Hello Medan 2010

Last weekend, my family and i were on vacation to Medan which remark as capital of North Sumatra Indonesia. This trip has been planned last minutes one and as for Medan, since Airasia Low cost Airlines flies there everyday and it only takes about an hour to reach there from LCCT, so there's not a big deal i guess. We took off from LCCT at 7.45 am and arrived Polonia International Airport Medan about 7.35 am local time. Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. We stay in Tiara Hotel Medan. Even this four stars hotel a bit pricey but it considered as worth staying hotel since it located in Medan’s city center, and give convenience and ideal for leisure to everyone.

During our stay in Medan, most all of the eat-time,we had our meals at Rumah Makan Garuda and Restoran Simpang Tiga. This restaurant served us nasi padang and we really enjoyed it.The place which brought damage to my pockets was Pasar Ikan, but not that badly koyak compared to my previous visit to Tanah Abang,Jakarta and Pasar Baru,Bandung. Those two places really made me loose my breath several times..hee. Pasar Ikan is well known with the array of kain batik jawa, hand woven telekung or mukena and batik blouses. This place is quite crowded and there's so many rows of shops selling all kinds of stuffs. I also went to Sun Plaza, one of the shopping mall in Medan.

A quite short journey, 3 days 2 nights stay was yet exciting and my Medan vacation wasn't complete since i don't have chance to visit Lake Toba, Samosir Island and Berastagi this time..it's all about time constraint..so there will be second chapter of Hello Medan..just dun know the exact date yet..grinn~

Perhentian Island Vax

What a wonderful escape to Perhentian Island i had last weekend..It only took 1 hour drive to Kuala Besut Jetty and about 30 minutes boat ride to Perhentian Island. This island is divided into two, which are Perhentian kecil and Perhentian besar and we choose Perhentian besar. I took a ride on a speed boat from the Kuala Besut mainland to Perhentian Besar island. Upon arrival, i'm a bit speechless, no words could be comparing for the beauty of it. Awesome scenary and mesmerizing view of the island really catch my eyes..Allah the Almighty!

I stay at Everfresh Chalet which the place have very basic facilities, but kinda clean and comfort. Beaches around the island are awesome and easily accessible by walk and this was truely Island stay..awesome!!There is plenty to do on the island such as beach volleyball, kayaking, snorkeling and etc. The island was quite stunning though and i had so much fun with snorkelling activity.Kinda greatest memory ever and surely with great person of course..wink~

I had so much fun during my 3 days 2 nights stay over there. It turned out to be a wonderfully relaxing trip and I am so glad i did it. I'm proud to say that I was able to overcome my fear and be in the ocean and it was the first time for me to go snorkeling. The view of the corals underwater was breathtaking and it was an amazing experience. The island is really perfect getaway to escape for a weekend and relax on the beach away from all headaches stuff of every day life. Perhentian Island is indeed a nice place to go and worth-spend vacation and i'm planning to have my second vacation to this island..too sudden right??Lol~

Umrah & Ziarah 2010

Alhamdulillah..syukur kepada Allah S.W.T dengan izinnya aku selamat kembali ke tanah air dari menunaikan umrah.It was my first time being there and frankly speaking i ald fell in luv with the places. .Makkah Al-Mukaramah and Madinah Al-Munawarah.Looking forward to be there again andai diizinkan Allah S.W.T..x tergambar oleh kata-kata how it feel and i felt very lucky to be among tetamu Allah dis time.

I've been there with my family members last 2 weeks.I took direct flight to Jeddah and surely Malaysian Hospitality was my great choice.Eventhoungh the flight delayed for 2 hours,but i retain all the semangat menuju Baitullah. Anggap semuanya ujian Allah and i keep berdoa supaya semuanya dipermudahkan.

We arrived in Jeddah quite late, close to midnight. We then took a bus to Madinah Madinah is about a 5 hour ride by bus. Upon arrival and checking-in at Fayroz Al-Shatta Hotel in Madinah,it's ald fajr..so we had our subuh prayer at d hotel and had our breakfast. Al-Shatta hotel remark as persinggahan jemaah Malaysia and d hotel pretty close to Nabawi mosque..about 50 meter walking distance. After lunch and prayers, we went on our first ziarah to Nabawi mosque by our respective muttawifs, Ustaz Shukri.

My first step into Nabawi mosque really impressed me out..all d senibina kinda things indeed unique and it really melambangkan kehebatan agama islam itu sendiri. All muslims around d world dtg ke masjid ini dgn satu tujuan yang sama,menziarahi makam Rasul kekasih Allah. Perasaan sayu dtg menyelubungi diri..terasa amat dkt dgn Ya Muhammad Ya Rasulullah..begitu besar pengorbanan Baginda dlm menegakkan syiar islam and i felt lucky and sangat2 bersyukur kerana dilahirkan dalam Islam.

The next day,we did ziarah to Quba mosque and Qiblatain mosque and also not forgettin Jabal Uhud. Quba Mosque is d first mosque ever to be built in Saudi Arabia. It was built when Prophet Muhammad first migrated to Madinah from Makkah while Qiblatain is the with the two qiblahs. This is the mosque in which while performing a four rakaah prayer, Prophet Muhammad performed the first two rakaah facing Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) after which he received a decree from Allah to do an 180-degree turn to face Kaabah in Makkah. The remainder two of the four-rakaah prayer was performed facing Kaaba and since then the mosque got its name.

After 3 days in Madinah,we heading towards Makkah Al-Mukarramah to perform Umrah. It was mid night when we arrived in Makkah after traveling almost 5 hours on the bus from Madinah. The first obvious concern after we arrived in Makkah was to complete our umrah. We had earlier done our miqat at Bir Ali, a mosque one would stop for solat and niat umrah before proceeding towards Makkah to perform the umrah. My first step in to Al-Haram kinda memorable. We proceeded to perform our tawaf. The seven rounds were completed pretty fast as there were not so many people since it was late night. Immediately after the sunat tawaf prayer, we proceeded towards Safa to start Saie We had to walk from Safa towards Marwa and vice versa, completing seven laps. I found this even tougher than the tawaf. It was almost Fajr when we completed our saie. We did the tahalul, and we're free of all the pantang larang in ihram.

The next day,we performed visit to historical places in Makkah. Our first stop was Jabal Thur. In this mountain, there is a cave in which Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr As-Sidiq took refuge from the idol-worshiping Arabs who were desperately wanting to kill them. After escaping from the enemy, Prophet Muhammad PBUH and Abu Bakr migrated to Madinah. Our next stop was Jabal Rahmah. This a hill where Adam & Eve first landed on earth after they were banished from paradise. Nothing to see here except one tugu as a remark this is d place where Adam and Eve met.

The next day we went to Haramain museum featuring exhibits from the two Haram lands and mainly focusing on the two holiest mosques, Masjidil Haram in Makkah and Masjidil Nabawi in Madinah. Before heading off to the Meeqat place, that was Hudaibiyah,we stopped by a camel farm.

I spent bout 6 days in Makkah and alhmdulliah i myself successfully able to perform umrah for 5 times. Before taking off to Malaysia, we stopped for prayers at this beautiful mosque which is called "The Floating Mosque" as it was built just beside the Red Sea with a portion of it on stilts on the water.
After that we proceeded on to Jeddah International Airport for our flight back to KL. This was a really awesome trip and i sweetez moment ever in my life. I pray that Allah grants me longevity as I sincerely hope that this will not be my last visit to the holy lands of Makkah and Madinah..God willing:)

Lambaian Kaabah

Salam all..i'm counting down the days until my first step to Baitullah..thanx Allah for granted me a chance to perform umrah & ziarah to His holy house in Makkah..this is my first time being there and frankly speaking, various kinds of feelings are in me right now..nervous,excited,takut but mean time me myself can't wait for that day.My two weeks trip to Makkah and Madinah with my whole family members expected to be most meaningful moments for us. It's just incredible feeling to be there and I do pray my coming trip to Makkah and Madinah gonna be the trip which full of blissful, blessed and enjoyable events.Hopefully i'll able to face all the challenges, yes, and gain much experience over there..semoga semuanya dipermudahkan..i'll update my story once i come back from my umrah then..and also with the pictures of course..grinnn~

UK and Dubai trip 2009~part 3

UK and Dubai trip 2009~part 2