Day 37: Final day at Haram Mosque

Today we decided to go super early to do Fajr prayers. We left at 3:30 and got our usual place and then we stayed for a while. My goal today is to finish reading the Quran. I have another 7 Juz to go and I’m hoping to finish it by leaving tomorrow. After that me and wife went to go breakfast. We had breakfast at a falafel place. It was hot and yummy. After that wife left back to the hotel and I stayed at the mosque since I got a good spot to wait for Friday prayer. I took an hour nap and then continuing reading the Quran. By the time for Friday prayer I’m at Juz 28. After prayers I head back home to the hotel to sleep for a while and at 5:30 we went to the mosque again to pray and do tawaf. This time we did it in a single line so we could go fast and fast we did. We finish just before Maghrib and I got to pray in front of the Kaabah. After that we just hang around the area and I continued reading. I got until Juz 29 and then I had to call it a day. I got to pray Isyak in front of the black stone which was amazing since I couldn’t see it very clearly. I took a couple of pictures and then we left. We ended up eating at a Turkish restaurant which the price is 5 times what we usually eat in a week. Was it worth it? Probably but we don’t know if we are ever coming here again. Might as well just indulge ourselves. Went home and arrive close to midnight. We still haven’t received our baggage tags until past midnight and then I have to wake up everyone and we load our luggage downstairs before we all went back to sleep. Tomorrow is the final day before we leave for Madinah. 

Day 36: Packing Time

We are about to leave in two days so it’s packing time. All the big bags are packed and weigh. We are a bit overweight but hopefully we can put some of the stuff with our aunt and uncle family. I put all my clothes in my carry on bag and did the last of the washing. Didn’t go to the mosque today because wife wasn’t feeling well and I too have a block nose.

Day 35: Food Hunting

Today we decided to try some stuff that is not available back home. First we wanted to try some Buffalo Wings and Rings but when we came to the shop the shop at a kitchen malfunction and they didn’t know what time it will be open back. So we headed to next place that I wanted to try which was Tim Hortons. We tried their maybe donut and I tried their French vanilla ice blended coffee (I hate coffee but this was surprisingly good). We prayed at the shop and then we headed somewhere else to find food. We went to a shop that is called meating (a pun on words) and ordered their buffalo wings, fries, sushi (who knew) and wagyu sliders. It was super delicious. Went back home with an Uber and then I and wife went to the mosque to pray. Overall it was a good day 

Day 34: I have a headache

Nothing much out of the ordinary happen. Usual stuff. Pray, sleep, read Quran. We did start packing for our departure already. So my two bags are not the souvenir bags. And my clothes will fit in my carry on. I didn’t bring that much clothes to begin with. I got a tension headache due to the fact that I’ve haven’t been eating, sleeping or drinking correctly. But over here it’s hard to do all that. Just make sure. Another 10 days before I go home. Can’t wait to see the girls. 

Day 33: Last shopping I hope

Today in the half part of the morning I did nothing much. Just Landry. A bit of Quran reading and just went to pray. In the evening after around isyak it was time to go to the mosque and after that my wife wanted to shop with her roommates. One of her roommates is going away so she is bringing us to all the spots where to get food discount. I was so sleepy but I just followed the crowd. They did they shopping which was a lot until close to midnight. By the time we came home everyone of my housemates was asleep and I followed suit 

Day 32: Our Second Tour

Wake up in the morning and I need to get ready by 5am. First thing is I need to make sure that two people went on the right bus. Since there were like 3 different tours by three different groups including mine. So I need to hustle. This time we are going on high luxury tour busses. We gather everyone in but we manage to wrangle a couple people who are not part of the tour. My wife handle it and eventually they also decide to join the tour. We first went to a couple of historical sites. Took some picture climb some hills. After that we went to the factory that made the black cloth for the kaabah. That place doesn’t accept local visitors inside but we had asked for permission. Inside there we saw how the kaabah cloth was made. It was made with 100% silk imported from Egypt and it was hand stitched with actual gold and silver threads. It’s changed once a year and the old cloth is given to dignitaries. After we took photo and such we went for lunch. We are a place where they serve rice on a silver tray and we eat it family style. The chicken was moist and tender.  They have booths without chairs and tables and we can just sit there and eat while relaxing. We can also use it as prayer booths which we did. After that we went to another museum and then we miqat. After I changed to my ihram we headed home. In the end we left at 6am and we arrived back at 5pm. We rested for a while. I got some dinner and then around 9pm me and wife did our umrah. For me this will be my last umrah. So I did 4 umrah and 1 Hajj. Some people did more but I think that is good enough for me. In the end my aunt was there as well so we went back home ogether but not after we all ate McDonald’s for midnight dinner. Came back around 1am and was super tired. 

Day 31: I’m not feeling well

My nose is okay but now I’m coughing. It seems to be a trend where is either one or the other. I’m managing it. It doesn’t seem to bad but I’m hanging in there. Today is just a relaxing day. Did nothing much but just read the Quran and just rest for the big day tomorrow. Slept early and that’s about it. Oh did ate tea at a pakistani restaurant. Had some samosa and puri. Delicious 

Day 30: Soup

That was the highlight of the day… the end. They served soup for dinner. It was amazing. I was craving some soup for a while now and getting it was amazing. Oh what did I do… today I finished collecting some of the money left for the trip. Today we got 126 participant which is around 13000 Saudi dollars. That’s a lot of money. My wife cousin came to visit from Jeddah and her another cousin who is doing Hajj as well. They had dinner and then we all went to the mosque until isyak. My aunt when with me so it was just the three of us. I pushed her with the wheelchair. Overall it was a good day. Friday prayers I did it at a mall close to the hotel. 

Day 29: a relaxing day (NOTtttt)

Well after yesterdays trip today it’s just me relaxing at the hotel. So just did some laundry. Prayed, and just hang out in the room doing relaxing stuff. Oh and today we just announce another trip I’ll be in charge of handling which is a muzium trip. This time it cost 110 riyal per person and space are limited. This time we also need to go with an actual tour company so this is very legit stuff. So today is the day I have to collect 110 per person. Do their paperwork and submit it to the travel organisers. Man it was a hectic day. I couldn’t even take a moment to rest. People were texting me left and right and as well knocking on my door. In the end I just make sure that I stop everything by 10pm on the day so I could sleep. I was so tired that I didn’t even realise when I fall asleep. Good thing this is the last trip I’ve organised 

Day 28: 2nd trip

Today we are bringing another group 100 people for the same trip we did last week. We started in the morning and this time we are doing one guide again. So I have to take care of the other bus. We went to the camel farm. This time we are early so there was no fighting when getting food. After that we left to the mosque. Hang there for a while and then left for the fruit market. The fruit market was good place to

Shop for fruit. After that we went to the clothes shop. It was a good trip overall and everyone enjoyed themselves. In the evening there was pot luck in our floor and everyone needs to bring some food. Our room made me in charge of buying fruits from the fruit market. The gathering was great and I was also in charge in introducing my roommates. My uncle and cousins didn’t join in the festivities. My aunt made noodles and sandwiches 

Day 27: Met my friend

Today nothing much happen in the morning but after lunch we decided to go to the Haram mosque because I am meeting my university friend who is also doing Hajj but under a different agency. After Asar we went to see him at the local Starbucks. We sat down for a couple hours catching up on our experience of Hajj. Me in the most basic package and hi in the high tier package. It turns out the only difference is that over here his hotel is nearby to the mosque and they have 3 buffet meals a day.  But once they were in Arafah to Mina it was the same all the way. After that we headed back to mosque to pray Magrib. After that we rush back to the mall to pick up our custom made stuff that we ordered the day before. We decide to ordered a couple more and ask them to try to finish it before isyak. He manage to do it and we left the before it was time to pray. Came home super tired. Took a shower and went to bed. Tomorrow I have to get ready for the next trip 

Day 26: Finally done some souvenir shopping

Today we decided to do some shopping for people back home. We left after zohor with Uber since it’s way cheaper than taking a cab. Got to the place called safwah towers and then proceed in finding places that sell personalise prayer mat. We are not the haggling type of people but we do love to shop if they have good customer service. We found a good shop which was selling it for sr10 each. The way they do it is that they use a hot gun to make the calligraphy in Arabic and then they will pass it to the colouring department (mostly kids) to colour the holes left by the gun. Because ewe ordered a lot we were ask to pick it up later. So we went to have tea and then back to the mosque for maghrib prayers. Before prayers they were putting down place mats for people to enjoy a meal. It wasn’t rice as I expected by it was just bread with some dates and milk and tea. I didn’t have any because I was still full. After prayers we went back to the shop and it looks like they are still not ready. We said we will pick it up tomorrow and head home. We couldn’t get an Uber in evening due to the fact that there were a lot of people on the street so we ended up taking a cap. Got home had a bit of dinner, wash clothes and went to bed. Wife is not feeling well. It’s either she pulled a muscle and crack some ribs because she is in pain Everytime she moves her hands. I’m worried and I hope that the doctors here can find out what’s wrong with her. 

Day 25: Our big trip

 So today everyone who is involved in the trip. All 150 of them came down before 6 and waited for the bus. The problem is the bus was super late and in the end we ended up leaving by 6:45. I was frantically trying to ease everyone into thinking that everything is going to be okay. But there are people who can be heard complaining. 3 busses arrive and got on the third bus without any guide. So that sucks for us. The first stop is a place called Hudaibiyah mosque. It’s a place where peace was some kind of treaty was signed. I wasn’t paying attention that much because I need to make sure that the group all stayed together. After a while I rounded them up for our next destination. Which was a camel farm. It’s basically an oasis in the middle of the dessert. There they serve us local food but the problem was another unexpected party joined in so they ran out of food. I got pictures with same camels and horses. I saw some cats as well. After that place we made our way to the fruit market. Inside the fruit market it was a air conditioned warehouse full of fruits of all kind. Because Saudi Arabia doesn’t have that many fruit choices. Most of them are imported. That means it’s  all vacuum sealed. When we enter the warehouse it smells of fruit. Lovely. I bought some fruit since I don’t want to be left behind. But not too much. Others just bought plastic full of fruits. After that we left for mall that sells clothes where we shop for some clothes and then we went to the mosque for miqat (basically doing umrah again). Overall the experience was awesome and our trip was free plus they gave us sr300 spending money. Alhamdulilah. We had lunch and then we left for the mosque for umrah. My wife finally can do her Hajj. This time we are taking the scooters since we want to save time. The hung is the scooters also takes a good hour. We had to stop to pray for a while before continuing. We left the mosque and went to a food court to get some dinner. It was a tiring day 

Day 24: I rich (with other peoples money)

So today was the painstakingly task of getting money from 150 people who are interested in going on the journey tomorrow. Every couple of minutes there is a knock on my door and people gave me me money. In the end I have around 7300 riyal in my bag and with additions and cancellations. It’s a lot to handle. I can say this makes me appreciate travel agents and what do they do for us. The main thing is that they have to have a thick skin otherwise you’ll get easily offended. 

Day 23: I am now a Travel Agent

Well today is Friday so that means it’s Friday prayers. Due to the haram mosque is going to be on lockdown at 10. I went there by 845. I reach there at 930 and just sit down and read the Quran until it was time to pray. After prayers I went to McDonald’s to get lunch. We’ve been eating rice for a while I started to get bored of it. It was a mistake getting McDonald during this time. The crowd was massive and the queue was long. I plough through away. Beside me there was a crowd of Africans (not sure from which country) waiting for free food. Once the free food arrived it was a frenzy and people were fighting for it. Some of the food ended up on the floor and we can hear people all wailing. I got my food and left. Had lunch with wife and then I had to play travel agent to the trip that was supposed to be a small group turns out the be a group of 100+ people are going. I need to answer text. Get money and do some paperwork. Really didn’t sign up for it but everyone else didn’t volunteer. Oh well. Dinner time they serve squid but I took some instant noodles instead. Really have no mood for rice. I am not going to sleep. Good night 

Day 22: Halfway there

Today is the start like any other day but the difference is that my wife ask a friend who runs her own tour agency over here to organise a trip. What started with just the two of us grew to 10 and then 20 and then finally a full bus of 40. Eventually word got around the hotel that we are organising a trip so people flock towards us to get their seat. In the end we got close to 112 participants for today. The tour agent was nice in giving us the trip free of charge while others have to pay. My head is just trying to get all the names together. Tomorrow we will need to hold a lot of money so that’s something to look forward too. As for food didn’t eat anything special. Just ate what was given to us. It’s the same food every week. Eventually you will get bored but food is good. I miss some chicken soup. 

Day 21: I’ve been eating a lot

So today is just me relaxing at the hotel which I just found out that this hotel will be demolish after we leave to make a newer hotel I guess. Anyway breakfast as usual is my croissant. And then we made new friends and they offered me some tuna sandwich. Yum. After that for lunch is just the normal food that they provide it was fish and veggies. Some of the people on my floor bought some rice with camel meat. I ate some. Camel meat was okay. I think the way they cook it wasn’t that great. After that I went for prayers and in the evening we had a big picnic in my wife’s room with the 6 of us. There was fried chicken, pizza and of course rice. It was an awesome time of eating. So that’s what I’ve been doing the whole day today. 

Day 20: Hajj is complete

Waking up today I did more laundry. It seems like it never ends. My wife wanted to try something new so we tried some paratha and naan for the local Pakistani shop with an assortment of curries. The only curry that is worth taking is the goat curry. The rest taste a bit watery. After Zohor prayers I decided to finish of my Hajj by finishing the tawaf of 7 around a and saie of 3.5km. Since I’m doing this solo, I can walk at a faster pace. I arrived at the kaabah at around 2pm and it took me 3:20lm. After that I made my way to the Saie area. It took me 5-6 minutes to walked from one end of one end. Had to take a break after the 5 cycle due to the fact it was Asar prayers. It turns out that they just pray on the saie floor while making a small room for others to walk. Around 4pm my Hajj was complete. I left the mosque and made my way to the mall to buy some celebratory donuts for everyone else and ice cream (mango and caramel). While walking slowly back to my hotel I slowly reflected on my life. Every small decision and thing that happen have led me here. I am super thankful that I got invited to come here. I hope that my Hajj is accepted and I get Hajj Mabrur (highest form of acceptance) but it’s a ongoing thing to get that so yeah. It’s a process. So that’s about it my Hajj journey is done. I have to go one more time for my wife since she is still in her period. Oh and I shave my head bald now. 

Day 19: 12 Zulhijah and going home

Woke up at 1am this morning because I was sweating like a pig. Couldn’t sleep so might as well get ready for the long walk. Uncle and his son also are ready so we made our way slowly to the Jamrah. It took us a good 60 minutes to reach there and throw all the stones. I throw the stones for my wife as well. After that we rest our legs on the street while waiting for Subuh. After prayers we went for a second round of throwing the stones and then we are considered done. Walking back from the place back to our camp we saw a herd of people walking towards it. The crowd was massive and most of the after throwing can go back home to their respective hotels. I made it at 5am and pack some stuff (I still manage to forget my neck pillow) and we left for the hotel. My wife wanted to go but the doctors and I said no. She feels disappointed not going and I don’t know if I should feel guilty for not letting her go. In one hand I want to keep her safe but on the other hand she could handle it. I won’t know. I caution on the side of being safe I guess. Back at the hotel we unpacked and I did like 5 buckets of laundry. Mostly hers. The day is spend just resting. We didn’t eat rice though. I think we just had too much rice. In the evening I slept alone in the room. It was a tiring day 

Day 18: 11th Zulhijjah

So when we are here we need to stay in Mina for at least two days 11-12. Where we need to complete 3 rounds of stoning the wall and  then we can go home. But most of them will stay the third day. 13 Zulhijjah. We chose to stay two days only because wife needs to go home due to the weather. So today woke up and got breakfast of rice with camel meat. Camel meat is damn good. Today is also Eid so it’s a celebration for all. For us we still have Hajj to do so it will take a while. Our air condition finally got fixed after sleeping with my own sweat. Fun fact I’ve been drinking 4 litres of water and been sweating the same amount. For lunch ate some rice and then wife ask to accompany her to have some tea. When we sat down at the table that was available at the break area. There was a nice couple who gave us their KFC zinger burger. All I can say that people over here can’t make sauces. It was just two bread with chicken. Wife lost her voice due to constant coughing and the weather so I download her an app that will translate speech to text. Today is the second day of stoning the walls. We are going to leave at 2am. So we can do the next day exactly after Subuh. I took a shower and now I am ready for bed. Need to set my alarm at 2. Oh and pack 

Day 17: Mina

So continuing what has happen on the day before. After Subuh prayers I went to check up on wife. She is on IV drip and sleeping. So I continued on back to my tent to catch a couple of snooze. But bad news stuck us on our tent. The air conditioning is busted. In 45c weather outside and 48-50 inside. The thing is this is a high tent that can fit around 150 people and each of them have their own sections. We got the front section so only that part is busted. So everytime I sleep I wake up in a pool of my own sweat. A good thing about here because it’s dry. I don’t stink that much. I woke up and saw there is a care package of an apple, biscuits and instant noodles. Since my last meal was close to 17 hours ago. I went to eat the instant noodles. Mind you that that is has been 5 months since I have any instant noodles. Wife texted me saying that she is okay and now in her tent. The morning was spend just resting and getting our bearings. We did prayers in the tent and had lunch (which was fish with rice) and dinner (chicken briyani) in the tent. We are all waiting for 8pm to go to the Jamrah to throw 7 stones inside the well. We actually can go after Subuh but because of the heat and the crowd is was best for us to go after nightfall. I made a lot of friends. Really this place should be called me-con… a convention of where I eat, sleep, pray and make friends. Who doesn’t want that. Come 7:30pm we followed the crowd and go to the site. Because we didn’t know the way we had to follow a guide and the guide walks really fast we were there in less than a hour. Oh yeah I almost forgot… my wife went to the medical tent to see if she is okay to go throwing stones the doctor straight away said no. You are not fit for the 9km journey. The good news is that I get to take her place. So that’s good. So back to the main event. The stone place was huge. It was like a carpark but with 4 floors and 3 stone pillars extending from the first floor to the top. On the first day we need to throw only one of the pillars. After throwing me and my relative (uncle and his kids head back. Aunt was also excluded from throwing). Going back was a challenge. Since we took a lot of energy walking fast we were kinda exhausted walking back. The kids have walk so far in front but we old people just walk slowly. I develop some chaffing in the thigh area which was super unpleasant. Came back around 9:40pm. After throwing the next thing to do is either you shave your head bald or cut some parts of your hair. The queue for shaving your head bald was too long so I decided just to cut some locks of my hair and then rest… take a nice shower… and finally change into some normal clothes. Now is sleeping time 

Day 16: Arafah, Muazalifah, Mina

Today is a tale is an interesting and yet horrifying one. So woke in the morning and the serve us arabic style Nasi lemak. So I just found out that in Saudi chillis are very expensive. So instead they serve us with chilli sauce. Who eats rice with chilli sauce. Not me. Oh and they have jumbo size eggs and that was my first egg after 2 weeks of being here. Did the usual stuff before praying and then after zohor it was  the day of Arafah. This is where Allah is the closest to us and we pray and ask what we want. I hope all of what I ask come true. I would really love that. After 6 they announced that it is time to move to Muazalifah and stay there for a while until 11:45pm. We were bus 24 so it took them forever to come. We finally made the bus at around 9:20pm. My last meal dinner was at 6 and that was going to be a while since i eaten anything. Came to muadzalifah and just sat there. Some people gather pebbles because these pebbles are going to be used to throw against the wall tomorrow. So while we were waiting I talked to some friends. Wife wasn’t feeling to good due to the heat. I manage to get some sleep for a couple minutes. Suddenly wife was complaining that she is having trouble breathing. At first she didn’t want me to get help but after I saw here gasping for air I rush to find help in a sea of 14000 people. I found the person in charge and told them of the situation. They immediately say that my wife needs to be transport ASAP and I need to carry all bags by myself. We rushed to the bus with the medical stuff since it was going to leave soon and then wife started vomiting before entering the bus. Everyone and me was in a state of panic. They eventually get her on the bus and we made our way through. Came to the camp at Mina and she was taken to the clinic. I took our bags and find our places to stay. I stayed at J053 which is close to the exit but near to the mosque. While she is at D056. The distance from us is quite far from each other but I can walk. In my camp my area there were no beds expect for one. I claim that bed as my own and went to proceed and complain to the people in charge to get beds for my friends. But it didn’t happen. By the time they arrive the beds are still not there. It took them a while but eventually they got the beds. I checked up one last time at the clinic and saw my wife on her IV drip sleeping. So I head back to the tent to try to sleep only to realised that subuh is like 40 minutes away. Sue for me being super tired I slept anyway. Close to subuh I hear the call to prayer and had to queue super far to get ablution and then pray at the mosque which is just next door to the camp which is good. Came back to the camp and start to sleep… I’ll continue day 2 later  

Day 15: Journey to Arafah

I’m sleepy but I want to write this before I go to sleep. Wake up as usual and by 10am we are in our ihram to go down the lift. Due to wife bringing her wheelchair, we get to go down early. They gave us a very fancy bus. Alhamdulilah. The journey was fast. Only 45 minutes. We got to our camp. After segregation of the men and woman. We get to our tent. Unfortunately someone took our spot which was close to the Aircond so we had to just bunk wherever we can. I manage to still sleep beside one of my roommates so I’m thankful. But to make matters worse the Aircond in our text was not working so we were all sweating and baking in our own heat. After solat the group decide to go find another place outside the shade to rest since it’s colder out there. I went in search of water. I found some but it was scares. It keeps on finishing due to a lot of people are thirsty. I manage to find some and share it with my group. I slept on the chair outside because I was too tired. After that I decided it’s time to go inside. When we came inside there were water fans so that cool the tent a bit. Even though not much. We had dinner which was great and then solat. We hear some sermon from the imam and then I continue to read some Quran. Tomorrow is the day of wuquf. So it will start our first day of Hajj. Wife is not doing so great. She is crying at her tent. I don’t think she can take the heat and the cramp space. I’m sad but I ask her to be patient. Goodnight 

Day 14: I’m sick

Today I didn’t go out of the hotel. Just stay inside and just contemplating on going. And also I have a runny nose which sucks but Alhamdulillah is not a sore throat and cough. My nose was dripping and good thing I was wearing a mask. Had dinner with some friends and then they offered me extra food. At Maghrib we did a tahlil to blessed our journey tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Oh and my wife is positive covid but there is nothing much we can do about that. 

Day 13: Busy packing

Today after doing the laundry as always I went and did some packing for the day we are leaving which is on Day 15. Other than that the day is mostly just praying and reading Quran and mostly just hanging out. I have nothing much to talk about because nothing much happens in the half of the day. I can probably talk about my housemates. I am with my uncle and his son. They are a private bunch and I really don’t talk to them that much only the occasional topic. The other 3 roommates are in a group together. They use to be teachers and now 2/3 works in admin while the other one is a principle in a school. I like him. I talk a lot with him. He has a lot of stories to tell which makes the room less quiet. Other than that I made friends everytime I have lunch alone outside. Got a couple of numbers. So far 3 but all of them are very friendly. So that’s about it I guess before the big day. Nothing much to do but just take it easy and pray everything will be smooth sailing. Insya allah 

Day 12: What a busy day

Wake up early by my housemates so I head to the surau to pray. After that went down to do some shopping and get some breakfast. Slept again until 8 and then during Zohor. I met a new friend who invited me to go pray at a mosque nearby. It was a mosque that is run by Bangladeshi. After that I waited for him to come out and we saw someone peddling arabic watermelon. Looks good but too bad we don’t have a knife. Came back and took a short nap and then asar at the surau again. In the evening at 9pm there is going to be a briefing on the Hajj day itself that is compulsory to attend. So dinner which was fish again was okay but I’ve been eating alone at the back of the room. I made friends with another couple whom were eating pizza. They offered me two slices of it. We exchange phone numbers as well. After maghrib and isyak on my own floor we went down to hear the briefing. The briefing was 2+ hours long and there were a lot of things that we know. Like there is going to be busses taking us systematically from the hotel to Arafah. The distance to throwing is 9.5km and I can’t bring my wife wheelchair. The good news is that she can appoint me to throw on behalf of her. So that’s something. Came back to the room had a shower and did some laundry. So it’s midnight now and I need to get a couple hours of sleep before subuh. 

Day 11: Lazy Sunday

What do I do when I’m doing nothing at all. Besides prayers and reading the Quran. Did washing. Wife is super sick so she not leaving her room. So I’ve been having lunch and dinner all by myself. The only notable thing that happen yesterday was I tried some briyani rice for dinner since wife didn’t feel like eating fish. That’s probably it 

Day 10: Went to the Mall

Morning routine as usual. Had breakfast and just hang out until prayer time. Wife is still sick and she has been isolating herself in her room. So I’ve been having my meals alone at the hallway with any couples who were already there. It’s okay since I’m super friendly it’s easy for me to make friends. After zohor there was a sermon about what to prepare on the day of Hajj. Apparently it’s a lot of things you need to do before during and after in order to get Hajj Mabrur. Seems easy and yet hard at the same time. So after evening prayer wife gave me a list of things to get at the mall (which is located 900m away). I plan to leave after isyak but I manage to get a couple of new friends to join me. It was just one person and after that he brought his brothers as well. When we went out it was a sea of pilgrims (mostly from Africa) walking the opposite directions. Think the Lion King scene but with a lot of humans. We manage to navigate our way and reach the mall. I ask the boys to go shop on their own while I went to get the list. It turns out that cloves are not a Saudi thing I guess. No one seems to carry this. I got stopped by a couple of beggars which I refuse to give money since they have stopped me one before the previous day.  We came back close to around 10:30. I did the laundry and took a shower and went to bed. Overall it was a good day as usual. It’s always good days. Ameen 

Day 9: Last one standing

Today is Friday so that means it’s Friday prayers at the Haram Mosque. After breakfast me and a couple of roommates make our way to the mosque at 9:30am. There was already a large crowd going the same direction as us. When we arrive there we decided to go to the new building. The main entrance to the new building was block so they diverted us to the back entrance. We manage to find a nice cold place to sit at the walkway. The wait was long but we occupy the time by reading Quran and just hanging out. We found out by the others in our WhatsApp group that by 10:45am the whole mosque was blocked off. No one can enter and most of them had to pray on the streets in the hot sun. After prayers we make our way back home (being a bit loss) and then I proceed to have some lunch. We have the menu already so now we know what they are serving. Today lunch was biriyani rice and veggies while dinner was squid with veggies. My whole group that I went with is sick. The wife have a fever. The other family all are coughing and are not feeling great. I am quite worried but there is nothing much I can do about it. Just pray that I won’t get sick before the big day which is in less that 5 days. Insya allah. 

Day 8: Made some new friends

Well the morning routine now starts with washing. Manage to call my best friend even with the time difference. After that during breakfast time we were join by another couple. Me being the friendly as I ever at got to chatting and got his number. After that we down with wife for some shopping. Had some chicken and rice for lunch and most of the day was just hanging out until it was after Asar and it was time to go to the mosque. This time we didn’t bring our own wheelchair instead we just borrowed from the office. While I was pushing her to the streets a couple of people offered to take my place when they see me so sweaty and tried. Alhamdulilah since every help is welcome. We now love to go to the extension since it’s a newer building and there are always seats. At in front of my time there was another person I ended up talking to and got his number. He was very passionate about home automation which I find interesting. The key for a good first impression is always look like you are interested even though you have no clue what are they talking about. After isyak we went out and tried to find the way to the Kaabah. We finally found it and did our prayers there. The journey home was a slow one. Because I am super tired but we manage too low through. We bought some food from the chicken place near our hotel and had dinner. When I arrive to my room everyone was already sleeping. I did some laundry and then clean myself up before retiring after midnight. 

Day 7: Wheelchair bound

Today in the morning it was just the normal routine. Went to pray. Have breakfast and then just wait until the evening. In the evening the wife decided to go the mosque via the wheelchair we brought from home. So I was tasked to push her with the wheelchair. The pros and cons of pushing a wheelchair in the streets. The pros is that we can go faster than walking. She has access to wheelchair bound areas at the mosque. The cons are that to get the wheelchair down from the 10th floor takes ages due to the lift always being full. Inclines are not my friend. I can’t push her if it goes to a 45 degree incline. But I try anyway. Lastly is potholes. You really need to be aware of potholes when navigating the streets. We took a new way to the mosque. Via the tunnel network. It goes through the city and it’s in the shade to that’s good. We stayed till isyak as usual and then got some fried chicken on our way home. Not matter how much we tried we always we come back close to 10:30-11 by the time we are done we everything. We had dinner as a family of 6 in the girls rooms. Their roommate was not yet home. My aunt son is coughing so badly (he is negative for covid) that the in house doctor ask him to stay indoors for 5 days before the big day. 

Things that happen in June

Family 

Dad in law stayed (Jun 4)

H2 has high fever (Jun 9)

In laws are staying over (Jun 15) 

Family visit to say farewell (Jun 18)

Friends

Friend came and hang out with us (Jun 11)

Me

Memorable moments 

Met my best friend (June 8)

Going to Hajj (jun 23)

Unmemorable moments 

Feelings 

The closer I get to go. The more scared and excited I feel (Jun 14) 

Other

 

Meets 

Met my best friend and helping them recycle (Jun 1)

Dad in law (Jun 4)

Mom in law (Jun 5)

My best friend (Jun 8)

Wife best friend (Jun 11)

Father in law, step mom in law, brother in law (Jun 15)

Wife best friend (Jun 18)

Brother and sister in law family (Jun 19)

Tuna sandwich (Jun 28)

Sandwich (Jun 29)

Pastries (Jun 30) 

Breakfast 

Leftover rice (Jun 1) 

Bread (Jun 2)

Mee hoon (Jun 3)

Bread (Jun 4)

Muffin (Jun 7)

Nasi kerabu (Jun 8) 

Pie and curry puff (Jun 9)

Bread (Jun 10)

Bread (Jun 13)

Bread (Jun 17)

Roti canai (Jun 19)

Nasi goreng (Jun 22)

Noodles (Jun 23)

Nasi lemak (Jun 25)

Tuna sandwich (Jun 28)

Fish and veggies (Jun 29)

Chicken with rice and veggies (Jun 30)

Lunch

Ramen (Jun 1) 

Lauk kampung (Jun 2)

Curry mee (Jun 3)

Rice (Jun 4)

Nasi lemak (Jun 5)

Thai food (Jun 6)

Salmon curry (Jun 7)

Ramen (Jun 8)

Fried chicken and rice (Jun 9)

Homst (Jun 10)

Chicken chop (Jun 11)

Korean food (Jun 12) 

Mixed rice (Jun 13)

Chicken and mashed potatoes (Jun 14) 

Pizza (Jun 15) 

Nasi lemak (Jun 16)

Mcd (Jun 17) 

Buttermilk chicken burger (Jun 18)

Leftovers (Jun 19)

Sushi (Jun 21)

Nasi lemak (Jun 22)

Chicken rice and fish curry (June 23)

Rice with curry chicken and veggies (Jun 24)

Fish rice and veggies (Jun 25)

Beef with veggies rice (Jun 26)

Roast chicken and veggies with rice (Jun 27)

Beef with veggies and rice (Jun 28)

Beef with veggies and fried chicken (Jun 29)

Squid with rice and veggies and a chicken wrap (Jun 30) 

Dinner 

Leftover (Jun 2)

Burger (Jun 4)

Noodles (Jun 5)

Rice and curry (Jun 8)

Instant noodles (Jun 12) 

Mee rebus (Jun 13)

Leftovers( Jun 14) 

Homst (Jun 15) 

Leftovers (Jun 16)

Masak lemak pasta (Jun 17)

Chicken curry with rice (Jun 18)

Leftovers (Jun 19)

Nasi ayam (jun 20) 

Mee Tarik and satay (Jun 21)  

Masak lemak, duck egg (Jun 22)

Nasi arab (Jun 23)

Rice with beef and beans (Jun 24)

Fried chicken, curry chicken with spicy eggplant(Jun 25)

Chicken and veggies with rice (Jun 26)

Fish with rice (Jun 27)

Squid with rice (Jun 28) 

Snack 

Cake (Jun 1) 

Tea (Jun 11)

Mango juice (Jun 25)

Chicken fajita sandwich (Jun 27)

Eat out: 

Groceries: 

Fuel: 4

Weight: 

             

New Stuff 

Mophie powerstation plus with built in lightning cable (Jun 15) 

Series 

Last week tonight S4 (Love John Oliver. Nuff said) 

Batwoman S3 (a short as it is it has a satisfying ending. Too bad it got cancelled)

How I Met Your Father (It’s like the Mother version only the characters are way nicer)