hey! the weekend wasn't that bad, indeed..

From top left (clockwise): the bridge from S@udi to B@hrain, the globe with B@hrain's flag at the background and the signage when we reached B@hrain

The phone rang at about 12.45pm on Thursday. I was on bed, sleeping feeding little Shahmey. Alright! I was sleeping actually and Shahmey was sleeping too. Sophea and Sobhan were in the other room, watching tv. As I already mentioned in my previous entry, Abang was working that day, though it was a weekend. What else to do other than sleeping? hehee..

From top left (clockwise): my 3 hungry and tired kids, Ryan's (Liza & Joe's son), Liza, myself and our kids and little Shahmey with fresh dates

The sleepyhead picked up the phone. I saw the number. It's Abang. Oh dear! Abang wanted to come back for lunch? I hadn't prepare anything yet. No! No! It can't be that. Usually Abang would come back at 11 for lunch. I answered anyway.

"Hello bang.."

"Tido ke?"

"haah.. tak larat. Masak pun belum."

"Tak payah masak lah. Makan roti je... ni.. Joe ajak pergi Bahrain esok. Nak pergi tak?"

"Esok? Bukan hari ni ke? Tak bermalam ke?"

As usual, the question was followed by bunch of other questions (a typical me!).

"Taklah.. pergi balik hari je."

"hmmm.. okaylah"


I continued sleeping for a little while. Actually, my head was spinning when I answered the phone abruptedly. So, I had to rest to let my head went to normal again (alasan nak tido je tu sebenarnya...).

Pictures: Ripen dates and the picture of B@hrain Kings? (I'm not sure)

We went for groceries after Maghrib prayer as Abang asked me to prepare some food for the trip next day. I decided to make sandwiches. We rushed home. I was thinking to get the sandwich done that evening and put them in the fridge but I was too tired and my head spinned. I went to bed quite early that night.


The next morning, I woke up (not that early though), got myself ready and prepared the sandwiches. We left home at 7am and met Joe and Liza about half an hour later at Kh0naini Gas Station. We continued our journey with Joe leading us up to Bahrain (Joe seems so familiar with the way). Abang never been there. There's no way he could lead the way unless he has gps navigator or g00gle earth with him.

Marvelous dates but nobody cares (located at the parking area)

Our first stop was water park. I'm not sure if the name is water park but surely, there was a green park close to the sea :). The weather was so hot and humid. We're sweating all over but still, we're hungry. We took out our pack food - Liza brought her famous meehoon siam and karipap (yummy!). I ended up eating Liza's meehoon and forgot about my sandwiches. The kids were hungry too. We enjoyed the food but not the weather. I guess, if we were to come again, we would prefer to come during fall or spring.

Unique building - the shape varies depending on where you saw them!

Our next destination was a mall - Manama Mall? Was it Manama or Marina? or something else. I really can't remember. But, it was just a small mall. We moved on to another mall. A slightly bigger but nothing much there. I don't remember the name neither. What a lousy memory!


But I remember the name of the final mall since Joe did specifically mention the name to Abang - Seef Mall. Much much bigger and more choices - a bit like Dh@hran Mall in Khob@r. But of course, it was already late afternoon. Everyone was tired. We didn't get to see much. Furthermore, the prices of items there was not that cheap though they had discounts at many outlets. Well, the price tags shown BD7, BD12 or BD24 but we had to times it to 10 as B@hrain Dinar is 10 times higher than S@udi Riyal. A pair of shoes for Shahmey was BD7 (SR70!). I guess it was expensive. I could get a good pair with only SR30-40, I guess. Heheee.. ummi kedekutttt.... For me, why would we spend so much on something that we can get with a lower price right? I just bought hair accecories my my 2 daughters. They had sale for Cl@ires product (around BD1=SR10 each). Boleh la kan..

My kids - will never be forgotten (we rented a little buggy for Shahmey - penat nak dokong)

The day was getting dark. We headed home. We stucked at the causeway for almost an hour as many cars were queing to go back to S@udi (ramai rupanya S@udi datang merendek shopping di Bahrain).


Overall, I would say, it's a great experience to go to Bahrain (oversea la kiranya hehee) but if we would have some more knowledge about Bahrain, it would be much more exciting. Went to the mall was not our main intention to go to Bahrain actually but since there's no other place to go, mall is the best place to be ;).

Our family of course at the water park

One more thing, that was my first time seeing a note (Bahrain currency with a 1/2 printed on it - 1/2 Dinar). That's what happen I guess when the country's currency is so huge.


My weekend wasn't that bad huh! I sacrificed 1 day and yet I got another day full with a memorable event :).

A reflective vacation

Only 1 word - Alhamdulillah! Thank to Allah who has granted my wish to perform an Umrah together with my family - Abang, Sophea, Sobhan and Shahmey. Before I proceed, please allow me to note a friendly reminder to anybody who read this entry. The reason I'm putting this entry is not to boast about myself or show off whatever that I've done.

I have 2 intentions - One is to share my experience with all my friends (yes, I consider you as my friend) and two is to log every special moment that I've gone through (I hope I will remember this for the rest of my life, Insyaallah).


I'm sure in the inner heart of every Muslim has an intention to go to Mekah whether to perform their Umrah or even Haj. Like myself, the moment Abang was destined to work in S@udi Ar@bia, I've started to imagine myself being there one fine day. Alhamdulillah, it was materialized a few days ago.

Before this, I heard people talked about their experience, all the good and bad that occured to them. The contests were given by Allah to see whether we're strong enough to be His khalifa (خليفة ẖalīfä) in this small and temporary world. People told about many stories starting from the sweetest until the worst one. Thinking about all the sins that I've committed, I was scared. Anything could happen there. I made various do'a to Allah so that I could perform my umrah without much trouble.



I have to admit - I am just like any other people. I made mistakes in life and I am just an ordinary human being. It turned out, I was given a few tests too when I was there. I'm not sure whether its proper to tell people what I've gone through. Since I've already mentioned about my 2 intentions earlier, I'll proceed to write about it. I'm sorry if you don't like to read my entry or think I shouldn't let other people to know them. Again, I'm not forcing anyone to read this entry. Anyway, I'm not that pious to talk about religion. I'm just sharing my experience....

A few occurences that made me reflect are:

1. We went to several (I guess it was more than 5) hotels including the H1lton and Inter C0ntinental and all were fully booked! Can you imagine the SR1000+ per night hotel room like the H1lton was fully booked and it was not even a Haj period. We were so tired and sweating all over that afternoon. I had to carry Shahmey since he refused to sit in the stroller. The kids kept complaining about the hot weather and painful legs.
   
   We had to take another cab and look for a place to stay. We managed to get a room (a simple one) with an affordable rate (more or less about the one closer to Al Haram). The good thing was they gave us complimentary breakfast and there was a shuttle service to go to Al Haram. Abang told me, if only there was an available room in H1lton, we could have used up a few K's (thousands riyals).
   
   I guess, I could say, things happen for a reason (ada hikmah disebalik kejadian)
   
   
   


2. Before taking a cab to find a place to stay, Abang asked me to perform an Umrah by myself first, while he could wait for the kids. I refused since my intention was to perform the umrah together with my family. In addition, I was really exhausted - my feet hurt so badly and my tummy growled.
   
   After checking in, we rested a bit while waiting for the Zuhr prayer. Then only we proceeded to Al Haram. As soon as I saw the Ka'bah (from the masjid), my heart stirred. The moment I started tawaf, my feet felt strong - no more pain. For me, I would describe that incidence as, Allah will help us whenever we plan to perform good deeds.
   
   
   


3. I always afraid my son, Shahmey (a 10 month old) would throw up on my clothes (when it gets dirty, I need to change - troublesome). A few seconds after I had a thinking about Shahmey would throw up, he did so on my telekung (ihram clothing). I had to go up and changed. Luckily, I brought 2 telekung. Actually, earlier in the flight, I went to the toilet. The toilet was dirty. I doubt my telekung was clean but I didn't change it. If Shahmey didn't make my telekung really dirty, I may not change it yet. Thus, I would wear a dirty telekung to perform the umrah. So??? I guess you know the answer :). Another thing happen for a reason...
   
   
   


4. Coan had been asking for a new pair of shoes that she described as 'kasut kaca' (nothing happen to the old one actually) like the one she saw during her birthday party (someone came wearing that kind of shoes). While having our breakfast on the 2nd day, her shoes torn. We didn't bring extra shoes for her. So, we had to shop for a new pair. I was thinking to grab just any kind of slipper to accommodate her. We went to a few shops. Her wish granted when the first shop that had children shoes actually sold the kind of shoes that she always dream of. It was really a wish come true for her :)
   
   
   


5. I heard there are times when whatever you said will be granted if you said them in Mekah. It occured a few times already. Abang also experienced the same. He told me that he wanted to eat rice for our lunch. When he looked at the stall that sold rice (kabsa), they're not that tempting to him. So, he bought falafel (sandwich kind) instead.
   
   In Al Haram so far, I didn't see any restaurant that provided places to eat. After getting our food we had to hunt for a place to sit and eat. We opted to sit on the floor beside one of the benches close to the masjid. The girls were sitting / playing on the bench while Abang and I ate our falafel.
   
   While eating, my 2 girls passed a kabsa (rice with grilled chicken) to us. The kabsa was given by a couple who sit on the other side of the bench. I reflected that Abang told me before about craving for rice and now, he got it. Amazing huh!
   
   
   


6. While waiting for abang in the masjid, Coan kept jumping from the stairs. She likes to jump anyway. I was afraid Coan would break her leg since the stairs were quite high. I knew that I needed to warn her. I was thinking to tell "Jangan lompat, nanti patah kaki" but I was also afraid she would really sprain her leg. So, I told her "Jangan lompat, nanti tercabut kuku" instead. Frankly, I didn't expect that to happen at all. Well, she stopped jumping for a while.
   
   The next day, she splitted her toe nail. Though the condition wasn't that bad, I regretted for saying such thing a day before. I should have said something like "... nanti Abah marah". Ain't I?
   
   
   
   
7. I was stopped by a muttawa (pious man) in Al Haram. He inspected my bag and found my camera (they prohibited people from taking picture though many disregard that rules since it wasn't properly written). He asked me not to bring the camera inside. We (my friend, As and I diverted and used a different entrance instead). It was sneaky but the occasion made me think about disobeying the rules is immoral.

Though I experienced a few unfavorables instances there, I enjoyed the 'vacation'. I wish to be there again for another Umrah or Haj perhaps. Insyaallah...

I wish to go again...

We went to Madinah Al Munawwarah last weekend (8 - 11 Jan 2008). I will summarize the story about the trip. Please excuse me if it will be a longggggg summary. (cikgu cikgu english sure marah ni :))


8 Jan 2008

We left house at about 4.00pm and reached Dammam Airport about an hour after that. It was cold and windy. At the check in counter, the guy told abang that he had been working in Malaysia for 2 years. He was excited to tell abang that Malaysia is a good country. In fact, while having our tea, there was one Bangladeshi came and talked to us in Bahasa Melayu. I've never been so proud to be a Malaysian until I came to the Saudi Arabia. They respect the country and the people. So far, the comments that I received were - Malaysia has a good system, its beautiful, peaceful and other nice comments.

Our boarding pass!

Since our departure time was 6.20pm, we performed our prayer beforehand. I noticed there was a male prayer room but none for female. There was only 'a female praying area' which was full of dust (I had to be tawakkal about the cleanliness of the carpet since it seems that people brought their shoes in. How wonderful...). It's really a man's world here.

Luckily, we were able to get everyone in a row. It's easier for me to pass Shahmey to abang I feel safer that way since I could see what my 2 girls did. I met a saudi lady (tapi kulit dia gelap. Badwin agaknya) with a son (alahai, terlupa la pulak nama dia. But I took her phone number. So, it must be in my purse) who went to visit her parents who live in Madinah. She bought 2 perfumes in the plane and dia kata nak bagi souvenirs to the parents. Bagusnya bagi parents perfume...


Turun flight, it was about 8pm in Madinah. Kena turun tangga and took a bus to the airport. It wasn't that far. Only about 5 minutes away. But, it was pretty cold. The kids especially Sobhan were all tired. After claiming our baggage, abang rented a car. A small and cheap one - Chevy Aveo. We had no map since our first plan was to take a cab. May be after realizing that we may stay farther from the Masjid Nabawi (Al Haram), abang decided to rent a car (nampak sangat tak well plan), so that it'll be easier to move around. We asked the shop if they did sell a map but regrettably they didn't. They referred us to the tourist centre, just beside their outlet. They had a map but it was a Saudi Arabia map and Madinah was only a dot (.) in the map! Ha! Ha! Ha!


We had no choice but to ask. Knowing abang, I knew that he won't ask unless he really sesat. He would always pandai pandai cari jalan sendiri. Me? As usual...


"Abang, call la Nur dulu. Tanya dia macam mana nak ke sana. bok bek bok bek bok bek.... "


Abang didn't want to trouble my friend, Nur (an Indonesion married to a Saudi guy) since it was already late (at about 9pm). Besides, it was not easy to describe to Nur where we were. So, abang just drove while looking at the signboard. Boom! We managed to see Al Haram (Masjid Nabawi without trouble). Since abang decided to leave the kids with ma (Ma just finished her haj) while we perform our prayer at Al Haram, we went to find the hotel (Al Shaer - besides Al Karam Hotel). We went around and around for almost 15 minutes. At last, I saw Al Karam Hotel right in front of my eyes. We just went straight and there ma was, patiently standing there.

Since it was late, abang decided to rent a hotel room at Al Shaer. They gave us a room with 4 single bed but the toilet was outside with no payment at all! We were shocked at first but they insisted it. They didn't want to take any single cent for that. May be because they couldn't provide a room that we requested (a deluxe). Also, I supposed it was our rezeki... Alhamdulillah...

Shahmey tak berapa nak dengan ma (dah kenal orang..)

Abang and I went to Al Haram and left the kids with ma. It was about 11.30pm. Many toilets were already closed. We went around the mosque and got to see many kinds of human behavior. There were people who cried in front of the prophet's maqam (outside the mosque since women were not allowed to be in during that time). Some were reciting something (from a special book). Some were praying there.

After praying, I went out to meet abang and ended up went back by myself coz' abang took quite a long time in the mosque. It was freezing cold and I only wore my telekung. While walking back to the hotel, I kept praying that abang won't get mad for going back alone. Actually I thought, abang went back without me coz I wasn't sure how long I stayed in the mosque (I didn't wear my watch). When I reached the room, abang wasn't there. Oh dear.. (mampus la aku. sure abang marah. I thought.) I asked ma to go back to her room since ma brought her room key while the other 5 of her friends were deeply sleeping. Abang came back and smiled. Heheheee.. (lega nya laaa and alhamdulillah... he's also okay)

"Amboi... balik dulu ye..." that's abang!

"Puas neeza tunggu tapi abang takde. Neeza pun balik la.... lagipun neeza takut ma nak balik bilik dia. kan ma pegang kunci. nanti tak keluar pulak kawan-kawan ma tu.." me, asking for sympathy

Okaylah tu... dia tak marah.. heheheee..

9 Jan 2008

After subuh, we slept again. Rasa rugi pun ada. By right, we were supposed to be at Al Haram most of the time since it wasn't easy to come to Madinah. But, I didn't want to bring my kids along especially Shahmey whom I considered as a baby. A baby who will cry and disturb others in the mosque.

It was only after zuhur prayer that we (ma and us) left the hotel. We stopped for Asar prayer at the Masjid Quba (the first masjid of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w). I met this 1 Melayu couple (tak sempat borak panjang coz' I was in hurry). I only knew that they were from KL.

We proceeded to Nur's house after that. It wasn't that far. Only 5 minutes away. Her kids waited for us outside. I can't deny that I really adore her fully carpeted 3-storey house. The kids were adorable (logic la kot... indo (muka sebjik melayu yang boleh tahan cantik) + arab = comel la sangat.. heheee). They made friends with my kids at no time. The eldest (Sooad) couldn't wait to hold and play with Shahmey. The others (Ismaeel, Iman and Sararee) were happily playing with Sophea and Sobhan at the 'kids zone'.

Nur baked a really scrumptious peach or may be orange cake (it taste like orange but it has pieces of peach inside) for us. Abang ate almost half of it!! She also served a special mint flavor arabian tea for us (Sedap la pulak...)

Later, Ahmed (Nur's hubby) came back. A very nice guy jugak. We planned to go out and brought ma to Tabung Haji (ma needed to draw some money). But, we were delayed by the special dinner brought back by Ahmed and Nur (nasi putih with all lauk pauk Indo/melayu and sate daging!). Masyaallah... rezeki Allah bagi.

Something about Ahmed- not an ordinary saudi. He is very kindhearted, open minded and knowledgeable (that's explain why he was elected to be a commentator for saudi tv, I guess). His English accent is like an American. It made it easy for us to understand him.

The day ended after we sent ma to the hotel. Nothing much.

10 Jan 2008

I cooked nasi goreng today! A simple one but the kids ate a lot. Must be due to empty tummy la tu... After the breakfast cum lunch, Ahmed came back. He decided to tour us around Madinah. A free tourist guide!

Masjid Jumah (the first Jumaat prayer was performed here)

The Station (pronounce as sta-si-yon)

the Jabal Uhud

Madinah, indeed is not a very big city. But, it is organizely structured. We visited Jabal Uhud, Masjid Quba, Masjid Qiblatain, Masjid Jumaah, Masjid Bilal and a few others (I knew I should have jotted down all information given by Ahmed). We also went to the fort owned by the Bani Quraidhah that was lead by Kaab Al Ashraff (during the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w time, the fort later was used as a place by the j3w to attack the muslims) that was still up but according to Ahmed, the government was trying to hide the place from visitors.

the Bani Quraidhah Fort - Ahmed and Ismaeel was looking down the well

The special thing about today was, we went to a 3 different mosque to perform our prayer:

1. Asar - Masjid Quba

Masjid Quba'

2. Maghrib - Masjid Qiblatain (no picture - sorry...)

3. Isya' - Masjid Nabawi (Al Haram)

Masjid Nabawi (Al Haram)

Later that evening, we brought ma to the Tabung Haji (finally!! after 2 days of waiting...) and since there was a Tabung Haji clinic there, ma dropped by to take some medicine for her knee (banyak sangat jalan, lenguh kaki...)

Ma and the doctor at the Tabung Haji Clinic

We had a huge dinner that evening at Ahmed's house. Mandhi rice with Madhbi chicken (fooh!! what a pronunciation. berbelit lidah nak sebut.). After that, abang and I went out again to send ma to the hotel room.

The dinner (in arab style)

Masjid Nabawi - from the Babussalam view

Sararee, Sophea and Iman

Ma and the kiddos

11 Jan 2008

Our last day. We haven't bought anything yet. So, I decided to pick ma and went shopping. Ma actually really needed me to accompany her to shop since she can't carry heavy stuff that much. But it was only the last day I could do that. We went to a few shops. 1 of the shopkeepers thought I was a saudi (baru cakap sepatah dua words in arabic dah kata aku ni minah arab... sabor je la). Of course I had to tell them that I followed my husband and bla bla bla....

Kak Ya and us at the Al Shaer (Kak Ya is a friend of mine)

We didn't get to buy much since its already Zohor. It was Friday and abang needed to perform his Friday prayer. Besides, no shop is opened during the prayer. While abang was praying, we went to ma's room. I met ma's roomates. They were kind (hajah hajah la katakan...)

Ahmed called and invited us to have lunch at his house. If you notice, we've been eating at Ahmed house quite a few times. We really didn't want to trouble him but he and Nur always insisted us (Kalau tolak, takut kecik hati pulak). That afternoon, we ate another Kabsa and a very mouthwatering salad with a french dressing specially prepared by Ahmed (sedap sangat! I need to learn of how to make it). I forgot to mention that Nur also invited Kak Cahaya to the house. Kak Cahaya is a muslim US citizen malay lady who does her sabbatical at the Taiba University. She has a 3 grown up boys who studied in the US. She spoke bahasa melayu very well though she has been in the States for almost 20 years.

In the evening, we went out again. This time with Nur and Kak Cahaya. But later Kak Cahaya decided to go home since she had students assignment to check.

We arrived at the Taiba Centre about 1/2 hour before the Isya' prayer. Ma bought abayat and necklace for Sophea, Sobhan and Aaina. Also, a few abayat for her. The guy at the necklace shop gave Shahmey a watch. I refused at first and said,

"If you give him, the sisters will be jealous"

He later gave another 2. One thing I noticed in here (here: in this country) was, the shopkeepers were fond of kids. There were a few occasions that we've received free items or a huge discounts after they looked and 'kuchi kuchi' our kids (sorry! I don't have the accurate vocab for that)

Later, ma wanted to purchase Kaabah posters for Azman, my brother in law and also to give others as souvenirs, I supposed.

An occasion that stumbled me there, was an incident whereby an arab lady hit her daughter in front of our eyes. The small girl (about 2 - 3 years old) was crying out loud and the mother hit her like crazy on her head, slapped her cheek and body. If the girl wasn't taken away by the other lady, I think the small girl would have collapsed or even worse, died. Nur asked why she hit the daughter and she said her voice was embarassing. The lady didn't feel guilty at all. She kept hitting the girl until the other lady had to hold the little girl tight. I cried a bit looking at the incident (Apa lah jenis manusia. Kecil lagi budak tu. bukannya faham apa pun. Semoga I won't be like her...)

Since we needed to catch our flight, we had to stop shopping. Besides, I hadn't finish packing yet. We said goodbye to ma and rushed home. Nur accompanied ma upstairs but I didn't. I asked abang,

"Mak sape sebenarnya ni? Mak neeza ke mak Nur?"

Abang said,

"Entah lah. Abang pun wonder jugak..."

We laughed...

At home, Ahmed bought something like murtabak served in a box like a pan pizza. I've yet to ask the food name. He bought a lot and of course we didn't finish them. Nur 'tapau' the food for us and until the time I write this, we haven't finished the food... Not only that. Ahmed bought a big plate of 'kunafah' (a special arab cuisine) for us to bring back. Masyaallah...

Ahmed and Nur sent us to the airport. He even helped in checking in our baggage while abang went to return the rental car. Telling the truth, I never met anybody so kind hearted like that. That was the first time. May Allah bless him and the family.

After waving goodbye, we went in. It was freezingly cold that evening. Our flight was scheduled at 11.50pm which means we would arrive Dammam about 2 hours after that.

Sobhan and Sophea - 2 sleepy girls

We arrived Dammam Airport at 1.20am. My kids were all sleeping then. Sophea woke up just fine. Only God knew how hard it was for abang to wake Sobhan up. To freshen each of us, we had coffee there.

We continued our journey and finally reached home at 3.20am. Alhamdulillah...

Honestly, I was happy with the trip because:

1. I managed to pray at the Masjid Nabawi

2. Got to meet my mom

3. Met an unusually nice family (Ahmed and Nur's)

4. Visited many historical places

But, I am a bit frustrated because:

1. I only prayed 2 times in Masjid Nabawi (it should be more coz the pahala is huge)

2. We didn't bring back zam zam drink at all

3. Shahmey was not feeling well all the way

4. I should have jotted down all information given by Ahmed (now, I forgot which story is for which picture...)

Insyaallah, we will be there again. One day... when? entahlah.. Only God knows!

It's always good to be home

Phewww!!! I finally home. Though the journey was quite short (only 2 days and 1 night), it already has made my body to ache (sitting in the car for long hours could also cause this problem actually :)) We left Al Jubail at about 9.50 am on Friday the 21st December 2007. The night before Shahril has scanned through the google map and get the shortest distance possible. (Thanks to him for the effort because if he would had depended on me, who is really lousy in a sense of direction, I could make him lost before even reaching Dammam! Hehehehe).

Went through a windy, sandy, barren and dry desert was quite an interesting experience (yeah right!!). A perfect time to get a pillow and sleep too... My kids? They didn't take much time to find their comfortable spot and go zzzzz.... Though I was quite sleepy, I has to be awake cause I know how cool (ye la sangat) it was driving in a hot weather while listening to sentimental arabic song (sepatah haram pun tak paham). Then, Shahril decided to go to our first pit stop. Here it was. Shahril has bought himself a cup of hot shai halib (teh susu la tu) to make him awake. While waiting for him in the car, I noticed there were 4 saudi boys eating hot dogs in front of the cafe. They looked jovial at first. After a while, 1 of them has pushed another one to the back. I thought they wanted to fight but it was not. Perhaps it was just the way they (the arabs) mingle with their friends, though I admit it was quite scary (to me at least).

We moved on for we needed to reach Riyadh early (kalau sesat siang senang nampak sign board). Approaching Riyadh, we could see there were many camels at our right side. It was a camel farm I suppose. Shahril stopped to let us took picture. I could imagine how peculiar the arabs looked at us (kat Malaysia, macam orang ambik gambar dengan lembu la. Pak Arab mesti kata, dengan unta pun nak ambik gambar. baik la ambik gambar dengan aku...heheheh) Well, why bother? As long as we didn't go and poke at the camels tummy, I guess that would be okay. We didn't waste much time to take picture. After a few snaps, we continued our journey.

When I saw many building and houses, I knew we almost reaching Riyadh. From far away I could see the Kingdom Tower, which also told us that's the way that we should follow. Shahril kind of used his instinct. We did make 1 u-turn though, for using a wrong way and that's it. The rest was fine. The map was a good assistance! We drove till we reached a small town like Al Jubail. There were many Indians, Pakistanis and Philipinos around. We knew that we're supposed to go back to the city centre and get a hotel to rest. After about an hour of going here and there, we manged to get a deluxe room for only SR350. That's considered cheap (hello.... mana ada hotel seratus lebih kat sini! Malaysia lain la.. 350 dah boleh duduk 5 star hotel). You wanna know where we've stayed? Look at your left. I considered it as okay. Whereas can you find a hotel room in here with a king size bed, an extra matress for my kids, a toilet with bath tub and top of that, breakfast was included. Actually we did ask for a discount :) The actual rate was SR450. They gave us SR100 less! Perhaps they were not many visitors around during the time. That was why they could afford to give that much reduction.

We freshen ourselves and then, went down to look for more 'surprises' in Riyadh. Unfortunately, by not having much information about interesting places, we ended up went to the mall - Faysalian Mall (if I'm not mistaken). I was quite discouraged because going to the mall meaning spending money and our intention to come to Riyadh was not spending money. Of course we had to spend some money but not for buying things that we could get in Jubail... Well, after 'visiting' a few outlets, we decided to entertain our kids at the Toyland... Sophea and Sobhan (and part of Shahril) but not Shahmey enjoyed their time there. They even wanted more. Since Shahmey was not feeling well (having flu and mild fever), I had to promise them to go to the Toyland in Dammam... (entah bila la tu pulak). Then we went to Cinnabon. I had an Ice blended of Mocha Cappucino and a cinnamon roll. Sorry to say but the mocha taste is rather strong to me. The cinnamon roll was okay though! We sitted at the singles section. I knew exactly that there were a different section for family. The attendant already told us it was upstairs. We requested to sit downstairs (open air) and the guy approved. When other people came, I could see their bizzare look. For me, I would prefer to sit outside and enjoyed the night view of Riyadh city while having our supper than sitting in a stuffy room upstairs.

I hope the 2nd day would rather be appealing than a day before. I thought of going to the zoo since Shahril did mention about a zoo in Riyadh. He asked for a direction from the waiter at the coffee house. He's Philipino by the way. He was the one who came to us and asked Shahril about our kids. He has been in KSA for 10 years and only went back once in 2 years! Oh my.... pity his wife and the daughter. That made me thinking, how hard it is to get a job and raise a family. Some people are not lucky enough that they have to go thousands miles away leaving their family behind. Alhamdulillah, we don't have to be separated for years (4 1/2 months was long enough to me). After asking here and there (look at Shahril talked to the taxi driver), we finally reached the Riyadh Zoo. We saw a few men dropped their families and left. Kind of odd, I thought. When we went to pay for the entrance fees, the guy told us that men are not allowed on Saturday. We look at the schedule that was written in Arabic (apa la ngok ngeknya diorang ni. macam la semua orang boleh baca arab). Check out the schedule if you decide to go there one of these days.

In that windy and freezing cold weather, I went in with my three kids, without Shahril of course. Kind of distressing indeed. Just imagine I had to push Shahmey (in a stroller) and took care of my 2 restless daugters at the same time. To make it more delightful, I was having cough and cold (sabar je laa). One thing that I noticed about the zoo was the cleanliness. Congratulations to the zoo management! The place including the animals cage were well taken care of. The cages were not smelly at all (or may be the animals went to the toilet.. duhhh!!) I took a few pictures of my kids there. I asked one Indian lady snap a picture of me and my kids, though we're talking like cat and dog (she didn't understand English at all). Regrettably, kepala Shahmey nampak separuh aje. May be because Shahril was not around. That's why we can't take a family picture... (to comfort myself for having an incomplete photo). My kids and I were also fascinated by the Orang Utan that we met there. He (I think it's a male) was so engrossed eating chocolate and snack that were given by the visitors. He even asked for more when the arabs tried to throw another piece of chocolate. (You could see the Orang Utan - in the cage behind my kids).

After being nagged by my almost freezing cold kids, we left the zoo. Shahril has waited for us outside. We went back to the hotel and started packing. My kids were a bit upset for they wanted to stay in the hotel room longer. But, Shahril had to work the next day and needed to have an early sleep. We checked out and left for Jubail. Though it was a very short vacation, I was contented. I hope this short visit will lead to another meaningful and more adventurous vacation. Surely, I have to ask around and surf the internet for more information so that our next vacation to Riyadh will be a fruitful one.

We left for Jubail at about 1.00pm. After a few stops and makan, we finally home. It was almost 7.30 when we actually home. Alhamdulillah, we arrived home safely.