Showing posts with label travelogue. Show all posts

Europe trip

We are embarking on an 8-day trip this Thursday insyaAllah, and our complete little family is in! I hope everything will go well and the trip shall become one of the ways to tighten our ukhuwah and strengthen the love amongst us.

We got the news about the trip offer about a month ago when my husband was personally texted by the Acer's staff telling that there's a trip coming up as a gift for him. I was excited to know where to that trip was going to be, until later we discovered it was a short trip to Europe. We planned to extrapolate the trip by visiting our much-missed Ireland as we do have some particulars to sort out over there. The plan was made, flights were figured out- pricey. KIV. Then I thought why not instead of just us two, we bring Maryam along as I believe she has become a well-behaved girl at this stage and I am confident that we will be able to manage her needs, together. What sort of excitement will that be in Europe without her by our side- incomplete.

Then it happened that according to the Acer's schedule we will touch down on the 22nd of May which marks Maryam's 2nd birthday. If we were to extend the trip by paying extra for our Ireland visit it will mean that we will arrive in Malaysia well after Maryam hits 2 years old. And that means she is no longer considered an infant. The amount we need to put in therefore hops up from just an addition of RM350 to add one infant to RM6000 to add one toddler. Friggin' expensive.

After some careful contemplation my husband and I decided that maybe it's not the best of times to visit Ireland this time around, although our hearts beg for that. I even had contacted one of our acquaintances there letting know that we were coming hehe. Nevermind, furthermore my current 'condition' now may not permit trips of too long a duration, maybe. I pray that this is the best decision, may all go well.

Will update on the trip insyaAllah ;).

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Jakarta

[This entry isn't real-time. Recollected from the archive of my writings when i was offline.]

Alhamdulillah I have just safely got back from a 4-day trip to Jakarta, Indonesia with my family and my sister’s fiancé’s family. I was not planning to join in for the trip initially but I however changed my mind at the very last second, which therefore rendered me being the only person boarding Airasia aircraft when the rest boarded Malaysia Airlines, to Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.

The trip to Jakarta was very different as compared to the retreats that I had prior in the sense that we didn’t spare time to visit those memorial and historical places, I mean at all, but rather this time around the entire days were basically spent on shopping, a thing which students obviously can’t afford to do when they go traveling. The sole purpose of the trip was to look for my sister’s and her fiancé’s wedding stuff, hoping for a bigger variety of selections in a cheaper price of course.

As this entry is meant to be a travelogue, I would like to share with you readers the places that we went to and what they had in them so that if you want to go over and shop your wedding stuff too that’ll be easier for you I hope.

Pasar Senen

This went off track a bit from our aim actually. Pasar Senen was all about food and cakes. Loads and loads of both cakes and people that you couldn’t help from wanting to try everything for the former, and making physical contacts with people when you try to squeeze your body as you walk through the throng from one point to another, for the latter. They had numerous types of kuih or cake displayed on their decent tables but I noticed that after all most of the kuihs were the same ones, I mean the same variety of kuihs being sold by a lot of people. So the challenge was, where would we get the best deal? As well, heavily decorated iced cakes (this time literally ‘cakes’) were put on show there. I was wondering how could the sellers not be worried if those colourful wedding (I suppose) cakes happen to be knocked down to the floor by clumsy people passing by in such a congested area, which I actually deemed had a high probability. Or possibly some nasty fingers might not be able to resist their strong temptations to have a quick taste of those attractive cakes which if so would certainly ruin the cakes’ value altogether. Having described about Pasar Senen as above, I just want to make you aware that the above portrayal was what I saw at 11pm, our first destination when we first arrived in Jakarta. Imagine that lively hour- in like, a cake market?

Mangga Dua

Mangga Dua translates “Two Mangoes”. There was actually a number of things with the name Mangga Dua there. Shopping complexes, buses as such but now I’m talking about a market which is called Mangga Dua. Too early we went that the place wasn’t yet completely ready to serve its avid customers at 8.15 am. One or two shops had opened though. Mangga Dua is a good place to shop hantaran (exchange gifts) boxes, wedding cards and door gifts. If you are that perfectionist kind of person with plenty of time to squander you could of course have a tour round Mangga Dua before making your mind on buying things. However this might as well prove unrealistic given the size of the place and the fact that you sometimes can’t be sure enough if you’ve passed one particular area so you get confused far before you confuse yourself about what design of your wedding card you want to pick! My advise would be yes, have a flash look at those ‘potential’ shops about what you are looking for but avoid being too fussy about choosing. Make it quick as people are getting hungry tired, both the seller and those who accompany you.

Tanah Abang

A heaven to shop for Muslimah clothes. Make sure you’re familiar with the terms used there as Malaysian Malay language is similar but isn’t totally the same as Indonesian Malay language. Some vocabularies that might be helpful are; “Harga Pas” is final price and “Gratis” means free. I think you (if you happen to be a female) could spend one full day exploring the place without getting exhausted or food-deprived. Not sure if they have a place to perform the prayer there though, I mean if you really were to spend your whole day and night there. Tanah Abang market has an abundant sorts of garments to grab for at very reasonable prices such as the blouses, kebayas, baju kurung, jubah, headscarves, telekung and many more whatever colour and style you want, from plain to heavily embroidered.

Garuda

This is a restaurant serving Indonesian and Malaysian staple food namely the rice. The door attendants at the restaurant were very friendly welcoming us with smiles and warm greetings. As soon as we took a seat at a table, that immediate moment the foods started to be delivered continuously onto our table which stunned me in amazement about their efficiency. In a split second our table was laden with a huge variety of well-cooked vegetables, eggs, seafood, beefs, chickens (you name it) in the bowls stacked up which probably totalled up to 24 bowls altogether, not taking into account the rice bowls, desserts and a selection of fruits (served later), and our plates! I was like, “Will we get to finish all these?”. And then my mum whispered to my ears saying that we only pay for the bowls that we touch. So my mum’s strategy was to eat the same things among us, rather than champing here and there trying to gobble everything down our gullet. I found the food really scrumptious and flavoursome, just like a perfect Malaysian cooking I’d say. One thing that I liked most about the restaurant was that it had a place allocated for the customers to perform their prayers upstairs. Very handy isn’t it? The same thing applied to another restaurant that we went to, the name given was Sederhana. I was imagining wouldn’t it be brilliant if in Malaysia all restaurants also provide a prayer room for their customers, so that there’d be no excuses to not performing our obligations?

***

Talking about weddings and marriages I would like to congratulate my beloved friends who have or are about to end their single lives soon insyaAllah. I received a lot of wedding invitations one after another this summer mainly from the peeps of the same age which made me realise we were actually all grown-ups who are little girls/boys no more. I wish ye husband- and wife-to-bes the baraqah from Almighty Allah and everlasting bliss in your marriage. May this be a means for ye to synergistically enhance your verve in reintroducing and spreading the beauty of Islam to the world and may you be bestowed with beautiful kids who are the prospective mujahid and mujahidah your qurratun a’yun.

Ameen Ya Rabb!

"Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us the grace to lead the righteous."

[Al-Furqan, 25:74]

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Corofin 4

[Real name has been concealed]

“Would you mind if Sarah does the injection for you?”, asked Lisa to our patient who came in today to get his 3-monthly injection of Zoladex LA, a Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone implant for his prostate cancer.

Silence for 3 seconds.

“Did she ever do one before?” asked the patient worriedly with his notable British accent.

I was screaming ‘Nnoooo’ at the back of my throat but nothing escaped when Lisa replied “Yes, she did one before”. ‘Wh-at? I did not!’, jaw-dropped, it got me speechless.

At that moment only the 3 of us were in the room and the patient was already lying on the bed all set to receive the treatment. “Oh my God, oh my God, what am I going to do?” I panicked in my own skin.

5 mins prior.

“Fancy a subcutaneous injection today?”, asked Lisa.

“Err maybe no, I did one on the mannequin before but never did it on a real person”, I replied.

“Oh okay”

And it was actually just the normal liquid injection that I performed before.

***

“Have a look at the instructions, pet”, said Lisa as she handed me the back of the injection package where the instructions were written. My hands were stone cold and nearly trembled as I ran through the sentences.

‘I’m reading this thing only seconds before the procedure? What sort of a risk am I taking? This is a lifetime’s risk!’ Then only I remembered that I actually never even did a subcutaneous injection on a mannequin. ‘It was intramuscular! What?’

‘Oh my God, oh my God what am I going to do now?’.

‘I cannot just leave it like that. This is your chance Sarah, when else you think you are ever going to be given the trust to perform such an important procedure?’.

The other side of my brain shouted back;

‘But I seriously never did this before, N-E-V-E-R! No joke. And what more this isn’t that typical injection, this is an implant in a pre-filled syringe. Once used, gone!’

Only if I could emulate what I felt at that time with a painting on a canvas, I believe there’d only be jumbled doodles all over with absolutely nothing to decipher. I was stuck between desire and practicality.

I made a quick run-through of the steps but couldn’t understand much due to the burning fright inside. I tried it again but simply couldn’t absorb anything at this peak moment.

Should I get my feet ready to flee from this treatment room, from this medical centre to where, maybe to the Cliffs of Moher not far away from here? I’ve no guts to do this. Should I just give up?

[to be cont'd]

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Corofin 3

That wasn’t my first time drawing blood from a patient.

[Real name has been concealed]

“Ok Mr O’Sullivan my name is Lisa the practice nurse and this is Sarah a practical doctor from Galway. Would you mind if she took the blood off you today?”, said Lisa with that strong yet soft northern accent.

“Oh yes I don’t”

So I shook his hand and smiled as I always did.

“Sarah, the wife of Abraham”- Mr O’S

“Ya you’re right”- Me

“She was 94 when she got Isaac” - Mr O’S

“Oh I’m not sure of the age” –Me

“That’s very old, how would that be possible?”- Lisa

So I drew the blood off his arm while having these 2 things lingering on my mind:

* At least there’s someone in Ireland who knows the history of his religion [Islam and Christianity came from the same root]. At least there’s someone in Ireland who reads his religion’s book. [That I ever met]

* No matter what age we are if He wants to shower us with His bounties, He will.

"Then We gave her good tidings of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob. She said, "Woe to me! [An expression of surprise and amazement]. Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing!" They said, "Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy and Honorable.""
[Hud, 11:71-73]

And alhamdulillah it was quite easy obtaining blood from his arm despite him saying that the nurse on maternity leave used to have problems finding his veins. I’m not that good either but just put on that confident face, say bismillah [in the name of God], use your knowledge, and prick! Just hope that you’re not hitting the tendon or artery now. Gotta admit we’re always on the edge.

“We’re nearly there, one more to go”

A few seconds passed.

“So we’re done now, pet”-Lisa

“Was it more painful compared to the one you had last time?”- Me

“Oh no, no” –Mr O’S

“She’s very good isn’t she?” -Lisa

“So you always take people’s blood do you?” -Mr O’S

“Ya, ya, that’s what we do. We’re vampires” –Lisa

And we all burst into laughter as I popped on the band aid on the prick spot.

Fergus View
Corofin, Co. Clare

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Corofin 1

As I’m writing this I’m down in Corofin, Clare in one of the rooms of a farmhouse called Fergus View which I’ll be staying for the next 6 days or so. Sitting on my chiropractic bed facing the window overlooking the breathtaking view of County Clare is certainly a bounty from God, a blessing that I’d never thought would ever take place as I round the bends of my life.

"Have they not seen that We drive the water [in clouds] to barren land and bring forth thereby crops from which their livestock eat and [they] themselves? Then do they not see?"
[as-Sajdah, 32:27]

Yesterday was a very bright and sunny day that I found myself lucky enough to have brought along my shades in my already-exploding suitcase. I made it to Ennis Bus Station in the afternoon and inadvertently missed the bus to Corofin as a result of long chats with a middle-aged lady and later, an old chap. Didn’t know how did that happen though, only realized that the bus was gone when the time on my phone passed 3 o’clock, the time in which I should have boarded the bus. What a pity and huge disappointment. Perhaps I was too complaisant seeing a row of taxis by the roadside waiting for passengers which would be my back-ups if I miss the bus and guess what, I did miss the bus.

Corofin Medical Centre is a humble building located at the heart of Corofin. Surprisingly the taxi driver whose taxi I was in didn’t know where the place was that he had to ask his friend and a pedestrian to get the direction to drive over to the medical centre. Obvious message of how remote the place was.

I was supposed to be with Dr Fergus Glynn for the 8-day attachment in Corofin but as he is away to everywhere at the moment another lovely doctor takes over i.e Dr Mary O’Brien. She’s an extremely nice lady who is cheerful all the time, with a smile that hardly fades from her face- a quality which I believe is not easy to be found in someone whose everyday job is always on the ball. She keeps the practice alive and as far as the 2 days I’ve been attached to her not a second I felt uneasy or humiliated or the ‘when-can-I-leave-this-place’ feeling but instead every moment had been fulfilled with fun and knowledge. All praises be to God.

Fergus View

Corofin, Co. Clare

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London

I just arrived in Galway yesterday morning after spending more than a weekend in the city that never sleeps, London. The story was that I planned to attend an event organized by the Malaysian Students Department, London entitled "Seminar of Islamic Leadership" over the last weekend. The name had been given and was looking forward to the seemingly grand event but suddenly the department deferred the seminar to a yet-to-be-announced date at a very late notice, where at that time my friend and I had bought the flight tickets already. After having some thorough discussion with my friend, we decided not to waste away the money that we've paid to the Ryanair so that was how we ended up in London for about3 days or so.

Honestly London weather was extremely hot that it tanned the skin and kept us sweating all day. Sweater and cardigan were definitely a no-no, instead their places were taken by shades and a bottle of still water, the latter to keep us well hydrated of course. It was an inch away from Malaysian climate I suppose and the air was even drier than Galway air, isn't this what we call SUMMER?

We managed to stroll across London quite deep down to the depths of it. The three days had us completely jaded at the end of every single walk that we always yearned for nothing as we got home except for some rest and slumber... and food too apparently ;).

Intertwined London tubes

The Saturday and Sunday didn't give us any better chance as the Jubilee line was closed on both days so we had to ingeniously find alternative routes and pay attention to the announcements and transportation updates. In spite of this I thought the London transport system deserves a kudos for being able to have everything carefully plotted. The alternative buses provided in place of the not-on-duty tube were very helpful even though we had to walk an extra mile and squeeze our brain hard in order to figure out where to go and which bus were we meant to take. Navigation and map-reading skills progressively developed over that course of time surely ;).

We allotted the Friday for shopping but I ended up getting nothing for myself off the streets. Ya the stinginess and fussiness that once grew in my flesh were just difficult to peel off now hehe. Next we went to Greenwich intending to have a gawk at the imperative line that I once heard the name of in Geography classes; which draws vertically across the globe- the Greenwich Meridian. However the ad hoc plan gave us a rough outcome- the place was closing when we got there. The long walk in the park to reach the line seemed endless that we agreed not to press on but changed our route to the London Central Mosque instead.

London Central Mosque, Regent's Street

The London Central Mosque wasn't the most beautiful mosque in the world but I was completely delighted and thankful that I just realized there it happened to be my first time in the year performing a prayer in a mosque, how pathetic! Furthermore the moment we got lost in the hectic London traffic trying to find our way to the place we incidentally ran into a Portuguese lady who works in London and was also heading to the same place. Alhamdulillah, what more could I wish for then?

Blooming flowers

Cotswold saw us the next day appreciating the beauty of London countryside in the London suburb. Now I knew that there was also a nature side of London that could be found somewhere within its borders, and the small Cotswold might be enough if we want to take a small break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Following that in the afternoon we paid a good sum of money to go in to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium in London. Once in a lifetime admission would suffice I think given the jaw-dropping ticket price, as what in there were those weird stuff and some videos like what we would watch on its tv programme as well as some games like mirror maze which were not too bad really.

On the subsequent day I stepped my feet for the first time in the largest Carboot sale of London, first time ever at a carboot sale actually. The business is very straightforward, bring out what you've got to offer [off your carboot of course], set a price and simply put them on display. It could be anything at all from gleaming trinkets to potteries to a scooter! The setting reminded me to the morning market or Pasar Tani that I used to go with my mum every Friday back in Malaysia. Oh memories! Anyhow of all the cheap items offered, all I got was the Advanced Banter Book of Quotations at the price of 1 pound when the initial proposed price was 14.99 pounds. Others who went along with me got themselves wall decorations, board games, books, jewelry box etc, fine!

In the afternoon without delay we headed over to the Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds & The Mirror of Time exhibition in London that once took place in Dublin. If in Ripley's Odditorium we were allowed to take as many photos as we wished, this exhibition went totally the other way around. No cameras, no foods and beverages, no touching, no everything! [This photo on the right was taken from the link that I put- A man holding up his skin].

Anyhow it was a stunning work I have to say really. The job was so delicately done that he sliced up each layer of real human bodies very carefully to preserve every single part, and it was indeed a huge success. For example there was this one plastinate of a man riding a horse; the man was cut into 3 layers making it looked like sort of three men on the horse; the first man was the one with the skin, the second man was made up of the muscles and the third man was made up of the bones. To make an extra effect even the horse was beautifully dissected exposing its muscles and the horse-rider was holding his brain on one hand and a hockey stick on the other. And they're real human [and horse, I think] body[s]. Impressive! I can't say more to explain how great the work was as you'll only be able to admit it if you saw it with your own naked eyes.

The funny [or annoying? Nope, lol] part was that I was asked not once but twice about my age. On the second time the guard in the room politely asked for my ID to prove that I'm above the approved age i.e 16 as he said I looked so young lol. The reason for this was because there was this one part of the exhibition showing the human reproductive organs which was indeed very frank and overt. No need to explain this further but it was quite disturbing seeing some plastinates with improper acts being displayed. Not really improper as in improper but maybe we don't need to be too honest in sending the message? I don't know.

Seeing how brilliant the dissection work was done sparked in me how skillful Gunther von Hagens is. Yet again that brought me to how remarkable the human body is and so how Magnificent God is. Subhanallah.

"And on the earth are the signs for the certain [in faith] and in yourselves. Then will you not see?"
[Adh-Dhariyat, 51:20-21]

The more we look into ourselves the more we realize how great God's creations are thus how Great He The Creator is.

And so I shall end my travelogue here.

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Buon giorno!

[This entry has been outfitted with relevant links for further clarifications. Pardon my technical vocab.]

"Calling for medical doctors, if there's any medical doctor on the aircraft please report yourself to the cabin crew. Thank you."

A couple of minutes passed.

"We are calling for medical doctors on the aircraft, please report yourselves to the cabin crew. Thank you".

My friends and I were scattered on the Ryanair plane thus didn't get to sit next to each other. Upon hearing the announcement we instantly looked at each other with a question mark on our faces wondering what was on about with the calls. All shrugged the shoulders in curiosity. Also whispers began to rise among the passengers who were so intrigued to know what's the matter.

At the Dublin Airport

This incident took place last 2 years during winter where we were on board for a flight from Dublin, Ireland to Venice, Italy. The four of us took two separate buses from Galway at the midnight prior and arrived in the Dublin Airport in the wee hours. So no doubt we were completely sleep-deprived and knackered. The only thing listed in my mind while waiting for the check-in counter to open was that as soon as I stepped my feet into the plane I would straight away perform the Fajr prayer and then doze off!

"Excuse me, can I ask why did they call out for doctors?" My friend who was a final year medical student at that time stopped a steward who was passing by along the aisle, to end the crave for information that nested in our chests.

"Well, there's a patient with tachycardia on the front seat there", his forefinger pointed to a direction to show where the poor patient was seated.

"Oh I see", she responded while everyone else who was also putting on their ears nodded in comprehension.

It felt much better that at least now we knew what was happening in the plane but something that I would like to point out here is that I was totally impressed with the use of 'tachycardia' by the steward. The term is actually very technical but he used it so naturally that I thought 'oh ya the people here are relatively used to using medical jargons in their daily conversation despite having no medical background'. Impressive, impressive.

With my shallow knowledge in medicine at that time I began to make my own hypotheses using my own algorithm. Uhm tachycardia doesn't necessarily imply a very serious event, it could happen in any situation. Even sitting for an exam can cause increased heart rate! ;) Therefore it's highly imperative for doctors to have a peek at a patient's full history and clinical presentations before anything else to avoid making a hasty conclusion. Investigations and managements should follow consequently but in a mere aircraft, what investigation tool can we expect?

"Should I go?" My final med friend nudged my arm for an opinion.

"Err ya of course. There seemed to be no medical doctors in the plane so why not, go ahead and see what ye can do!" Among the four of us, two were final meds and the other two including me were second meds.

So off they went to the front trying to lend a hand just if they could be of any help. I was like, wasn't that grand, I wished I was a doctor already ;). Soon insyaAllah. And then I went to perform the ablution to get ready for the Fajr prayer.

I managed to snooze in my seat for quite a while and as I woke up I saw that the girls' seats were still vacant. So I stood up and caught the sight of the two girls in the forefront. They're like doctors already, I monologued with a smile. I then sat back on the armchair and turned my head to the window to appreciate the view outside along the journey.

The scenery was absolutely marvelous! With the discrete layers of fluffy clouds which would definitely look like the sticky-sweet candy floss if drawn together, plus the neatly arranged dwellings which appeared very teensy and even much smaller than the house and hotel miniatures that we use to connote our properties when playing the board game Monopoly. Imagine we ourselves in the houses, how insignificant we were in the eyes of The Creator!

The extraordinary panorama that differed this flight with the previous flights that I had boarded was the flawless white snow coating the mighty Alps just like the confectioner's sugar frosting icing the top of a hot, freshly baked cinnamon roll. [Some exaggerations here- anyhow why are my illustrations all food-based I wonder ;)]. But ya, it was stunningly beautiful. Looking up on the internet I just picked up on the fact that the mountains of Alps actually stretch from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; while to France in the west. How incredible are God's creations! Subhanallah.

"And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers and of every kind of fruits He made Zawjain Ithnain [two in pairs- may mean two kinds or it may mean: of two varieties, e.g. black and white, sweet and sour, small and big]. He brings the night as a cover over the day. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat [proofs, evidences, lessons, signs] for the people who understand."
[Ar-Ra'd, 13:3]

While I was diligently contemplating the breathtaking view outside, my attention was shattered by another announcement;

"Attention to all passengers, we're arriving in the Venice Treviso Airport shortly. We would like to remind the passengers to put on the seatbelts and...."

Beautiful Venice

So there we were, the plane finally touched down the land of the Byzantine Empire gracefully. The four of us only got back together at the baggage collection area. As we lined up at the immigration counter to get our passports stamped, a middle-aged bloke who was on the same plane as we were greeted our two final med heroes, "Life savers!".

We just chuckled and smiled. Proud of ye, girls! ;)

Later on our friends came to unfold the details of the story on what actually happened at the front seats. Apparently the tachycardic lady already had a preexisting disease, hypertension I think [forgot it at the moment]. So when suddenly her heart began to beat very quickly that situation alarmed her companion whom then sought the cabin crew's attention just to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Sometimes, or perhaps most of the time we have to be careful not to take patients' complaints as they are. As not everyone uses the term 'tachycardia' in the correct context so it could plainly mean that it's just that the heart itself suddenly beats faster than usual or it could also suggest palpitations which could be life-threatening if it involves fatal arrhythmias. So now maybe airline companies should consider equipping their aircraft with ECG device then? Hehe ;)

The most interesting part of the story was that the girls were kept at the front seats while 'paying attention' at the lady's progress. So they were given exclusive treatment by the cabin crew- a cup of hot drink each plus the wide and comfy front seats! And even one of the girls got the chance to enter the cockpit to speak to the pilot or co-pilot [I wasn't so sure but I believed of course it wasn't the one 'driving' the plane lol], just to explain what was going on and to discuss the necessity of turning back the plane; which was like, wow! How grand that was!

Anyhow the thing that they had to let go of was: SLEEP!

So that was a memorable incident we encountered en route from Dublin to Venice on the Ryanair aircraft. What a happy ending, alhamdulillah.

The End.

**********

In memory of those who lost their family members in the Air France's Airbus A330-200 Rio de Janeiro- Paris tragedy; I would like to express my heartfelt condolence to those inflicted. My best wishes are with you and may you be given the strength to endure this painful moment and poignant point in time. Whoever who lives shall die, it's us who are still alive whom have to press on with this life's journey.

"..."To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return" "
[Al-Baqarah, 2:156]

Wallahu'alam.

*some alterations were made on the storyline.

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The Long Haul [ii]

I’m now determined. I’m telling him now. I’m going to tell him now. And in the name of Allah I uttered “Sorry, I am about to perform my prayers. Just if you wonder what am I doing”. Then he promptly responded, “Oh it's fine, it's fine" while patting my right arm with his left hand. We exchanged smiles while I glanced at his wife who was leaning against the window with the Malaysian Airlines' feather-stuffed pillow under her head, eyes shut. Phew, what a relief. What a waste of time letting the pessimism engulfing my mind all along.

As I finished praying I sat back, put on the headphone once again and browsed for any interesting stuff to watch or listen to on the screen. I went to the games section to have a look if there's any other passenger online whom I could compete with in whatever board game. Clicked chess. None. Clicked another board game. None. Maybe these people in this aircraft were not interested in online games, or perhaps I got them at the wrong hour. I was busy getting myself used to the remote when I suddenly noticed the man next to me bending forward looking at me with gestures as if he wanted to tell or ask me something.

I quickly took the headphone off my head and voiced, "Sorry?" He curiously asked; "You pray seven times a day is it?". I was surprised to hear that, never heard such a thing before. Now that while I'm typing this I tried to recall the Isra' Mikraj extraordinary story that I read in Raheeb Makhtum book [The lifetime story of Prophet Muhammad pbuh]; as Isra' Mikraj was the time when the performance of prayers a.k.a. solat was first decreed. I never come across the number seven.

Well maybe it reached this man with the faulty of the words of mouth I would say. "No, it's five times a day", I answered. "But for a long journey like this, we could combine our prayers two in one to make it easier for us", I added while grasping for ideas on how could I deliver the message in a way best understood, to make it clear that Islam doesn't and wouldn't burden its devotees.

"Are you a christian?" I questioned. "Yes, I'm a christian". "Catholic or protestant?". "Protestant, no idols", he joked. I smiled, not sure why did I do so, not quite understand his context really. He told me that he had read a little on Islam, about Prophet Abraham whom also exists in his religious belief. "Yes, our religions have a lot in common", I uttered. Actually the chat on our religions didn't last that long for the fact that I lacked awareness on Prophet Abraham in Christianity. [Can anyone out there help me with this?] So now I have to admit the importance of having the knowledge of other religions apart from mine alone, although I have no doubt with my faith. It's merely for the purpose of explaining to non-moslems since sometimes people seek to compare than to try to comprehend.

Time had elapsed and at last the touchdown announcement was heard in the air.

Not long after that Heathrow Airport saw me again on my own trying to locate which terminal should I go to in order to take my third flight to Dublin. It took me some time to discover the correct terminal for that the airport looked different from how it used to be. Was it me who forgot or was it the airport's rapid development was to be blamed? Huhu, whatever.

I went directly to the Aer Lingus check in area and checked in using the machine there. I still had to go to the counter to ask for the status of my checked in baggage. Poorly they couldn't tell about it at that moment but they assured me that with the code of the bag that I had in my hand I could later check for it's status soon.

"Do you want an earlier flight?". "No thanks". "Are you sure?". "Urm, when will the earlier flight be?". "At 6.30pm". "How long does it take for me to get to the gate?" "About 25 minutes if you go straight to the gate. Do you want to do some shopping or something?". "No". "So I think it should be ok for you". My mind was twirling, thinking of the pros and cons of both choices. Should I grab the chance, tawakal to Allah and arrive earlier in Galway [well not too early, perhaps an hour before midnight, alone!] or should I let it go, securing my checked-in baggage considering the probability of being stuck in the worst case scenario [again] thus giving way for the troublesome experience to take place [again]. Certainly, the I-don't-want-to-remember-that-day-again-'cause-it'll-make-me-sick incident was just too hurtful to remember.

"Well...?" the Aer Lingus staff looked deep into my eyes, his eyebrows raised waiting for my decision. I realized the seconds that I've stolen from him and thus...

(To be cont'd)

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Arrivederci Roma

Kosovo

Alhamdulillah my friend and I have gotten back to Galway last night safe and sound . It's good to be home really. Italy was great despite of some unforeseen circumstances that appear to happen without me expecting them. However i accept those things as a kafarah for my sins which are good to have when i'm still alive, that's what i think. Venice, Pisa, Florence and Rome in memory. Lots of things that i've learnt which make me value my life more.

I'm not in the mood of writing a travelogue but i wanna tell u about a generous man that my friend and i met last night. We arrived in Dublin Airport from Rome Ciampino Airport at around a quarter to 8 and waited for Buseireann bus in which we bought a return ticket beforehand. Outside the airport there were many other buses waiting for passengers before heading to Galway, which one of them is the red Nestor bus. As i chatted with my friend i saw a person in that Nestor bus doing some 'familiar gestures' from the corner of my eyes. Then at the very last moment only i realized that the person might be performing the prayer aka solat. I was glad to know that there was another Muslim with us in that area.

I kept on watching the man to see who actually he was until he got off the bus and came close to us. I think he somehow looks like Sami Yusuf. He greeted us with salaam and asked what were we waiting for. As i said that we were hoping to get a ride on Buseireann for home, he was pretty worried on our behalf as the bus might not come at all. He offered us a free lift (as he is the bus driver of the Nestor bus) if the Buseireann bus did not show up by 9 but he left the choice for us to decide. He wanted to give us a free ride for the sake of Allah and asked us to pray for him and his family.

As the time went by, the Buseireann bus still didn't appear itself. The temperature freezed us to the bones. Worried to have yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran, we made our mind to choose Nestor bus instead. We got onto the bus and again the generous man told us in a smile that he's helping us for the sake of Allah, and asked us to make prayers for him, his family and relatives.

The bus headed off to Galway smoothly with him chatting with the front-seated Irish passengers friendlily at times as he drove. After a while I dozed off in the bus and woke up to know that we were already in Galway city. At that time it was about 12.03 in the midnight. My friend and i got off the bus and took out our bags from the bottom part of the bus. The generous man then asked us, how are we getting home? I answered that we'll try to catch a bus or get a cab. Concerned, he offered to send us home with the Nestor express bus after I told him where i live. So we got back onto Nestor but he first went to look around in the inside of the bus just afraid if there's anybody who was still sleeping in the bus, and there was. He woke up the Irish guy who didn't notice that we were already in Galway.

On our way to my house he let us know that he's from Kosovo and had been here for 7 years. He's thinking of going back to his home country in a few years time. His wife's wearing hijjab as well as his sister etc. He was concerned about us as we are also muslims and mentioned that a cab may cost us 10 euro just to get home. He also greeted us Eid Mubarak and asked if we went to the Eid prayer two days before. Then i told him that we're actually from Italy for a holiday. I was so ashamed of myself for being in Italy during Aidiladha, i mean not with the Muslim community to perform the takbir raya and all. Actually i didn't realize that our trip falls on Aidiladha when we bought the tickets. Astaghfirullah. As an option we planned to go to a mosque in Rome if we are able to spare some time for the Raya prayer. Unfortunately we didn't get to. I feel so guilty at the bottom of my heart for leaving the prayer behind; which only comes twice a year, giving our trip the priority. This was so wrong. I'm not putting this thing at its correct position. And chatting with the generous man gave me more than a slap on my cheek for what i've done. Thanks Allah for sending me this man to make me realize how i've been making the decision insensibly.

You know Kosovo is a place where they have wars to fight for their religion, for their belief. Like this generous man, he came from a problematic country but still practice Islam with his very own heart. Not like us, or perhaps me actually. Sometimes when I am presented with a better chance I tend take the things I already have for granted. We put less value to things when we feel comfortable with it, like Islam when we were grown up with it. Think about other people who strive for their religion, where the matters being traded are between life and death. Life and death.

"And when We show favour to man, he withdraws and turns away..."

["Dan apabila Kami berikan nikmat kepada manusia, dia berpaling dan menjauhkan diri (dengan sombong)..." ]
(Fussilat, 41:51)

I express my gratitute to Allah for meeting me up with this man, who taught me to how choose my priority. InsyaAllah, i pray that next time i'll never repeat the same mistake again. May Allah bless the generous man (named Muhammad), his family, his relatives and all Muslims all over the world. Ameen.

* Please, anybody who has links or article or just anything that can help me to know more about Kosovo, please please let me know ok. I feel the obligation to know about our other Muslim friends from other parts of the world.

Read More 0 Throw A Word | Conceived by sarahyusof

Musafir..

InsyaAllah i'm off to Dublin in about an hour and my flight is scheduled to be on early tomorrow morning. Only the four of us are going together, where according to our plan we'll soon separate into pairs and meet up again in Florence, then separate again. I wish the excitement will outweigh the adventurousness (if it's the best for us) as this is my first jaulah in a small group- just if two people are considered as a 'group'. Not to deny i'm getting more and more nervous as time goes by, hoping that unforeseen circumstances will never take place, i mean the unwanted ones. Phew! The schedule says that we'll arrive in Dublin airport at 3.10am, i hope we'll manage to get ourselves in the right place at that hour and hopefully the weather will be just exquisite. Whatever it is my hopes are my prayers in which only Allah can decide whether i deserve them or not. I pray that everything will appear smooth sailing. And for those who are yet to explore the beauty of His creation as well, may you find everything at ease insyaAllah. Don't forget to perform the Solat Sunat Musafir too!

"Ya Allah, dengan pertolongan Engkau aku melawan musuh, dengan pertolongan Engkau aku menjelajah dan dengan pertolongan Engkau aku berjalan. Ya Allah, sesungguhnya aku memohon pekerjaan yang Engkau redhai, Ya Allah permudahkanlah perjalanan kami ini dan perdekatkan mana yang jauh. Ya Allah, Engkaulah kawan sebenar dalam perjalanan dan pengganti yang sebenar kepada keluarga. Ya Allah, sesungguhnya aku berlindung kepada Engkau daripada kesusahan dalam perjalanan, kejemuan pemandangan dan perubahan buruk terhadap harta, keluarga dan anak pinak. Segala yang kembali, segala orang yang bertaubat dan segala orang yang beribadat, kepada Tuhan kami mereka memuji."

Read More 0 Throw A Word | Conceived by sarahyusof

To trail the footsteps of the Prophets.. (12)

(cont’d)

Without really realizing it, today was my last day in Jordan. We started our day by visiting a citadel on Jabal Qalaah in Amman. As usual Roman architecture can be prominently seen, especially the pillars. There was also this huge well that presumably was used as a water tank or something like that. Not to forget a museum in there that assembles the relics found in that citadel and other citadels. Something that caught my attention was a pair of pestle and mortar which was also put on display. From Jabal Qalaah we can see the remnants of a coliseum with unrelated buildings closely surrounding it.

Our next destination was “The Cave of the 7 Sleepers”. Interestingly, the place didn’t allow ladies wearing pants to go in directly; but they got to cloak themselves with a piece of black cloth that have been prepared.

The story of ashabul kahfi is a remarkable story mentioned in the Quran, you can refer to Surah Al-Kahf, 18: 9-26.

Allah the Almighty says:

“Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription (the news or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among Our Signs? (Remember) when the young men fled for refuge (from their disbelieving folk) to the Cave. They said: “Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!” Therefore, We covered up their (sense of) hearing causing them to go in deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.”

(Al-Kahf, 18:9-11)

And on top of the cave there was also a small mosque being built, just as mentioned in the verse:

“…“Construct a building over them, their Lord knows best about them.” (Then) those who won their point said (most probably the disbelievers): “We verily shall build a place of worship over them.” ”

(Al-Kahf, 18:21)

After “The Cave of the 7 Sleepers”, we then went to The Royal Automobile Museum. It was a museum of cars and bikes possessed by King Hussein of Jordan. A number of luxury cars were displayed and there was also this small truck in which people can get in and pretend driving. However after taking some pictures, came a guard warning us that the mini truck belongs to the kids to play, not for the ‘elderly’ like us. Huhu.

FYI as we get into the museum, the path will only go on a single way and we’re not allowed turn back. This was what I tried to do. Actually I just wanted to have a look once more at the cars, but again the guard warned me. He’s like everywhere! Huhu. At first I acted as if I didn’t notice that he was calling me (in Arabic) but finally when he shouted “Ya Ukhti!” from my back, then only I turned around. Hihi. The mean me. Seems that the rules in there are pretty rigid. Yup, perhaps because it’s all about the royal’s possessions which are too exclusive and deserve a special attention.

The next place we visited was the Mosque of Prophet Syu’eib a.s., where the tomb of Prophet Syu’eib a.s was located. The isolated mosque was quiet, with a few kids taking care of the tomb. We also met a group of Indonesians visiting the place as well.

The story on Prophet Syu’eib is clearly stated in the Quran, in Surah Al-A’raf, 7 verses 85 to 93.

“To the people of Madyan (Madian) (We sent) their brother Shu'aib. He said: “O my people! Worship Allah, you have no other Ilah (God) but Him. Verily! A clear proof (sign) from your Lord has come unto you; so give full measure and full weight and wrong not men in their things, and do not mischief on the earth after it has been set in order that will be better for you, if you are believers.” ”

(Al-A’raf, 7 : 85-73)

In a nutshell, the story goes like this. The people of Madyan were Arabs who lived in the country of Ma'an, part of which today is greater Syria. They were greedy people who did not believe that Allah exists and who led wicked lives. They gave short measure, praised their goods beyond their worth, and hid their defects. They lied to their customers, thereby cheating them. Allah sent His Prophet Shu'aib (pbuh) armed with many miracles. Shu'aib preached to them, begging them to be mindful of Allah's favors and warning them of the consequences of their evil ways, but they only mocked him.

Shu'aib remained calm as he reminded them of his kinship to them and that what he was doing was not for his personal gain. They seized the belongings of Shu'aib and his followers, then drove them out of the city. The Messenger turned to his Lord for help, and his plea was answered. Allah sent down on them scorching heat and they suffered terribly. On seeing a cloud gathering in the sky, they thought it would bring cool, refreshing rain, and rushed outside in the hope of enjoying the rainfall. Instead the cloud burst, hurling thunderbolts and fire. They heard a thunderous sound from above which caused the earth under their feet to tremble. The evil doers perished in this state of horror.

“Say, [O Muhammad], "Travel through the land and observe how was the end of those before. Most of them were associators [of others with Allah].” ”

(Ar-Rum, 30 : 42)

We then went to the statue in remembrance of Karomah Battle which took place in the year 1968. After snapping a few pictures, we just about to head home when suddenly we’re told by ‘ammu that occupied Palestine was just about 5km away. Actually the statue was meant to be the final destination of our middle east journey i.e. for those who’re going back to Malaysia earlier including me. However not wanting to let go of the opportunity, we zealously headed to the blessed land, hoping to witness the terrorized country with our own naked eyes. (Of course we cannot enter the country). Unfortunately when we got to a point, there was a soldier informing that at that time the office hour’s over, so we didn’t have anybody to escort us to the border. And without an escort, we’re prohibited from going beyond that point, for safety purposes I believe. Disappointing. But it’s okay, perhaps we’ll get to see it in some other time. Probably. Hopefully. InsyaAllah.

So that’s it, off to Amman Airport. To cut it short, from Amman Airport, Jordan we took off to Cairo Airport, Egypt. We just slept on the bench that night in Cairo Airport waiting for our flight to Bahrain on the following day. Then only from Bahrain we set off to Malaysia. And now here I am, in front of the screen typing the finishing words of my write up plus expressing my highest gratitude to Him for giving me the chance to finish this off. At last. Alhamdulillah.