And so the journey has begun.

When escape! was first conceptualised, all of us had mixed feelings about the magazine. Cecilia was bouncing around the office, clearly raring to kick-start the project. Vereen started tapping furiously at her laptop. I roller-coastered between oohing and aahing at the gorgeous travel snaps one minute and fantasising about running away to the North Pole the next. Ok, so my plans to abscond failed to materialise and I ended up at the magazine’s launch party on the night of 6 Aug.

And to demonstrate our appreciation for those who spent the evening with us, each was given a goodie bag at the end of the party. Into an exclusively-designed escape! paper bag, Veronica, Julie, Joanna, Cally, Tasmin and Stefanie (thanks, ladies!) had packed in a galore of treats, ranging from a travel journal and a luggage tag to a travel-sized facial spray and a super-comfy shawl. Oh, our kind sponsor also threw in a lovely ivory-hued Burberry Fragrance overnight bag, which had all the women – and men – thronging the reception counter!