Back home, going to Mecca is a very big thing. It’s considered a sacred moment—almost like God is inviting you personally, and only those who are chosen get to be His guests. Strangely, despite growing up with that belief, I never really had the dream of visiting a sacred city.
I’m not particularly religious, though I still carry the knowledge and teachings I was given when I was younger. My aunt once tried quite hard to make me as religious as she is, but I knew that would never quite be me.
One day, during our usual monthly outing at Shanshui with Kak Zetty, Kak Zura, Am, and me, the topic of Umrah came up. In the middle of the conversation, I casually mentioned that I was planning to do Umrah someday—though I had no idea when.
Later that evening, when I got home, I called Papa and suggested something that started half as a joke: instead of me flying back to the UK after visiting home, why don’t we go for Umrah together? I even joked that we could pray in front of the Kaabah and ask God to guide us to our next travel destination. It sounded playful at first, but the idea stayed with me.
I kept calling Papa and Mama over the next few days, just to make sure they knew I was serious. After a bit of discussion about who would join and who wouldn’t, we finally agreed. The rest of the arrangements were handled by Tabung Haji.
Initially, I thought I would simply fly from London straight to Jeddah and meet them there. But traveling alone as a woman to Saudi Arabia isn’t always the most straightforward process. To avoid unnecessary complications, I decided to fly to Kuala Lumpur for a few days first, and then continue the journey to Jeddah with them. In the end, my holiday practically turned into a small round-the-world trip.
The journey itself was surprisingly easy. I usually get motion sickness during long road travels, but this time I was completely fine and slept most of the way.
Mama and Papa were incredibly happy throughout the trip. We managed to perform three Umrahs together. Mama had time to do her shopping in between, while Papa could follow his own pace without any pressure or stress.
In Madinah, they were even able to enter the Prophet’s tomb, Rawdah twice. These days, that’s not an easy thing to do because access is strictly regulated through the Nusuk app, and most of the time the booking slots are already full.
It was a wonderful trip.
More than anything, it was about spending time with my parents after being away from them for so long. But at the same time, I also realized that a journey like this is always personal. Even if I didn’t grow up dreaming about it, standing there still felt like a quiet moment between me and Allah—something private that only I could understand in my own way.
And I’m grateful for that.
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