enough said....: THE JOURNEY

First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to visit the Holy City of Mecca and Medina and witnessed the greatness of Him intimately,privately and extensively, without any barriers. And to my hubby who supported me all the way without any hesitations. Also, my mum and dad who led me the way with their kind gestures and enthusiasm and my mother in law who had been so understanding throughout the journey. I'm was so blessed to be able to perform the Umrah, (though only managed to do basic rituals) with this group of people who showed me the true meaning of patience and preserverence.

My gratitude also goes to my sisters Ma, who had sacrificed her semester break to take care of the house and my kids; Zura who came to the hotel with home-cooked dinner although she's already in her 2nd trimester pregnancy; Wa who had been taking care of mak and abah since coming back from Umrah, all my sporting and caring brother-in-laws and Miza and rozi, my brother-in-laws' wife who also took great care of the emotional needs of my kids. But one person who has helped to make this journey possible is my 'banker'@sister@ADIK@Nor Anita bt Mohd Nordin who is now resting at home after having a 'secret' surgery on one of her knees and she's on cain. She's been an angel to me and I regret I could not help her with anything(but I bought you a sejadah...) at this critical moment.

So, after having weeks of whirlwind pre-umrah period, finally, my husband parents, mother-in-law and I were all set to go to Medina first. And the chaos did not stop at the airport. It moved along with other matters that somehow tested my patience and wisdom. There were so many things that went wrong and unorganised. We didn't get the wheel chair that we requested for, no name tags,and we found out that we were going to sit separately in the airplane!

But God is great! After the plane took off, I managed to arrange and exchange good seats with other passengers on board for my parent. Therefore, I sat next to my mother and father. My hubby got to sit with his mother but later on I found out that the seats were not that comfortable. Well, I thought they wanted to sit together.....

The journey took nearly 8 hours and to our surprised, the Saudi plane stopped at Riyadh without our knowledge. How I wish I was on MAS instead...But I know God was testing me. The condition of the plane was not as good as the condition of other planes that I had boarded before. I had lights above my head which kept switching on and off automatically. So, I kept on waking up throughout the journey. The steward and stewardess were not very friendly and helpful. I had to help my father who had severe knee pains to the toilet twice because one of them ignored my request. The problem was that I was sitting in the middle seat. So, It's quite difficult for me to move out of my place...

Soon, after the very long and tired journey, we landed at the Jeddah airport at night and another 4-5 hours more to go before we could reach Medina. And that is another story to tell....