Not What You'd Expect

Advantages: great base for serious trekking
Disadvantages: not much else to do

...After the laid-back, nature-oriented, happy town of Pai, Mae Hong Son was a real shock. We thought that a town on the Myanmar border would be even more wild and remote, but this turned out to be a wrong assumption. It seems that close proximity to the opium barons is lucrative. Mae Hong Son is full of stores carrying modern supplies and restaurants serving farang (foreign) food. There is a steady stream of moped traffic and even the occasional 4x4, so keep that in mind if you are thinking of eating roadside. The scenery is beautiful, but the town is not one with nature like Pai. Rather it is very much a giant suburb surrounded by jungle. The jungle and the steep mountains are very appealing. If you decide to trek from here, be ready for a rugged, difficult climb on most of the days you are out. The climbs are hands...

JeffSumm 05.09.2001 · Read review
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Review of Mae Hong Son (Thailand)

Unpronounceable but not inedible - Mae Gaew

Advantages: Great value and lots of choice
Disadvantages: Don't pick this restaurant if you are in a rush

...My friend Alison works for the company which I left almost exactly a year ago. In the time since I joined my new company we've tried and failed to get together many times, only clocking up two nights out so we were well overdue for a catch up. Since she works close to Manchester airport and I was flying in at a respectable time for a change, I headed straight round to see her when I landed. We'd had an exchange of text messages over the previous couple of days to see if we could agree a place to have dinner. She won last time and we had eaten in a really awful Turkish restaurant in Wilmslow, so this time I got the right to push my choice on her. I fancied Thai ? but then I generally do ? and she tracked down the almost unpronounceable Mae Gaew in Knutsford. Knutsford is a good choice for dinner if you haven't thought to book ahead...

koshkha 22.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mae Gaew Restaurant, Knutsford

Amazing Thailand

Advantages: Something for everyone
Disadvantages: So much to do, so little time

...I first went to Thailand in October 2001. I went on a two centre holiday there - Bangkok for 4 nights and Phuket for 10 nights. I have decided that because there is so much to put about all the things we (my husband and I) did and saw, I am only going to concentrate on our stay in Bangkok. Firstly, October is the end of the rainy season and so the price we paid was very good. I don't remember the exact figure but it was in the region of £1500.00 altogether. The booking was with Thomas Cook Signature Holidays, and included return flights to and from Manchester to Heathrow, Bangkok and Phuket, also included was private car transfers to and from the Thai airports and hotels and hotel accommodation (a three and a half star hotel in Bangkok - The Hotel Asia, and a four star hotel in Phuket - The Kata Thani Hotel and Beach Resort...

Esless 05.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of General: Thailand

Thailands Gateway

Advantages: Clear direction signs, unique sight of a golf course in the middle of the runways
Disadvantages: Long walks, uncomfortable seats

...The first sight people sometimes get when landing at Don Muang airport – code BKK - is the strange sight of people playing golf in between the runways. This is just the first of many quirks you will either love or hate about Thailand and Bangkok. The golf course is actually owned by the Air Force which shares the airport. Depending on your taxi route to / from the runway you will see the military planes and hangers. The airport is actually due to be replaced by a new airport - Suvarnabhumi - being built to the north east of Bangkok which is due to open in 2004. Well, the Prime Minister said it would, so it must be true! Transport The airport itself is about 25km north from the “centre” of Bangkok. It is easily reached by car, bus or train. There is no link to the BTS Skytrain but the new one supposedly...

ultras67 03.07.2003 (04.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)

Excellent Hong Kong Hotel

Advantages: Great transportation links
Disadvantages: none

...When trying to decide on a hotel for our trip to Hong Kong we did a lot of research and opted for the Metro Park Hotel in Causeway bay rather than its sister hotel in Kowloon. This was mainly due to its location in a quieter part of town and its superb transport links. The hotel is roughly three quarters of an hour from the airport and the bus to the airport stops at the door of the hotel, as our transport was included we did not use that option. It is well located too with the MTR station being just along the road, the trams passing the end of the road and the bus to Stanley also just a short walk away. The hotel also runs free transport to Causeway Bay shopping area and also Wan Chai for the conference centre and star ferry. The hotel has car parking on the ground floor and you enter the reception on the first floor by lift...

elspeth334 06.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Metropark Hotel, Hong Kong

Sons of Destiny

Advantages: Exciting, engaging and a brilliant end to a great saga.
Disadvantages: Not everyone will like the ending, but most will.

...Sons of Destiny is written by Darren Shan, an author widely believed to be the best children's horror writer ever, and one of the best writers for children in any category around at the moment. The book is part of a series called The Darren Shan saga, in which a teenage boy has his life changed forever when after attending an illegal freak show, he steals an amazing spider, which belongs to a real-life vampire, Mr. Crepsley. When his friend gets bitten by this spider, he is forced to trade the rest of his life so that his friend can continue his, when he agrees to fake his own death, flee from his family and become a half-vampire in order to get the cure for the bite for his friend. In order to save lives, Darren and Mr. Crepsley kill a mad vampaneze (the vampaneze are blood cousins and sworn enemies to the vampires, as they kill...

midpikyrozziy 16.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Sons of Destiny - Darren Shan

God's Son is Ressurected...

Advantages: The Most Personal Nas album ever
Disadvantages: A few

...Nas took a humongous break but struck back hard with Stillmatic, which found Nas returning to his roots. Fans welcomed Nas back and awaited his next album, which was highly anticipated. Unfortunately, his parade was a bit torn down. Rumors circulated all around about Nas selling out and signing with commercial hip-hop label Murder Inc. Not to mention that his collaboration with Ja Rule and Ashanti didn't exactly help matters out. However, Nas proved everybody wrong with the release of God's Son, as we see Nas single-handedly bring his career from the depths and ressurect it like Jesus Christ himself. Never fear Nas rans, Murder Inc and all of its subdivisions are void from this album. Stillmatic began the rebirth, and God's Son gives Nas life once again... Nas decides to kick off God's Son with a bang with the legendary "Get Down...

bigdiship-hop 24.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of God's Son [PA] - Nas

Disney Hong Kong Style

Advantages: Quiet
Disadvantages: Not very big

...Hong Kong Disneyland is situated on Lantau Island where it was built on reclaimed land. It was opened in 2005 and covers approximately 100 acres though expansion plans are in the pipeline this is the smallest of the Disneyland resorts. It is very easy to get to from Hong Kong as the MTR runs there with the last leg of the journey from Sunny Bay station being on a Disney themed train with Mickey windows and hand pull also in the shape of Mickeys head which the children loved. It is laid out like most Disney parks you enter and arrived first at the Main Street USA Attractions here are the Hong Kong Disneyland railroad which can take you a tour round the park with one stop in Fantasyland. Main Street vehicles that tour up and down Main St The Disney Story this tells you all about disney and the creation of the park. Animation...

elspeth334 07.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Hong Kong Disneyland

Amazing Thailand

Advantages: Has it all.
Disadvantages: Be aware of scams.

...Thailand for me has everything you could possible wish for. One day you could be partying until 7.30 in the morning then the next you could be wandering around a temple only hearing the occasional gong or wind chimes. With just a one and a half hours flight from BKK you can be on the Paradise Islands of Samui, Phuket etc. I would recommend leaving the usual tourist places for a while and traveling out to the more rural areas such as Chiang Mai, Isan etc. The people here are the kindest and most generous people I have ever known. Some people I have met have had nothing, but still managed to give me a gift to remember them by. Wherever you go people are always willing to help, give you a smile or a wave as you pass on by. All year round the weather is warm, only getting cooler in the north. Even during the monsoon season...

Scott 03.01.2001 (03.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Thailand - Outside Bangkok

Sleeping in Hong Kong

Advantages: affordable,convenient
Disadvantages: nnone worth mentioning

...This month I had the pleasure of going to Hong Kong on a research trip with two other recent graduates and a lecturer in sociology. It was an amazing trip and I am sure I will write more about it very soon indeed. But this review is about our base, the Charterhouse Hotel. The hotel is on Wan Chai Road on Hong Kong Island, a very convenient base for sightseeing, shopping, eating and basically everything. Wan Chai Road is between Wan Chai MTR (metro) station and Causeway Bay station, a 5 minute walk between the two. The website is www.charterhouse.com, which may give you more information. As this trip was funded by research committees, we booked standard rooms, which were single rooms with an en suite, at about £50 a night including breakfast. The website illustrates the deluxe rooms and suites, but our budget did not stretch to...

fabulous_girl 19.07.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Charterhouse, Hong Kong