Thailand is often ranked as one of the world's best medical tourism destinations. But these days a somewhat unlikely source of tourism dollars is growing in popularity: rehab. With global drug addiction rates soaring and the cost of treatment out of reach for many, addicts are traveling to Thailand to recover at resort-like drug and alcohol rehab centers.

A limousine pulls up, and people are eagerly waiting to welcome you and escort you to your private suite. It's everything you imagine five stars to be. You walk out onto your balcony and notice a pool and tennis court. All this surrounded by lush green rice fields. It's where you can expect to mingle with elite athletes, celebrities, executives – and their demons.

It's these demons that Keith* has been battling since his mid-teens. He knew his life looked good – a high paying job, a home and a family. But after 20 years of drug addiction, broken relationships and trauma, Keith* was lost.

"I lost everything. I lost my family. I lost my house; I lost my job; I lost my car," He said. "I was about two days away from being out on the street, and I thought what more can I lose except my life."

His work hard, play hard lifestyle caught up to him. Burning the candle at both ends led to five stints in rehab back in Australia. The more his life took turns for the worse, the more he turned to substances to cope. He knew that this was his last chance. Keith* used his pension fund to pay for treatment halfway across the world in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai was once a gateway to one of the world's largest opium trafficking routes – the place you came if you want to score. These days, around 80 percent of drugs are smuggled through this northern border region. Ironic, then, is that the city has since picked up a reputation as Thailand's premium rehab hub.

Rehabilitation tourism is the latest niche to hit Thailand's health tourism market. With internationally recognized hospitals and wellness centers, Thailand has a strong grip on international health tourism.  Building on this reputation, a small number of entrepreneurs are integrating Thailand's competitive advantage in the global healthcare market into drug and alcohol rehabilitation services at remote resorts in the Thai countryside.

With a medical tourism industry growing at a rate of 16 percent in recent years, generating more than 850 million U.S. dollars for the economy, Thailand's emergence as a regional rehab hub is not surprising as more foreigners seek individualized treatment. 

Lanna Rehab is one of a handful of high-end rehab centers that have opened in recent years to meet the demand stemming from the global drug epidemic. "The drug problem is not going away; it's only getting bigger, and people are looking at cheaper, comprehensive, affordable solutions," said Darren Lockie, the managing director of Lanna Rehab. "I think that's really why Thailand and Chiang Mai have done really well in the past few years, attracting people for rehab tourism."

The opioid epidemic in the U.S., the heroin crisis in Europe and the explosion of meth in Australia have led to waves of addicts seeking help. With months-long waiting lists in their own countries, many find checking in at one of Thailand's high-end rehab centers a cheaper, more attractive option – offering peace, wellness and serenity, away from a world that took them to the depths of despair.

For addicts in desperate need for treatment, that despair often carries through, as the public addiction treatment system in many Western countries is chronically underfunded.

Tosh*, another recovering addict, resisted entering rehab for a long time, not ready to face the misery and gloom of treatment in his own country. 

"I thought rehab was a really sad place, to be honest, I just thought rehab was like 12 alcoholics in a room crying and complaining, you know, leaning on each other's shoulder," he said.

But instead of denying addicts comfort, the "new generation" of rehab centers that have sprung up in recent years in northern Thailand, go above and beyond at a fraction of the price of that in the West.

The hope of all the addicts here is that their drug-filled days will be a thing of the past. Just like the city trying to reinvent itself from a reputation that precedes it.

(*Names have been changed to protect identity.)