A Tour Operator is the organizer and provider of package holidays. It is often referred as the Ground Handler. The Tour Company will make contracts with hotels and resorts, airlines and ground transport companies like private cars, buses, vans, ferries and trains & etc. With all the necessary pricing and information compiled, the Tour Operator will draft detailed tour packages and distribute to Travel Agents in Travel Agent Directory in Malaysia and even overseas.

The roles & responsibilities of a Tour Operator are booking and arranging:

- Transportation: Chaffered Car, Chartered Bus & Van, Air Ticket, Train Ticket, Ferry Ticket, Cruise Ticket, other transit modes and even special vehicles like trishaw.
- Tour Guide: All Tour Guides must be licensed by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia after attending and examined in a professional Tourist Guide Courses.
- Sight Seeing: Entrance for tourist destinations, eco-tour, adventures tour, jungle trekking, snorkeling & scuba diving, island hopping and even handicraft or cultural & living experiences.
- Food & Beverage: Breakfast, Tea Time or Tea Break, Lunch & Dinner, whether by set, buffet or packed food.
- Accommodation: Hotels, Resorts, Service Apartments, Camping Sites, Dormitories, Training Camps, Chalets, Tree Houses or traditional houses & habitats that accommodating travelers.
- Activities: Tele-match, treasure hunt, paint ball, team building, outside office meeting…
- Special Events: Company dinner, karaoke contest.

On the other hand, Travel Agents do not operate tours. Travel agencies gives traveling advices to travelers, promote and sell the tour packages that they have from various Tour Operators, then administer the tour bookings. Travel Agents usually are set up in prime locations with heavy traffic such as beside the main roads, inside crowed shopping malls or at the ground floor of a landmark building.

The roles & responsibilities of a Travel Agent are:

- Selling ells travel related products and services, particularly package tours to end-user customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels, tour operator and tour companies, and cruise lines & etc.
- Most travel agents have a special department devoted to travel arrangements for business travelers, while some agencies specialize in commercial and business travelers.
- Some also serve as general service agents for foreign travel companies in different countries.
- Act as an agent for tour packages:
- Buy tour packages or tour services at discounts & sell with profits.
- Get commissions from suppliers & other tour companies.
- Act as a ticketing agent for transportation (e.g. airlines, ferry, bus, train & etc).
- Other commercial operations are undertaken: insurance, travel guides, car rental, Bureau de change, private tour guide & etc.
- Offer impartial travel advice to the customer.

Next time, if you traveling in small group less than 10 travelers, it is advisable to engage a Travel Agent. Do not try to find the best travel agent in Malaysia. There is no such myth! Just go with the travel agent that suit your traveling needs and budgets or the tour agent that you trusted the most. However, if you are organizing a group tour like company tour, a Tour Operator will be able to provide you a more suitable tailor-made service.

The above information are guidelines and advices that 88Holidays provided to its Corporate Clients in organizing group tour. It is simple but useful information to help organizing a successful company tour with many years experiences.

Bangkok houses busy airports coupled with excellent hospitality. Bangkok International Airport has a domestic as well as an international terminal. Bangkok hotels range from cozy suites to moderate rooms that cost a few bahts, the country’s currency. Early bird reservations are possible at these hotels. A simple application online will suffice. Bangkok is known for having some of the best restaurants in the world. Almost every major cuisine in the world is available in specialty restaurants located throughout the city. Quality Thai and ethnic food is omnipresent in outlets and is also as diverse as street front restaurants and markets.

Bangkok is an excellent place to shop and is often called “the shopper’s stop.” The city is full of many shopping streets which are very unique on their own. The entire street usually sells only one kind of product ranging from fresh flowers, fabrics and clothes, gemstones, electrical goods, monk supplies, and guns. From the historical public ground to the sensational public park, Ratanakosin Island is one of Bangkok’s highest ratios of parkland per capita. Aerobic dances are the area’s major attraction. The city’s other cultural attractions are the Siam society, national museum, national library and the Thai cultural center. This cultural center is considered as an avenue for musical and visual entertainment.

Travel in Bangkok is made even more interesting by the tuk-tuks and the ferry services. Private cars and vans operate in the city almost round the clock.

The Bangkokians are a bunch of warm and friendly people, usually too polite to show offense. Yet, as with any nation, there are borders of behavior that should and should not be crossed. They take great pride in their monarchy. Visitors are well-advised to respect the reverence in which devoted Bangkokians hold their royal family. The Buddhist religion is considered sacred by Bangkokians. Monks, temples, and Buddha images are everywhere and most of the people treat them with great respect. It is expected that appropriate clothing be worn in temples, and shoes removed when entering certain areas in the temples.

For Bangkokians, the maintenance of surface calm and harmony is crucial. Loss of temper, arguing, or direct criticism are best avoided among them, because they feel it serves little purpose in any case. The famous wai is a used as a gesture for both greeting and respect. Wai requires the person to use both of his hands as if praying in front of his face. In general, it is considered to be a mark of respect to try to keep the head at a lower level than that of a senior or older person when talking to or passing them. On entering a private chamber or house, it is customary to remove your shoes. The polite form of address when talking to or about people of similar or older age are to use the title “Khun” and the person’s first name.

Many Bangkokians will be too polite to comment on behaviour that is disrespectful of a fellow Bangkokian, but you should be aware that it is still offensive. Looks and appearances are important to Bangkokians. When meeting them, dressing smartly, or at least appropriately, reflects the degree of respect you hold for them.

Friends who have visited Thailand sometimes struggle to define what makes it special. Nature blessed it with a fabulous year-round climate and a beautiful, diverse geography, but it is undoubtedly the people who make it special. Nobody does hospitality like the Thais. It is the Thai people who conjured wonderful cuisine from their natural surroundings, and who are genuinely driven to ensure that, as a visitor, you have the best possible time while you are in their country. And, in truth, it was the anger and outrage of the residents and small business people of Sukhumvit

Road and Nang Lerng Market, not the army that sent the red shirts packing after two days of sporadic rioting in Bangkok. They broke their spirit by publicly confronting the protesters and making it clear that the normal, enterprising people of Thailand would not tolerate the disruption and damage to their country’s international reputation. As the trouble fizzled out the army and police advised the demonstrators not to wear red and provided them with security as they boarded some 50 buses laid on by the government to take them home. Now THAT is people power.

During the two weeks before the trouble, I stopped off in Thailand on the way home to Hong Kong after a visit to the UK. The first week was spent catching up with friends and in business meetings in Bangkok, before heading to the rural north-east for the annual Rocket Festival in Yasothon province. What I experienced throughout is informative, not because it was exceptional, but because it was typical.

I arrived in Bangkok late on the Thursday night, immediately succumbing to an addiction by going to a street café for a fiery papaya salad. As I strolled back to my hotel along one of Sukhumvit Road’s busy side streets, my attention was grabbed by a simple two-wheeled cart that had been set up as a bar on the pavement – complete with lights, music, barstools, a couple of plastic tables with chairs and a pretty waitress. I needed to cool my palate, so sat down for cold Chang beer. The young owner spotted a few mosquitoes heading in my direction, so placed a scented burner under my table and handed me a repellent spray. His English was good, so we chatted for a while and shared a second beer and a plate of freshly dry-fried peanuts, which he did not charge me for. There it was: a brief but memorable interlude and the spirit of Thailand on a street corner.

On Sunday I went with some Thai friends to the International Motor Show at Bitec, one of Bangkok’s two main exhibition centres. Having recently heard that its counterpart event in the UK had been cancelled, I was amazed at just how packed it was, and took a few photos as evidence. When the show stats appeared on one of the Thai marketing websites a week later, they confirmed my impression. Here are the main points:

- Attendance was down 10% on 2008 but impressive at 1.35m over the ten days.
- 16,901 cars were sold during the show, valued at just short of THB30 billion (£600m), that is 107 cars per day more than at the same show in 2008.
- 70% of the cars sold were priced at THB2m (£40,000) or higher, compared with just 30% of the cars sold at the 2008 show.
- Unsurprisingly, the majority of buyers were business owners and senior executives, but what an interesting gauge of business confidence.

A few days of meetings with business contacts for Fareps Property Investment followed, all pointing towards cautious optimism. Among them,

DTZ, the world’s biggest seller of residential property and an Overseas Property Investment specialist, confirmed that the domestic market was
moving ahead once again, after a dismal few months at the end of 2008.

The business part of the trip complete, four more Thai friends and I drove
some 400 miles north-east (along wide, well surfaced roads that put anything we’ve got in the UK to shame) to Yasothon, for the province’s annual

Rocket Festival. This is a little trodden route for foreign tourists, to the extent that I did not see another non-Thai until we got back to Bangkok five
days later. Everywhere I was welcomed warmly – and no doubt with some curiosity – but what is interesting is that I was treated with exactly the same kind of courtesy and hospitality that we enjoy in Koh Samui, Phuket and the other tourist spots. And they weren’t doing it to charm money from the ‘farang’s’ (foreigner’s) wallet, as we were entertained and ate fabulous food at a different person’s house each night we were there.

Everywhere the same questions: at the festival, “Sanook, mai?” (are you having a good time?) while eating, “Aroi, mai” (does it taste good?). And best of all, the children, some as young as three and mostly from poor, small farming families – were polite, happy and welcoming, showing first hand how deeply engrained these family and communal values are throughout Thai society. The festival itself was great fun, with high quality, professional entertainment and free food provided for visitors by the locals on day one, followed by two days of noisy, spectacular action as massive home-made missiles were launched seemingly into outer space. I recommend a look at some youtube footage for more information!

A few days later on 13th April, as the protests turned ugly and the Thai media were referring to the Kingdom’s biggest annual festival as “Black Songkran”, I got a Facebook invitation to attend ‘Asia’s biggest party’ on Property in Koh Samui, headlined by DJ Judge Jules, no less! The inalienable truth is that Thai people love to party, love their country and want you to share it with them.

While the political drama continues to run, it is the enterprise, the pride in their country and the legendary hospitality of the Thai people that will shine through every time as Thailand once again asserts itself as one of Asia’s leading economies and as the region’s premier holiday destination.

If you would like to know more about Thailand or to buy an Investment Property in Thailand please go to our website www.fareps.com Fareps
Property Investment

The people in Bangkok are quite religious. Places for worship are present everywhere in Bangkok. Examples can be given as Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall and the Phra Thi Nang Vimanmek. People in Bangkok are very hygienic. Often they are seen with damp hair and talcum powder spread all over the body on street. The talcum powder is usually used to keep them cooler for a longer period. It also prevents them from sweating.

In Bangkok you can shop some antiques as they are less expensive than the US and UK countries. Narayanaphand, Floating Markets, Flower and Plant Markets, Thailand Duty Free Shops, Woeng Nakhon Kasem, Lang Krasuang, Bang Lamphu are some of the shopping places where you can visit in Bangkok. In these places you can shop for the whole day for your own and also pick some souvenirs for your near and dear ones.

In Bangkok you can enjoy nightlife a lot. Many places are found open still late night. Although the shut down time is 2 am still if you are night bird and want to enjoy bar and dance after 2 just visit Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy, Patpong, and ‘Impressionists Row’. Some of the party zones are Brown Sugar and Bamboo Bar at The Oriental Hotel.

People in Bangkok are very liberal regarding fashion and dressing. They won’t mind if you wear any traditional dress or just a T-shirt and jeans. But it is always advisable to wear light cotton dresses in heat. The weather in Bangkok is good throughout the year. From March till June are the warmest months. In this weather you can visit the water park.

Bangkok is the place of exotic food. You can get local as well as cosmopolitan food out here. Barbecued chicken and rice known as the Gai Yang and Khao Neeow is the good choice if you want to taste the street food. Some of the food courts are worth visiting such as The Loft in Central Department Store and the Emporium at Sukhumvit.

Wherever you travel in Thailand you will find magnificent golf courses throughout the kingdom, the most popular regions are Bangkok, Hua Hin, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Kanchanaburi, and you will find championship courses in all of these regions.

Asia as a golfing destination is becoming increasingly popular and Thailand is Asia’s leading golf destination, the green fees compared to western rates are inexpensive and there literally 100′s of courses from which to choose.

The one thing that sets Thailand apart from all other Asian golf destinations is Thailand’s golf caddies, they add another dimension to your round of golf by providing excellent reading of the greens, they also mark, clean and re-place your ball, you never even have to take your ball out of the cup.

Your only responsibility on the golf course is to hit the ball apart from when you tee-up the ball that of course is after the caddy has handed you the washed ball and the tee. Many of the caddies are beautiful and would be strong contenders in a beauty contest elsewhere.

In short your caddy can add value to your Thailand golfing experience, with their friendly smiles, and fun loving nature they will surely add another ingredient to a pleasurable Thailand golfing vacation.

Bangkok is a modern vibrant city of towering office blocks, ribbons of expressways, teeming traffic and a Skytrain, the elevated mass transit system that threads its way above Bangkok’s main thoroughfares. Yet alongside these futuristic trimmings lie the ancient traditions that visitors love so much – glittering temples and palaces, barefoot monks in orange robes, old wooden buildings, and ceremonies like the magnificent Royal Barge procession on the River of Kings.

Bangkok is the business, financial and political centre of Thailand. Yet it remains a fun place to visit; a renowned city of entertainment, cuisine, night markets and shopping for the whole of Asia. Hospitality is legendary. All are welcome and many come.

No matter where you go in Thailand you will find a host of activities to whet your appetite for adventure, from elephant trekking, river rafting, mountain biking, sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving or just plain sightseeing, whatever you desire you’ll find in Thailand.

Travelers who are interested in visiting some of the magnificent temples in Bangkok can ask their hotel concierge to organize a tour which includes visits to several temples. You should also be aware that there are big differences between the various different Bangkok temples so please do not think that if you visit one then you have seen them all.

Information on the most famous and popular temples in Bangkok can be found below. Be sure to visit some of these outstanding temples during your next stay in Bangkok.

Wat Arun: The Wat Arun in Bangkok is also known as the temple of dawn. This beautiful Bangkok temple is located along the west bank coast of the Chao Phraya River. Wat Arun is open daily for visitors from 08:00 until 17:00.

Wat Phra Kaew: Wat Phra Kaew is also known as the temple of the emerald Buddha. Many Thai people consider this Bangkok temple to be the most important temple of Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew is located on the same grounds at the Bangkok Grand Palace and is open to the public between 08:30 and 12:00 and from 13:00 until 15:30.

Wat Pho: Another name of Wat Pho is the temple of the reclining Buddha due to the large statue of a reclining Buddha which is located at this temple in Bangkok. The reclining Buddha statue is nearly fifty meters in length and is covered in gold leave. Wat Pho is also famous for another reason and which is its legendary massage school in which they train blind people to become experts in the art of Thai massage. Opening hours of this Bangkok temple is daily from 08:00 until 17:00.

Of the attractions in Bangkok that deserves a special mention are its magnificent royal palaces. Just few among many of them are the Grand Palace, which is exquisitely decorated and attached with areas such as Borombinan Hall, Amarindra Hall, and Dusit Hall; Chitlada Palace, which is the current residence of the king; Vimanek Mansion – a stupendous as well as expansive wooden palace made from golden teak; and Suan Pakkad Palace, with a collection of traditional style Thai mansions.

Equally interesting is the Buddhist wats and temples found in the city, such as, Wat Phra Kaew, which is considered the most prominent Buddhist temple in the country; Wat Arun, otherwise known as the Temple of Dawn; Wat Pho, whose centerpiece is a 46 meters long statue of Lord Buddha in reclining posture; and Wat Traimit, also known as the Temple of Golden Buddha.

A visit to Bangkok would not to be complete without taking a tour to many of its interesting museums such as Bank of Thailand Museum, located within Bangkhunphrom Palace; Erawan Museum, in whose front one can find a statue of three-headed elephant that stands on an gargantuan pedestal; Bangkok National Museum, which has on display an amazing collection of Thai art and artifacts; Bangkok Folk Museum, with exhibits such as traditional utensils and ceremonial related artifacts.

Human Imagery Museum, which throws light on the Thai life and culture; Corrections Museum, which is located at the site of the Bangkok Remand Prison; Forensic Museum, where you can see preserved corpses; Science Museum, with an interesting aquarium, a planetarium, and several other sections for entertainment and education; Philatelic Museum, which is a must-see for stamp collectors; and Royal Barge National Museum, which has on display an array of royal barges that were used during royal occasions.

Other not to miss attractions in Bangkok are Lumpini Park, the largest as well as the oldest park in the city; Dusit Zoo, boasting of more than 200 mammals, 150 reptiles, and 1000 birds; Thai Cat Palace, featuring several breeds of cats such as Siamese, white pure Maeo Khao Mani, and diamond-eyed cats; Snake Farm, also known as the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, which is one of the leading producers of anti-venom Serum in Asia; Crocodile Farm -the largest of its kind in the world, where you can see more than 60,000 fresh as well as sea water crocodiles; and Rose Garden, a well-manicured area where cultural shows are conducted.

In short, Bangkok boasts of everything that is required for an enjoyable vacation. It is therefore not a wonder why people from every nook and corner of the world flock here per year. Hence, in order to cater to the growing number of tourists, Bangkok comes with an array of accommodation choices, ranging from high-end hotels and upscale resorts to boutique hotels and budget lodgings.

Some of the biggest banks in Bangkok are Bangkok Bank, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, and Bank of China. Many banks offer online finance services, as well. They open up a cornucopia of online finance products and promotions, bank information, calculators, branch locators and real-time rates, plus the latest financial news in one complete package.

Every bank in Bangkok offers flexible lending and refinancing options, combined with attractively low interest rates that start at 3.75% for the first year, credit lines of up to 90% of the property appraisal value, and flexible loan terms. They also provide convenient repayment options like the direct debit service. Banks also offer the much needed expert advice and attentive personalized service from their home loan marketing officers.

Internet banking is the latest trend for all Bangkok banks. Direct banking services have been made available on the banks’ Web sites. Internet banking is great for viewing account balances, payment of bills, transfer of funds, suspension of check payment, and many even house secure internal e-mail accounts to contact the bank officials in case of enquiries. Bangkok banks use highly advanced and sophisticated technology to ensure fool-proof banking services. Credit card or plastic money is more popular than ever Bangkok. Banks reward their customers with new offers and special discounts. Many banks offer MasterCard, which offer many special privileges to their users.

Other services offered are ATM cards, prompt branch services, currency exchange, maintenance of foreign customers, and phone banking. Banks recognize that good corporate governance is vital to continued growth and they are very much committed to providing quality news and information to keep their stakeholders and potential investors informed and abreast of developments at the bank.

Bangkok’s hotels offer a great combination of service and facilities to meet the budgeting requirements of every traveler. Conrad Hotel is one of the more expensive hotels, with 392 luxurious and spacious rooms with contemporary Thai-styled silk and wood furnishings. A 24-hour stay costs around 5,650 Baht (Approx 137 US$) in this stylish deluxe hotel situated in All Seasons Place – the heart of the central business district. The hotel is close to major embassies and the Skytrain. The rooms give wonderful panoramic views over the popular Lumpini Park.

There are some less expensive hotels as well. Grand Hyatt Erawan, situated near the Erawan Shrine in the city’s business and commercial district, is just a 30-minute drive from Bangkok International Airport. Inter Continental Bangkok is very nominal; a room costs nearly 1,900 Baht (Approx 45 US$). This hotel is also situated in a prime central location opposite the Erawan Shrine. This five-star hotel offers comfort, luxury and spectacular views from all its 37 floors. It’s just five minutes’ walk to the World Trade Center, shopping centers and a Skytrain station. Some of the hotels that offer opportunities for leisure as well as business meetings are JW Marriott Bangkok, Athenee Bangkok A Royal Meridien Hotel, Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa, Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Shangri-La Bangkok, The Oriental Bangkok, The Peninsula Bangkok, Banyan Tree Bangkok, Metropolitan Hotel, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Pan Pacific, Sheraton Grande and many more.

Thai cuisine is a centuries-old blend of Eastern and Western influences. Today Thai food is relished all over the world. Almost all metropolitan cities in the world have Thai restaurants.

The best way to locate a hotel would be to talk to the travel agent who books the travel ticket to this City of Angels, as it is sometimes called.