[El Mocho]

We are planning a round the World/Extended holiday for 9+ months leaving around mid September this year. We have most of the trip planned:

Australia for Oct, New Zealand Nov and USA Dec-May...

We have a couple of potential stops on the way to Aus, been thinking about China, Thailand, Vietnam, Some Island with beach...

Not a totally climbing focused trip (in fact skiing the whole time in US so will prob do less climbing than ever before) but I have a much lower boredom threshold than the rest of the family so could probably on manage 1 day on a beach before going crazy - would be good to have a chilled climbing/beach spot for a couple of weeks before and on the way to Aus...

China:
+ve looks good climbing, different culture, pretty cheap when at climbing area, pretty good time of year cons wise
-ve prob stressful traveling around from HK to climbing area especially with child, food issues (fussy child, prob do her good, fussy wife prob make her grumpy = less climbing for me...) quite expensive on train to climbing area, no beach for family

Thailand:
+ve cheap, lots tourists + climbers so less stress, lots climbing right off beach
-ve too hot? think it's rainy season?, lots tourists and hippy climbers, deep water soloing - don't like.

Vietnam:
+ve prob easier/less stress than China, looks pretty cheap, beaches and shit, not as busy/not as many dicks as Thailand
-ve not so good climbing? Mostly dws (see above)

Anyone have experience of these places or other suggestions?

bb

[Plattsy]

These guys will be able to tell you the ratio of sport to dws in Ha Long Bay.

http://www.asiaoutdoors.com.vn/

Enough for a day or two in the Butterfly Valley on Cat Ba Island I'd guess. There is other beach side sport on the various islands a boat ride away. Though the area is more famous for it's dws.

http://ukbouldering.com/wiki/index.php/Vietnam

I preferred Vietnam to China and Thailand. Just generally a nicer vibe and friendlier folk.

[krymson]

This could be useful!

http://www.climbchina.net/

Also covers HK btw

[JackAus]

One of my best mates lived in Yangshou for 4 years for climbing. He spent alot of time going to various Asian crags. I can put you in contact with him if you want Ben.

[hongkongstuey]

 

Also covers HK btw

That would be the bit that simply ripped off my website....

Will hop back on line with pointers tomorrow Ben - be easier from computer than iPad

[krymson]

thats dissapointing to hear-- hongkongclimbing.com is some of the best climbing beta I've come across. Have you raised it up with them direct or on their facebook group?

I know my friend traveled around quite a bit of china working on Climb China. She brought a copy tho the crag today and the china portion at least it seems legit. Massive amounts of stone in those pages.

[hongkongstuey]

My thoughts after several years living out this way:

China:
+ve looks is good climbing, different culture, pretty cheap when at climbing area, pretty good time of year cons wise (still a bit humid but by no means unbearable)
-ve prob stressful traveling around from HK to climbing area especially with child, food issues (you can eat pretty much whatever type of food you want in Yangshuo - by no means limited to chinese stuff) quite expensive on train to climbing area, no beach for family

think there's enough other stuff to do in Yangshuo to keep wife / kid happy - pleasant place to cycle around, rafting on river, cultural stuff etc.

travel from HK - easiest (and most expensive) option is flight to Guilin and taxi to Yangshuo.  Also possible to do by bus / train but takes a lot longer, about 10 hours i think (never done it this way)

HK is worth a few days effort if you have time - plenty of outdoor stuff (climbing, hiking, mtb, surfing) within spitting distance of huge city

Thailand:
+ve cheap, lots tourists + climbers so less stress, lots climbing right off beach - what it says on the tin...
-ve too hot? think it's rainy season?, lots tourists and hippy climbers, deep water soloing - don't like. - tons of climbing, all well documented. weather will be okay - hot and humid (always is) and the odd afternoon downpour but still perfectly climbable

Chiang Mai might also be worth considering - good climbing, no beach but more cultural stuff to see / do

Vietnam:
+ve prob easier/less stress than China (not hugely different - a little easier maybe), looks pretty cheap, beaches and shit, not as busy/not as many dicks as Thailand
-ve not so good climbing? Mostly dws (see above) -  i think the bolted stuff would be okay for a few days but the best stuff around Ha Long is the dws.  Some other areas of Vietnam also being developed but maybe a bit 'rural' condition wise for the wife and kid?

Would also recommend looking more closely at the Taiwan suggestion - very underrated and beautiful country once you get out the cities (which are also quite relaxed and nice, as far as cities go).  Main climbing area only a couple of hours from Taipei. Also has some big hills >4000 m

[El Mocho]

Thanks for all the input guys, plenty to think about there - to be honest it all sounds pretty good. Will probably get back with a few more questions in a bit...

[Fultonius]

I'm going to hi-jack this thread as the lass and I are planning an Asia trip for Mid Oct to Mid December. First of all we're thinking of spending about 3 weeks in Indonesia. Mainly just surfing, eating, travelling etc.

Ultimately, we're going to spend the last week in Shanghai (visiting friends). This leaves us about 3 to 4 weeks to get from Indonesia to shanghai and I was quite keen to hit Yangshuo on the way.

Just before reading this thread I had looked at flights from Jakarta to HK and then go overland to Guilin - we're in no rush and are not fussy travellers so if there's anything to see on the way, is it worth breaking up the journey?

Is there anywhere else between Yangshuo and Shanghai that we should go to? (be it for climbing, culture, scenery etc.) We will obviously research this bit some more more, but personal insight is always good!

[krymson]

HK really is worth a day or three if you're passing through. There's loads of info on hongkongclimbing.com but Tung Lung island and Central Crags are where I'd go if i were there for a short trip.

Tung Lung you take a ferry from the kowloon side to venture from one of the busiest cities in the world to a peaceful and picturesque islands good for hiking and camping as well. The rock is high quality and there's steep and vertical stuff at a variety of grades -- it's just beautiful out there. 

Central Crags -- i personalyl have not been but it's a crag on the hong kong side on the "Peak". You end up climbing against a backdrop of the hong kong skyline-- makes for great photos.

I'm not that big a fan of the city itself which can get a bit crowded in parts, but amenities in HK are very nice yet well priced and it's so convenient to get out of town on to the rock and back in the evenings.  while i wouldnt make it a main destination it makes for a rather awesome pitstop.

There's a nice little write up about the climbing here: http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2014/03/25/hong-kong-climbing-paradise/