An Afternoon At The National Jewellery Museum

Below are some photos that a chap in our group managed to snap in the National Jewellery Museum (cameras are not allowed inside the museum).

Persian Trip: Some Facts

These are some facts that I found out in Iran (you may find some of them trivial). They are not in any order:

The Persian language is an Indo-European language brought by Turks from Central Asia.

Iran means land of aliens. It changed its name from Persia (Persia encompassed a smaller area) to Iran in 1936.

Theocracy system ended the monarchy system (the Revolution).

Iran is a third of the size of the USA and is as large as Western Europe with a population of 80 million.

Its main industries: oil, petro-chemical, car manufacturing and handicrafts.

Main fruits: citrus, apples, nuts, pears, peaches, kiwis, pomegranates.

They have caviar from Caspian Sea sturgeons.

Winter is the rainy season.

The most popular car is Peugeot as it is also produced in Iran (as is Kia).

Unemployment is 15% in the cities, 30% in rural areas and inflation is at 9%.

Iran embraced Shia 500 years ago, imported Shia mullahs from Lebanon to teach Shiism. Nevertheless, there are 6 million Sunnis in Iran. There are also 60,000 Zoroastrians (some are now in Mumbai, India).

Shia Muslims performed prayers three times a day: Dawn, noon and afternoon, dusk and evening.

The Supreme Leader is commander of military and judiciary. The President is elected for four years and can be re-elected for second term. There are 86 mullahs. There is a Guardian council and there is also an Expediency council (you can google them up).

Iran has a national service for 20 months at age of 18.

Age of marriage is 18 but on average, Iranian men and women get married when they are 30 and 27 respectively.

A woman can initiate divorce if husband is in jail or has left home for more than 6 months or addicted to drugs.

No polygamy is allowed although a man can take a second wife if the first wife approves of it (generally they don’t practise polygamy there).

Ayatollah means son of God and is an honorific title for clerics. Those in black-turbans are direct descendants of Prophet Muhammad while those in white-turbans are not direct descendants.

Tehran was founded 1796 and it was chosen as capital as it has favourable access to water and transportation with Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan). It remained capital throughout 19^th Century. The population in Tehran is 10 million, and there are 3 million cars. Isfahan and Shiraz were capitals before Tehran.

British and Russia dominated Iran, and caught in their power struggle, Iran underwent tremendous stagnation. Iran waged two wars against Russia in 19^th Century where they lost badly and lost all Caucasus to Russia.

Modernisation started in 1930s during the reign of the father of the last King of Iran.

Iran has 4 sanctions: first by US Congress because of its anti-Israeli policies; second by successive US Administration also because of anti-Israeli policies and Hezbollah especially during the Obama administration on banking and oil; third by United Nations because Iran was building nuclear weapon; fourth by European Union. President Rouhani held talks with the US and made a deal and UN and EU sanctions were lifted. Sanctions started when they held hostages of the US Embassy.

Persian Trip: Fourth Leg – Tehran

Monday, 26 December 2016

We left a wet Isfahan for Tehran this morning but not before a brief stop at Khaju Bridge. This bridge was built more than 360 years ago on the foundations of an older bridge and in its heyday, it also functioned as a dam. Unfortunately, Zayandeh River on which it spanned was dry. We walked across the bridge and re-boarded the bus for our long journey to Tehran.

We stopped en route at Kashan to visit Bagh-e Fin or Fin Garden, the oldest extant garden in Iran and also one of the nine gardens in Iran that are grouped under The Persian Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So on this trip, we had visited three of the nine Persian Gardens on the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Bagh-e Eram in Shiraz, Bagh-e Chehelsooton in Isfahan and now Bagh-e Fin in Kashan. The Fin Garden employs many water features fed from a spring on a hill behind the garden and the water pressure was such that a large number of pools and fountains could be constructed without the need for mechanical pumps. Truly an engineering feat. It was drizzling when we were there.

We then had lunch at a nearby restaurant before visiting Borujerdiha House, a beautiful former merchant house. The house was built for the bride of Haji Mehdi Borujerdi (she was from the affluent Tabatabei family. The Tabatabei family had their own impressive house which we didn’t visit unfortunately).

We left Borujerdiha House and walked to our bus in the rain. We still had a long trip ahead of us.

We reached Tehran well after dark and wow, it’s a busy bustling metropolis! We got caught in the crawl heading to the capital and inched our way along. Our first stop was of course a restaurant with its quirky but charming decoration for dinner before checking in to Espinas Gulf Hotel, our hotel for the next two nights.

Tuesday, 27 December 2016

The day started off grey and wet and some of us, me included, borrowed umbrellas from the hotel. And I was so glad I did so as the weather continued that way for the better part of the day.

Amin informed that he had tweaked the programmes a bit and that our first stop this morning would be at a nut shop in north Tehran as he said we may prefer to do our shopping first so that we could pack when we returned to the hotel (the nut shopping was supposed to be on the following day (last day in Tehran) and he said tourists tend to shop a lot and then have problems as they have to pack their purchases at the airport. Yup, that makes sense. We spent an hour there. I only bought some dates for dad and figs and pistachios.

After that, we drove to the National Museum of Iran. There are two complexes: the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of the post-Islamic era. We visited the former first and Amin brought us through it with a running documentary. I think we spent just enough time there without getting restless (I love museums but I know not everyone likes spending much time in one). We left for lunch after an hour or so and returned back to the museum to visit the second complex, the Museum of the post-Islamic era.

After that, we drove to the National Jewellery Museum which is housed in the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is only opened in the afternoon between 14:00 to 16:30 on Saturday to Tuesday. There were a lot of people here and we were not allowed to bring in any cameras inside. There are many jaw-dropping pieces of jewellery and big gem stones adorning crowns, coronation belts, swords, dish covers (!) and even thrones (!!!). I’d been to Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad a while ago and now couldn’t say which was better. It was truly a feast for the eyes and I enjoyed the visit very much.

It was getting dark when we left. We drove through the rain to the Grand Bazaar and were given less than an hour to browse. Some decided not to go and stayed in the bus. I wasn’t too hot about walking in the pissing rain but decided to get down anyway, reasoning that I might as well have a look while I was there. There were a lot of people around, shopping for their daily needs at the bazaar, returning from work and going out for dinner. Nothing much caught my fancy though at the bazaar and I left the covered bazaar and went to browse the shops outside the covered area. I was looking for honey to bring home for dad but couldn’t find any that satisfied me. I returned to pre-agreed the rendezvous point and waited for the rest.

We then went for dinner at a Chinese Restaurant (yes, I found it puzzling too) before returning to the hotel.

Wednesday, 28 December 2016

Today was our last day in Tehran. We left the hotel at 08:30 with our bags as we would not be returning to the hotel. The day started off grey and gloomy. We drove to Saadabad Palace, stopping briefly at Azadi Tower for some Kodak moments. It was raining when we arrived at Saadabad Palace so we hurried into the White Palace, the largest mansion in the complex. It was used for ceremonial and official affairs and summer residence of the Shah. We ooh-ed ahh-ed at the rooms, the ceilings that mirrored the carpets (or is it the other way round, i.e., the carpets mirroring the ceilings?), the furniture, and the overall opulence of it all.

Lunch was had at a nearby restaurant - I got bored waiting for the main course and slipped out to perform prayers at a mosque behind the restaurant (I can now say that I had performed prayers in a Shia mosque) - before we drove back across the city to Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Golestan Palace is one of the oldest historic monuments in Tehran and is a formal royal complex. There was a marble throne at the terrace where coronations and formal court ceremonies were held (i.e., it wasn’t a residential palace). We had to don shoe covers inside the palace building. It was beautiful inside and we all agreed it was even more spectacular than Saadabad Palace that we visited this morning. I guess Amin saved the best for last. The weather finally improved when we emerged out.

We drove to a restaurant serving traditional Persian food for early dinner. The speciality was abghoost (lamb stew) and even though I’m not a lamb or mutton person, I decided to give it a try. And it was really good and delicious, exactly what I needed after a cold wet day!

It was already dark when we left the restaurant. We boarded the bus for the hour-long journey to the airport. There was a queue and the counters were so slow that I managed to change clothes while queuing. After checking in our bags, Nit and I went out again to sell our Iranian Rials. The moneychanger had no USD and we were given Ringgit instead. We then went to clear immigration and headed for the washroom and then the prayer room.

Our flight took off at 22:40 and they served us some delicious meal (I was too sleepy and tired by then but still ate sleepily). I was surprised when I woke up to find that I had managed to sleep (I always find it hard to sleep during flights, no matter how long and far).

Thursday, 29 December 2016

We landed in Doha just after midnight and had to catch a bus to the terminal. I went to check out some stores (the Hermès sales assistant remembered me!) before heading to the gate. We boarded after 02:00 and it was in the flight that we found that the flight had been overbooked. One of the Datuks had to sit in economy (he also had to sit in economy from Tehran to Doha) despite paying for business class and our tour leader and another lady had to take a later flight. I had flown Qatar twice before this trip and never realised they had these problems. Again, I had no problems nodding off (and no, no complaints!). I did wake up a few times to perform prayers and use the bathroom.

We landed at KLIA at 15:30. I rushed off and went to perform prayers. My bags came out shortly after I arrived at the carousel and I was already on the bus back to KL by 16:10.

So that was my year-end trip. I would like to go to Iran again but different cities next time. And I think I will still fly Qatar Airways. InsyaAllah.

Persian Trip: Third Leg – Isfahan

Saturday, 24 December 2016

An early morning start as we had a long drive ahead of us. We left the hotel at around 08:15 and drove to Persepolis. It took an hour to reach Persepolis or Persian city (‘polis’ means city, just like Acropolis), the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Persepolis had been largely destroyed by Alexander the Great before it declined from its glory heydays. It was bitterly cold when we stepped out of the bus and we had to walk about 500 metres to the entrance. Despite the destruction, we spent about two hours at Persepolis. Amin gave a very good documentary of the history of the ruined city.

After that, we drove to a restaurant for lunch. We left after about an hour and drove to nearby Naqsh-e Rostam, an ancient necropolis. The four tombs here are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. I asked Amin if we could access the tombs and he said no. Well, I suppose you could somehow climb up but the tombs were looted by Alexander the Great so they should be empty now. After about half an hour, we drove to Naqshe Rajab, a site of four limestone rock face inscriptions. We spent about 15 minutes here before returning to the bus.

It was another 5-hour drive to Isfahan. In Iran, the bus drivers have to stop after every 80-100 km for vehicle check. Well, what it entailed from what I saw was the driver would have to go down and walk to the police check point and show his licence etc.

We reached Isfahan well after dark. We got down near Kowsar Trade Centre and walked to a beautiful restaurant for dinner. I was joining in the dinner conversation with Helen and a few others. After dinner, we walked across Si o She Pol Bridge or Allāhverdi Khan Bridge with its two rows of 33 arches, one of the eleven bridges in the city and the longest on Zayandeh River. It links the Muslim and Christian parts of Isfahan (north is Muslim, south is Christian). What a shame that the river was dry and has been dry for many years already. At the end of the bridge, Suzannah, a Chinese revert came up to me and attempted to clarify that her husband was not trying to find out Helen’s age during dinner. I just listened to her while trying hard not to yell, ‘Chill, woman!’ For the record, I didn’t say that her husband was trying to find out Helen’s age; after all, Helen freely told everyone how old she was. I just mused (to Helen’s response that she never asked anyone their age) that women hardly ever asked men their age but men always do ask women their age and that men should remember that a gentleman never asked a lady her age. Seriously woman, get real. I never even implied that your husband was asking for Helen’s age when I knew her age and I knew that he was asking for another man’s age.

We finally reached Abbasi Hotel, our hotel for the next two nights. The hotel complex was built about 300 years ago as a caravanserai so it was among the oldest hotel in Iran. It was renovated and restored in 1950s. I was surprised to find three beds in our room. The room was large and surprisingly warm, so warm that we opened the windows and even the door leading to the balcony.

Sunday, 25 December 2016

We changed to a different bus and driver today. The bus we took from Shiraz was not comfortable for those sitting at the back and was also stuffy. This new bus and driver was cleaner and better, and the driver friendlier and more concerned with our comfort. Our first stop this morning was the Isfahan Jame Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. It is a four-barrel building opening into a courtyard with a cube in the middle. We were told that people used to perambulate counter clockwise around this cube like around Kaabah. We went from one part of the mosque to another. Amin informed that parts of the mosque were hit by bombs by Saddam Hussein. There was one hall that we went to where if you stand on one point and call out or stomp your foot, the sound will reverberate throughout the mosque. Amin demonstrated to us and it was true. I was in awe at the ingenuity. Some of those celebrating Christmas in our group began singing Christmas songs there.

Our next stop was Chehelsotoon Palace (it means 40 columns in Persian). It is a pavilion in the middle of park at the end of a long pool built by Shah Abbas for his pleasure entertainment and reception. The Chehel Sotoun Palace is among the 9 Iranian Gardens which are collectively registered as one of the Iran’s 21 registered World Heritage Sites under the name of the Persian Garden.

Our next stop was Vank Church, an Armenian Orthodox Church. The church was established 400 years ago for the thousands of Armenian deportees that were resettled during the Ottoman War. I was surprised to find the Christians in our group didn’t know that the Orthodox Christians do not celebrate Christmas on 25 December. There is also a museum which displays artefacts from the history of the church and the Armenian community in Isfahan.

We had lunch at a restaurant nearby which I think was in the Christian quarter. In Iran, all women, including Jews and Christians, must don a headscarf so you can’t tell if one was a Muslim or not. Of course some of them don it showing a lot of hair as a symbol of their defiance to the ruling.

After lunch, we headed to Naqsh-e Jahan Square or Meidan Emam aka Emam Square. Situated at the centre of the city, it is an important historical site and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our first stop there was the Shah Mosque aka Imam Mosque. This mosque is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rial note.

Next, we headed for Ali Qapu Palace, the first ‘skyscraper’ in Iran built more than 400 years ago. (Ali means sublime while Qapu means gate). There are six floors, we first climbed up to the fourth floor (parts of it were under renovation) and then up a steep staircase to the sixth floor where the Music Hall is. I didn’t stay long and went down after 15 minutes.

We were then given free time until 17:30 so I wandered the bazaar, first with Dr Loh and then we parted ways. The bazaar sold traditional crafts, jewellery, bronze urns and gigantic jugs, one section sold cookware and household items... I was happy to wander around. I didn’t buy anything though.

We had dinner at a restaurant close to the bazaar before heading back to the hotel.

To be continued

Persian Trip: Second Leg – Shiraz

Friday, 23 December 2016

We had to ride a bus from the terminal to board our flight to Shiraz and our assigned seats were reallocated by Christine to allow spouses and families to sit next to each other. I got acquainted with Ping and Helen, a 74-year old widower. I noticed an Asian man among the crew and was surprised when he turned out to be a Malay. The flight took about an hour and we landed at 04:00. Women must already be donning a scarf when they emerge from the plane. The immigration was a bit slow and we had to wait a bit for our bags too. Some bags came out wet and I was glad to find my bag was spared whatever it was.

We had to wait a bit as a gentleman in our group had his bag wheels damaged and had to lodge a report. We met up with Amin, our local tour guide. While waiting, I went to change money. The exchange rate was IRR38,000 for every USD1. I was planning to shop much and so I changed only USD100. To make matters more confusing, don’t assume all shops use Rial; some shops quote prices in Toman. 1 Toman is 10 Rial so don’t get too excited when you’re quoted a price but ask if it’s in Rial or Toman.

We had wondered if our trip would be extended by another day to make up for the delay but Amin and Christine explained that we would cover all sights meant to cover for two days in one day. As such, it was imperative for everyone to be punctual that morning. Christine then explained to some of us privately that it would be difficult if not impossible to change our itinerary as our payment had to reach the Iranian side one month prior to arrival and through a third country due to the trade embargo or restrictions faced by Iran.

We finally left the airport at 05:15 for Zandiyeh Hotel and as we had already paid for two nights, we could go immediately to our rooms. The first I had was a shower followed by morning prayers. Then it was a bit of a rest before having breakfast. We were supposed to depart at 09:00 today for our two-days-in-one tour.

Now, we have three Datuks and by extension three Datins in our group. A gentleman whom I later found was one of the Datuks was late and he kept us waiting for 20 minutes. A bit annoying but I suppose he must have gotten confused over the time change. Iran is 4.5 hours behind Malaysia.

Our first stop was the Khan madrasah or school, founded in 1615 by Imam Gholi Khan, governor of Fars. We had to stop beneath a flyover, near some bus station and went up the escalator to the bazaar level. The college which is still in use has a fine stone-walled inner courtyard and garden. However, as it was a Friday, we didn’t see any students when we were there.

Our next stop was Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, aka Pink Mosque due to the usage of considerable pink colour tiles for its interior design. We were told that roses and nightingales play a big role in Shiraz. There is also a winter and summer gallery with its stained glasses and twelve columns (after 12 Imams of Shia). You can wear shoes in the mosque compound but must open them to enter the winter and summer gallery.

After that, we drove to the Qavam Garden or Narenjestan due to the abundance of tangerines. The Qavam House is a traditional and historical house in Shiraz and preserves the elegance and refinement enjoyed by upper-class families. The focal point of the house was the mirrored porch which overlooked a small garden designed with fountain and plants.

Our next stop before lunch was the Quran Gate which is the entrance to (and exit from) Shiraz. It is located near the gorge of Allah-o-Akbar and is flanked by the Baba Kuhi and Chehel Maqam mountains. The gateway is where two copies of the Qurans are located.

After lunch, we continued to Bagh e-Eram or Eram Garden, a complex containing networks of gardens, a colourful palace and a system of canals flowing throughout. Eram Garden is one of the nine gardens in Iran that are grouped under The Persian Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Next on our stop was Vakil Mosque, situated to the west of Vakil Bazaar (as it was a Friday, most shops were closed; some were however open while we were there). it was built in the second half of the 18^th century and restored in the 19^th century.

Our next pit stop in this day of pit stops was the Arg of Karim Khan or Karim Khan Castle, a citadel which is somewhere between Vakil Mosque and our hotel. It served as living quarters of Karim Khan, the founder of the Zand Dynasty and he ruled almost all of Iran. Shiraz was once the capital of Persia during the Zand Dynasty so that explains why the citadel is in Shiraz.

The day ain’t over yet, oh no. We next drove to Ali ibn al-Hamzah shrine. We had to park by a busy roadside, cross the road (Iranian drivers are crazy!) and walk over a bridge through some unfinished construction to get to the shrine. I didn’t see any signage directing one to the site so if you’re an independent traveller, you really need to know how to get there or you have to hire a guide. We had to walk across a courtyard which actually was a cemetery (I asked if it was OK to walk all over and Amin said yes and was then horrified to find that we’d been walking over graves) to get to the building which housed the tomb. Shia followers have no problem walking over graves, no problem with animal or human pictures in mosques, don’t perform congregational Friday prayers, and only perform prayers three times a day (Suboh, Zuhur and Asar combined together (4 rakaat + 4 rakaat), and Maghrib and Isya’ prayers together (3 + 4 rakaats). They also have no problems with building shrines for the dead. The inside of the shrine is indeed beautiful but I found it disturbing. I left as soon as I could and gingerly walked back to the entrance. Some of the Chinese and the Indian couple in my group then told me they are not allowed to walk on graves either. We had to retrace our steps back to the bus.

Last but not least was the Tomb of Hafiz. Hafiz was a beloved poet and son of Shiraz who lived in the 14^th century. There’s a garden, a pool and pavilion over his tomb. We spent about 20 minutes there before leaving to the call of Maghrib prayers. It was then I realised the Shia followers have a different azan too...incorporating Ali in it.

Our last stop before we returned to the hotel was dinner in a restaurant near Vakil Mosque. I didn’t know how I could keep my eyes open after the long day but we did it! We covered two days’ worth of sites in one day!

To be continued

Persian Trip: First Leg – The Longest Night of the Year

I had dreamt of going to Iran (among other places) for some time but either didn’t come across any travel agent offering Iranian tours (maybe also as I wasn’t actively looking for one previously) or already had other places planned. After Jordan and Lebanon and having had to cancel my umrah plan in December, I thought it was time for me to finally set foot in Iran and so at the MATTA Fair in September 2016, looked for tours to go there. I only managed to find two companies offering tours to Iran but one company’s tour was in early December and only covered Tehran and Isfahan. The other company’s tour was in end-December which suited me just fine and also covered Shiraz. The only drawback was the cost which I thought was quite exorbitant at almost 10 grand. But Iran still lacks tourism infrastructure – also readily admitted by our local tour guide, Amin – so for now it’s best to join a tour.

Wednesday, 21 December 2016/Dongzhi/Winter Solstice

Today was winter solstice or dongzhi. It is hence the shortest day of the year for us in the Northern Hemisphere or the longest night of the year. I left home at 16:00 in the hot afternoon sun and after performing prayers at Le Meridien, took the 17:30 bus from KL Sentral to KLIA. There was a brief crawl along a stretch of the highway but we managed to arrive at KLIA at 18:30 and I immediately headed for counter K10 to check in. After meeting Nit, I went to clear immigration as I wanted to perform prayers before boarding. The announcement to board came on before I was anywhere near the prayer room so I rushed to the bathroom and then to the prayer room before heading to gate C37.

We boarded the plane and settled down. I had asked for a seat change to 18A. It was warm for a while until the AC was turned on and before long, some passengers were already dozing off. Our ETD was at 20:20 and when it was 20:45 and we were still on the ground, the captain made an announcement apologising for the delay and said there was a technical problem. I spotted a ground crew in the plane and wondered how serious the problem was.

21:00 came and we were starting to get restless. I got up to use the bathroom in Business Class (and not ticked off for doing so) and overhead some argument between the cabin crew. Funny, I thought, surely the ground crew would perform a thorough check before any one flight is allowed to take off.

Then there was an announcement for us to disembark and for us to bring all our bags down. The announcement was repeated a few times and people had all stood up and opened the overhead compartments for their bags but the door was still closed. Everyone around me was agitated, everyone had a connecting flight to catch later on in Doha and I overheard one of the cabin crew trying to calm those questioning her. ‘I have another flight too, tomorrow,’ she said, and ‘I’m sorry but we cannot serve you the food even if we’re not flying,’ to another query.

We made our way back into the boarding gate wearily. I looked at the clock there, it was 21:50 then. I had called my dad at least twice by then to update him of the situation. We sat down and then we heard they would provide us with food vouchers. There was another long queue to get the food vouchers (I had checked the inflight magazine and noted that the flight could carry about 340 passengers or so. I stand corrected though). We were only allowed to go to Burger King and the voucher value was RM25. Nit misplaced her boarding pass and I had to wait for a new one to be issued before they could release the food voucher so of course by the time I went up to Burger King, there were at least 100 others ahead of me. Nit had told me to get her some burger as she wanted to work. Well, what do you know, I ended up queuing for 50 minutes before I reached the counter. The Burger King staff had all looked stressed and harassed too by then. Me, my legs were already shaking and quivering from all that standing. Nit was surprised to see me return with two burgers, she thought I had already eaten. Well, no, I just spent 50 minutes of my life queuing up for fast food. I only persevered as I hadn’t had any dinner. There was an announcement saying the plane was ready for boarding while I was 15 minutes into the queue and I did consider if I should abandon the queue and head for the gate but I looked around and saw fellow passengers so I decided to stick to the queue. Our tour leader, Christine, also came while I was queuing and told us to just take the food and if we had to get drinks, to drink quickly.

We gobbled up the food and hurried to the boarding gate. Nit overheard someone saying the flight was cancelled. Say what?! I had by then decided to treat the situation as hilarious. The flight was cancelled but we were to remain in the boarding gate until they sorted out accommodation for us. Christine informed that we might be allocated Everly Hotel in Putrajaya.

Thursday, 22 December 2016

Finally, we were told to make our way out and collect our bags at the carousel. We trudged back, took the aerotrain and went through immigration again and made our way to the carousel. There was another long wait until they told us which carousel to collect our bags from. The cabin crew emerged and guess what, they had their bags out first!

We waited and waited and waited. I saw the pilot and co-pilot coming our way. Christine approached them and asked what the problem was but they didn’t want to share. Our bags were out finally and we were told to go to Level 1 where there would be buses to ferry us to the hotels.

As we were the first ones out, Christine told us to fill up the first bus first (naturally) as it would depart at 02:30 so we loaded our bags ourselves and got on the bus. The bus was all filled up by our group and some other independent travellers by 02:30. However, there was an argument: the driver said he was assigned to drive to the hotels in Putrajaya and that it turned out that we would not be going to Everly Hotel after all but to Grand Dorsett in Subang Jaya. At that point, I was too exhausted to care and although Christine was arguing to the driver that we should get the Everly Hotel rooms, I told her it didn’t matter. I just wanted to rest my weary self just like the others. After much argument, the driver relented and drove us off at 03:00. I know because there was a digital clock at the front of the bus. It was indeed the longest night of the year.

I dozed off and woke up to snatches of conversation between Christine and the driver. He informed that a China Airlines flight was turned back three hours into its flight due to the bad smog at the Chinese destination and that another airline was also cancelled just days before. I also overheard that other hotels are also utilised like Eastin Hotel but for the cabin crew.

We finally reached Grand Dorsett at 03:50. I quickly grabbed my bag and went to the counter, sticking closely to Christine and a good strategy too as I got the second double room assigned to our busload of passengers so we were already in the room by 04:00. It was a beautiful hotel and our room was perfect; if only we didn’t have to check in under those circumstances! Sleep didn’t come that easily but when I next opened my eyes, it was almost bright outside and I hurried to perform morning prayers.

We were going to have a lie-in but the phone rang at 08:30. Wake-up call. Apparently breakfast would be served until 10:00 so I had a quick shower and went downstairs.

There was still no update so after breakfast and studying Google map of the area, I decided to go for a walk to Subang Parade. Ugh, to think I actually went there before in those days! I left in a hurry and lost my way twice returning to the hotel. Nit called me and informed that lunch would be provided until 14:30 and that we would be departing the hotel at 15:30 back for KLIA.

I decided to have a late lunch as I wasn’t sure how early/late my dinner would be. I met the young airport ground crew who told me he was new to the job and ill-prepared for it. He said the airline should take responsibility but was very vague about arrangements and he had to keep referring to his boss on the next steps. While the 24 of us were lucky to get seats on Qatar for that evening, some others had to be bumped on to Emirates and Etihad. Poor chap. Imagine, he was in the clothes he was in the day before.

We left at 15:30 in the rain and reached KLIA an hour later. I saw a few groups of Indonesian umrah pilgrims camping out at KLIA. I wonder how long they had been there; surely they were assigned accommodation for the evening before?

There was another delay and we were to take off at 20:20 but the flight was retimed to 21:15 due to the late arrival of the flight QR0848 from Doha. We finally took off and everyone breathed out a collective sigh of relief...

We landed at Doha at midnight and went on to Terminal D for our next flight.

To be continued

The Year That Was: 2016

It’s first working and school day of 2017 today (well, at least for us in the west coast; my thoughts and sympathies to those affected by the flood in the east coast). What a year 2016 had been eh. It was a somewhat challenging year with its ups and downs, trials and tribulations, trying, tiring and testing. I couldn’t wait for 2016 to end but at the same time I wasn’t looking forward to another whole brand new year either.

2016 saw continued conflicts, disputes and disagreements which were within human control and natural disasters and catastrophes (which may have been a result of global warming so you could say that we did contribute indirectly to them), heightened Islamophobia and terrorist attacks. Just as I thought we couldn’t possible go any lower as humans, it seemed that no, we were capable of much more cruelty. It seems brutality and cruelty have no limits and some of those caught in wars have had to flee their homeland. I don’t know if they hold think much hope for another new year; certainly if I were in their shoes, I probably wouldn’t even care about the coming dawn of another year. Survival would be uppermost in my mind. I started following some figures on Twitter and Facebook to understand more on what is happening in the conflict areas (not to worry, I still try not to spend too long on boring ol’ FB).

I think 2016 was starting to be a difficult year economically with price hikes from food to petrol. I personally know people who have badly impacted by the economy and it’s sometimes hard to see a light at the end of this seemingly deep, difficult and dark tunnel - if there’s any light in the first place.

I spent more time reading and reflecting and Alhamdulillah, I managed to finish 150 books. I also continue to read the Quran almost every night and recite prayers when I can’t pray.

I took less leave days last year but still managed to squeeze in some trips (three new countries too, syukur Alhamdulillah:

January: Spent Thaipusam weekend in Melaka

February: Flew off to Tanzania and made a short trip to Malawi

March: Went on tandem paragliding at Bukit Jugra

April: Went on a short trip to Port Dickson at the beginning of the month. Flew off to Frankfurt at month-end

May: Visited Luxembourg City before flying to Italy

June: Didn’t manage to make any trip ;’(

July: Flew to Kota Bharu for a day trip in end-July

August: Fraser’s Hill

September: Spent Malaysia Day weekend in KK and Gaya Island Resort

October: Spent Awal Muharram weekend in George Town, Penang, and represented TheOrganisation at Games held in Bali at month-end

November: A day trip to Johor Bahru on the first Saturday

December: Spent Maulidur Rasul weekend in Jakarta with my niece and joined a tour to Iran at month-end

Arsenal somehow managed to come in second in a two-dog race for the top two spot when Sp*ds hilariously lost 5-1 to already relegated Newcastle. A late St Totteringham’s Day but hey, better late than never. We were knocked out of the FA Cup though and I was pretty pissed about that.

I have cut down big on chicken and processed food. I had enjoyable weekend morning walks when I’m at micasa and I participated in the department’s light exercise held almost every morning. I continued to walk a lot (something a person who doesn’t drive is bound to do anyway) and I have taken to having short cat naps during lunch after some reading. I carried my water bottle and a shopping bag daily almost everywhere. My aim is to make better food choices: not buy too much that it leads to wastage, waste less resources and eat healthily. I also resolve to continue being a responsible citizen of the earth.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2017. May the year ahead bring us all much joy, happiness, stronger faith, good health, wealth and prosperity, peace and good fortune. Did you find it a relief to part ways with 2016 too?