Advantages: A must if you are in Bangkok
Disadvantages: Can get very busy

...If you're ever in Bangkok, this place is an absolute must, it will only cost you about 60 baht (you get about 70 baht to the pound) to get in and you could walk around here for ages. The main attraction, the reclining Buddha is housed in it's own temple, the temple itself is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and is over 300 years old. The buddha housed inside was put in the temple just under 200 years ago, it stands about 15 meters high and is over 40 meters long. The buddha is covered in gold plating and should you wish you can buy a small piece of gold leaf which you can add to the buddha yourself for luck. The soles of the buddah's feet are black marble inlaid with mother of pearl and are absolutely beautiful, and if you feel like you need a bit more luck you can buy one baht pieces which you then offer to the buddha... Read review

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Advantages: Pretty scenery, shaded areas
Disadvantages: Need to take a tour to see it really

...Myself and my girlfriend visited the Magic Buddha Garden whilst in Thailand on October 2007. We visited this attraction as fair of a Jungle Tour, where we visited several attractions in one day while travelling round the island and we paid £20 each for this trip which we thought was very reasonable. Some of the roads you need to travel on to get to this attraction are very bumpy so I would assume that you will need to hire a 4 x 4 vehicle if you are wishing to travel here without a tour. This attraction is marked on all the tourist maps so it would be easy to find. Inside The Garden The Buddha Garden is set within a valley and inside you will find statues of mythical creatures, statues of spirits and of course, Buddha statues. There is a waterfall which runs through the middle of the Buddha Garden and lots of trees and vegetation... Read review

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Advantages: A GIANT buddha!! Craved out of a GIANT PIECE OF JADE!
Disadvantages: ouch, double the entrance fees!

...I went to Shanghai last summer with my boyfriend, and Jade Buddha temple is in the list of top attractions in Shanghai. Hopefully, this is a nice and easy guide to you. Getting there and away? We took the taxi from the train station and back. Just make sure you don't fall for the taxi drivers waiting for you outsdie the train station. They charge you much extra. It is better to flag down a taxi who will use the meter. Temple itself? You can't miss it (it IS a temple in the middle of buildup areas). Easy to buy tickets - though the tickets you buy to get into the temple do not give you entry for the jade buddha. That costs additionally. Inside, there is quite a lot to see, and very quiet and peaceful. There is a giant gold buddha inside. To get to the jade buddha, buy another ticket over to the right of the entrance... Read review

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Advantages: If Buddisms your thing, its worth a read
Disadvantages: Only appealing to Buddists.

...If you've read any of the products I review you'll see that I do love my books on spirituality especially those that are based around the general path to enlightenment message. This book is based around the messages of Buddhism, which are essentially that each of us has the wisdom, awareness, love, and the power to become an enlightened being. In his book, Lama Surya Das shows how we can awaken to who we really are in order to lead a more compassionate, enlightened, and balanced life. ''Awakening the Buddha Within'' is more for those experienced in this path and although the author mentions Buddha frequently throughout the messages are just as understandable if related to a christian's view point. Incidentally if you have read any of the Buddahs sayings you will notice the similarities between him and Jesus... Read review

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Advantages: Strength of setting and emotion, unpredictable storyine, realistic ending
Disadvantages: Some may find the use of Scots offputting

...A touching account of the lives of a Glasgow family, telling the tale of what happens when one member of the family wanders off the beaten path of everyday life, here, Daddy becomes a buddhist but it is easy to relate the events and emotions surrounding his decision to a number of other life choices. I found that this novel spoke to me as a Glaswedgian, but I think that many people would enjoy it, whether they have a particular fondness for the city or have no previous ideas or experience of the place that the characters call home. Anne Donovan's Buddha Da gains its strong sense of setting and much of its powerful emotion from the author's use of Glaswegian Scots throughout, not just confined to direct speech, as many authors find is the only way that they can use Scots for a wider audience. However, Donovan's skill in making... Read review

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Advantages: Fabulously decorated restaurant, lots of choice
Disadvantages: A little heavy handed on the Chillies

...Last week on a trip to Hamburg I was lucky enough to be invited out for dinner with some colleagues. We were a mixed bunch, a Brit (me), an Irishman, an Italian woman and a Frenchman. It sounds like the opening line of a bad joke, doesn't it? The French guy chose the venue - a Thai restaurant on a back street not far from the Alster lake in the centre of Hamburg. He'd been once before and enjoyed it and he was paying, so fair enough he got to choose. I love anything spicy so I was more than happy to go along. ~ The Look ~ On entering the restaurant we found the cloakroom and bookings desk right in front of the door. A small oriental lady came and took our coats, issued us with tag receipts and checked our booking before leading us to a table. The restaurant was stunningly decorated - just the walk to our table was enough... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic food in a pretty little town
Disadvantages: Service can be a bit too quick and it's a bit on the dear side

...I love Thai food but it's not the easiest cuisine to track down outside of the big cities and tends to be ridiculously expensive if it's any good. The nearest good restaurant to us which offers good Thai food is the Thai Garden in Rothwell. My husband and I have been many times and I've also taken business guests there - especially ones from India, Sri Lanka and China who like things a little less 'bland' than your average hotel food. Where is it? ********** Rothwell is a small historic market town in Northamptonshire. You can find it easily - it's just off the A14 about half way between Market Harborough and Kettering. 'At last' you may be thinking 'a possible reason to stop on a mind numbing stretch of the A14'. I don't know the junction numbers (in fact, I think the A14 is a little lax in its numbering) but if you leave at the A6... Read review

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Advantages: Baked not fried so lower fat content, some tasty flavours
Disadvantages: Pricy, some flavours not so nice

...Jacob's Thai Bites are, in essence, flavoured rice crackers. So if you're someone who hates traditional, unflavoured rice crackers, you're unlikely to think much of them. *Background* The crackers are made (in Thailand no less, so "authentic" in at least one sense) by Jacob's Crackers, which is now part of Group Danone - they of the dairy products. They are sold in a number of formats and flavours, but the one's I'm concerning myself with are the 25g bags in Mild Thai and Oriental Spice flavours. Other flavours I have seen are Original and Seaweed. *Packaging* The Thai Bites come in what looks like a normal foil crisp packet, mainly white with the traditional black bar of colour that seems to appear on most Jacob's packaging. They have the Jacob's logo at the top surrounded by the corporate orange colour, and the accent... Read review

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Advantages: Easy oriental cooking
Disadvantages: Too much like Kung Po?

...I still cannot really tell the difference between thai food and chinese. I have been told that different spices are used in thai cooking - but I 'm afraid that I can't really distinguish between the two. I guess my palate is not cultured enough! Perhaps there is a Ciao member out there that can help - and write a review on the difference between thai and chinese. I have developed a passion for world cuisine and on every shopping trip I make an effort to find different sauces. I recently stumbled across thai sweet chilli. Upon reading the pre-amble on the jar - and the ingredients I noted that it was just like Kung Po sauce. With the love affair I have with Kung Po I had to give this a go...................... The brand I picked was Uncle Bens. The only reason for this was that it is a reliable and well known brand - and I have yet... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent food, excellent service, excellent prices
Disadvantages: It's a ten hour flight away

...INTRODUCTION Myself and Ms Larsbaby were in holiday in Vancouver and found ourselves in a decent downtown hotel. We explored the area and found many fine Asian restaurants. Having sampled Japanese and Chinese, we were looking for something else to add to our list. A Thai restaurant from across the road of our hotel caught our eye and maintained a spot on our "to do" list. Towards the end of our stay, we finally cracked and went to eat there. THE RESTAURANT Sala Thai has two locations, one on Burrard Street, the other on Cambie Street. Cambie street is someway south of downtown. We went to the one on Burrard, at the heart of downtown, which looks pretty big from the outside. When we went, the restaurant was pretty full and we had to wait a short while for our table for two. A good sign then, that the place was so... Read review

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