Traditional Thai Treatments on Koh Samui:

"Santi Lunli is a far cry from your usual massage therapist on Koh Samui. He is a male practitioner of traditional Thai medicine with thousands of satisfied clients from all over the world. His clients like him so much that they take him back to their countries of origin to work on an occasional basis. He has just returned from a three month stint in Greece and somebody is presently trying to entice him to Norway.
He was born and raised in Bang Na, situated on the south eastern outskirts of Bangkok, quite close to what is now Suvarnabhumi International Airport. When he was 17 a horrific accident befell him when he was electrocuted by a high power cable. Five days later he collapsed and found himself unable to walk. His distraught parents rushed him off to the Dr. who said there was nothing he could do, suggesting the boy remain an invalid for life. But his wise grandmother was steeped in the ways of traditional Thai medicine. She took him to see an old lady called Kanchon. She massaged his body, used hot rocks to smooth damaged muscle and tendon and made up powerful medicines made from local herbs. Many Thais had turned their backs on this old form of healing in favor of western allopathic medicine, but Santi’s case was to prove them mistaken. In a long series of treatments spanning more than a year the old healer was able to get the young man to walk again! What was more; she taught him her massage skills and schooled him in herbal lore. It was something for him to do during treatment but once he was well, his interest swiftly waned. Santi was young and business interested him. He wanted to make money and acquire the good things in life like houses, cars and electronic goodies. He found business easy and quickly established a successful tailoring outlet which made it easy to amass material wealth. His business thrived for ten years, but he was beginning to get bored. It was all too easy. He decided the time had come to use the knowledge he had gained in his own healing. He went to work in the Khao San area in a series of massage establishments. He extended his skills with the experience and further study at Wat Poh, the temple of the reclining Buddha situated besides the Grand Palace in Ratnakosin. This is the foremost centre offering education in massage and Thai traditional medicine.
Fourteen years ago he decided to re-locate to a much quieter Koh Samui. At that time there were four teachers offering training in Thai healing arts and he came to learn from them.
His specialty is pressure or trigger point massage. This focuses on releasing hyperirritable muscle knots that can refer pain all over the body. He used to have a shop on the ring road on the outskirts of Maenam. Over time he felt this location to be unsuitable and has subsequently moved to the Temple Khao Hua Jook Road which loops down from the ring road south of Tesco Lotus to link with access to Chaweng Lake and beyond. The place is reasonably easy to find, just look out for the big sign. You do, however, need to make an appointment as he is too busy to see people wandering in off the street. His rooms are clean and air conditioned comfortable.
If you have specific problems he will diagnose the problem and if you are not too sure he will soon set you right on what is going on. It is unlikely he will be able to heal you in a single session but will give some indication of the number of sessions required to achieve success. His techniques help overcome pain, weight problems, toxicity and a myriad of other issues. Over the years the island has gained a reputation as a centre for fasting and body detoxing. Many spas and resorts have sprung up to answer this need. Santi offers an altogether superior treatment at a considerably lower cost. Many detoxers have found him and flock back to see him regularly. Concerning Detox, his knowledge of herbs makes him a specialist. He makes up the medicines for visitors whilst residents are required to boil up the packs in their own kitchens and drink the mixture two or three times per day. Such treatment does not blend well with fasting!
If you are experiencing long standing health issues, you can ring him on +66 89-4711 to make an appointment. He will be able to check out what is going on and advise you on an appropriate form of treatment."
By Alister Bredee who is a partner in Health Ambit Consultancy in Koh Samui, Thailand. He is an author and writer who is the originator of Ambit Healing, that has contributed to change in many people's lives.

Contrail or Chemtrail is it all a Conspiracy Theory?

The contrail/chemtrail argument has raged for over a decade and now it has hit Samui. Some people are claiming that they see unusual cloud formations directly after an aircraft flies overhead. The official response reiterated by Governments worldwide is the same. They tell you that you are observing a contrail. A contrail is a cloud of condensed water vapor created when the hot, humid gases from aircraft engines mix with the cold surrounding air. Look up into the sky on a clear day and you will see these trails usually flowing from a north south direction over Koh Samui. This is not a surprise as the island lies abreast the air corridor linking Bangkok with Hat Yai, Malaysia, Singapore and points south-east. The rate at which these contrails dissipate depends on the prevailing weather conditions. Samui lies within the tropics, in regions of high humidity contrails persist unlike in dry regions where they disappear very quickly.
Because of humidity these vapor trails fan out to make small clouds reaching a few hundred meters in height. The actual rate of dispersion will also depend on wind speeds and air turbulence. You can expect the trails to persist for more than a few minutes. According to “The Discovery TV Channel “the pollutants that are included in these trails include nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.”
Chemtrails on the other hand, which are dismissed as being the invention of the conspiracy theorists, are composed of barium, aluminum salts, polymer fibers and sometimes silver carbide. That’s a noxious mixture! Their proponents claim that unlike contrails these persist for hours and eventually blend to form clouds. If you look at the sky, you will frequently see this phenomenon. Answers from officialdom continue to deny that such things exist. Now we are beginning to see this picture emerge in Thailand, what is going on?
A documentary produced by Michael Murphy in 2009 entitled “What in the World are they Spraying?” claims: “What most people call chemtrails are what scientists and geoengineers call trails from stratospheric aerosol engineering programs where aerosols/chemicals are sprayed out of airplanes in the atmosphere and spread out.” After heavy spraying the clouds appear whitish and become grey and murky.
Yes, geoengeineering exists. In 1991 patent 5003186 was granted in the USA. Its title is, “Stratospheric Welscbach seeding for Reduction of Global Warming.” The program involves metal oxides like aluminum dispersed into the atmosphere. As Global warming is not really an issue and the opposite appears to be the case one could say they have been successful in their endeavors! What’s more such successes render unnecessary the proposed “Carbon Emissions Tax” which is slated to come on line in the next few years. Bill Gates is deeply involved in this project, too. This is the man who announced during a TED lecture that the population of the planet needs to be reduced to something like half a billion.
If chemtrails are part of a geoengineering project to improve the world’s weather, then why not tell us so? There is something very wrong with the weather and efforts to rectify the problem deserve praise and not silence.
A commercial airline pilot admits he is skeptical when he hears that these trails are simply the result of atmospheric conditions. “Airplanes don’t fly all over the sky. They fly in relatively straight lines along air corridors. The spray planes do not conform to these patterns.” A lady resident in northern California asks the authorities to explain why there were no chemtrails for five weeks between July and August of last year. She claims the spray planes were diverted to spray the toxic “Coreexit “over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If as the authorities claim these planes are commercial flights somebody surely would have commented that air transportation was grounded for five weeks!!!!
Look up into the sky and use your eyes, what do you see and what do you think is happening? Share your insights with the letters page of the Samui Gazette, or leave comments here."
This article by Alister Bredee appeared in "The Samui Gazette" of 19th August 2011

“Thai Classes with a Difference.”

"Khru Kaew’s bright little classroom sits at the end of an orange single story building opposite the Ban Lamorn Restaurant. If you are coming from the Lamai direction work your way through Hua Thanon, follow the road as it sweeps right at the market and then fork left the intersection with the non-working traffic lights. The sign reads Ban Thon Krut. This road is the 4170. The classroom itself can be found on the right hand side some 100 meters before the T junction that will take you to “The Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo”.
Sitting beside me on the chair is a small black and white kitten whom we have just named “Kitty”. She has a number of stitches across her fat little belly but is presently looking very comfortable. Kaew recued her from behind the building a couple of days earlier. She had been attacked by a larger predator, possibly a dog that had literally ripped out her guts. An emergency visit to the “Animal Rescue Centre” in Talig Nham saved her life . She is only one of a number of animals that the teacher has rescued. Often the class is joined by a puppy or cat who sit quietly as the foreigners struggle with the vagaries of the Thai language.
Kaew completed a B.Ed program and Chaing Mai University and went on to get a Masters at Silpakorn University; located just outside the gates of the Grand Palace. Yes, why do we call it Bangkok when the correct Thai name is Khrung Thep? Ajarn Knew went on to teach at Buurapha University. Those familiar with Pattaya know it is situated at the Bang Saen exit of the Motorway. An indication that the journey from the city or the airport is almost over and Pattaya awaits with open arms. Life teaching Thai language and literature in an academic institution can be tough and the gentle teacher succumbed to the pressures by suffering a series of blinding migraines that persuaded her to hand in her notice. As a child her parents had often brought her to Koh Samui for holidays and this is where she came to start a new life. To support herself she decided to open a Thai language school.
It offers two levels of study in listening and speaking. The beginners’ class introduces spoken Thai whilst the Intermediate stage works with more difficult structures and vocabulary. After that the avid student has the chance of going on to learn how to read and write. The course is divided into a beginners’ and then intermediate level. Some students have been with her for some years which speaks highly of the quality of instruction. Fees are very reasonable. She charges THB 200 per hour but if you feel fit enough to tackle 90 minutes the rate rises to THB 250. This is extremely good value for money!
Learning Thai is not easy as there are very few reference points for speakers of European based languages. However, making the effort to learn is always well received by the locals even if the “farang’ has only grasped a few rudimentary basics. Everybody respects this effort is an important step in the bridging of the gap that divides the two cultures
Ajarn Kaew has her own animal rescue centre where she uses her earnings from teaching to support 40 stray dogs and cats in her own home located some distance from the school. Feeding her flock is an expensive business; the bill usually exceeds THB 10,000 per month. That is a lot of teaching hours! Often she runs short of cash and has to ask her parents for help. Perhaps, you could help her in her struggle to give injured animals like “Kitty” the opportunity of life. She is not asking for charity, but really welcomes you as a student which would then aid her fund her passion. Khun Kaew would really welcome your call or inquiry. Her telephone number is 081-928-9146. Isn’t it time you learned Thai?"
This article first appeared in the "Samui Gazette" of August 5th 2011