Winners feted by At-Taqwa Travels Tour

Written by Rano Iskandar on November 27, 2018. Posted in travel, Business, Social News

With the top three winners of At-Taqwa Travel Tours promotion held yesterday

The grand winner, Massharyanti binti Haji Hussain who an Umrah package for two, receiving the prize from Ak Md Nassiruddeen Pg Hj Yussof, Chief Financial Officer of At-Taqwa Travels Tour

At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd has been making a name for themselves for the past year or so. With a very solid team, they provided the best service to every customer they can within their resources. I have worked closely with them last year during my Umrah trip and they were very particular when it came to service.

And yes, when you provide good service, you will eventually get more customers and so they did. The last travel fair, Sabre Travel Fair 2018 drew 562 bookings and it was the biggest milestone for a new player in the industry.

Apart from that At-Taqwa also had special lucky draw promotions and yesterday, three top winners were feted with awesome prizes from the travel agent.

The Grand Prize went to Massharyanti binti Haji Hussain who won an Umrah package for two. The second prize winner went to Fauzian Hj Samat with a BND 2,500 travel voucher while third place winner won a BND 1,500 travel voucher which went to Muhd Wazif Asryaf bin Md Affendy.

Ak Md Nassiruddeen Pg Hj Yussof, Chief Financial Officer of At-Taqwa Travels Tour thanked the customers for their support during the travel fair and also to their loyal customers.

All present during the prize presentation were Pg Hj Rosdimar bin Pg Hj Omarali, Managing Director of At-Taqwa Travels Tour and the management as well as representative from Royal Brunei Airlines.

At-Taqwa Travels Tour will be in full swing this until next year as the first batch of Umrah pilgrims will fly off today. They have been busy with the preparations especially with the practical session for the pilgrims to be familiar before they reach the Holy land.

You can follow their updates on IG @at_taqwa_travel_tours for updates.

Ak Md Nassiruddeen delivering his welcoming remarks

Fauzian Hj Samat receiving 2nd prize from Pg Hj Mohd Fakhrulrazi Pg Hj Omarali, Head of Department, Haji and Umrah, At-Taqwa Travels Tour

Representative of Muhd Wazif Asryaf bin Md Affendy receiving third prize from Dk Sabtuyah binti Pg Hj Abdul Rahman, Head of Department of travel and tourism, At-Taqwa Travels Tour

Representatives from At-Taqwa and Royal Brunei Airline

Check out the merchandise from At-Taqwa

The first batch of Umrah pilgrims flying to Jeddah today

Umrah with At-Taqwa Travel & Tours

Written by Rano Iskandar on December 11, 2017. Posted in travel, Social News

I’m very grateful for being part of the At-Taqwa Travel & Tours for the current Umrah trip as part of Group 3 (9th December to 20th December). Apparently there are batches of 8 groups in total with the final group departing on 23rd December 2017. It has been a while since I actually stepped my foot in Jeddah, Medinah and Mecca. My last visit was back in the year 1998, together with my beloved family. Hence, it’s good to be back to the Holy land and I’m loving the service here at At-Taqwa Travel & Tours.

Allow me to share with you the journey from when I made the decision to fly for Umrah to my first few days in Medinah. It will be in a form of images and captions to show you the flow of things and why I would recommend future customers to At-Taqwa Travel & Tours for their next Umrah trip this coming February and March 2018. Do enjoy the images for your reference and don’t forget to spread the love around.

The Radiah session with the pilgrims from At-Taqwa a few weeks before umrah. This was to prep them for the Saie for umrah led by Ustaz Qahar.

The briefing session for the pilgrims at Al-Falah school two weeks before umrah for the pilgrims to be familiar and be prepared for the Umrah trip.

The management of At-Taqwa Travel & Tours and the officers for the Umrah December trip during the briefing

One of the appointed officers for At-Taqwa, Ustaz Khairul Nazif, also known as UKN.

The practical session of Umrah for the pilgrims at Sg. Kebun Sports Complex.

The pilgrims had a practice session, walking around seven times for Tawaf while being briefed on the dos and donts during Tawaf

All the customers of At-Taqwa were given a hand carry luggage. Inside the luggage, you will get a slipper bag (for entering the mosque), water bottle, power bank (useful), sling bag, neck pillow, luggage tag and not forgetting the passport cover. All the pilgrims were also given a special name tag so others will be able to identify.

The time where we have to do our finger print session before sending our passport for visa purposes. This is something new implemented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The queue can get very long as they are only two people working there. I do hope they improve the manpower situation there.

For all those who fly to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you will have to get an injection jab for influenza. This is a must!! This is at the vaccination centre near Times Square, behind the petrol station.

Thank you, Hitesh, the director of YMRM Galleria, for sponsoring some gamis and songkok 😀

For all the pilgrims, it is required for them to do advanced check-in the night before the flight. This is to make sure smooth journey for the passengers and they don’t have to worry to check in on the actual day itself.

We are allowed 30 kilo of weight for check-in. I reached around 19kilo so far, allowing space for some shopping during my visit to Jeddah, Medinah and Mecca.

Ustaz Abdus-Salam brought his own chilli, just in case. It was recommended by others to bring your own chilli sauce as the local ones (in Saudi) do not taste as good.

What a privilege for the pilgrims to be featured on RTB news before their flight

This was the first batch that flew. Well, it was only Fahmi from this group and his friends sent him off. The first batch flew off on 2nd December.

The first batch of pilgrims from At-Taqwa. They will be returning to Brunei Darussalam on the 13th December.

I belonged to Group 3 from 9th December to 20th December.

Thank you, sis, for sending me off the other day. Thanks for being so concerned of my well being and dropping my room to check on me. Don’t worry, my maggi days are over (for now). Day 67 and counting 😀

All the pilgrims on the flight to Jeddah will enjoy a much better facility on their flight because it’s the Dreamliner 787. Woohoo!!!

After 10 hours later, we have arrived at the International Airport of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

At-Taqwa is a step ahead of other travel agents because they prepared us sim-cards in Brunei Darussalam. This will make the passengers at ease so they can contact their loved ones upon arrival at the airport. A well thought gesture for their customers. Thumbs up!!

We were greeted by the At-Taqwa’s Managing Director at the airport. A man will a strong vision and he makes this happen. I’m happy for his new journey as an entrepreneur and also giving back to the community. May Allah bless you and your family!

The bus trip from Jeddah to Medinah took 6 hours. From the airport, we headed straight to Medinah and we were provided with refreshment on the way.

Every group will have their own Mutawif. A Mutawif is someone who will help to lead and guide us during our Umrah procession with the doas and such. The Mutawif also will help with logistics to make the trip of the pilgrims more smooth and convenient.

Upon arrival at Dar Al Taqwah Hotel, Medinah and making sure that all the room numbers are written on their luggage tags to make it convenient for the concierge to send the luggage straight to their rooms. We arrived around midnight.

Some of the pilgrims having breakfast at the hotel after Subuh prayers at Al-Masjid an-Nabawī

It was definitely great to be back at Al-Masjid an-Nabawī. I fell in love with this place on my first umrah trip decades ago. This will be my fifth time here. Alhamdulillah.

The umbrella outside being erected during the day, to shelter from the heat

The first batch of officers from At-Taqwa at one of the visiting sites near Mecca

They were fortunate to bump into Malaysian celebrity Adflin Shauki

I’m glad to have my friend Ak Nabil Pg Abdul Kadir to be on the same group as me. You might recognized him on my IG previously. I know this lad from toastmasters.

The books I bought and these only cost around BND 4

Pg Razi briefing Group 3 before the visit to makam Rasullullah

It was tricky to steal a shot inside. I still managed.

The view inside Al-Masjid an-Nabawī

The hotel we are staying is strategically located in front of Al-Masjid an-Nabawī. Very, very convenient.

The birds are aplenty nearby

It’s better to change money at Saudi than in Brunei. You will get more 😀

I might be eyeing on this jubah soon. A bit pricey but it has the quality,

Briefing for Umrah pilgrims by At-Taqwa

Written by Rano Iskandar on November 19, 2017. Posted in community, Social News

Pg Hj Mohd Rosdimar, Manager Director of At-Taqwa Travel Tours, gave his welcoming remarks to the Umrah pilgrims at Al-Falaah School at Sg. Akar earlier this morning

Pg Hj Mohd Rosdimar with the officers for the December Umrah at the briefing

This morning, At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd held a briefing for their umrah pilgrims who will be performing their umrah this coming December. Around 400 pilgrims will be heading to Madinah and Makkah under the care of At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd and they will be flying in different batches from 2nd December to the final batch on 28th December 2017. I shall be flying off on the as the third batch on 9th December 2017 Inshaa Allah.

The briefing was held at Al-Falaah School at Sg. Akar where representatives from At-Taqwa Travels Tour and their liaison officers (logistics team) were present as well as a representative from Takaful Brunei. Manager Director of At-Taqwa Travel Tours Pg Hj Mohd Rosdimar Pg Hj Omarali gave a welcoming remarks to the pilgrims after a blessing prayer by Ustaz Abdus Salam.

Pg Hj Mohd Rosdimar was very appreciative of At-Taqwa Travel Tours’ pilgrims in trusting in their service. He mentioned that this is the second year that At-Taqwa Travel Tours are organising Umrah for the residents of Brunei Darussalam. The response has been very encouraging and he believes that the company’s core values – efficient, reliable, quality and service – will be instrumental to the growth and success of At-Taqwa Travel Tours. He believes that providing real service, we must add something which is priceless or not measurable. He also instill the value of sincerity and integrity in At-Taqwa Travel Tours.

The briefing was led by Pengiran Fakhrulrazi bin Pengiran Haji Omarali, the Head of the Haji and Umrah Department. Accompanying him were Awangku Mohd Nassiruddeen bin Pengiran Haji Yussof, the Chief Financial Officer and Haji Shamsul Bahrin bin Haji Abdul Rahman, the Chief Operating Officer and a representative from Takaful Brunei. There was also a brief ceramah by Ustaz Hj Khairul Nazif.

The briefing touched on preparation for the pilgrims such as bringing the appropriate documents, wearing appropriate attire and the dos and the donts while in the Holy land. The briefing was useful in prepping the pilgrims for their upcoming Umrah pilgrimage and some of the audience were given opportunities to ask questions.

The pilgrims were also handed over a luggage, powerbank, pillow neck and a bottle as a token of appreciation from At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd.

Next week there will be another briefing for the pilgrims where there will be given a practical demo on Umrah such as Tawaf and Saie to be held at Sg. Kebun Sports Complex.

This is a good initiative by At-Taqwa Travel Tours Sdn Bhd to give more added value to their customers in preparation for Umrah. For more updates, you can follow their instagram @at_taqwa_travel_tours or you can call, 243 1234 or 719 1676. Some images courtesy of Sazali Ariff and whatsapp.