Umrah 2017: A Spiritual Journey

 

It was 26^th October when we departed for our first journey to KSA to perform UMRAH, a mini pilgrimage. Please note that this blog isn’t about how to perform pilgrimage nor it is about posting pictures of the holy sites tough I’ll post a few but not much. The reason behind it is that I just want the share the experience and the sense of tranquility and peace which I felt after performing UMRAH. We had bought the UMRAH package from a local travel agency which included airline tickets, hotel bookings and transfers to and from airport as well as between cities. Even though I had performed Hajj with my family when I was only ten years old, it was the first time after twenty one years when I departed for such a spiritual journey. Believe me, these types of journeys have their own uniqueness. We depart with just two unstitched pieces of clothes for men only called EHRAAM (Usually made up of towel like cloth as can soak the sweat easily) as we go like a dervish in front of our lord to ask for blessings. Even though we were late and almost missed the flight as there was a huge traffic jam on the way, we felt tensed, prayed that we reach on time but there was a strange belief that this time, we won’t be late as we knew where we were going and who we were invited by. Anyway, we reached and the time we got our boarding passes, the boarding began and we didn’t had to wait in the waiting lounge, we went straight to the plane. It was a three hour flight to Jeddah and as we reached there, we had perform ISHA prayer we before the immigration, we had to wait in the waiting lounge. The time we got out, it was nearly twelve at midnight. Fortunately, my paternal uncle also lives and works in JEDDAH and he called us earlier that he’ll take us to the hotel in MAKKAH. I slept on the way as the journey was an hour from JEDDAH to MAKKAH. The time we reached the hotel, it was a little mishap as the contract of the hotel we booked had finished but we still got the room. Even though we were tired, we decided to proceed for UMRAH as it was late at night and we were in EHRAAM which includes restrictions. We departed for the UMRAH in AL HARM and as we got the site of the Holy Ka’ba, the feeling we had, the spiritual happiness and satisfaction we felt is unimaginable and can’t be explained. Anyhow we performed UMRAH and as we were about to complete our last round of SA’EE which means to walk briskly and run at a certain points between SAFFA and MARWA hills, it was FAJAR time so we prayed FAJAR and made the last round afterwards. After doing that, we prayed two extra NAWAFFIL after UMRAH completion and sat near the Ka’ba for some time. I must say, Ka’ba has its own attraction. No matter how long you look at it, it feels like “I don’t want to go anywhere! Just let me stay and look at it forever!” But ultimately we had to leave and get out hair cut which is mandatory after performing the UMRAH. We took a rest after coming back to our hotel room as it was Friday so we had to leave early for the JUMMAH prayer in the afternoon to get a good spot so that we can view Ka’ba. We woke up at 10:30 a.m. next morning, took a shower and went for the JUMMAH in regular clothes now as the restriction for the EHRAAM had ended after performing the UMRAH. We came back and had lunch and took another nap as due to the jetlag, we couldn’t have a proper sleep. In the evening, my uncle came to see us and we prayed MAGHRIB together. On the third day, we came to know that the construction of ZAMZAM well had begun and the area of MATA’AF neat Ka’ba was restricted. So it was becoming a little difficult for the pilgrims to perform UMRAH as less people could enter. Anyhow, we needed a chance which we got on the third day to perform TAWAAFS and fortunately we performed three TAWAAFS which means 21 rounds around the Ka’ba. After the ZOHAR prayer, we went back to our hotel and had lunch. We had a four day stay in MAKKAH and we had to check out on the 4^th day before 2 p.m. So we packed ourselves, took a few snaps of the hotel room before leaving and then waited for our SUV to take us to MADINAH.

Roof top of Kaba from the hotel room at Makkah Millennium Towers Hotel

Makkah Millennium Towers Hotel Reception Area

 

The ride soon came and we departed for nearly five our journey on road to MADINAH where we had a three day stay. We reached there in the evening and prayed MAGHRIB and ISHA at MASJID ANNABWI.

MASJID ANNABWI

 

Created after FAJAR prayer (shades opening) and ISHA prayer (Hustle and Bustle outside the Mosque)

Our hotel room was hardly 100m away from the HARM. During our stay there in MADINAH, we prayed NAWWAFIL at RIADHULJANNAH and the MEHRAB as well as got sights of the tombs of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) and his beloved companions HAZRAT ABUBAKKAR SIDDIQ (R.A.) and HAZRAT UMAR (R.A.). On the last day of our stay in MADINAH, we even got to visit Jannat al-Baqi‘ after the ASAR prayer.

RIADHULJANNAH and the Tombs of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and His Companions (RA)

 

Jannat al-Baqi‘

More Pictures at MASJID ANNABWI

 

The day we were about to check out and depart for JEDDAH to have a few day stay at our uncle’s place, we were also about to visit the sites in MADINAH which were usually Mosques.

Hotel room Eimaan Al Royale MADINAH

 

Coffee Shop at Eimaan Al Royale MADINAH

 

At first, we went to place near JABAL UHAD and prayed at the mosque there which was newly built.

 

Mosque near JABAL UHAD

 

Hill near JABAL UHAD

 

Down and up the hill near JABAL UHAD

 

Then we went to JAMIA KHANDUQ, the place where the GAZWA E KHANDUQ i.e. the battle of KHANDUQ was fought. Along with the JAMIA Mosque newly built, there are also seven other mosques named after the SAHABAS which who fought the war. The place where these mosques are built were basically the base camps of these SAHABAS and hence the mosques are named after them.Then we went for MASJID AL QIBLATAIN and prayed ZOHAR there. The reason it is called QIBLATAIN because it also included the direction of prayer to BAITAUL MAQDAS which was the previous direction of our prayer which after revelation in the Holy Quran was shifted towards the Ka’ba. After praying there, our next stop was Masjid al Quba. After visiting Masjid al Quba, we departed for Jeddah and reached there in the evening.

 

 

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Mosques in Madinah

On the second day of our stay, we went further site seeing with the help of our uncle. First we went to JABAL AL RAHMAH, then after passing by the grounds of Arafat, Muzdalfah and Masjid ANNIMRAH, we went for site seeing on the cave of Hira or GHAR E HIRA which the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him). It takes a huge effort reaching to the top especially after climbing a steep hill towards the staircase leading to the cave.

 

 

Cave of Hira

Jabal Al RAHMAH

Road trip to Thar Desert on motorbikes: When I met Trail Blazers of Pakistan

My colleague had a chance of sharing his experience of his biking tour to Thar Desert. He is a professional biker and regularly makes tours with his group of friends known as “Trailblazers of Pakistan” touring specific areas of Pakistan on their motor bikes. So I am sharing the story as narrated by him as follows:

“Up till now they have covered half of Baluchistan province and most of the area in Sindh. The area left unexplored by them was the area of Badin, Sajawal, Kot Islam, Mithi and Nagarparker.

The leader of the group is a senior biker named Hammad Mustafa. This tour was his plan and was supposed to begin on 14^th August 2017 but unfortunately, most of the participants were busy so it was postponed to 18^th August.

In the beginning, most of the people agreed for the tour but in the end, only few of us were on road. The final participants included Irfan (My colleague and the narrator), Raees, Malik Zeeshan “Shaani” who has made Pakistan tour on bike previously, Ather and of course, Mr. Hammad. The meetup point was Anwar Baloch Restaurant. I (Irfan), Shaani, Ather and Raees gathered at the airport as we refueled our bikes and then waited for Hammad Bhai at meetup point.

Along with Hammad Bhai, came his colleague named Shah Nawaz who joined our group specifically for this tour. He being from Sindh was our main guide for the trip.

 

 All of us departed and our first stop was at Sajwal but as the road near Thatta is under construction, Ather’s bike had a flat tire unfortunately and most of our time was consumed in fixing his bike. However, later on we covered up the delay driving a bit faster.

We reached our first stop in Sajawal. After having rest for a while, we left for Badin, had breakfast there and refueled our bikes. Next stop was Mithi, which is mainstream city of Tharparkar District. After travelling for about 100 KM towards Mithi from Badin, we got our bikes refueled again and had refreshments.

 

On the way, we were joined by a friend of Shah Nawaz, named Badal from Kot Islam who travelled with us throuhout rest of the trip of Nagarparker.

We saw many beautiful sceneries along the way in the pictures seen on this blogpost. After departing from Kot Islam towards Nagarparker, our plan was to have lunch in Nagarparker but Badal insisted to look for “Marvi’s well” first because on our way back towards Karachi, it would be night time and we would miss the historical site. We went there first, took few snaps, heard the folklore of Marvi from the local townspeople, drank from the well and then departed for Nagarparker.

 

 

It was almost 2:30 p.m at that time on 19^th August. Restaurants and hotels there are owned by both Hindus and Muslims. I asked Badal to ask one of the hotel owners as the locals there spoke Sindhi only. The owner of the hotel we stayed in was a Muslim, we stayed there and had lunch. Everything was good and fresh. We visited the dam and saw the border with India there. Badal told us that if we reach Kot Islam by sunset, we will have a chance of spending night in a small village of Thar, where we could experience actual lifestyle and culture of Thar people. Since we always prefer to get acquainted with the locals and their culture where ever we go so it was a golden opportunity. So we left the following evening and discovered few new places and departed for Thar. We reached there by 8 P.M. On our way to Thar, we rode our biked through sand so thick that would suck you two to three feet in it. The local town’s people in Thar showed as a great hospitality that even we won’t be able to do so in Karachi.  They have great water shortage and rely totally on rain water. There, once again Ather’s bike had a problem as it was altered but still we manager to continue. We had our dinner in Thar and we were served with chicken with vegetables and Lassi (Butter Milk).

In fact, they were so hospitable that they kept themselves awake in case we ask for anything we need. We really enjoyed their hospitality. In the morning as soon as we woke up, we were served with tea and biscuits. Then we went to tour Thar where we also got sight of peacocks there.

At that time, the Thar Desert had gone green due to recent rains. While wandering around, we also found a well where the water was being pulled out with the help of camels. We requested the locals to show us how they do it. Even though the process takes a long time, they decide to pull out some water just to show us. They prepared the camel to pull out the water and we really got fascinated while watching the process. The water level in the well is really low and it certainly requires great effort.

 

 

 

As we got back, we were again served with breakfast; this time a traditional one comprising of sugar, butter of both cow’s and goat’s milk and bread.

 

They told us a shortcut which will take us directly to Mithi by travelling about 10-20 KM. We reached Mithri as we entered from Kot Islam and we sure were relieved by this short distance in the desert which helped us a lot. After refueling in Mithri, we decided to travel further 40 KM to see Naukot Fort, which is considered a gateway of Tharparkar desert.

We also discovered that and took pictures and then left for Badin with was about 100 KM. After nearly covering half of the distance, Raees’s bike had a flat tire as there were many small pits long the way. After getting rid of the flat tire, we went further. Even though we had decided to have lunch in Badin, we changed the plan and decided to have lunch at Sajawal as we didn’t want to break the momentum we had just formed. So we travelled further 80 KM towards Sajawal and reached there at 5 in the evening and had the meal.

Then after travelling further, we finally reached back home on Sunday evening so that we can get back to work.”

9 day trip to Malaysia: sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi

Located in Southeast Asia comprising of two territories separated by South China Sea, tropical climate and comprising of multi ethnic and different religious groups. From white sandy beaches to lush green landscapes, Malaysia is considered to be one of the most popular tourist destinations. Although majority of population is Muslim, it also includes a significant population of Christians and Hindus as well. Hence, festivals like Eid, Deevali and Chinese New Year are widely celebrated. In short, Malaysia can be thought of as a blend of Indian and Chinese ethnicity. I had a chance to visit this place and I would love to share my experience.

 

Day 1

Well, as our flight got delayed for three hours at Karachi airport and we missed the connecting flight in Bangkok so the Day 1 was quite restricted to duty free shops at the airport. We reached Kuala Lumpur airport at about 8 p.m. local time and the immigration and Baggage claim took about an hour and a half. We had booked the tickets of KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) Ekspres train; a rapid train service that runs from the airport to KL Sentral, the area where our hotel was located nearby. Normally, the airport is about at least 45 minutes to an hour drive from the city but the rapid train takes only 30 minutes to reach the KL Sentral. By the time we reached the airport, we were extremely exhausted and it was nearly 10 p.m. when we reached the airport. So we had to rest after such a stressful journey.

 

View from Hotel in KL

 

Day 2

After booking our airline ticket to Langkawi for the next day, our first spot to see was KL tower. Originally built for communication purposes as it has an antenna more than a thousand feet high and said to be 7^th tallest free standing tower, it is a really good place for tourists to see as a panoramic view of the city can be seen from the building. It also serves as an observatory for moon sighting for the beginning of RAMADHAN; the fasting month observed by the Muslims, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.

Even though the staff there will help you, make sure what levels are included when you buy your tickets. There is a ticket for the Observation Deck which allows you only to visit the Observation Deck which is of course a little cheaper. Until and unless you are afraid of heights, you can buy the Sky Deck ticket which includes both the Sky Deck and the Observation Deck.

Sky Deck is the top most level of KL tower including the Sky box made up of transparent class. Once can view the complete view of the city from the top.  Sky Deck also includes an area known as Sky Box, an area made up of transparent glass mainly used for photography. There is a photographer there who will take your snaps which you may collect on your way out but they’ll charge for it.

 

Sky box at sky deck

 

On the observation deck, there are several souvenir shops as well as an installed binocular for the city view.

 

Observatory Deck

 

 

A part from that, the KL tower included other attractions nearby as well such as a revolving restaurant, mini zoo, F1 simulator, KL-forest Park and many more. For further information, please visit https://www.menarakl.com.my/index.php.

 

 

 

Day 3

 

We had our flight to Langkawi in the afternoon. Unfortunately due to the Chinese new year, airfare were higher and most of the airlines as well as the hotels near the beach were full. There are options available for cheap airlines among which Air Asia, a Malaysian based carrier is the most popular. The flight took slightly above an hour to reach Langkawi. Langkawi is an archipelago of several islands. As compared to the busy urban city of Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi is a quiet place famous mainly for its beaches and landscapes. Please not that Langkawi has taxis as the only means of public transport with fixed fares. Other option is to rent a motor bike/scooter or car which can be more expensive if the stay is longer.

 

View of Langkawi from the airplane

 

We had a stay at its capital town Kuah and fortunately had a shopping mall and food court with reasonable prices nearby. We reached to our hotel an hour before sunset and had a plan to visit Eagle Square that evening. The cheapest option is also available to rent a bicycle but it also is the most tiring as places to see like Sky Bridge and Pantai Chenang beach are located 30 to 40 minutes away from Kuah town.

 

Sunset view at Kuah town

 

 

Day 4

 

We had a plan to visit Sky Bridge which was located about 40 minute drive from our hotel. It’s a large 125 meters long bridge suspended 660 meters above sea level reached via cable car known as “Gondola”. We had to wait for about more than an hour because the cable cars weren’t operational due to strong winds.

 

Queue for cable car entrance

 

We wondered because we were on the ground and it was quite a hot day. Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you that we had already purchased our tickets online so we went to the cable car a bit quicker than others. The longer lanes can be avoided by purchasing the tickets for Express lane. Plus various Gondola options are also available like Private Gondola, VIP Gondola, and Bottom Glass Gondola etc. Other attractions a part from SkyBridge like SkyDome, 3D Art, 6D Cinemotion, Time travel etc. which can be found in the following link along with ticket info: http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/. Generally there are three stations from getting to the SkyBridge. The first one is the Base Station from where you’ll actually get on to the cable car, Middle Station which is a stop between SkyBridge and Base Station for a panoramic view of the landscape and finally the Top Station which is the main entrance towards the SkyBridge.

Cable car departure from Base station

 

We got on to the station and as the cable car(s) went operational and we got on to it, we surely realized what the officials meant because the winds were literally shaking our Gondola J On our way towards the SkyBridge we had a glimpse of waterfalls known as “seven wells” based on a legend and a fact that these waterfalls fall in to seven ponds.

 

View of Seven Wells from Gondola

 

We had a short stopover at the middle station to have a view of landscape.

 

View of SkyBridge from Middle Station

 

From middle station, the cable car towards the Top Station will take hardly three to five minutes. On reaching the Top Station, a separate ticket is to be purchased. It depends upon the choice whether you take “Sky Glide”, a slow sliding cable car that will take you to the SkyBridge which has slightly a higher ticket or you may walk taking steps towards the SkyBridge. We took the steps to have more of a close-to-nature experience J; but remember there are signs saying “Don’t feed or tease the monkeys” if encountered any as they may become hostile.

 

Steps towards the skybridge

 

Walking the SkyBridge is one of the wonderful experiences you may have. Standing several feet high above the ground, experiencing gusts of wonderful breeze and surrounded by beautiful lush green landscapes of both mountains and sea.

 

Tourists walking on the SkyBridge

 

View from SkyBridge

 

Day 5

 

We planned to visit the famous Pantai Cenang beach of Langkawi to enjoy the Jet Ski ride with parasailing and swimming. It took us about twenty five to thirty minutes to reach the beach. The day was quite hot with low tides to it was somehow, a really good condition to enjoy our day at the beach. Even though there are several tour operators available at the beach, I suggest you do your homework early. Most famous operators for watersports are Mega, Naam, Toro and Seeman watersports. They offer both Jet Ski and boat island tours which include swimming, snorkeling and banana boat ride. We chose Jet Ski ride and Parasailing for the day. The prices of Jet Ski ride vary by the type of Jet Ski you choose.

 

Pantai Cenang beach

 

 

Parasailing view

Apart from the picture above, it is a unique feeling. It will give you goose bumps initially especially when you get pulled and then lift off the ground into the air but then it’s a really exciting feeling like conquering the fear especially when you are afraid of heights and even if not, it will surely scare you a bit.

Day 6 and 7

 

We had our flight back to KL after spending three days in Langkawi. We reached our hotel in KL after departing from Langkawi at 10 a.m. As the Chinese New Year had begun, we took some rest in the afternoon and then went for some shopping at the nearby mall as various outlets were offering discounts on Chinese New Year. The next day, we planned to visit Central Market KL which the oldest market in Malaysia since 1888 and KL bird park, once of the largest bird sanctuaries in Asia.  After spending some time at the market, we went for KL Bird Park which is situated nearby. Spread over 20 acres and divided into several zones, one can walk through and view various species of birds ranging from ostriches and ducks to flamingos, owls, peacocks and hornbills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the tour, we had our lunch at Hornbill Restaurant in the park. Though expensive, it was worth a place for dining out. We had decided to visit KL Petronas Towers later evening but it started to rain. So we had to postpone it for the next day.

 

Day 8

The day before leaving back home, we decided to visit KL Petronas and the KL Aquaria. We left after breakfast but it began to rain. So we got into the KLCC shopping mall and wandered a bit there. As soon as the rain stopped, we went to the KL City Central Park also known as KLCC Park.

 

 

We later had a lunch at the shopping mall. After the lunch, we went downstairs for visiting the KL Auqaria. As the name suggests, it is a place containing large sent of marine animals ranging from sea turtles to different kind of fishes like sharks, alligator fishes.

 

 

 

 

Expenses

 

Even though most of people go for cheap holiday options, I suggest it may get hectic. Even though couch surfing is quite common, it may be unsafe as well. What we did was to keep a balance between cost saving and luxury and opted for three and four start hotels instead which cost us about 35 USD per night. For more details regarding booking, please refer to www.booking.com. Please note that due to Chinese New Year, most of the hotels were completely booked so we had limited options as we were also on our honeymoon trip. Street food is quite cheap which costs about 10 to 30 MYR (3 to 7 USD) per meal. For the transport options, a taxis are not usually metered so you’ll have to pre bargain or use options like Uber. So, most tourists usually opt for public transport options like buses and local rail systems. You’ll find the details of routs online or even leaflets available in hotels.  For domestic flights within Malaysia, cheap flight options are also available among which Air Asia is the most popular. For sightseeing, in case you have “MyKad”, you’ll find cheaper tickets at most sights at a low price. Otherwise, sightseeing will be relatively expensive.

 

Safety

 

Malaysia is a safe country with an extremely low crime rate. However, you’ll find notices while landing at Malaysian airport that beware you from illegal taxis and encouraging you not to use them. Even petty crimes are common but violent crimes are low.