“Watch out for leeches,” shouts my guide Andy Wade as we scale barefoot over moss-laden boulders towards a watering hole in the Klong Chao river. As I keep my eyes firmly on the ground, manically looking for the tiny bloodsuckers, a rumbling noise from ahead seems to get louder. In the cool air of the dense forest, packed with rubber and coconut trees, twisted vines and reticulated pythons, it’s easy to let the imagination get carried away; enough to realise how long I’ve been away from nature. We approach a lull in the river and I spot a Buddha sitting pensively atop a rock. “Some devout Buddhist monks that came here to bathe carried this idol through the forest and set it here,” explains Andy. Offering a prayer to the deity, I’m soon clambering up a tree stretching over a pool of the clear water. Andy is almost at the end of the branch, fetching a well-worn rope to throw to me. “If you swing back towards the rocks, don’t let go,” he warns. In a flash, I am swinging in a speedy arc, holding tightly onto the thick rope, toward the water’s surface. As I let go and plunge into the jade pool below me, the world goes silent and I get a taste of the sweet spring water as I come up for air. My fear of leeches and pythons has dissipated somewhat and all I can think of is getting back to the top of the tree for another jump.
“A man over sixty-years old came with me on a trail to the hidden waterfall,” says Andy pointing over the cascade, referring to a new one we had found farther up river. “We were both standing under it and I asked him if he wanted to jump several feet into the river below. The man replied that he was over 60 and not likely to get such a chance again.” Needless to say, the sexagenarian jumped.
If you’re looking to get lost in nature and to forget the frills of resort luxury for a while, Six Senses Soneva Kiri on the little-inhabited island of Koh Kood makes for the perfect getaway. Being located on the overgrown and secluded island makes for the stuff of fantasy holidays and scrap book memories. Of course, five-star hospitality is always at hand – fine dining spots; a butler service; a well-stocked wine cellar; an award-winning spa; myriad recreations and even a private tree-nest attended to by ‘flying waiters’ for romantic dining. But in the end, what enchants you is the way Soneva Kiri magnifies the beauty of solitude amidst its lavish-yet-rustic island nooks. You can get lost here either in nature, or in your own imagination. Being surrounded by so much flora, and open to seascapes and views of smaller islands not far from your deck chair or dining table, Soneva Kiri evokes a powerful sense of child-like wonder for everything you encounter on the island. You’d expect that any place requiring a propeller jet and speedboat ride to reach it, with its expansive villas and crepuscular sunsets might appeal only to romantic honeymooners and A-list celebrities, but you’d be wrong. From the way luxury, good old-fashioned fun and a warm and perceptive service are woven together here, there’s every chance that guests of any description will find it hard to leave this island paradise.
Text by Govind Dhar