[Yossarian]

i've got about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks in october or november to disappear off bouldering.  i was thinking south africa, but does anyone have any other ideas that i might have not thought of?

somewhere with cheap beer preferably.

[dave]

font? is that too obvious?

[SA Chris]

Do we get to guess where you HAVE thought of then?

Bishop? Hueco? Deep South? NZ? Australia?

South Africa may be a bit warm in November, depends how good you are at coping with temps. Cape should be OK, Natal gets very hot and humid from early summer already.

[Yossarian]

re font - i was kind of hoping to get a tan and not get rained on.  it is meant to be a holiday an all..

i did think of bishop, but won't it be getting pretty chilly by then?

going to australia at new year so that's already been dismissed.

i was thinking about more out of the way places - mexico, south east asia, africa, etc.

[dave]

t'egypt?

[Fingers of a Martyr]

New Zealand

[Yossarian]

ahhh, shukran! an interesting idea... i will investigate.

[cofe]

hampi?

[SA Chris]

i did think of bishop, but won't it be getting pretty chilly by then?

I think you can go there any time of year, just a bit unpleasant camping out in mid-winter.

Plus there is the added bonus of being able to lay down some powder turns at Mammoth on the days when weather is too bad to climb. Just don't try and get up there if it at all windy.

[Yossarian]

sounds good. do they still run the kamikaze bike race there? that course always looked pretty impressive...

[bobby knut]

get yourself to hampi mate. i've been bouldering round the himalayas for the last six months and india is the place to be. november will be lovely. not scorching, beer, charas and no tourists til january. peace on peace

[hongkongstuey]

why, Hong Kong of course.

humidity should have all but buggered off by then, temps will be in the mid-low 20's, crowds will be non-existent and you get a major international city thrown in to boot...

just to wet the appetite:

[Yossarian]

i'm going to hong kong and australia at new year....  hmmm, hampi sounds cool.  but maybe i'll just go to font instead?!

[SA Chris]

You intend bouldering is Aus?

It may be a tad on the warm side?

[Yossarian]

i've got a wedding in margaret river, so i've tracked some stuff to do down there.  it'll be pretty hot but i figure it might be ok as long as i try and restrict it to mornings and evenings.  i've climbed there in november and it was fine...

[hongkongstuey]

Chris,

When are you in HK?

Have had a few other requests for the sofa (Agent Smith coming back through town to steel more of my projects) so need to sort out a timetable of who's gonna be here and when.

[Yossarian]

stu - if you're about between the 5th and 10th jan my mat and i will be in residence somewhere plush.  i was thinking the mandarin oriental. any HK hotel intel would be appreciated!

[hongkongstuey]

i was thinking the mandarin oriental.

damn - your holiday budgets are obviously faaaaaaaar bigger than mine would be

I normally send people to either:
a) the Newton Hotel in North Point - slightly out of the way (requiring a 10 minute MTR ride to get back to Central) but quality is ok and prices are reasonable
b) Bishop Lei on Robinson Road, Mid-Levels - which is only 5 mins from the main eating / drinking areas (Soho and Lan Kwai Fong) and about 2 minutes away from my flat - again, prices are reasoanble'ish but they tend to come down more for those staying slightly longer (I lived in the place for 3 months when I got seconded out here - wouldn't recommend hotel living to anyone for that period of time though...)

For the other two ends of the spectrum - going large I like the Conrad (got a suite here for my wedding - was bigger than my flat) and cheap there's good old Chungking Mansion / Meridor Mansions (read - shitholes) or some ok hostels down in Causeway Bay.

Only real advice would be to try and stay somewhere 3 or 4 stops away from Central on the MTR to make getting around easier - and avoid all the hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui East    as they're a pain in the arse to get anywhere else from

[Carnage]

it'll be pretty hot but i figure it might be ok as long as i try and restrict it to mornings and evenings.  i've climbed there in november and it was fine...

HAHAHA!!! Nov - New Year - Big difference!!  :wink:

[SA Chris]

Chris,

When are you in HK?

Hey Stu, we aren't going to be. We tried various different options of ways to get to NZ stopping in HK on either the way there or the way back, but in the end it just wasn't logistically or financially feasible, bearing in mind we have to connect from Aberdeen to Christchurch. Will be on South Island from 18th Sept to 8th Oct, or something if you can blag something?

Carnage, are you still planning on being there then?

[Yossarian]

stu - i can put the whole trip on work, so splashing out is not too much of a problem.  i will investigate your recommendations though.

carnage - i know, i know.  but at least it won't be raining...

[SA Chris]

Yossarian, you ever had a go at surfing? New Year in Margret's River, I think you will be looking for some way to cool off during the heat of the day, aka daylight hours.

[Yossarian]

i smashed my heel a week before i was due to leave for 3 weeks surfing in costa rica.  and last time i went on a surfing trip it was flat the entire time and snowing.

i don't think it's meant to be!

[SA Chris]

Hey surfing's the sauce, etc.

Unlikely to be snowing in Margrets River at New Year. Might be flat though.

[Carnage]

Carnage, are you still planning on being there then?

I wish! Not gonna happen now. My buddy turns up in October and even if we did make it, it wouldn't have been 'til late Oct. Still, its only a coupla hours away, so some time............  :D