Rock Climbing in Bangkok

I recently read about a rock climbing facility in Bangkok in BK magazine called Rock Domain Gym and despite not having been rock climbing for several years I thought it would be good to check out. I moved to Bangkok 8 years ago and have always been disappointing with the lack of opportunity for rock climbing in Bangkok and so I was quite eager to see the newest climbing facilities, which from the website looked amazing. Rock Domain Gym has actually been open since November 2013 so I was surprised I had not read or heard about it before. The gym is easy to get too, driving out of Bangkok past Central Bangna to take the u-turn past Index living mall and a further 500m you reach the THB building. There is a small sign on the main road but keep your eyes peeled. There is ample parking space but you will need to get the ticket stamped by the staff of Rock Domain Gym.

The building looks like small warehouse from the outside but the inside was surprisingly big. After paying the 400b gym fee, and various equipment fees (the total cost was 1,100THB for 2 people) which although not cheap, is comparable to the more famous Racquet Club on Sukhumvit road, we got changed and were ready to start. Just for reference the Racquet Club recently burned down and is in the process of being re-built, the tentative opening date is scheduled for September 2014. Other places for rock climbing in Bangkok include the Imperial Department Store in Ladprao, which is smaller but from what I hear have a good range of climbs.

The last time I went climbing was in Krabi 3 years ago so I needed quite a few reminders for getting roped up and figuring out the belay again but the staff were very good and all of whom spoke good English and before long we were trying out some of the many routes. There were literally dozens of routes to choose from with a range of difficulty levels, there were also lots of bouldering routes which were good to practice on. Being so out of practice my arms were in quite a lot of pain after a few tries so luckily there was a coffee shop on site to relax in, there were also plenty of seats dotted around so people can just chill out and watch others climb.

According to their website they re-bolt the wall often so there is enough to keep people entertained without getting bored of it, and I would recommend it for anyone who has some spare time in Bangkok or just want to try something different, it is certainly a good workout too. Rock Domain is also near Taco Lake, so for the super energetic you can combine wakeboarding with rock climbing. It is great to see more and more activity centres being built in Bangkok and Rock Domain Gym is a welcome addition to the scene.