What’s Doing in Phuket
Ziplining at Hanuman
I decided to go on an eco-adventure and headed to Phuket’s ultimate jungle experience, ziplining at Hanuman. I put on my harness, strapped on my helmet and climbed 30 minutes up steep, rocky terrain to a ladder that led to a platform on a tree. Before I could say wait or stop, I was hooked onto a cable and pushed off a landing from the tallest tree I’ve ever seen. I was too petrified to scream. Then presto, I landed effortlessly on a platform wrapped around another gargantuan tree. It was exhilarating and made me feel like Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. I continued to zip around the jungle, and when we had to zoom straight down, I felt a lump in my throat, but in truth anyone from 13 to 80 could enjoy this experience. Once out of the jungle I charted the Amanpuri’s yacht and sped off to the James Bond Island where Roger Moore filmed The Man with The Golden Gun. flyinghanuman.com
Tiger Kingdom
You have two choices at Tiger Kingdom: suspend good judgment and enter a caged area with a large group of playful tigers or stay behind the bars. Naturally, we went in. For 2,500 baht (90 dollars), these keepers allow you to pose and pet three sizes of Indochinese Tigers, small, medium and large and when I say large, I mean 400 pounds. The keepers ease you into a tightly fenced area through double-gated cages. That’s when I should have turned around, but I pressed on. The experience with the baby cubs was cute, the teens were thrilling but the parents were scary, especially when a gang of six monster-sized cats started fighting in one corner of the pen while we were sitting 20 feet away stroking their grandfather. The two trainers carried slim sticks and that was it between us and them. We escaped quickly but not before we took a stream of selfies holding the tiger’s tail. On the way out, when I jokingly asked if anyone had ever been killed or mauled the owner said, “No, but a man did get bit in the leg last year and is coming back to face his fears.” Great news! It was exciting but I’m not sure I’d have risked it if I’d heard that story first. We went at 5pm and stuck around to watch them tear through huge slabs of raw meat at 6 for dinner. I would suggest going right after breakfast when, hopefully, they’re feeling less frisky. I felt safer visiting a family of gorillas in the jungles of Rwanda where we weren’t allowed to touch them, and the gamesmen carried machine guns. tigerkingdom.com
Bangla Boxing Stadium
On the other side of the coin is the Banga Tai Boxing Stadium. The evening’s bill showcases multiple generations of fighters from 18 years to 26-year-old professionals. Two women also duked it out. This is a brutal sport and inevitably someone ends up bloodied and being carried from the ring. Although I thought this was “local culture,” the fighters also came from England, Australia, and Mexico. banglathaiboxingstadiumpatong.com
Aman Tailor- not sure if they are open
If you want custom clothes, go see Mr. Ram at Aman Tailors, which is a short stroll from the Amanpuri. They can copy anything you bring in for a fraction of what you originally paid. Their fame as expert suit and shirt makers is sung by the super-rich who own the expensive villas at the resort. In less than 8 hours, twenty-two people had created a dozen linen shirts and were ready for my suit’s first fittings. I had the shirts copied from my favorite Ralph Laurens and the suits from Kilgour, my Bond Street tailors in London. My 800-dollar shirts were 50 dollars and the suits were equally well priced. I bought an extra trunk to take everything home.
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