My first out-of-Malaysia trip was my first Umrah.

Before the trip, I was afraid that I couldn't feel what other people felt when they did their 'Umrahs' for the first time or even the tenth time.

But I definitely felt it, definitely.

It was indescribable.

When I was there I kept on feeling so privileged  to just stand there. The privilege to pray in the Masjidil Haram and to complete my ibadah, Umrah there five times. And all of this, could only happen with His Will.

Alhamdullilah. (Praise be to Allah.)

That's the words I kept on chanting everyday, anytime, and anywhere.

Over there, there's nothing to do but pray and do any kind of ibadah you can in the short time you have there.

Some people do Umrah a few times - Most would do seven.
Others would do Salah Sunat in the Masjidil Haram - for the whole day, every day.
Several would choose to read the Quran, most of the time, before and after the five main prayers - Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isyak.

Other than that would be the human necessities such as eat, drink and sleep.
Right? I know it sounds... probably dull to some?

But to me? That's great.

It made me focus more than I ever did, and somehow it's liberating me from the worldly needs I usually think of (distractions) when I do ibadah right at home.

Of course this will seem like nothing to some people, but hey, I'm sharing my opinion here and I'm trying to make it as general and understandable as possible as I go.

So bear with me, if you plan to read this post till the end.

One of the first rukun for Umrah was Berihram at Miqat (place). At the time, we went through the Miqat on our plane, so all the niat Ihram was done on the plane.

Girls had to cover up all their aurat completely just like you know, everyday, as we were always suppose to.

The men had to wear two pieces of some sort of white cloth which we all call Ihram.

Moving on,

The first day I was in Saudi Arabia, we landed in Jeddah. (This was the first time my parents landed in Jeddah first compared to their previous visits, as they usually land into Madinah first. Not that it truly matters on where you land first.)

We were placed in the Hajj Terminal before moving to Mecca. (Surau and Toilets provided.)

I was in the bus, and let's just say a mishap happened. The mineral water was somehow spilled in my bag and well yeah. Trials right? #sidestory

And then, we went on to Mecca.
Reaching there at nightfall. We stayed at this hotel?

Al-Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana Tower Hotel. Just so you know this huge building, comprises of several hotels.

That night, we went with the TB package which have scheduled our first Umrah after arrival in Mecca.

This was a picture I took at the Marwah Hill. You see, this is the actual piece of the Marwah. I actually thought I would be climbing a hill. Well, it was a hill, but then the modern people made it easier for the muslims to complete Saie by doing such a thing. I think. On another note, Saie was never difficult, it's simple but exhausting.

It was definitely a bit exhausting, and it also actually requires a lot of focus since there will be distractions, all over the place. Be it people pushing each other (it's crowded) or simply the worldly thoughts that would invade your mind (simply the trials you have to face when you're there.)

Here's a picture of the Kaabah.

It's really gorgeous. I didn't get the chance to touch it though...

The next day at the crack of dawn, about thirty minutes before fajr was announced (azan), we set off for Masjidil Haram which was only fifty metres away from our hotel (this place is right in front of the Masjidil Haram) - we applied for the Topaz package in Tabung Haji. Our muttawif or well a tour guide who was an ustaz was great.

So anyway, on our way there, there was many like us and honestly, I've never seen such a beautiful sight.

I mean, so many muslims from around the world, Sri Lankans, Australians, Polish, Swedish and etc and they're all here for one cause. To do their Ibadah.

To say that we were all blessed is an understatement as I know that they are many others that would not be as lucky to have even stepped foot into this protected holy territory. After all, plans are only plans if there is no Allah's will.

So, after walking a good 50 metres we reached the Masjidil Haram.

It's right in front of our hotel which is a good thing on many levels as my grandmother was not as strong as she used to be :/

And as I have mentioned before, we did our prayers and preferred Ibadah there. For me, it was mostly salah sunat, same with my mom. My grandmother preferred reading the Quran.

I had no idea what my dad did since he was always at the men's section. Obviously, the ladies' and men's sections are separated at all occasions.

Most of the time, we will leave the mosque after Isyrak, which was usually at 7.00 a.m. more or less, over there.

After that, we had breakfast at our hotel.

I loved the breakfast, just saying.

It is quite repetitive, but it's delicious so the five-day stay in Mecca was always with delicious breakfast (which always included yoghurt for me! I love yoghurt.) - they have adapted asian food during our stay, but there were still arabian delicacies to try! The Arabs tried ours and we tried theirs, along with the other foreigners.

I never did take a picture on the food but here's the dining place.

Nothing special, but still nice and comfortable!

There are more elderlies compared to the teens or young adults during my trip. Mom mentioned that during her trip, most of them were married couples. This time around, most brought their family.

And after breakfast, we will go back to our room and take a rest.

This is our usual routine for the five-day stay in Mecca, unless I go for Umrah.

On the last day, we did our Tawaf Wada' and honestly, it was heartbreaking to leave the Baitullah. It was heartbreaking to leave Mecca itself.

I'm probably just trying to hint you that I actually cried? Well yeah, I did.

This is a picture taken by my dad fron the male surau at the 9th floor of our hotel. #P9
There are times we could not get into the mosque, like look at the picture! So, we go for a few other alternatives, we pray outside of the hotel (a lot of people do it, trust me. OR, we go to the surau (which we finally tried on the day before we left Mecca.)

And this is us, waiting for the azan outside of the hotel. If you noticed, out sejadah (our prayer mats), have the Tower Hotel sewn on them.

Moving on, we moved to Madinah after the Tawaf Wada'.

We lounged in this hotel called Movenpick. It had a nice room, but I did not enjoy the dining session as much as I enjoyed the one in Mecca.

Picky much? Maybe.

The yogurt wasn't as nice among other things.

Anyway, just like how Mecca has Masjidil Haram, Madinah has Masjidil Nabawi which is the mosque of our Prophet Muhammad SAW.

It is very encouraged to selawat to our Prophet when we are here. His body rest in the Madinah grounds and that's enough to show respect towards this city. The city where the first Islam government was built.

Those are huge umbrellas. They are gorgeous and yes, they do open and close! It's quite a sight really. Plus, everything is well-maintained! Well, actually both of the mosques (Masjidil Haram and Masjidil Nabawi) are very very clean and well-maintained. There's a huge cleaning session after every several hours? Yeap. Amazing. I love it.

So this is me at Masjidil Nabawi.

This is Gate 15, and these are all people selling merchandises after every main prayer of the day. The moment, you step out of the mosque, you'd be bumping into a lot of people trying to either get out of the crowd or buying the merchandises. Some of which are made in Malaysia! Whoop-dee-doo! Did I mention they have really strong voices? Yes, yes they do.

Okay, so in Madinah, there is nothing much to do but pray and all.

However, we did do visits!

My first visit was to Raudhah, which was inside the mosque and it was... well, I cried the moment I laid my forehead on the ground of Raudhah.

You see, Raudhah is said to be a part of the Gardens of Heaven.

Our Muttawif, a woman, she was like this Indonesian who was feared by some of the other visitors as she was very strict and loud. Nevertheless, she was indeed the best as she will make sure her group would end up at the front of Raudhah. Not only that, she is very strict on rules on how we dress (mandatory) and all that.

So like I said, I cried but the things is, I never expected to.
I was just there doing my salah sunat and suddenly the tears just flow out, you know?

It was a good thing and it still affects me till now.

The thing is, I don't have pictures of Raudhah. So, I'm sorry for that.

Fastforward, our next visit was outside of Madinah. One of them being a visit to the Land of Kurma, as I would call it. The fields were filled with different types of Kurma.

Aren't they beautiful? They are also delish! We could taste before buying them :3

This is the ceiling of the huge dome (?) that's movable. It can open up, revealing the skies.

This is Masjid Quba'. Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had mentioned that if one were to keep their wudhu' from their house till they arrive in this mosque as they complete a two rakaat salah, they will gain pahala equal to one complete Umrah.

This was our last photo in Madinah! Now, concetrate on the green dome. That is actually the original part of the very first building of Masjidil Nabawi. Now, it has expanded to accommodate everyone. When I came to Madinah, it was very cold by the way. During Fajr, it'd be 7 degree celsius while during Dhuhr, it'd be 16 degree celsius. Truth be told, even my room with the air-conditioner on, is not that cold. Hence, a nice trip. 

I guess this marks the end of this post.

I look rather chubby. Nevertheless, I love this tag (there's actually that rope/string to keep it around my neck when I'm there, but I took it off.). It's like my very own souvenire that truly marked that I've been there ye'know? My dad has like eight of these, and my mom has like six or five. Mom said to collect them and that's what I'm going to do! So, hopefully this is not my last trip. I pray that it is my first of many, In Shaa Allah. 

A message to all those who plans to go, pray for an open mind and heart as you could never be anything without His Will. Always remember Him as you are the closest to Allah SWT, over there. Never waste your time, idling around as believe me, you will be wasting precious time, money and opportunity.

I have learnt a few things on this trip.
I'm glad my dad brought me this time. It's worth it.

Here's a video of the rooftop via my twitter. The rooftop at Masjidil Haram is my favourite spot to be during Fajr, Maghrib and Isyak. Nice Winds, open space.

The underground level is good too!

I think the rooftop became my favorite spot to be over there. pic.twitter.com/ZrzIBo3tce

— lillianne (@xnanailyana) January 31, 2016