Sunday, 19 January 2025

My in-laws have been meaning to perform Umrah since last year and after much planning, we finally agreed to go in January this year. We went with MKM, a well known umrah operator in Malaysia.

We took an early morning flight at 6:40AM from KLIA. The airline was Saudia Airlines (Saudia), it was the first time all of us taking Saudia.

The quality of service and seating was impressive. In the flight, I watched the new Japanese movie Gobangiri. It has a lot of Go (the board game) elements which I find fascinating.

We landed at Jeddah Airport at 10:40AM. As we exited customs, we were greeted with a large and impressive looking aquarium. Our designated mutawwif (guide) from MKM, Ustaz Akmal, was waiting for us there.

I saw the famous Barn’s coffee as we exited customs. I couldn’t possibly miss the chance to have a cup after all these years. The coffee and pastry was fantastic, just as how I remember it decades ago.

Our ride in Saudi is the GMC. This is a huge car, but it is common on Saudi streets.

From the airport, the mutawwif took us to Al Romansiah in Jeddah. It seems to be a big local chain for arabic food. Surprisingly, the food was just average, nowhere near the type of Arabic food we typically have in Kuala Lumpur.

After lunch, we drove to Taif. The journey took about 1 hour 30 mins. It was my first time going to Taif. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the weather was actually cooler up there. We checked in at Swiss International Hotel. Apparently it is one of the common hotels for pilgrims from Malaysia.

The hotel room was the family type. It had 2 rooms with 2 separate bathrooms. It was really cozy. Once everyone has settled in, I went for a walk to explore the area.

Coffee shops on the outskirts of Taif

There wasn’t much as it wasn’t exactly the town centre, but there were a few coffee shops.

I haven’t been back to Saudi for nearly 20 years. Although I’ve been reading about the changes in society, it was still a surprise to see women working in shops and restaurants without gender segregation.

In the evening, we had dinner at the hotel. The portions were huge and there were way too much food. I could barely eat after the second course. After dinner, all of us had a rest in our rooms while watching local TV. The next day will be a long and busy day, so we needed the rest.

Related posts: Umrah part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4