AMAN-I-KHAS, RANTHAMBORE, INDIA

Ive seen the spa world evolve and grow into a wellness industry. Ive been to city spas, hotel spas, beach spas, mountain spas, hot spas, thermal spas, but for the first time I had my experience in a jungle spa!

No dont worry they dont use tiger oil!!! But you could get invited to have tea with the tiger! I am serious.

The journey to Ranthambore, is short and sweet. That is if you get a good berth and equally good berth companions. If you dont then its only 6 hours way by train, you can sit through it with the ipod stuck in your ears and ignore everything else.

The Journey

I dont have to repeat here that I love the hospitality of Amanresorts. Its so personalised you feel you are at home. As we arrived at the station, our butler (or batman as they call it), Satish, was waiting for us with cold towels and drinks to escort us into a clean airconditioned car, a far cry from the insides of the train!!

A short ride later took us to Aman-I-Khas,  the tented camp of the great Aman family.

The camp

General Manager Dumisani Sakuinje greeted us into this beautiful 10 room/tented resort sprawling over acres and acres of land. Tree pies encounter you everywhere and the birdsong wakes you in the morning.

Its my kind of paradise.

Treepie

We didnt waste any time. A camel ride was organised for us around the Ranthambore National Park (by the way I was also celebrating my birthday with Zorawar!) and we had so much fun riding through this open vast terrain.

Zorawar and me

Until we arrived at a hillock. Dumi was waiting to surprise us there with a full fledged afternoon tea setup with pakoras and all!! A small plateau that gave a birds eye view of the Aravalli hills, I had never seen so many plum headed parakeets fly me by. Breathtaking!

Zorawar me and Dumi

Satish

A jeep safari to spot the tigers was next on the agenda. RK, our guide was hyped up. It seemed like he could smell a tiger. Dumi, an attratctive man of few words, I was told, is also known as a tiger magnet. We were in very good company, I thought.

RK in the centre-Always tiger hungry!

And Voila!! They did it. They showed us a tiger!

Ive seen tigers in the wild before but what was unique about this experience was that the tiger lay on the road for over an hour, rolling and playing in the sand like a little pussycat.

T 24

We enjoyed a cup of hot tea while soaking in the experience. RK was completely satisfied, Dumi was practising his photography skills, Zorawar was enthralled and I was just happy.......until Priyanka Gandhi came along in her two jeeps and ousted us off our prime view and hogged the front seats, without any apology or shame.

All of us agreed to bow out gracefully instead of losing our peace of mind over this arrogant behaviour, and that suited me fine as I had to go and unwind in the spa soon.
Oh what a life!
My tired and aching bones from camel rides, jeep safaris and the adrenelin rush from encountering the tiger all needed to be taken care of.

The spa is located in one of the tents. Its a simple two room set up with three therapists on duty.

My therapist Thangyi was from Mizoram.

We decided to go for the full body massage adjusting my pressure as we go along. Thyangi's touch was soothing and her pressure was as good as I asked. She combined a swedish with a deep tissue to cater to my needs. Their essential and body oils are from Moksha. It was not just the spa but the idea of being out there in the jungle, in a tent, being pampered after a hards days work(?) that is so exotic and exciting.

After a long realxing treatment, We dined under the stars, by the pool where the trees reflected as if the pool were a mirror. Stunning Dumi . Thank You!

Recommendation: Amanresorts could make their spa treatments more bespoke to fit with their philosophy. A generic spa menu does not befit this super brand of hospitality.

My thanks to Anjali, Pareina,and Dumi Sir!

I LOVE THE JUNGLE and to be able to combine it with wellness is a dream.............