Hotels in Chiang Mai, Thailand, have long been famous for their detox programs

The moment I step into Mae Ann Valley in Chiang Mai's countryside, both my body and mind feel serene.

I can hear birds chirping and smell grass and flowers.

The aim of my trip is to fast and detox - a program to clean myself physically and spiritually.

Hotels in Chiang Mai have long been famous for their detox program featuring enema, fasting and yoga as well as meditation.

The tranquility and clean air of Northern Thailand surrounded by mountains attracts lots of travelers from across the world.

My hotel, the Pavana Chiang Mai Resort, nestled on the hillside of the Mae Rim countryside, has 48 rooms scattered in the vast mountain area.

It's very quiet due to its distance from the city, about a hour's drive, though there are several villages nearby.

The resort is known for its detox program and has an organic restaurant that provides healthy food for travelers.

It has its own farm up on the mountain which grows fruits and vegetables for its restaurant.

Once I decide to do a detox program, I am not allowed to have solid food except for special soups, fruit and vegetable juices.

As the organic restaurant is the only place offering food I hide two oranges and a banana in my room in case I am too hungry to sleep.

But sadly they are gone when I go to eat them the next day. I guess the room service people have taken them away so I can follow my detox diet.

In fact, I am not as hungry as I imagine I will be because I have to drink a cup of juice every hour.

The real difficulty for me is doing the enema, a new concept for me.

I have read of enema only in books. But to do colon hydrotherapy is still hard to accept though the hotel offers doctors to help.

"Most of our clients who come here for an enema are from Europe and America. But in recent years, the number of Chinese visitors is rising," says Juno Lee, deputy resort manager of the Pavana Chiang Mai Resort which has been providing a detox program featuring enema for seven years.

Due to the increasing number of Chinese travelers, the hotel has set up a Chinese website this year and has hired employees who can understand Chinese.

It now offers a detox program ranging from one day to 21 days. But the popular ones are 3.5 days and 7.5 days.

Each program includes daily in-house colon hydrotherapy, a yoga class, a meditation course and a massage.

Lee says Chinese travelers usually come in groups - with friends or colleagues.

Many are entrepreneurs and company managers who care about their health and want to spend time away from the city.

Xiang Feng, a film producer, chose a 7.5-day detox program hoping to lose weight.

We meet at the morning yoga class in a big shed atop the mountain overlooking rice fields and villages in the valley.

He tells me that after six days he feels great about his body and has lost more than 4 kg.

"My body is quite light and I feel very relaxed. It's a life-changing experience because I have decided to eat more vegetables instead of meat and I will do a detox every year, just like you do annual maintenance for your car," says the 39-year-old.

It is the first time Xiang is doing an enema. He is nervous. But the nerves and fear are quickly replaced by gladness after he finds that he has slimmed down and has a flat stomach after the detox program.

Some of his friends show strong interest in trying the program after he posts pictures of his experiences in Chiang Mai on his WeChat, the Chinese version of Twitter.

But there are others who still cannot accept the idea of colon hydrotherapy and joke about his enema experience.

Xiang says that before embarking on the journey, he had imagined having a feast after completing his detox program.

However, eight days of eating raw food and drinking juices, doing exercises and yoga has made him want to change his daily routine - less meat and alcohol and more vegetables.

It costs him less than 20,000 yuan ($3,070) for the nine-day trip.

He thinks it is well worth it and wants to return next year.

Unlike Xiang, Wang Yitong has kept up her habit of doing an enema every month at beauty salons in China before the 24-year-old visited the hotel in Chiang Mai in January to try its detox program.

"I regularly go to empty my bowels because it makes me look great and enhances my skin. Some beauty salons in China offer this service and women usually do it for the sake of a beautiful appearance," says Wang.

Both Xiang and Wang tell me to be relaxed about doing the enema, but I finally give up and complete only the three-day fasting with juices, yoga classes, mediation and massage.

For me, to walk around in the villages, explore the mountain and valleys and breathe in clean air is enough to clean my body spiritually and physically.

I go to watch stars in night and chase the sunrise on the top of the mountain.

Besides, the healthy food has made my stomach comfortable.

I am not alone. Several European travelers I meet only fast and skip the enema part.

There are some villa owners in the mountain area who are there for a holiday - just enjoy the air and tranquility as well as the healthy food.

"Travelers come here mainly to escape from the city. But the detox program is also attracting lovers of enema. For the future, we will focus more on the Asia market, especially China, because more and more Chinese care about their health now," says Lee.

(China Daily USA 04/19/2016 page10)