A week in the Amanpuri Phuket does sound like heaven. Sure,
you can laze around in your massive villa, enjoy skinny dipping regardless of
the time of day in your private pool or get a tan on a private beach shared
with one other ultra-luxury resort. Yet there are times when you just need to
get out and explore.
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| Andaman Sea from the Amanpuri facing Bangtao Beach |
Which is exactly what I did on occasion during my stay, as I
tend to get cabin fever being cooped up too long regardless of the luxurious
surroundings. I may enjoy my creature comforts, but I still have to explore a
bit.
So, being in close proximity to the resort enclave of
Laguna, on Bang Tao Beach, surely there must be a few activities geared towards
their target clientele. A friend told me to sample horse riding on the beach,
and one of two facilities is located right at the entrance to the Laguna
enclave: the Phuket International Horse Club.
Prices were fair for one hour, one and a half hours and two
hour rides, with the one hour ride at THB 900, one and a half hour ride at THB
1,500 and two hours at THB 1,800. My first ride was the one hour option, as I
wanted to reacquaint myself with riding.
This was in the late afternoon, just before the rainclouds
were rolling in and the midday sun all but absent. Usually, a booking is
required but considering this was the beginning of the monsoon season, ergo the
low season, I just went in and it was only me and a couple on this fine morning.
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| Trooper and his sense of humour |
My horse, Trooper, is a beautiful young chestnut steed, with
an occasionally lazy trot until he reaches the beach, then he gets excited.
With my trainer-cum-assistant, we went on a slow, leisurely stroll from the stables
along the pavement along Lagoon Road, past green spaces, an elephant riding
facility and a gated residential community before passing through the Dusit
Thani Laguna Resort side road that led straight to the beach.
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| View from Trooper and another set of hooves on sand |
And then the fun started. We trotted up and down the beach,
occasionally going on a full gallop as a light drizzle came down. My white
linen shirt was already wet from sweat so the small bits of accumulated
rainfall did not make too much of a difference. I got my balance on, foothold
proper and thigh ‘grip’ right while brushing up on my one-two-one riding
technique.
Sadly, I could not use my wide-brim hat as, for insurance
purposes I had to use a riding helmet. For my ride the next day in the late
afternoon for the sunset ride, I also learnt my lesson not to use hiking shoes
and should have asked for proper riding boots.
The sunset ride the next day was fun. I set off at 1630 for
a one-half hour ride, with riding boots on and opted against riding pants
despite the slight saddle burn from using shorts the day before. I noticed two
couples this time, an elegant middle aged couple finishing their ride as I went
to the beach looking at one with the horse, and another couple on the beach:
the guy looked like a proper polo player, comfortable on his ride with
quintessential polo shirt with collar upturned as his partner was walking next
to her horse, perhaps not used to having her legs so wide astride the saddle.
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| Against the setting sun, a rider rides along |
Trotting along the beach, we encountered young girls who
were mesmerized by the horse as I casually rode past them, curious beach bar
goers taking pictures of a rider against the sunset and managed to maintain my
balance and keep the horse calm as an overly excited dog almost spooked
Trooper.
Considering I was a returning client, the manager gave me a
10% discount on the ride and naturally I went for a two hour ride the next day,
just to get my fill.
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| Promthep Cape, southern tip, Phuket |
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| Formations and 'sculpture,' tip of Promthep Cape |
But in between the rides, which SSM did not participate in
considering he is not a fan of horse riding, we did explore the island a bit.
We drove down the coast from Surin down to Promthep Cape, were I rediscovered
the beauty of the cape, and discovered a little known path which led straight
to the southern tip of Phuket, with sacred trees and rock formations that look
like fairy castles, and a few altars to the local deities.
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| Pomegranate Martini & Apple-Lemongrass Martini, Zazada Bar |
And of course this being an island, we had to enjoy at least
a drink or two at a beach bar, though we restricted this to establishments with
close proximity to the Amanpuri. Surin Beach has a nice selection of beach
bars, with Catch Beach Club and Zazada Beach Club being my two favourites,
Zazada especially with their happy hour. Surin also happens to be a favourite
with weddings, with 3 wedding ceremonies during our week long stay.
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| Sunset from Catch Beach Club, Surin Beach, Phuket |
My first trip to Phuket without diving didn’t feel that odd.
It also did not feel like too much of a waste by staying within close proximity
to the resort and doing stuff other that lounging, tanning and just lazing at
the villa.
Phuket International
Riding Club, Lagoon Rd, Laguna Phuket, Bangtao Beach, Phuket; +66 81 968 3187,
last ride at 1730 for sunset ride. Look for the two horse statues on the left
before the Laguna ‘gate.’
Instagram: @jasonanom
