A Grandiose But Not Necessarily Misplaced Confidence

If anyone should question my skills at obtaining fruit from a variety of trees, including the massive rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) shown here, please refer to the title of this post. Peter Ackroyd wrote that Charles Dickens “always possessed a grandiose but not necessarily misplaced confidence in his own powers and perseverance,” and I feel the same when it comes to tropical fruit trees. Juggling rambutans fresh from the tree? I can do that too. Scaling coconut palms in a few swift motions? Again, refer only to the title of this post.

I was at Trang recently, and went to the Peninsular Thung Kai botanical garden, but did not have a chance to go through the canopy walk there. No problem, I can make my own canopy walk in a mature tropical fruit orchard, avoiding the falling durians (indubitably lethal), snatching the most exquisite mangosteens (Garcinia mangostana) from their shaded lairs, and climbing high into the canopy to scour the horizon for other fruits.

This workout combines the healthy eating of fresh tropical fruits with exercise (tree-climbing, stretching, mosquito-swatting) and a substantial amount of sweating. Highly-recommended. But definitely not for the pusillanimous (nor for the flâneur).