Thialand/Vietnam/China Advice

[DennisW]

Does anyone know the best places to go climbing in Thailand?

[marley]

Tonsai (and Railay) is very good. They are near Krabi (not an island but a town). There is also good climbing on Phi Phi island and then if you can hook up with Shamick, he might just be able to arrange a boat trip (on a Junk) to some of his secret spots.
In the norht there is Chang Mai, but I can't comment as we never made it that far up. Other than that there is climbing near Lopburi, but when compared to the crags down south, you might just want to give it a skip.
Take lots of mozzy juice and sunblock. Watch out for the buckets...

[pierre.joubert]

And regarding the mozzy juice, those suckers quite liked our Tabard and Peaceful Sleep. I took my shirt off, sprayed Tabard and watched no less than 6 of them land on my shoulder where I had just sprayed and enjoy their meal. And this was in the middle of winter which is supposedly the low season for mozzies.

Get the local stuff - Skeetolene, but not the herbal one, they laugh at that too. The real deal contains DEET and gives you this nice tingling feeling when you spray it on, slightly glow in the dark. Ok not really glow in the dark. But your kids might be...

[Justin]

Check out Climbing In Thailand some good tips and recommendations at the bottom.

The reason to take your own bug repellent is because the mozzies there seem to be immune to the local stuff (from Pierre's response they might have mutated already - we were last there in 2003)
The place is awesome - have a blast

[pierre.joubert]

They are immune to everything that doesn't contain DEET

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/t ... dID=864672

[toejam]

Just remember DEET can damage the webbing on your climbing gear and destroy ropes....keep it clean.

[BAbycoat]

I prefer a triple-redundant repellant system:
Primary repellant: mosquito coils - they work a charm. Five per crag minimum.
Secondary repellant: DEET spray (preferrably OFF!, in a bright orange aerosol).
Tertiary repellant: Citronella-based spray.
Stocks are limited in Railay/Tonsai, but you can stock up on everything in AoNang.

[Jared]

Hi,

I am planning on going to thailand (tonsai bay) aswell in January 2012 (not confirmed yet).
Just letting you guys know!

Cheers

[DennisW]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, we are planning to go this December but nothing is fixed yet

[GarethX]

1) Where are the best areas to climb, Phi Phi, Krabi or Tonsai bay?
2) How do I go about finding climbing partners there?
3) Places to stay?
4) Any other suggestions or warnings?


Gareth

[shorti]

Here are a few links to similar posts that you might find useful:
Climbing in Thailand
Want to climb at Krabi island, Thailand ?
Rock Climbing on Krabi Island, Thailand

[BradCT]

Hi Gareth,

I have the 'King Climbs' guide book for Thailand that details all of this.
You are more than welcome to borrow it? I am based in Muizenberg CT.

Cheers,
Brad

[Tarryn]

http://www.railay.com/railay/intro/intro.shtml

1) Where are the best areas to climb, Phi Phi, Krabi or Tonsai bay?
Depends on the grade you are looking for. Tonsai is the best spot, PhiPhi has a small crag with a range of 6A-6C's but is more of a beach holiday than a climbing trip.

2) How do I go about finding climbing partners there?
Be friendly, you'll meet ppl there. It's pretty social.

3) Places to stay?
I havent been to Tonsai in peak season so I cant give you much help here. The two places I know of that have websites are Country Side Resort and Green Valley Resort

4) Any other suggestions or warnings?
It'll blow your mind

[Geoffrey]

Hey fellow climbers,

A friend and I are busy planning a trip to Thailand in March 2012. There are so many options available that I am feeling slightly overwhelmed

We are going to be taking a full sport rack. What we would like to do is climb the whole time, single pitch sport, multi-pitch sport and deep water solo and cheap-ish accommodation. (we're there to climb not live in luxury and be pampered)

If you have any tips and recommendations I would like to hear from you!

Regards
Geoffrey

[PaulB]

Hi Geoffrey,

My wife and I will be there from March 10th. I'm guessing prices should be down a bit. I plan to arrive and then just shop around for the best accommodation offer. Concrete bungalows may be a bit a touch more expensive but feel its worth having mosquito free sleep. Other than that, don't forget bug spray! Oh, and be careful the deep water soloing package tours: sometimes they're geared towards total beginners and you end up bored...

Hope to see you there!

Paul

[Dragon]

Awesome place.
too much detail to type out.
give me a call and I will give you all the gen.
Gavin
oh ate too for won ate nun for sex nun

[desertbob]

Check out Roll Global´s Blog for some budget tips and climbing info around Ton Sai:
http://www.rollglobal.org/2010/03/budgeting-ton-sai/
Place looks awesome,
Have fun!

[Captain Haddock]

Hi!

Anyone out there got any current info on climbing in Thailand? Planning on going there in October and not too sure what the situation is since the tsunami. Please help!

[pierre.joubert]

Tsunami was hectic, I don't think there's much going in the way of climbing hey. People probably are rebuilding infrastructure first.

[Marshall1]

[pierre.joubert]

1 and counting

[Gregdegidts]

Hey Mr Haddock

Was in Tonsai bay in Jan this year and it was awesome. So unless this Tsunami was since then you should be good

Cheers
Greg

[Gregdegidts]

Sorry forgot to mention we went from Bangkok top the South , didn't go North at all so can't speak for there.

Cheers
Greg

[Warren G]

Agreed with Greg: Tonsia/Raillay are fine, if not tourist encrusted. Go there with the intention of climbing yes, but to be honest the climbing in RSA IS better, due to the polished state of the routes.

Amazing how people always think places never move from the disaster that happened there: RSA + Apartheid, New Orleans + Katrina, Rwanda and Genocide. who'd guess all these events happened so long ago AND the governments there were capable of returning things to order?! if tourism was your largest industry how long would you faff sorting out a tsunami? Please

[pierre.joubert]

What's even more amazing is that people absolutely f*king refuse to type 'climbing thailand' into google, they'd much rather ask randoms on a SA forum. About climbing in Thailand. Sigh.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=climbing+thailand

[Captain Haddock]

Thanks guys.

Pierre we have these forums to get a more personal view of the topic. Obviously I know and did google. Spending 20K on a climbing trip I'd like to get some feedback. Get off your ass and climb buddy.

[pierre.joubert]

Jis dude, sorry for that bitchly reply. The reason why I'm not climbing is also what pissed me off yesterday.

Climbing in Thailand is flipping rad. I also don't know about the north, but the south - Railay and Ton Sai were cool. Railay is pretty much covered in tourist resorts because it has a nice white sandy beach on Railay west side, but Ton Sai is mostly climbers accomodation, cheap as chips because the beach is shit. If you go to Railay/Ton Sai, as Warren says, some of the routes are polished but if you're prepared to ignore the routes that the guidebook calls 'must-do's' and walk like 10 min ruther, you'll get to the classy shit, there are over 700 routes within an hour's walk.

The mosquitos will eat you and your tabard and then snort your peaceful sleep in lines. Get the local stuff, not the local herbal stuff, the local stuff that contains DEET. When you go to the crag, burn a coil or two around you. Many people just cruize with a mozzie coil burning on their backpacks. It is HUMID. In the middle of winter, it still feels like Durban in summer. You're gonna SWEAT.

The bars are fun and the parties rock. The place looks like jungle paradise but its getting destroyed by you and me who go there. So go quick, while it lasts. There is no garbage disposal on the Ton Sai side so all trash is burnt in the jungle. Keep this in mind and limit the use of disposable food containers, most places will give you a proper plate and cup and cutlery if you ask them. Food (seafood and veggies) is cheap steaks and pizza not so much. The mango sticky rice is tasty tasty, Momma's braai chicken as well.

Watch out for: Black Cock, dodgy Red Bull and anything in a bucket, dodgy bolts, dodgy anchors, dodgier threads through sharp drilled holes and old tat. Don't trust the fixed ropes too much - a girl saw her arse like that when we were there. For the DWS, take liquid chalk so you can apply it when you get on the rock and then put the bottle in your pocket. For some older routes (many classics) that have been rebolted, remember that the good titanium bolts aren't shiny chrome but more like a gunmetal grey - old bolts are often not removed beacause they rust so fast.

If you stay in the cheapest bamboo hut-style accomodation try to get a hut that isn't directly below a coconut tree (this is harder than it sounds). One guy nearly saw his arse when one fell straight through his roof.

Don't try to hump any of the barladies, it could get your hut set on fire. Every hammock belongs to someone but everyone will share. If you like peace and quiet there is one bar behind the german ladies' climbing shop (at the 'back' of Ton Sai) that is very chilled.

[Liz]

Watch out for: Black Cock

????

[pierre.joubert]

6067920796_5e3837c0a6_z.jpg (188.33 KiB) Viewed 6597 times

Watch out. If it gets you, you're waking up somewhere weird.

[Warren G]

But back packer girls are free game!

Avoid the beef anywhere, including the burger king in Au Nang- that beef took me 2 weeks to recover from, and I probably lost 5kgs from it.

This might sound ridiculous but i got a custom suit and 4 custom shirts in Au Nang, the 4 custom shirts cost me as much as one branded collared shirt at home, and the suit, well that depends where you go, but don't pay more than 5000 Baht and know what you want. My recommendation is Absolute Tailor, just behind the Kodak sign.

Fly into Krabi international and take the bus to Au Nang- 150 Baht- then a long boat to wherever you are going. I got from home in Newlands, Cape Town to Tonsia and back using only public transport.

if you are traveling in a group and want to go DWS you can go with a tour group which will take you to Chicken Island and you will climb a couple polished routes that everyone climbs, what Greg et al did was clubbing together and hiring a boatman for the afternoon, pointing to an island and exploring. that was fun. if you can take a towel in a dry bag and leave it at the base of the problem, then chalk up if you can before climbing. DWS is not a practical form of climbing due to the drying one must do after, but it is fun! if you are going there with this express mission I strongly recommend quary jumping before you go- no sense in being able to climb up, but too scared to jump down. if you do join the tour groups I jumped from just above the cage at the second spot, and will buy you a drink of your choice for doing the same, while you show me the video.

Don't eat the Beef, really