Travelog Umrah Day 1 & 2
Alhamdulillah, it all went well in the end, and I was given the opportunity to perform my first umrah with my father and sister starting today. Except for the fact my father left his 500 Riyals at home, every thing else went smoothly. We arrived at the airport and was given the briefing before boarding.
The flight was a different story of course. We were flying with Saudi Arabia. Seat wise, more or less like MAS. Food was good Alhamdulillah. The stewardess in comparison to MAS' are not very helpful. I feel sorry for some of the first timer 'golden age' flyer. My sister ended up having to act as a step-in stewardess for a couple of them. But they take what they thought was their silly encounters with the plane's facilities with smiles on their faces, so I can't help smiling back.
Stretching time is good too because they continue to be an amusing venture for me. I used to stretch during my flights, and this time is the most interesting. I find some men in their ihrams rather attractive , but actually most times there were - men in two-piece towels, and therefore very amusing to observe. Especially so when they need to use the toilet in the plane :-p. I guess it's pretty tricky to manaeuvre the plane's toilet in their ihrams. Astaghfirullah, I'd rather not imagine anything hahaha...There are times when I need to look the other way every time they come out of the toilet, if you know what I mean :-p You just pray that none of their ihram fall off while they were all so busy snoring hahaha...
Anyway, Jeddah's airport continue to live up to its reputation ;-) It took all of us 2 hours plus to get through all the checkpoint. We then need to wait for the tour bus and wait for everyone in our group to fill it up, which took almost an hour. I think my father is almost flat by then. We really need to get showered. The trip from Jeddah to Makkah took about an hour. Makkah traffic for Friday night (or maybe every other night and day) is beyond comprehension. I was told honking is a common practice :-p
We reached the hotel almost midnight - Saudi time, we showered, prayed and had our supper. The hotel is so-so, but I have already expected nothing much. Actually, it's not that bad. It's clean and comfortable. Its only issue is the fact that it's located almost 600-700 m from Masjidil Haram. Most of the hotels within the 500 m radius from Masjidil Haram haram had been demolished to make way for new developments, including new hotel complexs. In fact, there's an ongoing massive constructions going on around the Masjidil Haram.
We make our way to do our Tawaf by 1 am. The weather was excellent, cool and breezy. Since my father and sister are not first-timers, we opted to perfom it ourselves without the Mutawwif. That and the fact, I'm a bit nervous so I had to visit the 'Hamam' before we start. I won't comment the 'Hamam', but I did go again before Subuh, so perhaps they were 'survival-able' :-p
We walked in through Bab Abdul Aziz and slowly we can see the Ka'abah. Subhanallah! Nothing can express how I feel. You spent years watching it in the media, in pictures and on your prayer mats and now you actually see it standing there right in front of your eyes. It's just so surreal. I've never felt so grateful, Alhamdulillah. It's Jum'ah night so the pilgrims were more than usual. But regardless Alhamdulillah, we complete the Tawaf in less than an hour. Congestions always occurs near the starting line - Hajarul Aswad, what more with the construction, most of the space near the starting point has been blocked off.
We performed the sunat tawaf prayer, sipped some zam zam and head for our Saie. The Babus Salam is closed to the public, there's less access door available from Masjidil Haram. There's one near the end of Marwa and Safa, but only one door from inside the Masjidil Haram which cuts in the middle of the Marwa lane. So we had to cut through the lane before we reach Safa to start the Saie which was an additional 200 m before we can start the Saie. Saie was a different challenge altogether. We had spent 8 hours in the plane, 2 -3 hours at the airport, and 1 hour in the bus by the time we start the tawaf. When we started Saie, our exhaustion were beginning to show. But my father wanted to complete everything then so we can do our Tahallul and lifted all the Ihram's prohibitions. My back felt like it's snapping into two by the 3rd round. But I find men running their 'ramal' in the course of their Saie inspiring and rather cute :-) We had to take a break twice (well, it was me the second time ;-)), before we finalized the whole set by 3.30 in the morning. We dif our Tahalul with the assistance of a family of Indonesian & waited for Subuh, our first Fard Solat in the Haram this time around.
We reached the hotel back for breakfast around 7 am and collapsed till almost 11 am. My father however headed to the Masjidil Haram by 10 am for his Friday prayer. We chose not to go and waited for Asr. Perhaps it was a wise choice, since my father said they were just too many people, almost like Hajj time for Friday Prayer. I feel bad because my father had no one accompanying him, which slows down his movement, for he needed to be careful in case he fall off because some people were being rough and pushy due to the high number of people attending Friday prayer. Alhamdulillah he made his way back, but much later that he had expected. He had lunch and continue to rest, while we got ready to walk to Baitullah for Asr. We prayed Asr on the upper level overlooking the Ka'abah and later moved back downstairs for Maghrib & Isya'.
Soon after performing Solatul Jenazah (which is done after every Fard Solat), we were off for dinner at the hotel around 8.30 pm. We were all flat by 10 pm, our feet starting to fail us. But I kept on praying we'll be healthy to finish all the required and commendable rituals. Tomorrow, we'll be given the option to go to Tana'im for those choosing to perform another umrah.
The flight was a different story of course. We were flying with Saudi Arabia. Seat wise, more or less like MAS. Food was good Alhamdulillah. The stewardess in comparison to MAS' are not very helpful. I feel sorry for some of the first timer 'golden age' flyer. My sister ended up having to act as a step-in stewardess for a couple of them. But they take what they thought was their silly encounters with the plane's facilities with smiles on their faces, so I can't help smiling back.
Stretching time is good too because they continue to be an amusing venture for me. I used to stretch during my flights, and this time is the most interesting. I find some men in their ihrams rather attractive , but actually most times there were - men in two-piece towels, and therefore very amusing to observe. Especially so when they need to use the toilet in the plane :-p. I guess it's pretty tricky to manaeuvre the plane's toilet in their ihrams. Astaghfirullah, I'd rather not imagine anything hahaha...There are times when I need to look the other way every time they come out of the toilet, if you know what I mean :-p You just pray that none of their ihram fall off while they were all so busy snoring hahaha...
Anyway, Jeddah's airport continue to live up to its reputation ;-) It took all of us 2 hours plus to get through all the checkpoint. We then need to wait for the tour bus and wait for everyone in our group to fill it up, which took almost an hour. I think my father is almost flat by then. We really need to get showered. The trip from Jeddah to Makkah took about an hour. Makkah traffic for Friday night (or maybe every other night and day) is beyond comprehension. I was told honking is a common practice :-p
 |
| While waiting for our bus... |
We make our way to do our Tawaf by 1 am. The weather was excellent, cool and breezy. Since my father and sister are not first-timers, we opted to perfom it ourselves without the Mutawwif. That and the fact, I'm a bit nervous so I had to visit the 'Hamam' before we start. I won't comment the 'Hamam', but I did go again before Subuh, so perhaps they were 'survival-able' :-p
We walked in through Bab Abdul Aziz and slowly we can see the Ka'abah. Subhanallah! Nothing can express how I feel. You spent years watching it in the media, in pictures and on your prayer mats and now you actually see it standing there right in front of your eyes. It's just so surreal. I've never felt so grateful, Alhamdulillah. It's Jum'ah night so the pilgrims were more than usual. But regardless Alhamdulillah, we complete the Tawaf in less than an hour. Congestions always occurs near the starting line - Hajarul Aswad, what more with the construction, most of the space near the starting point has been blocked off.
We performed the sunat tawaf prayer, sipped some zam zam and head for our Saie. The Babus Salam is closed to the public, there's less access door available from Masjidil Haram. There's one near the end of Marwa and Safa, but only one door from inside the Masjidil Haram which cuts in the middle of the Marwa lane. So we had to cut through the lane before we reach Safa to start the Saie which was an additional 200 m before we can start the Saie. Saie was a different challenge altogether. We had spent 8 hours in the plane, 2 -3 hours at the airport, and 1 hour in the bus by the time we start the tawaf. When we started Saie, our exhaustion were beginning to show. But my father wanted to complete everything then so we can do our Tahallul and lifted all the Ihram's prohibitions. My back felt like it's snapping into two by the 3rd round. But I find men running their 'ramal' in the course of their Saie inspiring and rather cute :-) We had to take a break twice (well, it was me the second time ;-)), before we finalized the whole set by 3.30 in the morning. We dif our Tahalul with the assistance of a family of Indonesian & waited for Subuh, our first Fard Solat in the Haram this time around.
 |
| Taking a break - checking photos ;-) |
 |
| Friday Night Pilgrims |
 |
| Masjidil Haram under a (construction) siege |
Comments
Post a Comment