Take A Break ... ...

Hello,

Blogger going on leave !

See you in 2007 !!

Have fun !!!

Happy Holidays !!!!

X'mas Party !!!!

We actually didn't plan to have a party. By the time we have the mood and urge to have one, all catering refuse to take in our order as they are all fully booked !

So ended up we had Nasi Lemak for our impromptu party.

Everyone has a box of nasi lemak and do we look like some canteen or army platoon having packet launch boxes??? It doesn't look any X'mas part at all right???

We also had 'chinese' turkey to compliment the X'mas mood. Although we could well afford a turkey but we still prefer the chinese one (duck lah).

And then, it's present time ! Look at the presents we had !!! We chalked up the conference table full of presents !

Everyone was so excited and we began opening up the presents and practically, some of us were ripping off the wrapping paper practically, just couldn't wait to see what's inside it.

Wishing you a Merry Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

2007 New Tour Recommendation 3

13 Days Scenic Italy & Amazing Switzerland (with River Cruise option - 'Castles Along the Rhine')

A leisurely paced tour that starts from Rome and ends in Zurich. It is designed specifically to showcase the finest scenery these 2 countries have to offer. It will include the Tuscan hilltop towns, the chic Italian Lake District, the rustic Cinque Terre and the sparkling Swiss Alpine panoramas.

A fine selection of both modern & traditional hotels, ranging from the long established Palatino hotel, close to the Forum in Rome, and the sedate Eden hotel in Lugano, to the contemporary Jolly Hotel in La Spezia.

This tour will appeal to romantic, history enthusiasts, nature lovers and photographers. As this tour can be combined with a river cruise option, it will also appeal to those looking for a relaxing, stylish and comfortable 'Grand Tour'.

7 night Cruise option - Castles Along The Rhine (link - page 27 & 28)

This cruise really lives up to its name with castles, castles and more castles ! Gracing the shores of the Rhine are more medieval castles than in any river valley in the world. The fairytale castles, combined with the brathtaking landscape of rolling carpets of terraced vineyards and old-world towns, creat a dreamlike setting. Artists, musicians, writers and poets from all over immortalized the Rhine's unadulterated natural beauty in their songs, art, stories and poetry. The Rhine inspire those who visit, especially Germany's upper Middle Rhine valley, between Koblenz and Rudesheim, as it is part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. As you travel along the Rhine, each bend and twist affords new surprises that are certain to inspire you the way countless others have been inspired for centuries.

For more information, drop me a comment !

2007 New Tour Recommendation 2

12 Days Italian Elegance

A fabulous new touring experience for an in-depth look at northern Italy. A gently and well-paced tour with great emphasis on the scenic as well as the historic grandeurs of Italy.

Get a chance to experience a train ride between the villages of the Cinque Terre, or famously known as the 'five villages', which were for years only accessible by donkeys.

This tour is suitable for those who want a more intimate itinerary. It will be appreciated by lovers of architecture (Palladian), history (Roman, Byzantine & Renaissance), art (Rome, Florence, Ravenna & Possagno) and the great outdoors (Cinque Terre, Dolomites and the Lake District).

Highlight of the itinerary is the visit to Cinque Terre, which remains as an isolated region of Italy. It is recognised as a National Park in 1999 and UNESCO protected territory since 1997 as a system of naturalistc environmental interest.

This zone is also characterised by the presence of precipitous slopes which have been cultivated into vineyards producing one of Italy's most sought after and exclusive wines.

You will be staying in a mixture of modern hotels and traditional hotels like the Dei Dogi in Venice which overlooks the lagoon.

For more information, log on to our website, www.insightvacations.com, or drop me a comment.

2007 New Tour Recommendation 1

9 Days Focus of Britain

This tour covers the length of Britain in just over a week, from London to Edinburgh, taking in the very best of Britain that includes Stratford, York, Lake District, Glasgow, The Highlands and Skye.....

It may seem a bit brisk at time, however, it offers a very time-effective way to discover Britain. It has something for everyone; walled towns, ancient castles, palace gardens and some of Britain's most spectacular natural scenery. And you'll encounter historical figures from Shakespeare to the Young Pretender.

The itinerary is interspersed with frequent stops for sightseeing, such as :

~ visits to the grounds and gardens of Hampton Court Palace; Culzean Castle - one of Robert Adam's most notable creations; charming Crathie Church - where the Royal Family worship when staying at Balmoral.

~ visits to Shakespeare's Birthplace

~ a leisurely cruise on Windermere &

~ a Highlight Dinner with bagpipes and entertainment in The Highlands

~ beautiful Highland scenery, etc.....

The hotels you will be staying on this tour range from the traditional Georgian style of the Hilton Grosvenor in Edinburgh and the Thistle in the centre of Stratford, to the much simpler style of the Highlander in Newtonmore.

Not forgetting you will be travelling in luxury air-conditioned 40 seat coach. This means you will enjoy more legroom and more comfort through the whole vacation !

For more information, visit our website, www.insightvacations.com, otherwise, drop me a comment.

2007 Europe Summer Tours

Our 2007 summer tours are just selling hot and fast !

Many dates are already on REQUEST ! MORE dates are now guaranteed !

There shouldn't be anything to hold you back.

Book Early to avoid disappointment !

Here's a sneak peek at some of the tours with GUARANTEED DEPARTURES... ...

10 Days Highlight of Britain
MAY 13. JUNE 03, 24.

13 Days Britain & Ireland Explorer
MAY 08, 27. JUNE 05, 10, 26.

7 Days Focus of Ireland
MAY 06, 13, 20, 27. JUNE 03, 10, 17, 24.

8 Days European Breakaway
MAY 06, 20, 27. JUNE 10, 24.

11 Days European Spotlight
MAY 06, 13, 27. June 03, 10, 17, 24.

10 Days Hightlights of Spain
MAY 04, 11, 18, 25. JUNE 01, 08, 15, 29.

8 Days Italian Intermezzo
MAY 05, 12, 19, 26. JUNE 09, 16, 23, 30.

10 Days Best of Italy
MAY 05, 06, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26.
JUNE 02, 03, 08, 09, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30.

There are just simply so many tours and dates to choose from.

Have a look at our website for a wide selection of choices, www.insightvacations.com or simply drop us a note in the comments !

The Gang went for Eating Session

We decided to be good to ourselves and thanks to our new 'event' co-ordinator, Mabel, we had an eating session at Marche last evening.

We had a pyramid of mixed vegetables in oyster sauce, calamari, pizza, chicken roast drumstick, rosti with jumbo sausage, soft shell crabs, ice-cream waffles with caramel bananas and mango, ice-cream crepes with mixed berries, etc, etc. But nothing beats this.

Can you say no to this? Can you simply resist the German pork knuckle?

It was just simply fantastic. Crispy skin.... with a thin layer of juicy fats..... lying comfortably above the tender aromatic lean meat.

It so irresistable !!!!!!

I called it the 'ang moh sioh bak'.

Slurp......

Tour Status as at 08 December 2006

We still have some seats left for year end departures. Or are you looking for something in January 2007? We have some guaranteed departures too !

Book Early to avoid disappointment ! Seats are selling fast !

9 Days Winter Wonderland
DEC 25 GTEED
JAN 27
FEB 24
MAR 03, 10, 17 GTEED, 24, 31 GTEED

13 Days Winter Explorer
JAN 14 GTEED, 28 GTEED
FEB 11, 25
MAR 04 GTEED, 11, 18, 25 GTEED

8 Days Amazing Italy
DEC 23 GTEED
FEB 03 GTEED, 10, 24
MAR 03, 10 GTEED, 17, 24, 31

9 Days Amazing Spain & Portugal
JAN 13 GTEED
FEB 17 GTEED
MAR 03, 10, 17, 24 GTEED, 31

7 Days Vienna, Prague & Budapest
JAN 07 GTEED
FEB 04, 18
MAR 11, 18, 25
APR 01 GTEED

Travel Club @ North West

Join us at the Launch of Travel Club @ North West

Date : 9 December 2006

Time : 5pm - 7pm

Venue : Essential Brew Tea Cafe & Restaurant
269 Holland Ave (Holland Village, front row) S( 278990)

Guest of Honour : Dr Teo Ho Pin, Mayor of North West District, MP for Bukit Panjang

If you are interested, please RSVP to Sinti_sim@pa.gov.sg.

Bring your friends along !!! !!!!

Sign up as a member and get to enjoy destination talks, exclusive adverture and discovery trips, & many more !

The Travel Club @ Northwest is a new initiative by the Young Executive Committee (YEC) of the North West Community Development Council. The Travel Club aims to promote youth bonding through travel experience; understand the economic and multi-ethnic and cultural differences between countries and learn and appreciate our nation through travel.

I hope to see you there !!!!!!

Excellent Service Award 2006

Launched in 1994, the Excellent Service Award (EXSA) is a national award that recognises individuals who have delivered outstanding service. It seeks to develop service models for staff to emulate, create service champions and professionalise servcie.

EXSA is managed by SPRING Singapore and 7 industry lead associations. One of them is the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS).

Insight continued to participate in this year EXSA and was awarded 2 Silver and 1 Gold.

The Silver Award was presented to :

Ms Stella Koh

Ms Sheryl Lim

The Gold Award was presented to :

Mr Jason Heng

The company (Insight) was also given recognition for the nomination of servcie champions and professional services.

CONGRATULATIONS for achieving service excellence and the staff will continued to deliver superior service to all our business partners and customers.

2007 Brochure Launch - Malaysia

The final destination for the first leg of the Asia launches concluded at Malaysia.

After a masquerade event in Singapore, both John and Robin proceeded to Kuala Lumpur. The afternoon event on 30 Nov saw a total of 90 representatives from travel compaines and airline partners. It was held at the Novotel Hydro Majestic Hotel.

Robin and the team, our General Sales Agent (GSA) in Malaysia, Nam Ho Travel Service Sdn Bhd, were all geared up waiting for the guests to arrive.

The ballroom was done up with prints of Insight on every corner. John gave the presentation to a full house audience.

Everyone gave full attention, not missing out any fantastic deals that we have brought for 2007 !

Soon after, Robin, John and the Nam Ho team went north to Penang for a final closure to the launch.

It was held in the City Bayview Hotel on the 01 Dec evening. A total of 50 guests turned up for the event.

It was yet another successful launch and the team would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all who have given us the support for the past year and we will continue to look forward to another prosperous year ahead.

2007 Brochure Launch - Singapore

The Insight team launched the 2007 brochures at the Crazy horse Paris, Clarke Quay on 29Nov, Wednesday afternoon.

A total of more than 180 guests from travel companies, airline partners, business associates and travel media attended the event.

We arrived at the venue in the late morning to prepare the theatre for our presentation in the afternoon. Everything is red in the thearte, with soft lights streaming throughout that add a tinit of plush and elegant.

This year, we are giving away a total of 12 awards to our supporting travel agencies. Out of 12 awards, 7 are to be presented to travel companies and 5 are to be presented to individual travel consultants who had achieved outstanding sales numbers in the year 2006. We have also prepared 7 lucky draws prizes for our guests to win them away.
As the time drew nearer, we went on a final round of check to ensure everything was in order before our guests arrived. We were all very excited. We couldn't help but keep playing with the masquerade pens that we had prepared for our guests, as well as to take pictures with our feathery masks.

Soon our guests started arriving ... ... ...

We led the guests into the theatre to start off the presentation after a short tea session. For many of our guests, this was their first visit to Crazy Horse Paris. They are impressed with the ambience and decor of the place.

Both Robin and John presented our premium touring experiences and benefits - Rediscover The Golden Age of Touring, what's new and exciting for 2007.
The audience gave full attention to John's and Robin's presentation which lasted for half an hour. Oops ! You had caught us not paying attention. Hee hee... ...

As mentioned earlier, we are presenting 7 awards to travel companies. 1 Promising Star Award, 1 Performance Award and 5 Star Performance Award.

Promising Star Award - This award is given to travel companies who has shown significant improvement int heir sales number for the year. With continued and consistent support, they are potentially our performance or star performance award winners.

Winner - Citystate Travel Pte Ltd

Performance Award - This award is given to last year's Promising Star whi has continued with consistent effort to maintain their sales number.

Winner - Corporate Travel Services Pte Ltd (last year's Promising Star)

Star Perforamance Award - 5 winners (in alphabetical order)

Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd

Euro - Asia Holidays Pte Ltd

Pacific Arena Private Limited (last year's Promising Star)

Travelex Singapore Pte Ltd

UOB Travel Planners Pte Ltd

We have also recognised the outstanding effort of individual travel consultant. The 5 winners are,

(Top left) Mr David Song, Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd

(Top right) Ms Anna Ng, Travelex Singapore Pte Ltd

(Bottom left) Mr Jimmy Hong, UOB Travel Planners Pte Ltd

(Bottom right) Ms Noor Nadiya Bani, UOB Travel Planners Pte Ltd

Absent with regrets - Ms Lerene Seow, Chan Brothers Travel Pte Ltd

Finally, It's Lucky Draw !!!!

A total of 7 prizes are won. 2 pairs of LANVIN watches, a pair of Chianti red wine, a pair of Moscato white wine and 3 Crabtree & Evelyn hampers.

The proud owners of the prizes are,

(clockwise from top left) Ms Audrey Ng from Coporate Travel; Mr Tevin Ong from Chan Brothers Travel; Mr STanley Loh from American Express Travel; Ms Jobis Intan from Asia-Euro Holidays; Ms Janice Choo from Vacation Planners; Ms Tan Bee Ing from UOB Travel Planners and Ms Maggie Tay from Euro-Asia Holidays.

The event ended at about 4.30pm and we chatted with the guests while they continued to enjoy the tea.

We like to express our thanks to all our guests who attended our event despite their busy schedule. For those who has watched the complimentary Crazy Horse Paris cabaret show that we had arranged for you in the same evening, we hope you have a wonderful and enjoyable time.

We look foward to all your continued support.

The Insight (Singapore) Team

2007 Brochure Launch - Philippines

We kicked off our annual brochure launch beginning in Philippines. John has flown in from HQ to be with us for the entire week.

The day (27Nov) began with the contract signing between our GSA, Rajah Travel Corporation and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM is our airline partner in the Philippines.

The launch was held at Merk's Bar & Bistro. The arrangement is also to celebrate Rajah's 35th Anniversary. There will an Acoustic Band (trio) to perform and the invited agents & guests can jam with the band and celebrate together with Rajah the occassion of the launch and anniversary.

The presentation soon started and the invited guests are listening attnetively to John who is presenting what's new what's hot for 2007.

The team is all ready to welcome the guests and a fruitful 2007 ahead !

Birthday Party

We threw a birthday party today to celebrate 3 persons birthdays who are so close apart. To be exact, the party was yesterday, 22 Nov. So who are the birthday boys or gals?

They are........ Robin 22 Nov, Sheryl 23 Nov and Jason 27 Nov.

To spare all our colleagues of the annual November cake-eating marathon, we decided to throw a 3 in 1 birthday party. But no, none of us were spared. Cakophobic still exist !

Drum roll..... in total, the office had 6 cakes. Majority are for Robin.

1st Cake of the Day - for Robin. With compliments from Eugene / AIG, Risa / AIG and Juliana / Travelex. It was such a marvellous Black Forest cake from an 'atas' 5-star hotel.

Next in line shortly after, 2nd Cake of the Day for Robin. With Compliments from TMIS. A mixed fruit cake and a basket of flowers and a smilely balloon. So cute !

Shortly, we began our buffet lunch. Look at the table, we had so much food !!!! Can you imagine? 2 roast duck, 1 kg roast pork, 2 curries with Delifrance baguette, 1 rojak, 2 popiah, 1 box pan-fried dumplings, 2 fried rice, 2 fried noodles, 2 fried hokkien prawn mee, 1 packet bak kua, 1 red and 1 white wine, 1 bagful of fruits, 12 ang ku kuehs, cakes, and cakes, and more cakes, still cakes !!!!!! for 16 of us.

Presenting 3rd Cake of the Day - for Robin. With compliments from all of us, the staff !

Do you like this cake? We made - to - order for Robin. He has a liking to those traditional butter cream cake and we purposely make sure the cake is in his favourite and lucky colour.

Let us present you 4th Cake of the Day (Tiger Roll) - for Sheryl, with compliments from office too. 5th 'Cake' of the Day - for Jason (a plate of Ang Ku Kuehs), also compliments from office.

Our presents (from everyone in the office) and us !

It was such an impromto decision while shopping for the 'Happy Birthday' banner that we turned this party into a mini Mardi Gras.

We ended the party with everyone becoming part of the Mardi Gras 'Parade'.

The party ended minutes after 2pm. We transformed the conference room back into the original state within a short time. One of us was trying to camouflouge the green hats we had after the party. So, she tried to tie red shiny garland over the green cone.

Take a look at the finished product. Do I look like our X'mas tree ? ? ?

Almost an hour before 6pm, the 6th Cake of the Day arrived. It's for Robin still,with compliments from Anthony Leung / Chan Brothers.

It was such an enjoyable and fun birthday party although it was only about 2 hours. It must also be one of the best party the team ever had.