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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

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Author
Thailand with toddlers?
martym
13-Feb-2015
4:56:07 PM
I'm doing my google research now - we're probably flying to Europe via Bangkok August/September, and the wife and I thought it would be quite a shame to miss out on Thailand... but at the same time, going to Thailand and not climbing would be worse than not going.

Problem is - we have a 1.5 & 3 year old who are quite demanding, and leaving them in care with total strangers for half a day is an uncertainty. SO has anyone got experience with:
a) meeting other climbers
b) hiring guides/belayers?
c) Thailand with little kids (our 2 year old is already climbing)

Any feedback would be great - kids or otherwise.

pedro.c
13-Feb-2015
9:11:05 PM
We took our kids there a couple of years ago and managed although they're older than yours.

There's kid friendly crags around Tonsai. While we were there the kids got crook so I headed off to a wall on my own to see if I could find climbing mates. Took about 30 seconds. The wife and I took turns climbing with a group of guys happy to have us along. There's a noticeboard you can post on or hang around the climbs on the beach and you'll find a belay there.

I dunno about taking a 1.5 year old there but they can create a shite fight anywhere they go.
f_abe
13-Feb-2015
9:14:01 PM
Went there a while back with our daughter who was not quite 3. Two years later she still talks about it - as do we. Great place to go with a kid. Had no dramas whatsoever, didn't hire a guide or anything but there's always heaps of people there. It might seem daunting but in reality it's anything but. Have fun, I'm not envious at all...

cheers -Alex
martym
14-Feb-2015
12:19:12 AM
Awesome, that's exactly what I was hoping to read.
Actually our 1 year old is an angel and te least of our worries...

I heard news Tonsai was suffering from over development (of the resort kind)
Anyone else know more?

Don't be jealous - I'm guessing nappies and sleepless nights are a thing of the past?

pedro.c
14-Feb-2015
9:01:58 AM
Railay appeared to be over run with new, post tsunami, resorts. I don't think Tonsai was hit as hard so there's plenty of bamboo huts still there, a couple of years ago, if that's what you're after. We stayed in something slightly more comfortable because I'm softening with age. We were really happy to have some comfort when everyone started taking turns getting crook. My daughter picked up a virus on the plane and passed it on to her sibling after she'd finished with it.Their mum came down with it a week later while we were in transit. Despite all that we loved it there. A week was too short ... a tease.
martym
18-Feb-2015
8:56:55 PM
On 14/02/2015 pedro.c wrote:
>Railay appeared to be over run with new, post tsunami, resorts. I don't
>think Tonsai was hit as hard so there's plenty of bamboo huts still there,
>a couple of years ago, if that's what you're after. We stayed in something
>slightly more comfortable because I'm softening with age. We were really
>happy to have some comfort when everyone started taking turns getting crook.
>My daughter picked up a virus on the plane and passed it on to her sibling
>after she'd finished with it.Their mum came down with it a week later while
>we were in transit. Despite all that we loved it there. A week was too
>short ... a tease.

Don't mind a bit of comfort.. It's just the image that "resort" brings to mind...

I see Basecamp climbing have some cabins that look reasonable all things considered..
JoeR
18-Feb-2015
9:32:37 PM
I don't think that you should necessarily rule out using the resorts. They are pretty cheap at that time of the year and the kids will probably make use of the air-con at night, even if you can put up with the heat. There are some cheaper ones on the Tonsai side of the bay (in fact Tonsai Bay resort is probably what you are looking for). The bars on the beach are great for meeting other climbers and Momma's Chicken is a good place too. However last time I was in Tonsai there rumours of the MBK company building a resort smack bang on top of where Tonsai is. It seems like it is something that is always going to be happening "next week" though. I guess you will know if it is happening when you see the first bull dozer.

If you are climbing with your kids I recommend staying on the Railay side so they can top rope the easy routes on the beach (the one with the cave full of c--ks, I forget the name). At the other end of the beach is Escher World Wall which has a couple of easy routes and some harder stuff for yourselves. By staying in Railay you will avoid having to get your kids over the slippery jungle paths that connect the two villages. These are easy to negotiate with just your gear, bat are a pain with baggage and I guess kids would be even worse.

Guides are pretty easy to find from basecamp and Wee's (?) climbing shop, however in all honesty you are better off buying the climbing book and having a chat to everyone else climbing there. Idk what nannying services there are but being Thailand I'm sure there will be something to fill your needs. Make sure you pack deet and a solid amount of dressings for mosquito bites and cuts as wounds that get water in them don't heal too rapidly. I also wouldn't recommend swimming in the bay off Tonsai as all the sewerage ends up in there. Maybe buy some cheap sandals to access the climbs from; I tend to make the mistake of just wearing thongs that slip and slide from rock to mud to rock on the jungle routes. Runners just get wet in the surf and muddy and are less of a pleasure to use in my opinion.

Most of all have fun and make sure you do some of the multi pitches.

martym
18-Feb-2015
9:50:36 PM
Thanks Joe, some very helpful tips.

I've never really been to a resort, and with two small children I'm sure it's an ideal place.. It's a kind of internal predjudice I'll have to get over.

One of my daughters will be 1.5 and the other a bit over 3 - so any "climbing" they do will be incidental!

For tropical weather and scrambling in wet stuff I recommend Salomon Amphibians - great for canyoning too:
dan_b
19-Feb-2015
11:46:19 AM
I second Railay for kids (not that I have any). I have stayed at Tonsai in 2010 and Railay in 2014. Beach is far nicer (ie actually swimmable - Tonsai you have to wade out for ages, and its rocky in parts), theres more non-climbing related activities and general standard of accomodation/food is probably more to wife/small children's expectations/needs (although I can second Tonsai Bay Resort). Moving a 1.5 year old between Railay and Tonsai would be pretty tough/impossible on foot given slippery and rocky path between the two beaches.

I certainly saw a few couples with young children who rotated climbing with minding, and managed to find partners just rocking up to the crag, leading whilst partner baby sat and vice versa, and I belayed a few a myself.

With regards to guides, I struggled to find one (in peak season), when my partner got sick - I found the guides on Tonsai were not overly interested (more profitable to take out smaller groups/beginner trips), so I ended up parting with a fairly significant amount for a 1:1 guide for the day to tempt them away from that. That said, I went to Tex's (Railay East) and got one with no problem (I think I paid about $150-200 for a whole day). If you have less time pressure, finding partners is pretty easy.

I have only climbed there in high/peak season though, so bear that in mind.
martym
20-Feb-2015
5:42:39 PM
On 19/02/2015 dan_b wrote:
>I second Railay for kids (not that I have any). I have stayed at Tonsai
>in 2010 and Railay in 2014. Beach is far nicer (ie actually swimmable -
>Tonsai you have to wade out for ages, and its rocky in parts), theres more
>non-climbing related activities and general standard of accomodation/food
>is probably more to wife/small children's expectations/needs (although
>I can second Tonsai Bay Resort). Moving a 1.5 year old between Railay and
>Tonsai would be pretty tough/impossible on foot given slippery and rocky
>path between the two beaches.
>
>I certainly saw a few couples with young children who rotated climbing
>with minding, and managed to find partners just rocking up to the crag,
>leading whilst partner baby sat and vice versa, and I belayed a few a myself.
.

Thanks for all the info, very helpful.
Anyone know how heavy the rain is on september? Is it afternoon showers or constant drizzle?
All sounding very fun. Cheers.

>With regards to guides, I struggled to find one (in peak season), when
>my partner got sick - I found the guides on Tonsai were not overly interested
>(more profitable to take out smaller groups/beginner trips), so I ended
>up parting with a fairly significant amount for a 1:1 guide for the day
>to tempt them away from that. That said, I went to Tex's (Railay East)
>and got one with no problem (I think I paid about $150-200 for a whole
>day). If you have less time pressure, finding partners is pretty easy.
>
Wow them's Blue Mountains prices. Hmm.
dan_b
21-Feb-2015
3:00:26 PM

>Anyone know how heavy the rain is on september? Is it afternoon showers
>or constant drizzle?
>All sounding very fun. Cheers.

I haven't been in Thailand in Sept, but it end of monsoon. I spent 6 weeks in SE Asia during this period though. It is variable; it tends to bucket down hard and then stop, rather than rain all day. Doesn't necessarily rain every day either. If you are strong (unlike me) there is enough steep stuff that you will be able to find somewhere dry most days.

Should be cheaper too.
martym
21-Feb-2015
9:57:17 PM
On 21/02/2015 dan_b wrote:
>
>. If you are strong (unlike me) there is enough steep
>stuff that you will be able to find somewhere dry most days.
>

I'm the father of two small children.
I'm lucky to get an indoor climb once a month!

Thanks for the info, all very helpful!

There are 12 messages in this topic.

 

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