[Journey] 14 Days Trip Exploring Turkiye - Part 2

Day 4 : Pamukkale Tour

At 07.00 in the morning, a minibus pick us up, 7 people inside, seems like 4 of them is a family. We stopped by at intersection to Kusadasi waiting for the bigger bus, we wait there for almost an hour, the man from the family was so angry, grumbling all the time, the tour is not professional for him. That day, I get my period, loose my mood of everything, just patiently sit and wait, while Dina is busy with her novel. The bus from Kusadasi arrive, I pull Dina to jump and run to get a pair of seat, the Taiwanese family focus on complaining ask for discount coz they don’t like waited too long. Their mission failed, no discount they get, and now they have to sit far one to another. 3 hours trip to Pamukkale, our tour guide Mehmet is so excited to tell the brief story of Pamukkale, Aydin and Denizli area, the city we go through. Aydin is one of the most fertile lands in Turkey, they produce many orange and various kind of fruits. No wonder, along the way we see so many orange trees and green areas. We met some tractors parked in front of some coffee shops, we assume the farmers must be inside, enjoying morning coffee after some hard works at the farms, nice. When we stop by for toilet, I ask Mehmet, do the farmers secure their lands, to ensure their oranges save from being stolen, he laughs, no it’s save, nobody want to steal oranges, and there are too much oranges to be stolen. Hmm dalam hati miris, di Negara gue nihh, ada aja rampok dateng bawa truk, tau-tau hasil bumi yg minggu depan siap panen hilang seketika. 

Before we get to Pamukkale entrance, we stop by at buffet restaurant for lunch, the funny thing in Turkey is wherever you go with tour group, they will entertain you with great meals for free, but you have to pay for the drink. Surely the drinks charged two or three times higher than in minimarket. But don’t worry, they will not force you to buy. The toilet at the rest area are mostly charged 1TL, but in the restaurant most likely free. While we seated wait to be served, I saw Mehmet carry a ‘tasbih’, an Islam rosary in pink and blue color. I come to him, offering a barter of rosary with the one I have. I tell him it’s from Makkah and made from dates seed. He agreed, yippie, now I have a Turkish rosary :)

The Pamukkale site has beautiful scenery, the white terraces of glacier carbonite minerals look so contrast with its green surrounding and its blue sky. People can enjoy the hot spring in two big pools inside the Hierapolis ruins complex, and try the natural water full of minerals from the old well, or play with warm water in the terrace. Too bad I can’t fully enjoy it, feel so weak on my period, so I only sit, enjoying the scenery and waiting Dina takes some photos around. I could only laugh every time I hear Mehmet explain about hot spring, his accent is so funny. Back to Selcuk, I sleep over and just wake up when we reach Aydin city. The big bus drop us at Selcuk bus otogar, and we just realize there is public bus from Selcuk to Pamukkale, so, if you don’t want to join a tour group, and save 110TL, you can use the public transport.  

Instead of back to hotel, we preferred to walk round the Selcuk village, I love this place so much, small village, quiet, clean and nice people. We went to the train station, to watch a train just arrived from Izmir, takes photo of the ruins on its mini parks, the open air restaurants, and we decided to have an early dinner at Ejder Restaurant. The son owner’s greets us nicely and tempted us with his mom handmade foods offer which is recommended by many people in lonely planet. Okay, seems like we need to eat, and we love the atmosphere and we never guess it’s gonna be the sweetest moment we have in Selcuk. Here is my review about the  Ejder resto in Tripadvisor.com.  

“Yummy food served by heart”
Reviewed June 17, 2013 

Place and its atmosphere is very important, and Ejder is located at the park nearby Selcuk train station, it is very relaxing to have a seat at the open air seating area of the restaurant, looking at birds flying back to their cage at top of the pillars when daytime is almost over.
The food quality is excellent, the Mama cooked everything by heart, I tried iskender kebab and my friend tried adana kebab, and both are so delicious, we finish everything and left our plate empty. When we want to pay, they offer us a cup of Turkish tea at free, wow. The funny thing, even we have finished the tea and spend some time just sitting there, I could still imagine the taste of the meat she cooked. Something served by heart will stay longer, it's true. We traveled around Turkey for 14 days and never found something as good as the one at Ejder. 

 -- mini park at Selcuk --

                

Day 5 : Sirince - Aydin - Fethiye - Oludeniz

After light breakfast, we go to Sirince, by Dolmus from bus otogar. Sirince is small village in Turkey well known with its wine pruduct. Its a muslim village isn't it, yes, they only produce but not consume. It takes only 15 minutes from Selcuk to Sirince, 3TL one way. Besides the wide grape farms, we could see the wine production and taste it in some of the small cafe in Sirince. I enjoy look around its main street with some of souvenir stall, the pin magnets are cute. It is only 4 dolmus served Selcuk-Sirince, and only 1 stand by at the otogar, they depart every 15 minutes, so make sure you are right in time or waited for the next departure. Back to Selcuk, we walk to the ruins of Artemis temple, it is 5-7 mins walks from the bus otogar, and it is really ruins, too bad, can't imagine how beautiful it was. And i just realize i left my brandnew mango sunglass at the dolmus, hiks, okay let it be, just enjoy the ruins and the hot sun. Lucky me, when we walk back to hotel and pass through the bus otogar, the Sirince dolmus driver look at us, and he called me, yeaaaa he keeps my sunglass save, wow, what a wonderful and honest Turkey people. 

Back to the hotel at 11.30, we found Tom girlfriend, the korean girl, mad at us, she yelled that we have to check out before 10, cause the cleaning lady only work until 10.30. Its not our first time stay in a hotel or hostel, never heard a check out time at 10, and Tom didnt inform us also. Well, you may guess, I yelled back to her, its your problem with the maid, not us, just write clearly on the reception desk. We leave the hotel in a hurry and so mad. Never will recommend the Artemis hotel.

The next destination is Oludeniz, its in the south east coast of Turkiye. From Selcuk we take dolmus to Aydin city, 7 TL. And Aydin to Fethiye we take a big bus, 32TL. Remember that Aydin and Fethiye is not a big city, really have to go directly to the counter to ask for the near departure time or we have to wait 2 - 3 hours, after get the ticket then you can go to toilet or buy foods. We don't have much time to buy proper foods for lunch, coz our bus will depart in 10 mins, so we just buy some Simits for emergency meal. It takes 2 hours from Aydin to Oludeniz, the view a long the way are green mountainous and clear blue sky. Arrived on Fethiye, we have lunch at the bus otogar, another durum kebab and Turkish tea, yummy. Then we walk to the main boulevard and wait in front of a supermarket for taking dolmus to Oludeniz. Dolmus Fethiye - Oludeniz costs 5TL, its less than 20 mins and we reach our hotel, Oludeniz Hotel. Its located not too far from the welcome gate of Oludeniz, surrounded by rocky mountain, but also close to the beach. The man behind reception desk cant speak good English but he is such a warm guy. We get a room with swimming pool view, nice, and the wifi is very good. Time to 'update status' hahaha. 

That evening, I keep persuing Dina to take a paragliding ride, well its my reason to visit Oludeniz, paragliding, I really want to try, but not in Indonesia, and I already ask my paragliding freak friend about it safety. Too bad Dina didn't want. So, I persue her to take a 12 island boating tour, and she agreed. We called one tour provider and a guy come to drop us the ticket, inform us about the detail. Then we spent our evening at the hotel balcony, enjoy the stars with some just-wash underwear hang in our surrounding, hahaha.

Day 6 : Oludeniz 12 Islands Tour - Blue Lagoon

We start the day with a very healthy and full variety breakfast, ready to enjoy the boating session today. I am still on my period, but I feel dont mind to jump into the water if it is good enough. At 9 am, a big jeep pick us up, no upcover, okayy hello sun, keep smile. We pick up a family from England, they already got tanned skin, and the little girl asked why i wear a balinese sarong to cover my head, you dont like hot sun? Yeah, we have a lot in our country, she laugh. The jeep takes us to Fethiye pier wherein our boat has waited for us. Its two deck boat,  all the european guest prefer to sit in upper deck, enjoy the hot sun, while we both and a pakistan family prefer to stay away hahaha. There are lots of small islands in south east coastal of Turkiye, close enough one to another, can imagine how beautiful the sight is if we take a paragliding ride. Sigh. 

When we stop by at the first island, some of the guest at upper desk jump out to the water, swim, the water looks so calm and clear. I asked the boat crew if i can rent a snorkel gear or goggle, too bad they dont provide it. But no regret, I asked one of the guy about the underwater life down there, lots of grey fish, only grey, no coral at all. Well this time I feel so lucky for being Indonesian, we have lots of beautiful coral and colorful fishes. Even in Phuket, I dont find coral and colorful fishes. So Indonesian, we must be proud and take care our underwater world real carefully, and if you never go snorkeling or diving in Indonesia, it is really a big loss. 

Lunch meal at boat is surely fish and salad, but we can choose chicken grilled if we dont like fish. Again, they charged for the drink. Overall the tour costs 35TL is worth enough, the service is good and also the view, if you like swimming in open ocean, its a must, but only swimming. 

Back to the pier, now they use minibus to serve us, with aircon, thanks God. Feel a bit sleepy, but we need to move our foot after seating half day, then after drop our belonging to the hotel, we go walking to the blue lagoon, its only 10 mins walk anyway. The blue lagoon beach is beautiful, we must go back tomorrow morning.

Day 7 : Heading to Antalya

Wake up in the morning, feel excited to explore the blue lagoon again, we go walking after breakfast, buy a delicate Turkish ice cream again, watching some paragliding fly smoothly and landed on the beach, love it, I wish its me. Walking back to hotel, we stop by at money changer, well wherever you see money changer with a good rate, dont waste it. Clean up, packing, then check out. Take a dolmus to Fethiye. Buy a bus ticket to Antalya. While waiting for the bus depart, I have little discussion with the bus crew about how to get to Konya and Goreme from Antalya. One of the crew offer a good price at 100 TL for a baloon ride at Capadoccia, including a pick up at bus otogar and drop to our hotel whenever we arrive, sounds good,  I asked for Dina and Mira approval, and we pay half for the down payment. 

It takes 4 hours from Fethiye to Antalya, we take Bati Antalya bus, 25TL, coz it goes through the shorter route, which the other take a long ride through coastal line. We can enjoy more beautiful view through the long ride, but we prefer have more time to explore the city. 

Arrived in Antalya bus otogar, we are about to get info about bus to Konya, when a lady come to us, asking where we wanna go, we mentioned our hotel in old town. Guess what next, yeahh she offers a guide coz she will go to the same area. Wow, what a very kind lady. She introduce herself as Marie, she is French, but she likes Antalya so much so she often come for a long time vacation at Antalya. We take a metro (subway), 4TL, to get into the old town, and Marie accompanied us walk to our hotel, the Argos Hotel. While she rent a small house 5mins walk from our hotel. She offered a walk exploring the old town after we check in and have some rest, we agree to meet her in an hour. She is really have a beautiful heart like her name, mother Marie. How lucky we were to meet her, coz the streets in the old town looks similar to us and many people get lost inside. While check in, we saw a flyer at the reception about tour to Perge Aspendos and Kursunlu waterfall, costs 175TL, looks so invited, and we decided to join the tour tomorrow. The hotel is nice and clean, old building but they maintain it very well. they have swimming pool, but again no time to enjoy it.

Marie really comes in an hour, she take us to see the historical Korkut mosque ruins and Hadrian gate, the Antalya park overlooking the beach, the pier, then end up with dinner at a small restaurant serving kebab and friends. We meet some demonstrants at the main boulevard. Marie told us the demo is about a park in Istanbul. But the demo doesnt look scary to us, we have more scary demo in Jakarta haha. Thank you Marie, you are really such an angel. Hope we will meet you again someday.

.... To be continued :) ... 

[Journey] 14 Days Trip Exploring Turkiye - Part 1

More pictures from Turkiye Trip can be seen at my flickr

It was sometime in Jan 2013, my best friend Fitri and her husband mas Arief provoked me by showing beautiful pictures of their visit to Istanbul two years ago. They told me about Topkapi palace and its collections, i.e. the tube containing beards of Rasulullah Muhammad SAW and also Caliph Ali’s sword, and I can wait no more to see them. Luckily Dina is willing to accompany me (with a deal that I should join her to visit NZ next time hahha).  In February we execute the ticket arrangement for May trip (we heard that the best season is May-July). We bought Etihad’s Jakarta-Istanbul-Jakarta for 14 days trip, though we are not sure about the detail plan, whether it will be Turki only or Turki and its neighbor, Greece. 

Until two weeks before D date, our itinerary is not fixed yet, we are still trying to get visa to visit Greece. It is so difficult to get visa from Greece embassy in Jakarta, although we already had a guarantee letter from our relatives there, had sufficient amount in our bank account, covered by travel insurance, they still asked for some documents that is hard to provide. We decided to forget about Greece and focus on Turki, one week before D date, we finalize our itinerary and booked the hotels. 

Dina is always a good partner in crimes, she has no objection to the crazy itinerary and hotel arrangement I made, although I still have no idea how to get to from one place to others. I am a bit picky on hotel arrangement though, crave to get the clean - comfy - good location in a low price, thanks to TripAdvisor.com, got plenty useful info from them. Bismillah, qui sera sera whatever will be will be. Here we go, 14 days exploring Turkiye, Dina call it “glamping”, not a fancy trip, neither a backpack trip as well. 

 

Time to Fly

Yippie the day is come, 24^th May! We meet at Soetta Airport Jakarta right on time to check in. Each of us brings one cabin-size luggage and one day-backpack, plus camera bag and small bag for our snacks. We minimize our carriage, to ease us on travel around the country by public transport. 

My note: 
- It is nice to have a special request for meal on flight, caused they will prioritize to serve us. Low calorie meal is usually very healthy, mostly steamed food and fresh fruits.
- If you have connecting flight, it is better to check in for your next flight once you arrive at the transit airport, no matter how long your transit time will be.  A month before departure date, we received email notification telling that our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul will be rescheduled from 0200 am to 0900 am. Luckily we prefer to go directly to the transit board when we arrived at Abu Dhabi around 2300 pm, shockingly we were informed that we will fly as per previous schedule at 0200 am. Save by the bell :) 

Day 1 – Welcome to Istanbul

Landed safely at Attaturk airport as scheduled, 15 minutes queue at Visa On Arrival counter (Indonesian kena tarif USD25 saja), another 15 minutes queue at Immigration, get our passport stamped, 5 minutes for baggage, then we go to foreign exchange inside the airport since we do not have any Turkish Lyra in our hand. There are four cash exchange outlet nearby the baggage claim area. The exchange rates are similar, as well the commission fee.  Finally we are ready to get to the town.  We decided to take metro (subway) as the economist and easy transportation, just follow the direction board and go downstairs to the subway line, get the token at Jetonmatic machine by inserting coins or notes, one token for a trip costs 3 Lyra. 

The first destination is Best Town Palace Hotel at Sirkeci area, we need to drop our luggage before exploring the city. From the Airport’s Metro, we transit at Zeytinburnu station, take the tram to Kabatas and stop at Sirkeci station.  We could see the Istanbul University and Sultan Ahmed main tourist destination, Hagia Sophia and its surrounding on our way.  Sirkeci area is very close with the famous Galata Bridge, only two stops from Sultan Ahmed, therefore it’s a bit crowded with people walked in and vehicle passing by. It is so easy to find souvenir stalls and restaurants, local or franchise i.e. Burger King. We stop by at one of the local resto selling kebab, the price is about  TL 5-6 for durum kebab (served with tortilla) and TL 10-12 for porsiyon kebab (served with fried potatoes or rice).  We also try Turkish coffee, it served on small cup like espresso, nice. 

Upon check in and have enough rest at the hotel, we go out and catch tram to Kabatas wherein the Dolmahbace Palace is located. Unfortunately the residence of last sultan of Ottoman Empire is closed for public at 05.00 pm, so we could only go round the perimeter and take picture of clock tower in its yard.  Back to tram station, we meet street stall sells Baklava and Simit (Turkish simple bread), good to try. I like Simit, it tasted like Bagel, only 1-2 TL per piece and it’s big enough. The baklava is a bit different to the one I tried in Saudi, Turkish baklava is sweeter, seems like they spread lots of honey on it.  

Sun goes dusk, we go back to Sirkeci, enjoy the panoramic Galata Bridge and have a light dinner, we walk round the Gulhane area and find out some souvenir shops that offer good price without bargain, seems it’s a good alternative if we have no time to visit the Grand Bazaar. It was 11.00 pm and the city was still so lively, but we need to take a rest. 

Day 2 – Istanbul - Yalova - Bursa 

For the second day, we already booked a hotel at Bursa city, so no matter what we have to find a way to get in there. It is recommended by the hotel manager to go to Bursa by fast ferry, but the schedule is either too early or too late. We prefer to take ferry to Yalova city at 11.30 am so we can have enough time to enjoy our breakfast.  It is a good decision though, having breakfast at the 5^th floor of Best Town Palace hotel is a must have experience, breathtaking views of Galata Bridge, Marmara Sea, Galata Tower, Gulhane Park area is over the top, too precious to be passed. The food is also nice, plenty choices of salad, meat and cheese, among the best from other hotel we visited in Turki. 

Leave the hotel at 09.00 am, it takes only 10 minutes and TL12 to IDO ferry terminal at Yenikapi by taxi. The boat costs TL 19 and the cruise to Yalova city will take 40 minutes, much faster compare to intercity bus. While cruising, we could sit inside the passenger room as our seat number or at the windy balcony outside and enjoy the scenic view of Aegean Sea.  Traveler with big luggage could store it on the rack provided at the deck, just make sure it is locked properly. Few minutes before arrival to Yalova, we stood over the balcony enjoying fresh air and the city's mountainous view. Back to the passenger room, i was a bit panic to find my seat is empty, my snack bag is gone. Apparently, one of the crew keep it safe at the crew's room, thought it was left by the owner. Nice isn’t it. And we leave the ferry smilingly, knowing that we are in a land of good people.
 
Feel hungry we get to the food stall selling kebab nearby the jetty. This time we try Doner Porsiyon, meats and pilav (rice), and mineral water. When the restaurant manager looked at us put a sachet of chili sauce to our meals, he asked if we have another sachet for him. It is a Sambal Terasi (shrimp paste), and it smell something weird for him. He tried and we laughed looking at his expression.

There are Dolmus (minivan) terminal closed to the jetty but if we want to go to Bursa we have to change twice,  so we decide to take intercity bus, costs 12TL for 2 hours ride. The bus is nice and clean, TV in each seats with some movies options, unfortunately it’s in Turkish and no subtitle. I notice the bus agent took note on the passenger gender for seating arrangement, alone female passenger must be seated with another female, or they will let her alone, never mixed female and male, unless they are couple or buy together. It’s so thoughtful, following Islam rules to separate female and male unless they are “muhrim”.
 
Arrived in Bursa, we have lunch at bus terminal and take taxi to the hotel. Some people say we could take a public bus, but we are too tired to wait. It takes 20 minutes from bus station to hotel, taxi costs 36 TL. The Aloft hotel is located at Nilufer district, not too far from Uludag mountain, it’s perfect for those who want to go skiing on winter or come to Bursa for business trip since it is close to the business area. I love their interior design very much, fancy young elegant, and it costs so cheap. Unfortunately, our main destination is on the old town, and we have to take tram to get there, and we have to walk a long way from Aloft hotel to nearest tram station. We almost get lost on direction, until we meet a friendly guy, Osman, who is so kind to lead us the way to the metro (tram) station. Metro from Nilufer (Acemler station) to old city (Sehrekustu station) cost 2.5 TL and takes about 10 minutes. 

Ulu Camii or Ulu Mosque is our main destination, takes about 10-15 mins walks from the station, the direction is clear, no worry to get lost. The Ulu Camii, built before 1400, is so enchanting, especially the marble fountain and the mimbar inside, also the calligraphy, beautiful. We feel like we want to stay there for a long time, coz it’s so peaceful. All of sudden we hear the Adzan Magrib, it should be a call for us to join the praying, unfortunately I only wear short pants and I don’t bring my praying dress, no other choice, we have to go out and leave the Camii. Sad. There are some more historical buildings at the old town, but considering it is difficult for us to take nice pictures in night modes, then we decide to go back to the hotel and enjoy the room. We stop over to buy Turkish ice cream and tape the funny tricks they play while serving it. The ice cream is delicious, sticky but so delicate. Well, don’t believe me, wherever whenever, I am a good friend of ice cream, hahaha.

Day 3 – Bursa – Izmir – Selcuk – Ephesus

We left the cozy room of Aloft hotel at 0730, take taxi (sorry dude, we are in a rush, excuse hahha) to the bus terminal, buy ticket for first bus to Izmir, buy Durum Kebab, Baklava and Simit for our brunch. Bus from Bursa to Izmir costs 30TL, takes 3.5 hours ride. They serve us with water, coffee/tea and snack on board. The driver and assistant is dress up and cute, though the road is long, we never get bored hahhaa. 

Arrive in Izmir, we plan to take a Dolmus for city sight seeing, before that we have to find a locker to put our luggage. Too bad, mostly people in the bus terminal can’t speak English, we are lost in translation this time, almost an hour we go round up and down with our carriage to find locker, and no luck. Get dizzy and starved, we buy some breads and decided to take bus to our next destination, Selcuk. Bye Izmir. 

My note: It’s a must to take note on some local wordings when you do backpacking to a country wherein English is not their main language. I do memorize some, but it’s not enough though. Later at Konya we just realize that Locker in Turkish is “Emanet”, and Dina told me, she remembers there was an emanet sign at Izmir bus station. *sigh*

It takes 1 hour from Izmir to Selcuk by Dolmus, and costs 9TL. On the way to Selcuk, I keep calling Tom the CP of Artemis Hotel, wherein we will stay for two nights to ask for direction, in hostelworld they promise a free pick up. Tom says his friend Muslim will pick us up at the otogar (bus terminal). Ok great. Arrived in Selcuk, Muslim easily recognize us and show us the way to the hotel, on foot, hahaha no wonder its free. The Artemis hotel is only 10 minutes walks from otogar however it kind of tough part if we have to walk when we are tired and starved and have to carry our own luggage. Ga ada ojek nih Din?

Tom is a very friendly person with excellent selling skills, he shows us a map to explore Selcuk and arrange a day tour for us to Pamukkale on the next day. The Artemis hotel is merely a hostel ++ for us, it is clean and tidy, but the toilet is old fashioned. It’s not a big problem though, as long as it works as properly. 

Our plan for the afternoon is visiting the legendary Ephesus. Tom said there is a dolmus to the northern entrance, but he recommend us to take taxi from otogar to upper gate or southern entrance, so we could walk downhill, then finish at northern entrance and we can take dolmus or go on foot for 30mins back to the hotel.  We follow his guidance, pay 15TL for the taxi and 25TL for the entrance fee and enjoying the wonderful Ephesus. Coincidentally we meet a tour group from Bank Mandiri Jakarta, we say Hi and they offer their assistant to take picture on us, cool. Dina meet some new “friends”, two photographers from China, one of them greets her with fart in front of her, the other is more rude, shouting to people to stay away from the front of Celcus Library, coz he wants to take picture, helloooow.

More info about Ephesus, visit Wikipedia please hahaha.

From the northern gate, we take a dolmus for 5TL back to Otogar. I was a bit pale coz of my PMS ache then we decide to have some good food before we go back to hotel and prepare for Pamukalle trip tomorrow. 

To be continued.. 

mampus khan semuanya to be continued wkwkkwkw

What to bring for Umrah trip

Apa yang perlu dibawa saat Umrah? Wokay berhubung ada yg minta dibuatin list pake rayu-rayu pula, jadi inilah list tentengan eke plus beberapa tips seputarnya ..  Sorry ya ini tentengan versi gue aka versi perempuan  

       1.Tas

a.  Koper Japrem : biasanya kita dapat dari tour/travel kita, jangan lupa beri tanda yg mayan mencolok n signifikan ukurannya, untuk memudahkan kita mencari waktu di Bandara sana (karena biasanya barang-2 sudah geletakan selama menunggu kita proses Imigrasi)

b.  Koper Gede : aku prefer bawa 1 aja yg agak besar supaya semua oleh-oleh bisa nyemplung dan ga perlu banyak perintilan kecil-kecil, biar gampang nyarinya pas di Bandara. Kasih tanda juga yaa.

c.  Ransel Kecil / Tas Pinggang  : untuk kita bawa selama di pesawat, ke masjid (termasuk pas thawaf dan sai) dan city tour, selipin juga plastic kresek utk tempat sandal, kantung parasut/kain yg bisa dilipat.

Pas di pesawat isiannya :

dompet passport, barang berharga, tissue, biscuit/cemilan/permen, wadah minum plastic (dalam keadaan kosong) utk antisipasi pramugari airline lain yg rada males keliling bolak balik bagiin minum padahal penerbangan lama kita butuh minum banyak jadi kita bisa minta air mineral lalu taruh di wadah ini, obat-obatan, penutup mata, bantal leher, kaus tangan, kaus kaki, bolpen, notes kecil, buku doa

Pas ke Masjid isiannya :

wadah minum plastic utk diisi zamzam, plastic kresek tmpt sandal, buku doa/Quran, dompet kecil (utk sedekah / jajan), ID Tag (kecuali udah dipake di leher), kaos kaki cadangan, tasbih, tissue (buat tatakan kalo nangis hihihi), payung kalo mw thawaf siang

Pas city tour isiannya :

dompet passport, dompet coin, camera, hape camera, tissue, cemilan/permen, wadah minum berisi air, sunglass, payung

d.  Gembok Koper (bawa cadangan 1 just in case tuh 2 koper masih beranak lagi *tutup muka*)

2.       Baju Luar

a.  Baju Ihram

Sebenarnya utk cewe baju ihram bisa anykind, tapi org Indonesia banyak prefer warna putih karena berkesan bersih, suci, dan nyaman juga (ga panas). Biasanya kalau 3 hari di Makkah kita berkesempatan umrah 2-3x, so persiapkan baju ihram minimal 2, karena biasanya kalo udah dipake kegiatan Thawaf dan Sai itu baju bakal keringetan ajah, though udah pakai daleman.

b.  Baju Gamis

Paling praktis bawa 2-3 baju gamis warna gelap (utk 6 hari ibadah disana), kemarin daku sih bawa daster batik yg serba panjang sampai ke mata kaki warna gelap yg motifnya ga terlalu ramai (beli di tamcit 50rebuan aja ciin) 4 hari sesuai jumlah hari diluar umrah, dari tahajud sampe isya pakai itu, abis itu buat tidur dah hahaha. Oiya disana beli deh 1 abaya arab yg item itu, praktis kalo mau ga usah bawa banyak baju (cukup modal 2 baju ihram, 2 gamis plus 1 abaya ini, udah deh tentrem)

c.  Baju Tidur

Ga usah rempong bawa kebanyakan baju tidur, cukup 2-3 stel aja or kayak daku pake daster batik itu hihi, toh ga kotor juga.

3.       Baju Dalam

a. Underwear : cd preferably cd kertas + panty liners, bra yg nyaman buat selama penerbangan, kalo mau nyuci disana cukup bawa 3 bra, kalo engga ya disesuaikan jumlah hari.

b.  Kaos Lengan Panjang : ini yg butuh rada banyak, sesuai jumlah hari, bisa juga direplace kaos biasa lalu pakai manset (apalagi kalo gamis/daster yg kita pakai model lengannya lebar). Minimal bawa 2 lengan panjang utk dalaman baju ihram putih, lainnya bisa pakai kaus biasa.

c.  Legging / Celana Training bahan kaus : kalau gamisnya panjangnya masih diatas mata kaki semua, bawa ini rada banyakan. Tapi kalo engga cukup sbg dalaman baju ihram putih saja, plus 1 lg utk dipake pas city tour. Minimal 3 pcs deh.

4.       Kerudung dkk

a. Bergo/kerudung : minimal bawa 4 pcs, unless disana mau beli-beli. Kalau dapat bergo seragam pastikan nyaman dipakai, biasanya talinya kekencengan, dedel aja tali plus bolongan mukanya, tali bisa diganti pita, atau beli renda yg ada elastisnya, jahit alakadarnya aja kanan kiri, supaya nyaman terutama buat selama penerbangan.

b. Mukena : bawa 1 deh ya (atasan aja) terutama berguna saat keluar utk magrib/isya/subuhan, anginnya dingin soalna

c.  Manset :  minimal bawa 1 deh, utk cadangan kalau gamisnya berlengan lebar, bawa 2-3 kalau dalamannya kaus biasa ya.

d. daleman jilbab, supaya rambutnya ga keluar-keluar, bisa juga direplace bandana

5.     Handuk :

   buat mandi seharusnya udah ada di hotel, tapi kalo khawatir ga ada ya bawa aja ukuran sedang (kali-2 nanti berguna juga utk ngelapis botol parfum or botol apalah oleh-2 yg ditaruh di koper). Bawa juga handuk kecil 2 deh ya, bisa berguna utk lap keringet pas thawaf/sai, bisa buat tatakan air mata pas ke makam Rasulullah, terus kalo udara panas, basahi dgn air zam-zam dikit, tempelin ke muka, uadeemm reekk

6.    Obat-obatan :

better bawa dari Indonesia deh yg udah biasa kita minum. yg paling standar adalah obat flu –  troches/degirol - vitamin – obat sakit perut (maag, diatabs or dulcolax) – obat penunda haid dari dokter – obat panas dalam (just in case ga tahan sama panasnya udara disana). Jangan lupa tiap minum zam-zam baca doanya plus baca doa minum obat, insya Allah zamzam juga bagus buat obat penyakit apapun.  Plus conterpain or beli disana aja voltaren cream or radiant massage cream. Lalu minyak kayu putih ukuran mini or minyak aroma terapi (utk di pesawat juga). Salonpas koyo juga lumayan buat ngurangin pegel-pegel en ga pake dingin udahannya (kadang kalau cream counterpain dkk dingin khan pas udahannya). Obat tetes mata. Antimo. Masker debu. Perlengkapan Mandi, deodorant, sunblock, aftersun cream, cotton buds, pembersih muka, lotion. bisa juga beli disana sih semua ini.

7.    Alas Kaki

a.  Kaos Kaki : minimal bawa 5 ya, 7 lebih baik, 2 diantaranya yg bawahnya ada bintik bintik karet anti selipnya (utk digunakan pas thawaf dan sai). Kalo kita ga bawa sarung mukena, yah kaos kaki ini buat modal shalat, jadi kalo mau nyaman ya pake yg bersih lah yaa.

b.  Sandal / Sepatu : bawa sepatu karet yg ringan lebih disarankan (krn bisa dipakai pas city tour en jika hotelna jaraknya jauh dari masjid), ribetnya kalau pas wudhu, jadi kudu tunggu agak kering. Kalau di masjidil haram kita masih bisa wudhu ulang di masjid pakai zam-zam secukupnya yaa (segelas-dua gelas), tapi kalau di masjid Nabawi ya harus keluar masjid, dan dari toilet ke dalam masjid itu jarakna cukup jauh dan lantainya duingin buanget. Jadi mending tunggu agak kering dulu, or pakai sandal japit pas di masjid Nabawi.

8.       Perlengkapan lain

a.  Kotak plastic besar – dari Jakarta bisa digunakan utk bawa biscuit or lauk kering (tericang/pencop, abon) – dari Arab nanti, ini berguna utk bawa kurma (terutama kalau mau beli fresh kurma, supaya ga benjut-benjut n lebih tahan lama).

b.  Pisau lipat (utk potong buah), gunting kecil (utk tahlul n utk buka-2 apa gitu) n sendok kecil (utk adukan kalau mau minum-2 di kamar), pemanas air (kalau sekiranya tidak disediakan oleh hotel), charger, colokan kaki tiga plus partnernya (beberapa hotel masih pakai standard eropa, colokannya kaki tiga euy)

c.  Energen or semacamnya, berguna buat penghangat sebelum keluar utk shalat tahajud di masjid

d. Tea hijau or cairan berserat (macam vegeta or jelly), makanan arab banyakan daging-daging dan berlemak, pastikan kebutuhan serat anda terpenuhi hihihi

9.       Al Quran dkk

Di Masjid Nabawi dan Masjidil Harram tersedia ribuan Al Quran yg bisa dipinjam utk dibaca disana, tapi just in case anda kayak saya yg suka males ribet cari-cari udah sampe mana bacanya mending bawa Al Quran kecil sendiri, or beli disana. Buku Panduan Shalat Sunnah berguna utk pengingat, karena pastinya kita disana perbanyak ibadah di masjid khan maunya. Buku Doa yg dari tour travelnya biasanya cukup lengkap dgn doa-doa yg penting.

Oh ya, biasanya pas di Raudhah or di depan Ka’bah, tempat yg mustajab utk doa, kadang kita justru get lost dan lupa semua doa yg  udah dipikir mau dipanjatkan disana, so biar gampang bawa catatan or diketik di kertas, termasuk titipan doa dari teman or kerabat di Indo (jangan disave di hape, krn kita ga bakal bawa tuh hape ke masjid)

10.   Dompet , Hape, Kamera

Bawalah 2 dompet, yg utama lebih baik tinggalin di safety box kamar hotel saat ibadah ke masjid, cukup bawa dompet coin aja (plus isi uang 100-200 real).  Kemarin ini aku tukar di jkt 1000 real aja, sisanya bawa USD. Di Jakarta yg tukernya ratenya mayan bagus dan ada real pecahan kecil di Sarinah Thamrin (deket ATM centre).  Kartu kredit berguna kalau mau beli emas (di Makkah dan Madinah) plus beli parfum n jam branded di Jeddah (corniche/balad) en di duty free shop bandara. Preferably credit card dari bank asing. Yg ratenya rendah (pas tagihan datang) biasanya Citibank en Mandiri. Debit card dgn logo Visa juga diterima di beberapa tempat. Begitu juga uang Rupiah, ada toko yg mau terima (terutama di balad, Jeddah).

Untuk hape kamera, udah pasti cewe ga bisa bawa masuk ke masjid Nabawi, kecuali nyolong-nyolong (selipin dimana deh gitu), di Masjidil Harram masih bisa, asal jangan terlalu mencolok ditampilin pas lagi mau masuk.

Untuk kamera, preferably bawa yg pocket aja ya, ribet deh bawa yg LSR. Lagian khan kesana mau ibadah bukan mau foto-foto.

Sekian dulu ya, nanti kalo inget yg lainnya ditambahin lagii.. semoga bergunaa.. Selamat ber-Umrah, selamat menikmati indahnya nikmat menjadi tamu Allah dan tamu Rasulullah..

Umroh 2012 story, the days I fall in love

Sebenernya aku agak lupa gimana ceritanya jadi pingin umroh, secara cita-cita pinginnya ke Mekkah buat haji aja, entahlah, lupa (andi malarangeng mode on), maybe karena bête juga denger antrian haji udah 7 taun aja yee. Pokoke ujug-ujug sometime in November aku woro-woro cari temen, umroh di awal 2012 anyone? ndilalah jeng Dina Udin Siwer (niy satu org ye bukan 3) temen JeNuser bilang mau nemenin. Sempet plirak plirik beberapa rekomendasi travel dari temen-temen, tp akhirnya hati tertambat sama Duta Faras, yg direkomen sama Icut n Nunink.

Dapet info ada umroh awal February, langsung deh grabak grubuk perpanjang paspor dan lengkapin dokumen, suntik meningitis yg naujubile antriannya (kudu standby jam 4.30 pagi di bandara Halim utk dapet nomer antrian awal, secara sehari cuma terima 100 orang, jam 06.00 pagi nomor antrian udah ludes, kalo dapet nomor diatas 50 selamet aja yee nunggu suntiknyee). Asli kita berdua ga pake banyak cingcong pilih travelnya, selama budgetnya masuk ya udah hayo, meski banyak yg bilang mahal tapi ternyata harga ga boong dweh.

Sebelum keberangkatan, pas manasik  di hotel Maharaja, aku udah bisa mengendus (makanan kali yee), niy travel oke niyy, secara di buku programnya udah dibagi tuh kamar berapa, sama siapa aja, mahramnya sapa, bis berapa. Rapi. Liat calon pesertanya, hmm tampilannya ramah-ramah, anget deh rasanya. Aku yg tadinya sempet nervous lama-lama berasa homy juga. Terutama karena dah dapet temen baru yg cihuy, Bunbun Siti yg udah 7x ikut Duta Faras, rame abis orangnya. Alhamdulilah juga ada Sari, temen SMP-SMAkyu yg ikutan n keluarga alm Rina, temen baiknya Icut-Nunink.

H-1, sengaja BB udah off, karena aku tau bakal ribet hari itu sama kerjaan yg bakal ditinggalin, bener aja, jam 9 malem daku baru bisa pulang kantor, badan remuk redam, mau nangis rasanya. Berdoa terus, Ya Allah jangan sampe aku sakit diperjalanan dan disana, apalagi sampe ngerepotin orang. Alhamdulilah Allah permudah J. Hari keberangkatan, dianterin rombongan lenong, nyokap bokap, tante Mir n mas Toni, lewat serpong - kembangan, Alhamdulillah jalanan lancar. Sempet mampir di Alfamart cari pita or apalah buat tanda koper, lupa euy tuh koper khan seragam, bakal keriting aja kalo ga ditandain, pita ga ada, stiker buku mewarnai pun jadilah, hehehe sesuatu banget dah koperku penuh dgn tempelan mikimos, donal bebek dkk.

Sampe bandara, pamit-pamitan sama keluarga, nitipin gadget ke nyokap, n langsung gabung sama rombongan yg udah membirukan terminal 2 bandara soetta. Jam 13.20 kita mengudara pake Saudi Airlines, daku duduk b-3an sama Dina n Sari, mulailah ketawa ketiwinya, tapi kok laper yak, alamak dgn manisnya semua bekel cemilan ada di bagasi, cuma Sari aja yg bawa biscuit Jacobs, mayan deh ganjel sesaat, tapi pan seret juga ga ada air, huaaa. Asli tiap denger pramugari bawa dorongan, kita betiga langsung nengok penuh harap. Setelah beberapa kali tertipu, entah sama dorongan koran tulisan Arab botak or minuman aja, akhirnya datang juga makanan dua jam kemudian. Kalapp, sekejap habis semua hahaha. Sepanjang perjalanan 9 jam ya kita tidur aja, sambil kadang denger music, kadang ngaji, baca buku doa or buku tuntunan solat, tertib deh, takut banget kepancing ngerumpiin orang.

Ibadahnya

Hampir jam 10 malam waktu Arab kita mendarat di Madinah, maklum sempet transit sebentar di Riyadh. Langsung menuju hotel di Royal Dyar, ga jauh dari pintu masuk utama Masjid Nabawi. Makan malam kilat soale udah telat banget, org hotel udah mau pulang, trus dibagiin kunci en masuk kamar. Kami sekamar ber-4, plus bunda Dessy, kamarnya luas ya standar bintang 5 deh, nyaman aja jadinya. Cek cek sejenak, oh ada setrika uap plus meja, oh ada safety box gede, oh kamar mandinya pake bathtub n toiletries udah disiapin utk 4 org, ada kulkas, hair dryer n teko pemanas, juwara ah. Setel alarm n langsung tidur.

Jam 3.30 bel bunyi, langsung grabak grubuk mandi n berangkat bareng ke masjid Nabawi buat tahajud. Merinding daku masuk pelataran masjid, masih kaget ini mimpi bukan yah, apalagi pas didalamnya, mau nangis tapi malu, mau ga nangis tapi dada sakit nahannya. Oiya di Masjid Nabawi ini askarnya galak-galak, asli ga boleh bawa hape berkamera kalo cewe, kalo cowo sih bebas, entah kenapa, mungkin takut kite moto-2in wanita-wanita Arab nan cantik itu. Sari ketangkep basah bawa bebe, langsung disuruh titipin di penitipan, daku secara cuma bawa hape kecil bisa deh ngumpetin di plastic kresek tempat sandal. Tapi meskipun bisa ngakalin askar, ga berani deh songong, takut kena tulah.

 - acara pemeriksaan tas di masjid Nabawi -

 -- nungguin payung mengembang hihi --

Being so closed to our beloved prophet Muhammad SAW, is very nice experience, can’t describe the feeling.  Amazing. Awesome. Wonderful. Grateful. You name it laahh, semua jadi satu. Tiap baca shalawat disana, duh berasa Beliaunya ada di depan kita, merindinggg. Apalagi beberapa hari sebelumnya kita baru ngerayain Maulid Nabi, huaa terharu biru deh, mana Dina bilang terngiang-ngiang lagu Bimbo, rindu Rasul, makin terkoyak-koyak deh kalbu. Noraknya, kita tuh ga tau kalo adzan pertama disana buat ngajak shalat sunnah di sepertiga malam terakhir, jadi kita kaget-kaget, huee udah subuh niyy, baru juga shalat sunnah beberapa rakaat doank, masih bisa witir ga yaa, celingak celinguk bingung. Tapi kok jarak ke qomatnya lama bener yak. Lama-lama baru nyadar pas denger adzan kedua dan ketiga, ooww bullet. Bubaran shalat, kite makin norak lagi, seneng banget liat payung fantasi di halaman masjid yg tadinya kuncup kayak tiang-tiang, baru dimegarin, rupanya biar siang ga panas ya,  iihh kereenn, nganga - photo2, ndeso lah pokoke. Palagi ada bulan purnama bulat nan cantik. Subhanallah.

Abis subuh, kita langsung menuju resto hotel, breakfast cepet-cepet, soale nanti jam 7.30 udah kumpul lagi, program today padat merayap euy, cuma sempet mandi bebek deh. Hari pertama itu kami ziarah ke makam Rasulullah SAW, doa aja sih dari luarnya, trus doa utk Abu Bakar RA, doa utk Umar RA, doa utk para syuhada yg ada di makam Baqi dan merangsek ke Raudhah utk berdoa dan shalat sunnah disana. Bahagia, sedih, haru biru tak terperi rasanya. Hhh yah pokoke gitu deh. Pulang ke hotel, mandi, istirahat bentar, siap-siap brangkat lagi ke masjid utk shalat dzuhur. Nah senengnya sama Duta Faras niy, tiap abis ashar sampai menjelang magrib, kita ada tausyiah dan pembekalan utk program besoknya, satu sisi sih ngantuk pengen banget tidur tapi sayang juga kalo ga ikutan.

Hari kedua di Madinah, abis sarapan kami ziarah lagi naik bis (pake dua bis gode, secara rombongan 98 orang), pertama ke masjid Quba –masjid pertama yg dibangun oleh umat muslim, shalat sunnah di Quba, trus lanjut ke jabal Uhud - jabal Rohmat (tempat Rasulullah SAW menempatkan para pemanah di perang uhud), doa sebentar untuk para syuhada yg dimakamkan disana, foto keluarga, lanjut ke Pabrik Kurma (prosesi lempar reyal hahaha), trus ngeliatin masjid Qiblatain en masjid Tujuh. Ga mampir ke pasar kurma, soale waktunya mephet udah hampir shalat Jumat. Sepanjang jalan kita ditemani celotehan uztad Hadi yg polos, kocak, kadang error sedikit vulgar jadi ga ngantuk (ehm boong dink, tetep aja ada sesi gw molor sampe nganga hihihi). Menurut ceritaan uztad Hadi, di Arab itu hari liburnya Kamis dan Jumat, dan orang Arab itu tipenya ngalong, kalo pagi molor, baru mulai aktivitas jam 10-11an sampe malam.

Shalat Jumat di Madinah, cewe boleh ikutan, waa pengalaman pertama niy ikutan shalat jumat, pas lagi kotbah melongo aja kita dengerinnya, lah ga ngerti sih, tapi kotbah disana sebentar aja tapi kayaknya penuh makna, soale yg kotbah n yg dengerin pada terisak nangis gitu. Abis ashar seharusnya ngumpul tausyiahan lagi, tapi aku ama Dina pilih ngegeletak di kamar, rasanya cape banget. Niatnya malem itu mau nyoba ke Raudhah lagi, tapi karena ga ada temen lain yg mau, akhirnya kita bertiga nyangsang di bin dawood bawahnya Movenpick Madinah, penasaran nyari juz mangga Caesar.

Hari ketiga, hiks hari ini terakhir kami di Madinah, abis shalat dzuhur kudu siap-siap pake baju ihram n menuju Makkah. Sedih rasanya waktu salam perpisahan sama Rasulullah SAW, semoga bisa kesana lagi, semoga kelak bisa bertemu Rasulullah di hari akhir, aaamiin. Mampir ambil miqat di Bir Ali, baca talbiyah rame-rame sejenak, sebelum akhirnya pada tenggelam di alam mimpi. Perjalanan Madinah – Makkah kurleb 6 jam, sepanjang jalan yg kita lewati pemandangannya hamparan bukit batu nan tandus, ada beberapa sih daerah yg hijau, biasanya di dataran yg agak rendah. Ga keliatan ada manusia dan rumah, kecuali di beberapa kawasan proyek (entah proyek apaan), dan beberapa bangunan yg tak terpakai lagi, kayak kota mati gitu. Hmm beratnya perjuangan Rasulullah SAW dahulu.

Sampai di Makkah jam 8 malam lebih, kami langsung menuju hotel Dar Al Eiman Royal untuk makan malam, cek in kamar dan wudhu lagi. Jam 21.30an kami kumpul lagi di lobby utk siap-siap ibadah Umrah. Baru liat luarnya masjidil Harram aja udah lemes daku, tambah lemes pas masuk, tambah lemes pas liat Ka’bah, Subhanallah, beneran niy aye bukan mimpi pan yak. Untung uztad Agil cepet ngajakin kita mulai Thawaf, kalo engga bisa keburu pengsan eke. Pas pertengahan Sai baru deh berasa kaki mulai cekut cekut, uztad ngajakin berhenti sejenak minum zam-zam, waa Subhanallah rasanya seger lagii, lanjut lagi Sai-nya, Alhamdulillah semua bisa menyelesaikan dengan baik sampai tahlul. Balik ke hotel jam 1 dinihari, langsung pada njlep bobo, maklum waktu tidurnya cuma 2-3 jam niy.

Hari pertama di Makkah, acara bebas, sebagian puas-puasin molor sesudah sarapan pagi sampai menjelang dzuhur, sebagian thawaf di lantai bawah hotel (hotel kami Dar Al Eiman ada di bangunan Al Shafwa tower bersama 2 hotel lainnya, ga jauh dari pintu King Abdul Aziz, beberapa lantai di bawah hotel adl pertokoan yg lumayan komplit dan bisa ditawar, penting tuh). Abis ashar kami ngumpul tausyiah lagi sama Uztad Ali. Uztad Ali ngingetin, janganlah kita maksa dan gontok-gontokan untuk bisa cium Hajar Aswad dan shalat di Hijir Ismail, khan kita percaya kalau itu bagian dari pintu surga masa sih kita mau masuk surga harus sikut-sikutan kanan kiri, hmm bener juga uztad.

Hari kedua di Makkah, dini hari kami thawaf sunnah berenaman aja, masih agak lenggang jadi bebas deh kita, kalau kemarin daku banyakan bengong karena masih shock, thawaf kedua ini bener-bener ga terbendung deh air mata, apalagi pas shalat di Hijir Ismail dan doa di multazam, banjir, Subhanallah Alhamdulillah, Ya Allah terima kasih masih mencintaiku. Semua perasaan, senang sedih membaur jadi satu deh. Sempat terpisah satu sama lain, alhamdulilah bisa ketemu lagi, dan solat subuh bareng diii.. tangga!

Usai sarapan kami ziarah mengunjungi jabal Tsur, tempat Rasulullah SAW terima wahyu pertamanya, ga sampe naik ke atas sih soale tinggi bener. Kata uztad Hadi kalo naik makan waktu 1.5-2 jam, kalo turun 5 menit cukup, tapi loncat, wkkwkw, gelo kan. Lanjut lagi ke Padang Arafah, liat-liat tempat wukuf, Mina, Muzdalifah, dari bis doank sih ga pake turun hihi. Liat-liat pohon apa tuh yg ditanam Presiden Soekarno yg tumbuh mayan subur disana. Trus ke Jabal Rahmah, konon ini tempat ketemuannya Nabi Adam AS dan Siti Hawa, our great emak. Ada yg percaya tempat ini pas banget buat doa minta jodoh, ga heran disana banyak tulisan nama-nama, tapi uztad Lalu ngingetin kita, tempat paling mustajab untuk berdoa ya di Raudhah sama di sekitar Ka’bah lhow ya, jadi meskipun doa minta jodoh tetep utamakan di dua tempat itu. Siap uztad.

Seusai dari Jabal Rahmah, kita melongok sebentar ke masjid Namirah tapi ga mampir, lalu ke Ja’ronah untuk ambil miqot Umrah kedua. Balik ke hotel, naruh barang-barang, langsung ngumpul di lobby lagi, siap-siap ibadah Umrah lagi. Mayan juga tuh Thawaf siang-siang menjelang Dzuhur, awalnya aku coba bertahan ehm pakai payung dan sunglass, takut item hihi, tapi pas ngeliat ada umat kayaknya dari Afrika deh, dia buta dan dia semangat sekali thawaf sendiri panas-panas, lama-lama payungku pun menciut.
Abis Umrah kedua, aku dan Dina memutuskan istirahat di Masjid aja dari Ashar sampai Isya karena rasanya kaki teklek banget buat bolak balik ke hotel lagi.

Hari Selasa, hiks hari terakhir kami di Makkah, seperti biasa jam 10 koper sudah harus stand by di depan kamar hotel, jadi kalau mau belanja sesudah jam itu resikonya tenteng selama perjalanan. Kami masih sempat sih beli beberapa cemilan di Bindawood Hilton, beli beberapa post card n tuker duit lagi.  Wah ternyata di bangunan ini ada tersedia jasa kursi pijet, huhuuu kok ya ga tau dari kemarin tho, mayan tuh buat ngelemesin kaki.  Usai shalat Dzuhur, waktunya Thawaf Wada (perpisahan), huaa sedihnyaa, semoga masih diberi kesempatan mengunjungi Masjidil Harram lagi, dalam waktu yg ga lama, aaamiin..

Bergerak menuju Jeddah, rasanya beraatt banget, doohh kok besok pulang sih. Mampir di Masjid Terapung, makan malam di restoran betawi, hatiku udah mulai gamang lagi, belom ikhlas niy kudu pulang. Mana pula ternyata di Jeddah serem yaa kotanya, kalau jalan harus ada cowoknya, meskipun banyak kalo cewe semua tetep serem. Mana banyak mba-mba kulit hitam yg niatnya ngemis tapi karena badannya lebih gede dari kita jadi kesannya intimidasi banget, serem. Huaa I miss Makkah and Madinah already. Besoknya pas menuju Bandara King Abdul Aziz, ada satu perasaan legaa lepas dari Jeddah, tapi pilu ninggalin Makkah and Madinahnya. I’ll be back soon, aaamiin.

Cerita-cerita lucu-sedihnya

• Yg pasti perjalanan ini kita banyak gembiranya, mungkin karena Alhamdulillah kita dikasih sehat ya, pegel dan masuk angin doank palingan sakitnya,dikelilingi teman yg baik – baik, lucu-lucu dan sama narcisnya, makanan berlimpah, uztad gokil di bis 1, jadi lepas ibadah, entah itu acara makan dan jalan-jalan kita banyak ketawanya.
• Siwer itu ternyata menular, apalagi sekamar, ada aja kesiweran kami (aku, Dina, Sari, mba Dessy), jadi instead of ngomongin orang kita sibuk nyela-nyela antara kita, yah jujur ada sih yg kita omongin juga, tapi kayaknya dia diomongin seluruh peserta juga wkwkwkw husss. Mulai dari aku yg hebohhh nyari kacamata tidur, sampe seluruh koper ku aduk-aduk n berantakan parah n ternyata tuh kacamata udah bertengger manis di kepala (malu bertanya sesat di kamar). Sari yg nyari-nyari mukena padahal tuh mukena di bangku depannya. Mba Dessy yg nyari name tag padahal tuh name tag udah ada di leher n ketutupan bergonya. Dina yg lepas sandal di luar kamar (udah ga bisa bedain mana Masjid mana kamar ya Din). Kita berempat yg main keluar aja dari kamar n lupa tuh kunci masih nyantel dgn manis di kamar.  Huahaha parah deh.
• Kita juga punya story sama-sama pernah diomelin dan dikerjain orang. Aku diomelin manager restoran di Makkah gara-gara main comot tissue dari meja sebelah, ya elah mas, tissue doank heboh bener yak. Sari yg dikerjain koki hotel di Madinah, udah ngantri omelet hampir setengah jam lebih, eh pas sampe 4 orang di depannya, tuh koki ngabur gitu aja. Dina yg diomelin mbak-mbak Arab gara-gara di belakang Dina duduk ada 2 Quran geletakan gitu aja, lahh padahal bukan salah dia sih. Sabar sabar.
• Paling lucu kalo udah acara shalat ngumpet-ngumpet di sekitar Ka’bah pas subuhan, para askar cewe galak bener ngusirin cewe-cewe nekat kayak kita. Disuruh naik, kita pindah duduk di tangga aja, nanti dia meleng kita turun lagi, diusir lagi, naik sebentar turun lagi. Sampe tuh askar bilang, perempuan atas atas, orang gila. Hahaha tau aja istilah orang gila.
• Lucu lagi acara umpet-umpetan bawa hape kamera kalo mau masuk masjid, ada yg diselipin di kaos kaki, ada yg di perut, ada yg di tas paling bawah, ada yg di kantong baju, ada yg diselipin dalam Al-Quran. Dasar yee tetep usaha. Kalau di masjid Nabawi, semua orang bawa tas diperiksa, kalau di masjidil Harram askarnya meriksa random basis, lucunya baik Dina-Sari-aku sama-sama kena giliran.
• Bener memang yg dibilang hati-hati sama apa yg kita pikirkan dan kita omongin, terutama di masjidil Harram, karena memang tempatnya mustajab. Malam pertama di Makkah aku sempet mikirin pengen banget makan sambel ijo padang, kepikir pingin ngajak Dina ngesot ke resto padang yg ada sederetan (jauh tapi) dari hotel kita. Sampe subuh di masjid pun masih kepikiran tuh sambel. Pas makan siang, eng ing eng, ada donk semangkuk gede sambel ijo. Subhanallah. Kejadian kedua, pas lagi beriringan keluar dari masjid di jalur pintu 1, aku yg selalu terkagum kagum sama kegantengan dan kecantikan org Arab yg kutemui di Makkah dan Madinah ngebatin, Subhanallah, Ya Allah ini orang cakep cakep banget sihh, kayaknya lucu juga bawa pulang ke Jakarta satu, hitungan detik  yg jalan sebelah kananku (tadinya aku belum liat dia) nengok dan tersenyum manis kepadaku, huaaa cakep banget, astagfirullah langsung aku ngacir melipir ke jalur kiri. Ngeri juga booo.
• Dengan pintarnya daku cuma bawa satu biji credit card, itupun entah kenapa yg kebawa BCA card which ga ada logo visa masternya, jadi ditolak. Ga bawa rupiah pula, padahal beberapa tempat terima rupiah, mau nukerin USD sayang-sayang. Cakep dah. Debit card diterima juga di beberapa tempat, asal ada logo visanya.
• Beberapa hari di awal, aku sempat kesulitan ke belakang, padahal udah mengurangi banget makan daging, banyakan sayur dan buah, air zam-zam, air lemon, ngopi coffeemix, tetep ga sukses. Sampai tiba-tiba cling aku keinget buku “Cacing dan kotoran kesayangannya”, waduhh berasa kesindir, jangan-jangan aku termasuk suka bawa kotoran di hati ya, bilang maapin tapi belum, bilang ikhlas tapi belum, duhh astagfirullah, langsung deh mohon ampunan sama Allah, daann besoknya langsung bisa deh, begitupun hari-hari berikutnya. Alhamdulillah, sesuatu banget.
• Buat acara belanja belinji : buat tasbih – sajadah – emas  lebih banyak dan lebih murah di Madinah terutama di bangunan dekat pintu women toilet. Buat kerudung - abaya – gamis, lebih banyak dan murah di Makkah khususnya di bawah Hilton dan di Al Safwa tower. Untuk cemilan biscuit sana, lotion dkk, di Bindawood aja. Kurma segar di sekitar Masjid Quba or di Balad (toko sampingnya Ali Mura). Pelepah kurma n kurma muda kering yg konon mujarab buat yg mau punya keturunan, kacang-2, kurma dan coklat-coklat Arab juga tersedia dgn harga bersahabat di toko sampingnya Ali Mura itu. Kosmetik Arab, magnet kulkas, souvenir-2, gantungan mobil ada di toko Ali Mura di Balad (Jeddah). Parfum Arab dan parfum branded discount, jam branded discount ada di Corniche mall (Balad Jeddah juga) lantai 5 kalau ga salah. Di duty free airport juga harga parfum brandednya mayan murah.
• Sepertinya orang Arab lebih suka belajar bahasa Indonesia ya daripada bahasa Inggris, terutama para pedagang, jadi ga usah khawatir kalau tawar menawar disana. Mungkin karena banyak jamaah tajir dari Indonesia, or yg hobi beli oleh-oleh ya cuman orang Indonesia aja ya. Hahaha.
• Akhirnya ngerasain juga duduk di seat atas. Pas perjalanan pulang ke Jakarta, kita duduk ga karu-karuan susunannya, tercerai berai, daku pindah 2x ngalah sama yg keluarga, sampai akhirnya duduk di atas, depanku uztad Ali yg ternyata kocak dan care sama jamaah, sebelahku pak dosen yg ancur gokil, jadilah kita cela-celaan terus. Kirain di atas sampe duluan, ternyata engga juga, mana toilet cuma satu, tapi mayan soalnya seatku paling belakang jadi makanan dapet duluan hahaha.
• Berada di tanah suci, banyak banget ujian kesabaran yg kudu ditempuh. Ada yg kena sakit terus menerus selama disana, ada yg kena dan hampir kena copet, ada yg diculik temen yg misterius (note: diajak itikaf berhari-hari di masjid sampe petugas travelnya bingung nyariin), ada yg dapet temen sekamar yg ngeselin, wah pokoke intinye kudu banyak sabar.  Yg aku alamin, selain diomelin sama manager restoran itu, yg biasanya kalo di Jakarta bakal aku balesin tuh omelannya,  ngalamin juga pinggangku dicolek dua kali ama pedagang baju gamis (di Makkah), awal aku pikir kesenggol aja pas dia lg ngambilin baju, pas dua kali baru nyadar, ga mau cari rebut, pilih melipir aja pindah toko lain, rasain lu ga jadi gue belanjain.
• Waktu city tour di Madinah, daku sempat terlongong pas uztad Lalu keliling bagiin snack n minuman kaleng di bis, dejavu, inget diriku kalo keliling bagiin something or absen peserta pas trip JeNus. Ga nyadar air mata udah ngembeng, Ya Allah, Duta Faras ini JeNus banget ya. Benar terbukti, betapa kebaikan yg pernah kita buat, sekecil apapun itu, pasti akan balik ke kita. Subhanallah. Berasa betul waktu di tanah suci, abis sedekah di masjid, eh langsung dapet hadiah entah makanan atau tasbih dari jamaah lain. Waktu di bandara Jeddah, aku sempat teriak teriak karena nemuin boarding pass seseorang yg jatuh, ehh alkisah di pesawat aku kebingungan cari  passport, panic kuadrat ngaduk-ngaduk tas, ternyata passportku jatuh waktu pindah-pindah tempat,  Alhamdulillah ditemukan dan disimpan dengan baik sama jamaah lain.

Ahh pokoke i want to get another call ya Rabb, please.. panggil aku lagi, mampukan aku lagi.. khan pas bobo siang di Makkah sempet dikasih mimpi aku thawaf digandeng tangan yg putih (ga liat orangnya cuman tangannya aja, malaikat kali yee).. hmm semoga its a sign kalo aku bakal balik.. aaamiinn :)

Labbaik Allahuma labbaik. Labbaik kala syarikalaka labbaik. Innal hamda wanni' mata laka wal mulk laa syarikalak. -- aku datang memenuhi panggilan Mu ya Allah, aku datang memenuhi panggilan Mu. tidak ada sekutu bagi-Mu, ya Allah aku penuhi panggilan Mu. sesungguhnya segala puji dan nikmat adalah milik Mu semata. segenap kekuasaan milik Mu. tidak ada sekutu bagi Mu.

Thanks to my One and Only, Allah SWT.. our beloved Rasulullah Muhammad SAW.. for make this journey happened.. my family yg always support :) .. DUTA FARAS, two thumbs up for you, keep the good work yaa.. my friends Dina - Sari - Bunbun Siti n Budi - Bunda Dessy - Desy - Nani - Dian - Bu Meidy - mba Anna - Anggi and fams - Anton gokil.. semoga kelak kita bisa ketemu or berangkat bareng lagi yaa, aamiin

travel date: 08 Feb-16 Feb 2012
price : USD1850 Quad Room
hotel : Royal Dyar - Madinah, Dar Al Eiman Royal - Makkah, Red Sea - Jeddah
airline: Saudi Airlines
travel co: Duta Faras (www.dutafaras.com) info@dutafaras.com
Jl. Terusan Kuningan no. 25, tel: 5266964-5