I am planning an extended climbing trip through South America and South-East Asia. To limit the amount of gear that I need to carry I will be focusing on sport climbing. As I will be traveling alone I am looking for areas where it is easy to meet partners. After scanning the web here are a list of locations that look promising:

Wharepapa – New Zealand
Huaraz – Peru
Yangshou – China
Thakhek - Laos
Chang Mai – Thailand
Railey/Tonsai/Krabi – Thailand
Cat Ba – Vietnam

My questions to the MP community are :
1) If you have been to any of these locations are they worth a visit? Specifically will I be able to meet partners and is the sport climbing and good? Are there nearby accommodations?
2) Are there any other climbing destinations that I missed.

Of your list, I've only been to/climbed in Thailand. The climbing outside Chiang Mai is at Crazy Horse Buttress but you'll want to stay in Chiang Mai. Best place to meet partners would be the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA) gym in the old city (they also offer transportation to crazy horse). Not many people here from my experiences.

The climbing at Tonsai/Railey is incredible. Depending on the season, tons of people/potential partners. Cheap, dirtbag accommodations on Tonsai beach or more expensive, resorts on Railey beach. Spend at least a day deep water soloing.

There is also climbing on some of the islands, koh phi phi, koh lao liang, etc but I've never been.

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

If you make it to Brasil let me know. XL

Yangshuo is pretty cool. LiMing is way better - world class - but you'd need a double rack minimum. Yangshuo is cheap and convenient, easy to find partners. There are other quieter areas around China - Getu comes to mind - worth a visit and you may luck out and find a partner to venture out to such areas at Yangshuo.

If you make it to Turkey - check out Geyikbayiri - super fun climbing!