Travel – Page 14 – A Penny for My Pensieve

Favorite things, Life happens, Places, Travel

The Second Big Dream “Hajj, The Greatest Trip” (Catatan Perjalanan Haji 1433H)

Posted on 4 May 20135 Jun 2025 by arlanadya

I’d been planning to go for Hajj in 2003. Right after I went for Umra with my family. First Umra.
I started saving since then. Luckily, I got my first job 6 months after that, so I could regularly saving.

I registered on December 2008, then 2 weeks later, my mum did it too. It was predicted that we would go in 2012. But, it turned out that our numbers listed in 2011. At that time, I was still in KL and my mum was in France. So, we deferred it until the next year.

I called it as my greatest trip for so many reasons. It is because the Hajj itself, which is great, and many circumstances that happened related to this. A week before we departed, things changed. There was a possibility that I would go by my self because my mum was not in good condition. She might go, and allowed to, but the doctoe suggested that she’d better stay. She decided not to go on Wednesday, while we departed on Friday, 19th October. Then, Thursday morning she changed her mind. She repacked her luggage and felt so sure about going there.

We departed to the Hajj dorm on Friday morning from Istiqlal. We stayed there until midnight then we went to the airport. Our flight departed at 5.45, Jakarta time and arrived at Holy Mecca at 11.45. It was such a long journey. It felt longer when your travel partner was not in good condition. I kept worrying about my mum. She could not sit for long period because of her stomach. It was aching all the time.

The stress continued after we arrived at Hajj airport, queueing in immigration, waiting for our luggage, taking a bath and miqot in the airport, waiting for another departure to the apartment,and so many more. After waiting for 4 hours, we got on our bus, which was non-air conditioner, and that 5-hours seemed much longer while my mum was sweating all along the journey. It was so heart-breaking to see her like that.

We managed to get our room early so she could have a rest first before we did the umra. We went to Masjidil Haram at 9 pm, by walk. I’d just visited the Mosque in 2010, but still, having this by my eyes once more never failed to make me shiver. It was so crowded. We parted from the group, so we finished Thawaf, Sa’i, and Tahalul only with other two members. We went back to apartment at 3.30 am. It was so tiring.

Since Wukuf was only two days away, so we just stayed in our apartment, recharging the condition from the fatigues, preparing for the main Hajj rituals in 5 days ahead.

Wukuf started on 9 Dzulhijjah, or 25 october 2012. We arrived in Arafah a previous day after Maghrib. We stayed in tents together with all of Pilgrims all over the world. It started after Dzuhur until the sun set.

After Maghrib, we proceed to Muzdalifah for Mabit before staying in Mina for three days. In Muzdalifah we just stayed for few hours, collecting stones for Jumrah, and having light sleep above the rocky hill while waiting for midnight to go to Mina. Until there, I felt the rituals were nothing hard, but, the waiting, the queuing for everything, those were so tiring.

While I kept fighting to get the best spot in the bus, tent, or everywhere so my mum felt comfortable. I knew she was bearing so much pain, got her comfortable places everywhere we go, was the least that i could do for her. I prepared every small things that could help her feel more comfortable. I had hot water in my thermos, hot tea, dates, and biscuits in my backpack.

We arrived in Mina at 2.30 am and then prepared for Jumroh Aqobah. This time, my mum didn’t go, because I could do that for her. We should walk about 6 km return to reach the place. But, Alhamdulillah, I was able to finish it. Mina was very hot. It was almost 50 celsius degree. The bathroom was so terrible, that was the hardest part of all Hajj rituals. Once again, not the rituals, but all the process in doing that.

We managed to return to mecca after the three days, or we followed ‘Nafar Awal’. How we returned to mecca could be another long story since it was kind of mess. The leader said that he already booked the bus, but it turned out that the bus couldn’t come. So, we had to walk for about 1,5 kilometers. It was fine for me, or others, but not my mum and elderly ones. Once again, i kept trying to talk to the leader to get the bus available as soon as possible, before the sun rises high. I kept insisting him, nagging, while others might think ‘what a fussy little girl’ and told me to be patient as if it was a trial in our Hajj. They could say that since they were not having their sick mum with them. I believe, if they did, they would do the same. Moreover, why bother, in the end, they were so grateful that I was being noisy. Because of that, we got the bus, and arrived in our apartment before the traffic stuck just an hour later. Stuck until midnight.

Compare to this on that day

We finished all the Hajj rituals on the next day by doing Thawaf Ifadah and Sa’i. This time, we just did it by ourselves. Mecca, especially Ka’bah was incredibly full. So crowded. But, alhamdulillah, we did our thawaf on the first floor, slowly. We finished Thawaf and Sa’i altogether within approximately 4,5 hours. Since my mum had to do it slowly and we stopped quite often, to drink and have a rest. If I reflected back, it was truly a miracle that we managed to complete our Hajj, with my mum condition. So, it only by Allah’s power we were able to do it. La Haula Wa La Quwwata Illah Billah.

The next days, I had a routine to wake up at 2.30 for preparing early breakfast for both of us. After having shower, then we went to the mosque for Tahajjud and Shubuh prayer. For few first days, my mum was able to follow it. Then, it became tiring for her. So, later, I just went there with Mbak Eni, my roommate and her mum. Since, I didn’t go with my mum, it was easier for me to find a spot for shalat. I stayed there until dhuha. I did Thawaf between subuh and dhuha, alone. That was one of my best me-time moments there. I circled the Ka’bah by my speed, prayed as much as i could, enjoying zam-zam after praying in Multazam and Maqom Ibrahim.

I returned to the apartment about 9 am. Bought nasi briyani nearby the apt for the brunch. Waiting for zuhur, I usually cleaned-up or washed the clothes. I did Zuhur and Ashar at home, then prepared for Maghrib and Isya at mosque.

So it run for 2 weeks there. But, then, I got another hard lesson there. That we could only truly have a plan, but, not decided whether it happened as we planned it or not. My mum was not getting any better. Then, in one afternoon, my father proposed to her to went home early. At first, she refused it. But, then, she finally agreed. It was something that hit me hard.

I thought only she would return, and I proceeded. Then, It wasn’t. My father asked me to join her. I just saw the text after having thawaf. I saw there were few missed-calls from him and a text. Asked me to go home too. I was in a complete silence for some times after reading it. Then the phone rang, my father talked to me. I was crying hard for minutes after hung up the phone.
I was crying inside the mosque. It was so silent and quiet, so I could cry peacefully. I remembered it was just less than an hour ago I prayed in my Thawaf that may Allah gave me a wider heart to accept all the things that He put in my life, all circumstances, good and bad. Then, without waiting too long, He gave me what I prayed for.

He gave me directly the thing that forced me to have this ‘ikhlas’. Instead of proceeding the Hajj to Madina, I had to go back to Jakarta. He fulfilled my wish to go Hajj before married, but, what I didn’t expect, It was how I had it fulfilled. Finished the main Hajj rituals, without visiting Madina and The Prophet. I accepted it quite slowly. Couldn’t help crying for it. Regretted it.

The next days the attention split between the preparation of going home while using my last minutes visiting the mosque and Ka’bah. I was busy going here and there to get all the documents needed because our case kind of abnormal. Returning early only feasible for those who were really sick according to doctor’s recommendation. But, my mum never visited any, because she didn’t want to. Fortunately, bless my father, the general director of Hajj affair was his colleague in Lemhanas. So, it made everything easier.

We had our Thawaf Wada (last Thawaf before leaving Mecca) on Saturday morning. That was the saddest moment of my Hajj. We did it slowly. She insisted to walk instead of wheel-chairing. She said that if it was her last being here, she wanted to do it properly, the best she could. It was very sad since it was truly her last:((

We stopped for a rest few times. We were so relieve when we finally managed to finish it. After praying for the last time in Multazam, suddenly she came to me and hugged me while saying, “Maafin ibu ya. Insya Allah nanti kamu kesini lagi sama suami kamu”. I didn’t want to translate it. That was the most emotional moment I’ve ever had. My mum hugged me in front of Ka’bah for the last time. I just realized that was her last hug too for me:'(

According to the plan, we would move to other group flight from Solo, because we didn’t get direct flight to Jakarta. So, our journey would be longer since we had to go to Jeddah first, stayed for one night, then proceeded to Solo, then to Jakarta. I couldn’t help feeling so worry remembering how far the journey would be and whether my mum would be able to make it. We were gonna spend so many hours on the plan, sitting, which was a big problem for her.

But, alhamdulillah, everything went well. Not that well, but we could go through it. No one could ever imagine what we had been going through. From Saturday until Thursday, when we finally arrived home. It was the longest 5 days I’ve ever felt.

My mum being hospitalized two days after. We supposed to go home from Hajj on November, 30th. But, the reality said that we went home 15 days earlier, but, my mum truly ‘went home’ at November, 30th. The ‘go home’ part was true, only the destination was different.

It’s not easy to finish this writing. It needs two months for me to finish it. I feel that I really to write this as complete as possible. For this was the greatest moment I’ve ever had with the person I love most in the world.

Places, Postgraduate Malaysia, Travel

Sedikit tentang Kuala Lumpur

Posted on 24 Apr 201325 Jul 2016 by arlanadya

I intend to write in Bahasa, i don’t know whether it will be good enough (for me) or not. But, let’s have a try.

Selama satu setengah tahun tinggal di Malaysia, untuk ukuran full-time student, saya bisa dibilang tergolong ‘malas’ jalan-jalan. Tiap ada libur sebentar, yang dipikirin cuma cari tiket pulang ke Jakarta. Ngga usah libur lama, seminggu libur aja, langsung heboh cari tiket dari jauh-jauh hari.

Tiap pagi buka laptop, semua tab isinya cuma airlines website. Bandingin sana-sini, iya kalo langsung beli dan beres, ini ngga, ditungguin berhari-hari, kepikiran, bikin perasaan ngga enak, baru akhirnya beli. Padahal, kalau dipikir-pikir, uang yang dikeluarin buat bolak-balik Jakarta selama 1,5 tahun ini, bisa buat traveling ke negara tetangga kaya Thailand atau Singapur misalnya. Biarpun Singapur memang sudah pernah, dan ngga terlalu tertarik juga untuk kesana kedua kali.

Mungkin yang paling sering saya kunjungi selama disini adalah, ya, Kuala Lumpur,hehe. Ada beberapa tempat yang hampir saya selalu datengin, buat belanja, atau makan :

1. Sogo KL

Ini favorit banget karena affordable dan barang-barangnya pun oke. Dan yang paling suka, kalo majang tulisan SALE, beneran niat SALE. Ga kaya mal-mal lain yang bilang SALE tapi ya kaya ga SALE. Beli dompet 2x disini, beli kado buat beruang disini, mau beli oleh-oleh biskuit, coklat pun di sini.

Dulu, sebelum ngerti cara yang murah ke sini dr kampus, selalu naik Monorail yang merupakan alat transportasi yang paling mahal di antara moda transportasi lain di KL. Tapi, setelah diperhatikan,ternyata ada yang lebih murah. Naik KTM komuter dari Serdang sampai stasiun Kuala Lumpur (satu stasiun setelah KL sentral), setelah itu jalan sedikit ke belakang Kasturi Walk, disana banyak bus-bus metro yang siap nganterin ke Sogo dengan hanya RM 1 saja.

Bandingin dulu pas cuma tau naik monorail, ongkos yang diperluin buat PP kampus -Sogo itu kalo dijabarin KTM RM 1,7, Monorail RM 2,5, jadi pulang pergi sekitar RM 8,4, itu pun kalo beruntung ke kampusnya pas dapet naik bis kampus yang gratis, kalo ngga tambah RM 2 lagi buat naik bis T 416 dari UPM ke komuter Serdang. Jadi, kalo ditotal bisa RM 10 sendiri, yang mana, mahal lah ya buat ukuran mahasiswa (yang agak pelit kaya saya). Kalo dibeliin makanan, uda banyak bener kan,hehe.

Nah, setelah belajar dari ~~kebodohan~~ kesalahan dan mulai memperhatikan serta mempelajari, ternyata dengan naik bus metro lebih cepet, dan yang terpenting murah! Total biaya transport yang musti dikeluarin buat ke Sogo PP jadi cuma RM 5,6 saja. Lumayan kan bedanya. Buat saya si, jauhhhh,hehe.

2. Mid Valley Shopping Mall

Ini adalah salah satu mal yang paling ramai, menurut pengamatan saya. Hari biasa, apalagi weekend, Mid Valley kayanya ngga pernah sepi. Mal ini juga salah satu yang cukup dekat dari UPM dan lengkap. Makanan bervariasi, departemen store juga ada beberapa pilihan. Merek-mereknya pun beragam, dari yang agak menengah ke atas sampe yang toko pernak pernik kecil di gerobak. Kalo kuat jalan keliling di sini, cari dengan hati-hati, suka ketemu barang-barang fancy dengan harga yang buat saya oke banget. Kalau ROC habis juga biasanya dapet disini, karena ngga semua mal ada ROCnya.

Transport kesini ada dua pilihan. Saya tergantung dari kampusnya dapat bis apa. Kalau bis UPM datang duluan, berarti saya naik komuter, tapi kalau bis T 416 datang duluan, naik bis. Mid Valley punya stasiun komuter sendiri yang terhubung langsung dengan malnya. Jadi, begitu keluar kereta, jalan sedikit di dalam stasiunnya, naik lift, sampe deh di dalem malnya. Makanya, saya hampir selalu naik komuter, karena lebih praktis.

Tiap kali ke Mid Valley atau SOGO, saya merasa kaya lihat peradaban,hehe. Serasa kaya turis yang lagi liburan. Biarpun dikategorikan turis juga terlalu kere. Makanya selalu pilih di akhir bulan, karena musti lihat sisa budget bulan itu ada berapa. Hahaha, kesian bener ya:D.

3. Rumah makan sebelah Hotel Prescott Inn, Jalan Tuanku Ismail

Pertama tau rumah makan ini karena nginep di Prescott Inn pas pertama kali mau daftar ulang, bareng Ibu dan Dian. Masakannya, enaaakkkk. Bawal asam manisnya, kailan, cumi, pokoknya enak deh. Ini kaya warteg versi Malaysia yang nyediain makanan sehari, cuma bentuknya ya kaya restoran, dan yang paling penting, harganya, ck,ck,ck, murah benerr. Oh!Kalau di Malaysia mereka nyebutnya Kedai Mamak.

4. Kedai roti cane di Jalan Tun Sambathan

Ketemu kedai ini ngga sengaja pas lagi jalan berdua ibu yang waktu itu mau cari susu segar, eh, muter-muter tau2 ketemu resto kecil ini yang jual susu segar juga. Pesen susu segar, iseng mau nyobain roti canenya juga. eh, ternyata enak! Terakhir kali pulang, Ibu minta dibawain ke Jakarta, lumayan juga bawanya,hehe. Enaknya lagi, tempatnya bersih. Makanannya kaya Kedai Mamak, cuma tempatnya enak buat duduk-duduk, karena bersih dan ber-AC. Harga pun menurut saya cukup reasonable.

Restoran ini letaknya agak nyempil. Sederet sama stasiun monorail, kalau dari arah KL Sentral berarti sebelum stasiun monorail.

5. Old Town White Coffee Restaurant

Ini restoran tempat kita sarapan kalau nginep di MY Hotel Kuala Lumpur karena emang hotelnya kerja sama dengan Old Town yang letaknya persis di sebelah MY Hotel. Makanannya buat saya, dan keluarga, enak. Nasi lemaknya salah satu yang paling enak yang pernah saya makan selama di sana. Tempatnya pas buat ngopi-ngopi, ada yang outdoor dan indoor. Old Town juga merek kopi yang biasa diminum Ibu. Kalau ke Jakarta, pasti minta dibeliin barang 5 bungkus, dengan rasa yang beda-beda. Restoran ini relatif gampang dicari, karena hampir setiap mal punya ini. Kaya KFC aja lah.

6. Egg Tart KFC

Saya ngga suka junk food. Hampir ngga pernah ke KFC selama di Jakarta. Tapi, di KFC Malaysia, mereka punya Egg Tart!

Egg Tartnya, dua kata aja, : ENAK BANGET. Seriously, enak. Bayanginnnya aja ngiler. No further explanations.

7. Pasar Seni
Tempat ini cocok buat yang mau cari oleh-oleh dari Malaysia. Bangunan dua lantai berisi toko2 souvenir, coklat, dan lain-lain. Souvenir khas kaya magnet, miniatur, kaos, gantungan kunci ada semua disini. Buat coklat ada satu stand khusus coklat jual Beryl’s yang merupakan coklat produksi malaysia. Kalo saya ngga salah ingat, di sini juga ada Tourism Centre.

Sepertinya cuma segitu aja yang paling saya sering datengin selama di KL. Agak kesian sih, Satu setengah tahun di sana taunya itu-itu aja. Tapi, ya, gimana dong. Saya ngga pernah pergi kalau nggak ada kepentingan. I’d rather stay at dorm, watching movie,hehe. Tapi mungkin alesan sebenernya karena ya kere aja, hahaha:))

Sebenarnya, selain Kuala Lumpur, saya juga pernah ke beberapa negara bagian kaya Melaka, Johor Baru, dan Penang. Tapi, ngga bisa cerita banyak.

Melaka udah dua kali. Buat saya ini agak lucu. Pertama tahun 2008, waktu pergi sama Tante Lili. Ke Melaka sendiri, ikut rombongan tur, bayar RM 100 (kalo saya inget pas masih kuliah dulu, ngeluarin RM 100 dalam sehari cuma buat jalan-jalan kok tajir bener yaa,hehe). Berangkat jam 9 pagi, sampe KL lagi jam 5 sore. Waktu itu, pas banget lagi patah hati berat. Ini yang lucu. Empat tahun kemudian, saya ke Melaka lagi, one day trip juga, bukan sama rombongan tur. Tapi, sama orang yang bikin patah hati empat tahun lalu. Orangnya kebetulan lagi liburan. Dan, statusnya pas dateng juga udah pacar-serius-yang-udah-ngelamar-ke orangtua.Life is indeed funny;)

Ke Johor Baru dua kali, itupun karena roomate yang pertama orang Malaysia, a very very nice and kind girl, rumahnya di JB. Pertama kesana karena sepupunya nikah. Yang kedua kesana karena jalan-jalan aja. Ngga kemana-kemana, jadi ngga bisa cerita apa-apa.

Ke Penang one day trip juga sekeluarga, karena dapet tiket murah Air Asia. Tapi, kayanya bisa dianggep liburan gagal, karena kayanya kurang cocok sama peserta liburannya,hehe.

Kangen kesana, tapi, ngga tau kapan lagi bisa kesana. Semoga lebih cepat dari yang bisa saya bayangin. Amin.

Oh, KL also had been mum’s favorite destination after once she’d been there. Being there once more later without her, must be kinda sad..

Places, Travel

The steps Updated

Posted on 24 May 201225 Jul 2016 by arlanadya

Blanakan Beach, Subang, 2008

Kampung Bahru Road, SG, 2008 : Fleurette

Changi Airport, SG, 2010 : Gabor

Blue Mosque, Turkey, 2010 : Skechers

Karen’s, Senopati , 2011: Gabor

FMBK Shelter, UPM, 2012 : Reebok

FBMK Shelter, UPM, 2011 :L’emotion

Past learning, Places, Travel

Miles away from home, chapter 1: Manchester

Posted on 29 Mar 201225 Jun 2024 by arlanadya

I have been reading so many blogs today, whether those wedding blogs or travel blogs. Travel blogs have been one of my addictions. I don’t know why the idea of going abroad always amuse me.

My family is not an extremely rich one, we had vacation sometimes, but hardly going too far. Puncak was our most frequent visit, since there was my dad’s office villa there. So, going abroad by plane was seemed so far.

My first experience of flying in an aeroplane was back in 1994. I remember the exact date, it was June, 5th, 1994. What was so exciting, is not domestic flight, but an international flight.

I flew with Emirates. One of the newest middle-east airline which now is one of the finest and favorites one.

Where to go?Singapore?Malaysia?Australia?No.

We went to England!:D

It felt so awesome for this 10-years-old little girl. We, I, my mother, my sister, and my brother, were going to visit my father who pursued his master degree in one of the best university in the world, University of Manchester.

We visited him during summer, for 2 months (What a great vacation!). I remembered we took night flight, with Jakarta-Singapore-Colombo-Dubai-Manchester route. It was 18 hours flight, with 5 hours transit in Dubai. The flight was great. The foods were all delicious. All the steward and stewardess were very nice. They kept giving us toys, bags, koala dolls, i loved it all. I still keep the bag from my first flight:)

I still remember clearly that we arrived at the airport and my dad had waited for us,then we went to the apartment by that black taxi cab, as in the movie. I couldn’t help smiling along the road from the airport until we arrived in the apartment. It felt as if your heart is going to explode because the excitement.

In our apartment, my dad had prepared gifts for each of us, yes, each of us, including my mother. He prepared me and my sister with a backpack and small bag. It was red backpack and a very cute small bag, which i still keep it until now.

I enjoying my 2 months there a lot. A lot. We stay in an apartment in granby row room 504 (I really have good memory on this). So, what were we doing during those days?

Let me names several.

We were …

going around the city

eating ice cream in many parks

waiting for bus number 81 to Piccadilly Center

going to precinct Centre by walk and counting steps along the pavement (I loved those pavement) to buy postcards.Oh, I sent the postcards to my best friends, (Almh.) Arum and I didn’t remember who another one, and i got the reply when i was still there!It was so cool receiving a letter with your name in the envelope as if we stayed permanently there,hehe.

Picture taken from University of Manchester

going to University of Manchester and the Museum of Manchester, buying some very nice stickers, shopping in debenhams, my sister and I were very keen of Polly Pocket, we’d been visiting toys r’ us almost every time we went there, and finally buy some of it. (I don’t remember how exactly we paid for it,hehe)

doing groceries shopping in either Tesco or Indian Shop. I remembered how i disliked going to that Indian shop because it was so smelly, so i just waited outside, but going there is compulsory, since my dad had bought us the backpack so it can be filled with those groceries stuff:))

In other way, I loved going to Tesco. It’s quite far from the city, but i enjoyed the trip there. We passed those houses with the maroon brickswall and the chimneys, as Enid Blyton books told me. so, no complaining. Beside, Tesco is smells nice, and we had ice cream there:D

Oh, i remembered one thing that we (me and my siblings) always loved doing daily. We went to the park nearby the apartment. It has big bottle statue and we loved climbing it and playing there, and run-racing with the train passed-by in the railway bridge. We just pretended as if we were chasing the train,hehe. What a silly kids.

I found the picture of the park!!Our apartment just two blocks away

During our 2 month there, we also visited other cities. We went to London, by train!So, before King Cross station is famous because of platform 9 3/4 in Harry Potter, I have been there,in Manchester-London trip. We stayed for 3 days in London. We visited Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, etc.

We saw the guard-changing ceremony in Buckingham Palace also, it was so interesting. I keep wondering what Queen Elizabeth doing inside,hehe. I remembered we couldn’t visit tower of London and Madame Tussaud because it was summer holiday, so the queue was so long. Oh!We were riding on the red double-decker also:D

We also went to several cities like Blackburn (here i bought those blue Clark shoes with only 2 pounds, or Rp 7000,- ,at that time currency)! From then, I love Clark shoes, but it’s quite pricey now:(

Sheffield, Bath, Harrogate, and Buxton were another cities we visited. I didn’t remember clearly, but i remembered of having a-lake-side-picnic with the view of mountain and stone house like one in Little House on The Prairie book:)

Actually, we had also our Benelux visa to visit Netherland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, but, unfortunately, i had chicken pox there, so we cancelled the trip:(

There was also my starting point of learning English. From then, i love English subject and so eager learn by my self, from either books or movie.

Wow, what a long post. I think it is the first time i do really writing something here. It’s always heart-warming, memory traveling to the past:)

Manchester was my first love, which leads me to more places, more journeys, and always keep longing to going back there later, someday, Insya Allah. Amin.

so, I’ll see you later;)

Places, Thoughts, Travel