temple

Lopburi is a sleepy rural town 120 km north of Bangkok. It is steeped in history with civilizations dating back at least 1,200 years. In the mid-1700s, it was briefly the capital of Siam under King Narai. These days it is best known for its legion of monkeys which have turned the town into a local tourist attraction ... and for the AIDS temple.
In 1992 a Buddhist monk, Dr Alongkot Dikkapanyo, turned a normal upcountry Buddhist temple into a small hospice to care for fully-blown AIDS patients. At that time Thailand was finally coming to terms with AIDS, after various governments had tried to cover up the problem in the inteThat initial eight-bed hospice grew to the 400-bed complex it is today.
Thailand is a country still suffering under many misconceptions about AIDS. People fear the disease, and HIV sufferers are shunned by their family, friends and community. Three years ago, a bomb was tossed into an AIDS center in the middle of Bangkok. The incident occurred after residents tried to get the center to move because they didn't want AIDS sufferers in their area. Even the authorities didn't mind the bomb being tossed.rests of tourism.Thailand now ranks number four in the world in terms of most AIDS patients per head of population. The country is vulnerable to AIDS for a number of reasons. First, in rural areas, education levels are low. The majority of farmers complete only four to six years of primary school education. They lack any real knowledge of how to protect themselves against STDs or AIDS. For this reason, the highest risk group for AIDS in Thailand is heterosexual farmers.
Second, it has long been in the Thai culture for men to sleep with prostitutes. Going to a brothel in Thailand is invariably the last stop during an alcoholic night out among male friends. The majority of the temple's female patients are wives who contracted HIV from their husbands who visited prostitutes. This, in turn, leads to HIV-positive children, whose lives rarely extend past 5 years. This is the true tragedy of AIDS, that such innocent children must end their lives in such torture and pain.
Third, despite rigid social customs, Thailand is a society where conservative appearances are deceiving. Drug use is rampant and there is virtually no education towards the use of needles.
Finally, government support for AIDS patients is negligible. It is the government's policy to have families care for AIDS sufferers; but this is a Catch-22 situation, since families are afraid of ''catching AIDS'' simply by being around the patient.With gracious donations from the Thai Royal Family, the Supreme Patriach of the Buddhist faith, businesses and everyday people, the temple soon started to grow in size. It now has 400 beds and a waiting list of 10,000. The hospice on the temple grounds, known as Bahn Walailak, has 35 beds for patients who have become too sick, and is a place for their final days.
The temple is in the shape of a big oval. Around the perimeter is housing for HIV and AIDS sufferers. In the middle is the new gas compressor crematorium. There is also a meeting hall, where you can hear Dr Alongkot speak or watch the HIV Band play. Bahn Walailak is situated towards the rear of the temple compound. Currently a new structure is being built which will include a care center for children with HIV.
Outside of this, there are sports fields. At 6 pm every night, there are aerobics. Many of the healthier patient take this time to run laps around the crematorium. Then at 7 pm, there is a meditation class.