, honed through intensive practice.
The interaction with members of the public plays a role in rehabilitation and the fee helps inmates get back on their feet. The scheme is highly successful, with many ex-prisoners actively recruited by massage shops.