Crrrraaaazzzzzzzzzzyyy China!!!

The Yangshuo area

Seeya later Europe - it was time to hit up Asia... so with a pack filled with various peices of metal designed for rock climbing and a few summer clothes I flew off to China with the aim to work for a company called China Climb, and do as much climbing as humanly possible in the 3 months that I would be there!!!

Tommy, Cambodge and Me cruising down the Li River with our students

I arrived in Yangshuo (Sout East China) and was immediately blown away by the scenary - The Guilin are is surrounded by over 70,000 limestone karsts that were once upon time under water before the Himalyas were formed, and now they are 12 hours inland from the coast and are absolutely breath taking... plus they are the reason that climbers from all around the world are starting to flock to Yangshuo every year - to climb these beautiful limestone rockfaces!!!!

Anton and me at the top of Thumb Mountain - a 5 pitch called called Paparazzi Pete

ChinaClimb was a pretty random but extrememly fun company to work for. Whether you wanted to be a full time climber, Outdoor Education instructor or a logistics coordinator - you could... the options were all there for you and your job title didn't really matter!!!! I tried to give all the work options ago but that meant that I climbed alot less than I thought I would, but that wasn't too bad as I was loving running my own programmes and getting a grasp on organising week long activity based trips for up to 80 students, in a country where I couldn't speak the language!!!

Matt loving his job

Abond loving his job

It was a sweet place to get stoked about sport climbing, as it boosted hundreds of wold class-routes on various crags in the area... you were never spoiled for choice and they were all so close to town!!!!!!!!!!!

The ChinaClimb crew out at the crag one day

Ohhhhhhh the climbing....

Joel doing what he does best at Riverside

all sport...Seb over looking the crowds that watched climb for 2 hours straight (during October Week-like Christmas for the Chinese) on Thumb Mountain

Mostly all single pitch routes, but with some mutli pitch as well...

Me coming up 'Paparazzi Pete' after Seb - on of the few multi pitches in the area

all well within 20 minutes bike ride of town..,Seb after a successful arrival at 'The Egg' on the mighty tandem bikes

and all super fun!!!!!!!!! We all just loved it!

Then there wrere the parties... ChinaClimb boostest the best parties in all of Yangshuo and I definitely believe it!!!! The bathroom and underwear parties were some of the the most bizzarze and fantastic nights ever!!!!!!

Here's my boss Scottie; leading the charge at the underwear party

Margot and Matt letting loose at the bathroom party

DJ Anton mixing the beats at the bathroom party

It was paradise for sure!!!! But there were many other activities to endulge as wll as climbing and partying...

Love this shot and all the dudes in it - Anton, Ian the Hoff, and Cambodge getting amoungst at the Babyfrog swimming hole

Like swimming, eating all the yummy local food, biking (tandem especially), camping, trekking, having birthday cake fights, kayaking, chicken feet eating, caving, bamboo rafting and many more classic Chinese Iconic activites that everyone just loved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Biking to the swimming hole on an extremely hot day



First and only time I ever saw a Chinese man working the paddy fields



The sights while trekking through the infamous rice terraces in the Longsheng area



This guy is the man!!! It was like an optical illusion watching him create our breakfast using only his fingers to separate the dough into noodles in a matter of a few seconds!!!!


Safety first!!!! Most ridiculous shoes ever

Here I am admiring my beautiful birthday cake compliments of ChinaClimb....

Then here I am 2 seconds later with my new boss, after learning the ancient tradtion of ChinaClimb birthday cake fights



Here's Seb on his birthday


Rice anyone???

3 months in China was definitely an experience for me... epecially the sights that I saw everyday... like walking to work everyday past markets which proudly desplayed roasted pigs ear and tounge as a breakfast treat for hungry shoppers. And then there would a visual feast of thousands of red chillies drying on the pavement, plus many other random sights and smells on the way down the road. And that was just the tame stuff... if you wanted a cut in half blow torched dog then that was available just down the road opposite the pigs testes, the hamsters and the hundreds of dead chickens!!!!! eeewwwwww

One of the more visually appealing sites on the way to work

And one of the not so appealing sites...
I saw this while leading a group of students in the Longshen area... they were pretty grossed out and noone ate bacon the next morning!!!

It was a crazy time but one I will never forget - China is just one of those places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So interesting, a real eye opener, amazing yet straight up gross some times. I would 100% recommend it to anyone and I am definitely going back!!!!!!! China Rocks!!!! (get it...rocks??!!!)