The Retreat: How much does it cost to do a Thai detox like Nick Knowles?
You don't get much dinner at the Orion Healing Centre on Ko Phangan but it still doesn't come cheap...
Tonight Nick Knowles is off to Thailand with two pals for a month-long detox in The Retreat.
Presumably BBC2 are paying in exchange for filming the DIY SOS presenter reluctantly undergo twice-daily colonic irrigation and locate his elusive inner space.
But how much would it cost for the ordinary toxic person to be cleansed at the Orion Healing Centre on Ko Phangan?
Well, they do a range of packages and Knowles is on their longest: the 28-day "renew and revitalise" one, which includes a fasting and colonic cleanse programme and two days pre and post-cleanse.
You probably won't get a TV presenter as company but you can enjoy liver flush drinks, a raw food diet, traditional Thai massages and of course those "colemas" (self-administered colonics) just like Knowles and chums.
Knowles' fellow detoxer, April, takes part in a yoga class
The cheapest option is a dormitory room with a shared fan and bathroom, which costs 84,100 baht (approximately £1,870) in low season, or 139,200 baht (£3,100) to stay in your own room with air-con, DVD and hot water. We suspect Knowles had one of those. If you book in after New Year, as he did, it'll cost you another £600 as it's peak season.
Now you just have to ask yourself: Could you do colonic irrigation twice a day... in a dormitory room?
For more information and to reserve, go to: orionhealing.com
The Retreat's detox mentor Dominique Julien hosts retreats at Loyfa Natural Resort on Koh Phangan: omdetox.com/retreats
