The calling to Mecca has finally came to me....
It all began when my spouse and myself were watching one of the tv series somewhere in July. Can't recalled which program it was really but I think it was called Romantika, where it shows celebrity couples having their holiday at certain location. There were this couple which had their holidays in Mecca and Medina. It showed where they went, what they did and at almost at the end of the show the husband brought her wife for dinner at a hotel overseeing Ka'abah...wow that was really romantic I say...
Well to cut the story short, we saw that the tour was organized by Ibtisam Tour & Travel and quickly took their contact down. It was not until somewhere in August when we decided to 'pasang niat' as we had some sales proceeds coming in....
My wife did some calls to few Tour agencies for Umrah Tour and we decide to pick Ibtisam Tour & Travel as our agent mainly because they normally went on small groups (not more than 30 pax) and also other agents could't cater for our dates and budget
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| Ibtisam Travel & Tour |
We paid some deposit as our booking and need to pay the balance within two weeks. Besides the payment we need to also prepare the following in order for them to apply for Umrah Visa from Saudi Arabia embassy:
- injection (Saudi Arabia government requirement)
- 8 passport size photos
- Valid passport (expiry date must not be less than 6 months from the travelling date)
As we had no prior experience performing the Umrah, I did some research through readings, internet browsing and got feedbacks and tips from friends and colleagues.
These are few things which I prepared before the trip.
- Make a itinerary and check-list (this is normal activity for me on any trip)
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| Checklsit |
- Prepare ourselves mentally and physically before the trip.
Its advisable before the trip to ensure that I repent from all the sins I have committed, settled whatever debts where possible, make peace to everyone by asking for forgiveness and not forgetting to perform all that is required by Islam teaching.
Before the trip I also did some physical training by running around Shah Alam for an average of 10km per week. - Buying basic necessities items to perform Umrah i.e. kain Ihram, Ihram belt, white t-shirts, jubah (2 would be sufficient), slippers, Saudi currency and some light snacks and not forgetting the ever reliable 2 minute Maggi mee hehehehe
On 29th November, we attended Ibtisam official Umrah briefing and training which was held for one full day at SK Bandar Baru Selayang. The briefing was conducted by Uztaz Anuar which was the son of Ibtisam founder, Ustaz Hassan Mahmud. BTW, he will be our Mutawwif (Mutawwif is a person who is known as a hajj guide) for the tour.
There were about 35 of us with some came with their relatives and siblings to accompany. We gathered at the school canteen and then proceed to the hall for the briefing.
Before the start of the briefing, Ibtisam provided us with few basic items for us to bring along during the Umrah. They were as follows :
- Umrah & Ziarah guidebook
- Medium size pouch
- Hand luggage bag
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| Umrah & Haji guidebook |
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| Pouch & carrying bag |
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| Luggage bag |
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| Participants waiting before the briefing |
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| Ustaz Anwar sharing his thoughts and experiences |
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| This is how you wear the kain Ihram taw..... |
Next is the practical session outside the morning sun...panas taw...but according to Ustaz Anwar its just about the same as the weather in Mecca now
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| This is how its done..walk clockwise |
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| A mock up of the Ka'abah was also erected for the participants to get mood and environment later |
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| Any questions? Amboi macam garang aje...Tapi Ustaz ni memang friendly and love to share his experiences
Well the briefing ended earlier than expected and we had light brunch at the canteen sponsored by Ibtisam...
Then the waiting game began....we have to submit all our documents (passport & injection record) to Ibtisam for them to apply visa from Saudi government on our behalf. The problem is the Visa application is still closed and was informed that nowadays its only open 1 or 2 weeks from date of travel.
In the meantime, my office did a nice gesture by organizing a tahlil and doa selamat. There were 4 of us who will be performing the Umrah at almost the same time. One officemate used Tiram Travel and the other 2 hired Andalusia as their travel agent.
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Well that's about all for my preparation and some sharing information.......dah ngantuk ni...nanti sambung lagi lah ek???
Owhh..last before this post, just to share that if you notice on my blog travel checklist, after my completion of this trip to Mekah and Madinah, I almost completed visting all the places on my wishlist....
Waiting in line, Nepal, New Zealand & part of China.....sempatkah??? InsyaAllah kalau ada rezeki kan...
to be continued......
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