They pound 'em in Pattaya, punish 'em in Phuket, and crack heads on Koh Samui. Most self-respecting Siamese destinations have a Muay Thai kickboxing scene — though the backpacker ghetto of Ko Pha Ngan attracts more than its fair share of hotheads and have-a-go heroes. The Jungle Gym and Chainarach Cho Watcharin (phone +66 6 9538 253) camps offer lessons to scrappers, pinch-hitters and wannabe hard-arses. After all, how do you get your kicks lingering at ringside?

Plunge from the tropical skies into the rolling ocean. When parasailing makes love to surfing, you get kiteboarding. A sport packing all the airborne thrills and salty spills an adrenaline junky could need, it also gives new meaning to "pulling an aerial". Converts pursue this madness all over southern Thailand, especially in Ko Pha Ngan, Chumphon and Pattaya, where kit is rented and lessons offered.

As the "Godfather" of jungle sports, Tarzan was always chasing the next big buzz. But was the king of the swing really onto something (other than Jane), or just plain nuts? Find out for yourself with Canopy Adventures Cable Rides on Koh Samui, where you swing through jungle treetops over waterfalls on 500m of suspended cable. Lining the route are tree houses, where you can chill in a hammock bar.

Since the '80s, rock climbers have clambered over each other to get to Krabi, where the 650 established routes around spectacular Railay Peninsula offer soaring limestone crags, pocketed walls, tricky overhangs and dangling stalactites. Climbs, including the phenomenal Thaiwand Wall, have made the vertiginous vicinity one of the most highly coveted climb destinations in the world.

If the Beatles hadn't sung about it, the demand for this Yellow Submarine, tour, which runs for two hours, may have sunk without a trace. Punters submerge to a depth of 30m in the comfort of their street clothes for a close-up squiz at Pattaya's offshore marine life. Granted, the visibility isn't amazing. But how many chances to go down in a yellow submarine will you get in a lifetime?

Committed thrillseekers gagging for a freefall fix should head to Pattaya Airpark for a tandem skydive. You can even capture your jump on DVD for posterity (thus presenting friends and family with your midair incontinence in full, wide-screen glory). If that's not enough for one pair of underpants, sign up for an hour-long ultralight flight, or even 25 hours of tuition.

Adrenaline surges as two powerful, enraged animals clash heads in a flurry of horns. Only, in Thailand, you won't have to watch a living creature being slowly tortured to bloody death. Buffalo fighting Thai-style happens on Koh Samui without spears, swords — or cape-waggling sadists. Mercifully, this is a far more family-friendly gig; you can usually even take one of the bovine brutes for a ride afterwards.