“No visa problem for them; after all, they are aged”, said Chennai travel consultant Vasanthi as she handed over the visa-stamped passports of the two elders who were accompanying us on our 6-nation Asia tour the next day. There were fears about the seniors adjusting to our hectic schedule during the next 13 days as we would criss-cross countries and oceans during the travel. Of the five of us, four had already been to China together in 2006, and had adjusted to the smells of strange and non-vegetarian cuisine around us as we partook of pure veg food. However, the fifth member this time might have problems, we were told, being used to only *thair sadham,* curd rice, even during his recent tour in the US. We briefed him on the adjustments that he needed to do in the next two weeks. No problem, he assured us.

We were into our second week when we flew into Kuala Lumpur from Indonesia. Malay *Imigresen* official Kamatchi Ammal stamped our passports and smiled a welcome. It was another ten minutes and we were through customs when we realized that one of our elders was missing. We waited for him
outside the arrival terminal, and there was still no sign of him. While our friends Venkat and Krishnamurthy looked for him at the restaurants outside, Ann and I went back in, on our search, past customs, on to the duty-free shops and to the “lost and found” counter (!). Finding no trace of him yet, we went to the toilets and fearing the worst, opened every stall inside, checking in vain, for the missing man.

I then took the escalator up and went back to check with the *Imigresen* official, Kamatchi Ammal, who advised me to meet her superior. Meeting the senior officer, I showed him the missing elder’s photograph fearing we might have lost him on our way out. He then took me to the police room where I gave a complete description of the man, his photo and passport number, handing over my Malaysian cell-phone number to the police officer, requesting him to help trace the missing man, and call me if he had any news. By now, our elder had gone missing for over an hour and I slowly took the stairs down and beyond the customs enclosure when my phone rang with bleak news from friend Venkat
that the senior was not sighted yet.. When my cell rang again, a voice confirmed my identity and said that there was someone anxious to speak to me.. a booming voice followed, and lo, it was an excited
*Govindanna*calling me on the good Samaritan’s phone, informing me that he was stuck alone at the bus terminal outside, wondering why we were not there yet! Boy, were the four of us relieved at the return of my prodigal brother? *Terimah Kasih, *thank you, I later told the good Samaritan with the phone, rushing to see my *anna..*

Later, when we went on the city train, while discovering the Malay capital city of the two rivers, all of us, including host Meyyappan had a hearty laugh with *Govindanna, *asking him how he hit upon the idea of walking to the bus terminal, and the tension-filled hour he gave us when he went lost, until we finally found him…Enclosed is a picture of our group… It might be shaky; a by-stander at KL *Sentral Stesen* clicked it, but ours was one group delighted to have *Govindanna *(front, right in pic.) back with us that evening ….

Happy ending :)

From MJ Krishna, travel writer

Need any additonal info or clarification with regard to the articles? Write to mj.a4friends@gmail.com

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Let’s cheer and applause to Amy, our Sydney writer! She have collected some booklets and newspaper as well as magazine cuttings about other destinations and send us by air mail. What a warm sharing from Amy (Although the magazines have been voilently torn but guess what? It is really a useful information)! We really appreciate it! Hope you guys may share generously to this big family as Amy did! [^_^]

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Oh my god! I am stuck again!

What is the best word to slot in this sentence? What the best phrase to describe the twin towers? hmm… The Twin Sweet Corns in the city? arrr… what is the best route to tour Kuala Lumpur? errr… I am stuck! Help!!!!!!

Does this happen to you?

Here are my little sharing on how to get out of this clueless state:

1. Read through the framework of a4trip writers framework . From here, you will have a rough idea on the scope of the content. I personally think that Week4 : Destination by location and Week 8: Suggested Itineraries are a bit challenging, you need to understand the destination and suggest the best advice to your reader.

2. After getting the brief idea of the framework, it is time to do research. The research can either from internet, books or personal experience. Of course, we prefer you can share more on your personal experiences. Try to imagine you are a tour guide now and guiding them in your real life.

3. Send your research to support@a4trip.com. We have a passionate support team to help you more on researching. Need help? Need clarification? Need vocab or grammar help? Even need to buy some reference books? No problem, just drop a mail to support@a4trip.com.

4. When you think you are all set in doing research and is ready to kick off, send an email to us. We are glad to see your progress weekly.

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Should all the streets, restaurants and hotels in english or translated language or local language?

English is the first priority preference. If they aren’t any English names, likes in China, Pin Yin or local language can be used.

Should I include some place of interest 100km away from city in the city guidebook or separate it to Add-On Guidebook?

As long as you can plan your one day trip to the place of interest, you can include it to your city guidebook. Add-On guidebook is for place where you have at least 5 to 10 listing of hotels and restaurants.

Do I have any limitations on the length of the whole guide?

It would be around 20 pages as long as you can cover all the destinations for the city.

Is there any font and size to be followed?

You can use any font. The size should be either 10 or 12. Our designers would help you to resize and reformat the font when doing compilation.

Do I need to follow strictly on the A4trip content structure defined?

You are highly advisable to follow the content structure because it helps our designer in reformating the content to PDF. If you have any suggestions to the content structure, please keep Chin Seng informed. He will update the master content structure for all.

I have some great photo for the city and would like to include inside the guidebook. What should I do?

First, please make sure you have the ownership of the photo to avoid copyright issue. Then, please communicate with your assigned mapper and to the Desktop Publisher (DTP-peiwen) to add inside the guidebook, for example the city tour map.

How long should the history and overview of a city should be?

Not too lengthy. Half to one page should be enough. Introduction is the most important part to attract attention of the customer. Please put extra effort in this section. Cheers :) Happy Writing.

Which unit of measurement I should include for weather, rainfall and others?

It is advisable to put both units of measurement into guidebook, e.g. degree/fahrenheit, mm/inches, etc.

Which currency I should use in the guidebook? Local currency or USD?

It is recommended to follow the currency accepted by the local at certain place. Generally, use USD for those high class hotels and restaurants. Use local currency for small transaction at those stalls, internet cafe services etc. If you are not sure, putting both currencies is the safest.

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