The Umrah Part 2 - The (Long) Journey

Our flight on Saudi into Madinah was delayed by a day (we were detoured into Jeddah too instead of straight to Madinah). We stayed at the posh Mariott in PutraJaya for the night (there wasnt any point in returning home for the night. The house was locked up tight anyway). The food was outstanding - buffet dinner and breakfast (what gluttony). The boys enjoyed the unexpected treat of unending delicious food. Tapi secantik mana pun I miss the extra night in Makkah (berbanding dengan Mariott, apa lah sangat).

 

We were on our way to Iznie's (niece) aqad nikah at my sister's place that morning we were supposed to fly (kata kakak saya, dah kenduri tak boleh datang, aqad mestilah ada. Walaupun sekejap) when we got the call about the delay. Yang kelakarnye we thought we need not get to the airport that afternoon. Pesan kat anak2 cancel semua. Taxi pun cancel.  Pukul 1230 masa sibuk melayan tetamu makan, we got the call kata mesti datang airport jugak. Kelam-kabut kami pun baru makan; telefon anak2 balik. Telefon taxi balik. Nasib baik ada (no joke la nak travel 8 orang.. nak packing pun pening kepala dibuatnya.. dan beg saja pun dah separuh van!)

There was a lot of waiting this time, unlike the last umrah where everything went on so smoothly (lesson learnt: do not fly on charter umrah flights like ours. Make sure yours is a commercial flight. Dan kata steward, facilities utk charter flight amat basic - no tv, no radio, no headphone). Namun, Allah juga yang menentukan.

Ini aksi tidur (courtesy from hubs whom himself cant sleep in-flight).

Love the sunset. The evening seemed to last forever!

When we landed in Jeddah (turned out the Madinah airport was closed then because a plane had belly-landed on the runway the day before), it was late. The immigration officer buat perangai dan asyik tutup counter dia bila sampai turn anak2 muda gagah seperti anak2 saya (budak2 ni pulak were trying to be independent dan queue di lane lain dari saya). The boys were among the last to be let through the immigration check (Lesson learnt : queue with the women). Kami lah pun yang last naik bas.

The bus trip from Jeddah into Madinah was like 6 hours. We got to Madinah semasa solat Subuh. Dan terus ustaz bagi hi-light sikit di hotel. All in all it was exactly 24 hours from the time when we checked out of Marriott. Indeed it was a long trip.

But the sight of Masjid Nabi was (and InsyaaAllah will forever be) a sight for our sore eyes. The lighted masjid and so many people walking for the prayer. It felt somewhat like a homecoming.



~xoxo