Asia ThaiLand : Live and Let That
The southeast Asian jewel is a mix of
natural delights and wondrous animals, and the hedonistic bustle of its capital
city
Phuket
Two hours’ drive borth of Phuket is a
rainforest thougt to be older the the Amazon. Here, on the edge of Khao Sok
National Park, a GERman entrepreneur recently truned his Thai pavillion- style
country estate into a nine- room luxury retreat called Thanyamundra
(thanyamundra.com) with an infinity pool and Olympic- worthy gym. Wake up to
the sounds on tiny apes, known as lar gibbons, playing as the mist reses up
jagged karst limestone moutains from avalley dense with cocounut palm trees.
The nascent resort takes its name, meaning ‘nature’s abundance’, from the surrounding
organic farm.
Dharma- influenced Ashtanga retreats are
scheduled regularly here with popular Phuket yogi Kimberly Roberts bringing the
benefit of her knowledge at Uma Paro and Amankora in Bhutan to this Thai
riverside sanctuary where participants meditate while dusky leaf monkeys swing
between the trees.
Also on the activity schedule, treks into
the park with well- known naturalists like Kenny Peavy will spark the interst
of enven the most reluctant out door adventirer. His simple yet enthralling
tales of the park’s wildlife fit succinctly between his uncanny ability to
indentify the calls of the park’s vastly diverse animal life including long-
tailed macaques, rhinoceros hornbills, Malay sun bears and wild elephants.
the
Bangkok Night Bike Hike
In the That capiyal, Bangkok, well known
for lascivious adventures afterdark, the Bangkok Night Bike Hike
(thailandinstyle.com) ofeers a more wholesome alternative. Starting at sunset
along the Chao Praya River, pedal through riverside communities along extremely
narrow paths, gaining up- close access to traditional village life without
leaving the throbbing motropolis.
Temple
of the Dawn
Cycle on to Wat Arun, the gilded Temple of
the Dawn, after the crowds have departed. Listen to saffron- robed monks chant
in the duck, the onward to Pak Klong Talad flower market, the most fragrant
spot in town, filled with the scents of lotus flowers, marigolds, orchids and
jasmine.
Asia Malaysia: Malay any Tensions
Whether you kick back on sugar white
beaches or envolop yourself in jungle landsapes, Malaysia soothes the senses
This
cable car is placed at Mount Mat Cincang
Start at the top by taking the cable car up
Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi Island’s second- highest peak, and then walking
across the Langkawi Sky Bride, suspended between this 708- metres high summit
and a neighbouring peak. The exhilarating walk over lush tropical forest and
the Andaman Sea puts the Langkawi Archipelago, with its 104 jagged- edded
limestone islands, about 20 miles off the northwest coast of mainland Malaysia
inyo glorious panoramic perspective.
Come back down to expkore Unesco’s first
Geoparl in Southeast Asia with Four Seasons Resort Langkawi’s Aidi Abdullah,
the company’s only resident naturalist (fourseasons.com)
Dayyang
Bunting Marble Geoforest Park
The loquacious and entertaining Malaysian
native knows every inch of the tree geo- forests that comprise Langkawi
Geopark: Manchincang (which dates back 450- 550 million years and has the
oldest rock formations in Malaysia) boasts scenic waterfalls and beautiful
beaches; Kilim to the east, offers dramatic limestone pinnacles where the
Brahminy kite likes to alight; and Dayyang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park, which
showcases some of the world’s finest marble formations around Tasik Dayang
Bunting, or ‘Lake of the Pregnants Maiden’, a freshwater lake said to enahnce
the fertility of those who dive in then enjoy a luxurious night on four
seasons’ sublime pillow- topped beds and rise with the sun to meet Irshad
Mobarak of Junglewalla Tours (junglewalla.com). eight am is like midday in the
Malaysian rainforest, according to Mobarak, who will explain the daily rituals
of jungle life between calling out to Asian fairy blue birds, racket- tailed
drongos and the elegants egrets flying between the highest braches of Indian
ironwood trees and breadfruit trees
These trees were brought here from Tahiti
by Captain Bligh on the infamous HMS Bounty. Keep an eye out as well for the
four long- tailed macaque monkeys and the beatiful yellow beaks of the great
horbills.
