Travel Agents – Your New Favorite Aunt

When you’re ready to make the most of your next vacation, open your arms to a new member of the family – your neighborhood travel agent. Your travel agent can save you so much time and money while relieving stress that you may want to invite him or her over for next Thanksgiving.

Money is a big part of any travel experience, and the more value you feel you’re getting, the more you’ll enjoy yourself. Travel agents understand this principle more than anyone, which is why they work within your schedule, budget and expectations to produce an incomparable vacation experience.

Doesn’t a family as great as your own deserve an equally great vacation? Contact a trusted travel agent and start planning your great family vacation today.

Benefits of Using a Travel Agent

Save Money! – Strong working relationships with travel suppliers and the latest in computer reservations technology enable travel agents to access the most up-to-date information on how to get you the best value.

Traveler Advocates – Your best interests are the priority. The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has a long-standing record of fighting for consumer rights and ASTA member travel agents are required to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics.

Convenience – The ASTA membership includes travel agents across the country and throughout the world, most of which offer one-stop shopping for all travel arrangements.
Service – ASTA member travel agents are knowledgeable and active in the industry. The Society provides education, training and resource materials to its members to equip them with the tools to offer the highest quality of service.

Agents Will Go the Extra Mile – Agents work for you and will do everything they can to meet your travel needs. Some agents literally go that extra mile to help their clients. One ASTA-member agent even went to Ethiopia to escort two adopted orphans to the US.

Happy Holiday Travel

One of the country's leading experts on family travel, author and television personality Deb Geigis Berry spends up to 16 weeks on the road each year with her husband and two young children to seek out the best destinations to recommend to consumers. Here are some tips for holiday travel she's picked up along the way.

Keep planning simple: Traveling with kids in tow involves many details. To make the process easier, consider using a travel agent, who can recommend vacation destinations tailor-made for your family's interests and budget, find great deals on airfare and hotels, and fill you in on the latest airport security news.

Make getting to your destination fun: Use time traveling together for zany sing-alongs, family storytelling sessions and scavenger hunts. Parents can draw up a list of things you might expect to see from a car or plane, such as two-toned cows, a car toting a Christmas tree, or a man wearing a red hat, then have the kids vie to see who spots the items first. For the ultimate treat, splurge on a portable DVD player, and watch a new holiday movie in transit, the just-released A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a good bet this winter.

Pack a fun bag: Assemble a bag for each child containing stickers, paper and washable markers, poseable figurines (that don't have a lot of pieces), magnetic games and puzzles, and a pillow. If you use these particular bags for trips only, they'll remain novel, and kids will look forward to the journey.

Break up the trip with frequent stops: Playgrounds, indoor fun centers, and family restaurants are good bets. AT&T Wireless even offers new M-Mode cell phone services that let customers access the locations of nearby fast-food restaurants, movie schedules, restaurant reviews, directions and even weather reports. For more info visit www.attwireless.com/personal/features/mmode/.

Make a memory box: Bring an empty shoebox along to store items you'll collect along the way, such as seashells, rocks, funny postcards, and marked-up road maps. When you get home, label the box with the trip destination and date, and you'll have a great souvenir of your time together.

Travel Malaysia - Getting to Johore

Malaysia is the best location for you to get fun for your holidays. There are many pleace that you just like Johore. How you can getting to Johore?

Via the modern North-South Expressway, the state capital Johor Bahru (JB) is just 220km, a 4-hour drive, from Kuala Lumpur.

KTM

Johor Bahru is the entry point to Malaysia from Singapore. From here, most major cities and towns are accessible via rail.

Air

Located at Senai about 32km from Johor Bahru is Sultan Ismail Airport. Malaysia Airlines flies to JB from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and Kuching. Air Asia flies to JB from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and Kuching.

There is a shuttle coach service to the airport, which leaves from the Water Front City in JB, and services all incoming and outgoing flights between 5.00am and 7.00pm. This coach also picks up passengers from Singapore. Most downtown hotels also organise taxis, limousine and shuttle services.

Bus

Bus services from major cities and towns run several times a day to Johor Bahru whilst making stops at smaller towns and villages on the way.

Taxis

Johor has lots of metered taxis. However, some drivers will take you around for an agreed fare. The fare is about RM20-RM30 per hour for sightseeing.

The Causeway - Linking Johor to Singapore

Construction began on the 1,038m Causeway in 1920 and was completed in 1924. This popular transit point to and from Singapore supports both road and railway links. Parallel to the link are also large pipes that bring clean fresh water from Malaysia into Singapore. Immigration and Customs checkpoints are based at the entrance to the Causeway.

Residents from Johor cross the causeway to work in Singapore daily making this the busiest part of Johor. The Johor Causeway carries some 60,000 vehicles to and from Singapore every day. A nominal toll is charged for all vehicles that enter Malaysia from Singapore.

Despite the availability of other modes of transport like air travel, ferry, railway and a second crossing, the Singapore-Johor Bahru Causeway still remains as the most frequently-used mode for commuting between the two cities. A second bridge links Tanjung Kupang 30km southwest of Johor Bahru, to Tuas in Singapore. This bridge serves as an alternative crossing to the Causeway, and is often less congested.

During the Second World War, the Causeway was partly demolished by the British Army to prevent Japanese soldiers from advancing and invading Singapore. However, the Japanese soldiers soon resolved matters by repairing the broken link and the Causeway resumed its role as an important transport link.

For more informations, click http://johore.blogspot.com

Tour of a Money Belt

European thieves target American tourists. Not because they're mean, but because they're smart. We're the ones with all the good stuff in our bags and wallets. While violent muggings are rare in Europe, you can safely assume you'll be gently, skillfully pickpocketed. The answer isn't fear, but a money belt. Every traveler needs one.

A money belt is a small, nylon-zippered pouch on an elastic belt. Wear it around your waist, completely hidden from sight, tucked into your pants or skirt like a shirttail. At a cost of less than $15, you can protect your travel fortune.

Operate with a day's spending money in your pocket. Consider your money belt as deep storage and dip into it only for select deposits and withdrawals.

Never leave your money belt "hidden" on the beach while you swim. It's safer left in your hotel room.

Packing light applies to your money belt as well as your luggage. Here's what to pack in your money belt:

Passport: You're legally supposed to have it with you at all times.
Plane ticket: Put essential pages in your money belt, nonessential pages (like the receipt) in your luggage.
Railpass: This is as valuable as cash.
Driver's license: This works just about anywhere in Europe and is necessary if you want to rent a car on the spur of the moment.
Credit card: It's required for car rental and handy to have if your cash runs low.
Debit card: A Visa debit card is the most versatile for ATM withdrawals. (I no longer use traveler's checks.)
Cash: Keep only major bills in your money belt.
Plastic sheath: Money belts easily get slimy and sweaty. Damp plane tickets and railpasses can be disgusting and sometimes worthless. Even a plain old baggie helps keep things dry.
Contact list: Print small, and include every phone number or email address of importance in your life.
Trip calendar page: Include your hotel list and all necessary details from your itinerary.

A money belt is your key to peace of mind. If you're pickpocketed, it won't matter. In fact, when you're wearing a moneybelt, having a thief's hand in your pocket becomes just one more interesting cultural experience.

Common Moneybelt Questions:

Are some countries safe?

No. Even in the safest countries, thieves gather where tourists do.

What kind of moneybelt is best?

Anything which ties your essentials to your body under your clothes is fine. We prefer a belt to the around-the-neck pouches.

Will a fanny pack suffice?

No. Fanny packs are popular alternatives to day packs but should never (never, never) be used as a moneybelt. Thieves target fanny packs rightly assuming that many store their valuables inside (and no matter what you may think, you can't feel someone's hand in your fanny pack).

What do you do when you go swimming?

Never hide your moneybelt at the beach. It's safer left out of sight in your hotel room.

What about women?

Many women wear their moneybelt in the back under their skirt or pants. Remember, you keep a day's spending money in your pocket. Your moneybelt is your deep storage for select deposits and withdrawals.

Tourist Scams in Europe

Many of the most successful scams require a naive and trusting tourist. Be wary of any unusual contact or commotion in crowded public (especially touristy) places. If you're alert and aren't overly trusting, you should have no problem. Here are some clever ways European thieves bolster their cash flow. (For more examples, look in the appendix for excerpts from my Graffiti Wall message board.)

Slow count: Cashiers who deal with lots of tourists thrive on the "slow count." Even in banks, they'll count your change back with odd pauses in hopes the rushed tourist will gather up the money early and say "Grazie." Also be careful when you pay with too large a bill. Waiters seem to be arithmetically challenged. If giving a large bill for a small payment, clearly state the value of the bill as you hand it over. Some cabbies or waiters will pretend to drop a large bill and pick up a hidden small one in order to shortchange a tourist. In Italy, the now-worthless 500-lire coin looks like a €2 coin — be alert when accepting change.

Oops! You're jostled in a crowd as someone spills ketchup or fake pigeon poop on your shirt. The thief offers profuse apologies while dabbing it up — and pawing your pockets. There are variations: Someone drops something, you kindly pick it up, and you lose your wallet. Or, even worse, someone throws a baby into your arms as your pockets are picked. Assume beggars are pickpockets. Treat any commotion (a scuffle breaking out, a beggar in your face) as fake — designed to distract unknowing victims. If an elderly woman falls down an escalator, stand back and guard your valuables, then...carefully...move in to help.

The "helpful" local: Thieves posing as concerned locals will warn you to store your wallet safely — and then steal it after they see where you stash it. If someone wants to help you use an ATM, politely refuse (they're just after your PIN code). If a bank machine eats your ATM card, see if there's a thin plastic insert with a tongue hanging out that crooks use to extract it. (A similar scam is to put something sticky in the slot.) Some thieves put out tacks and ambush drivers with their "assistance" in changing the tire. Others hang out at subway ticket machines eager to "help" you, the bewildered tourist, buy tickets with a pile of your quickly disappearing foreign cash. If using a station locker, beware of the "hood samaritan" who may have his own key to a locker he'd like you to use.

Fake police: Two thieves in uniform — posing as "Tourist Police" — stop you on the street, flash their bogus badges, and ask to check your wallet for counterfeit bills or "drug money." You will not even notice some bills are missing until they leave. Never give your wallet to anyone.

Young thief gangs: These are common all over urban southern Europe, especially in the touristy areas of Milan, Florence, and Rome. Groups of boys or girls with big eyes, troubled expressions, and colorful raggedy clothes play a game where they politely mob the unsuspecting tourist, beggar-style. As their pleading eyes grab yours and they hold up their pathetic message scrawled on cardboard, you're fooled into thinking that they're beggars. All the while, your purse, fanny pack, or backpack is being expertly rifled. If you're wearing a money belt and you understand what's going on here, there's nothing to fear. In fact, having a street thief's hand slip slowly into your pocket becomes just one more interesting cultural experience.

So, watch your steps!

Travel Corner

This blog will give you more infomation & tips abaout travel. You must read to get more idea about your holiday travel.

Good luck!