It's been a pretty hot couple days recently and I was reminded of the first night/day of being in Mekah during Hajj last year (magad dah jadi cerita tahun lepas!).
Hajj season was in August - peak of Summer with temperatures expected to be as high as 50 degrees Celsius. If you read up on former jemaah's haji experiences, the hot weather equals to hot water from the taps/shower/bidet especially in Arafah/Mina camps, 'barely there' airconditioning in the room etc. I take my showers cold so Ibrahim would tell me to 'prepare' by taking 'hot showers' in the months leading to our Hajj journey. My mom in law also reminded me to not be bothered by the heat too much i.e. jangan sebut panas/dont complain.
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| One of the many contraptions we brought..really helped when it was stuffy |
On the night I arrived my hotel in Mekah (Room 1009, Amjad Al-Bait 😍) it was so hot! And when I showered, the water was scalding hot! At that moment I was like, oh no, all the accounts of former jemaah haji were true! My room mates & I (4 of us in total) were just settling in, it was almost midnight so we all just slept without any complaints. I remember telling Ibrahim that my room was hot & considering the reminders that one should not complaint while you are there, I was resigned to the fact that I would be sleeping in sweat for the next 35 nights.
The next morning we performed our umrah/tawaf qudum & I wore a white jubah which meant I had on many layers of inner/leggings & tudung & telekung. After the umrah, I had a shower (again with hot water, it was around noon), and was preparing to rest before lunch - then I had a nose bleed. The heat was getting to me!
Finally one of my roommates spoke up, questioning why was our room was so hot when our husbands' rooms (next to ours) was cold. So we asked the front desk to send someone to check our aircon. Turns out it was out of gas, they filled up gas & voila - we had a cool room the entire stay 
And the hot water in the bathroom - turns out the heater switch was on (it was not in a visible location). I switched it off & yes, we had cold/room temperature shower after that. 😂 (On my flight back home to Malaysia I did learn that other jemaah had the same hot water issue & most likely were not aware that they could switch off the heater).
And the hot water in the bathroom - turns out the heater switch was on (it was not in a visible location). I switched it off & yes, we had cold/room temperature shower after that. 😂 (On my flight back home to Malaysia I did learn that other jemaah had the same hot water issue & most likely were not aware that they could switch off the heater).
Apart from this first day experience our living conditions were smooth throughout the entire trip. Don't complaint or be open to challenges/difficult/less than favourable situations are standard & good advices for anyone going to Hajj..but it doesn't mean that everything has to be taken as it is. The hotel staff are generally very helpful & love Malaysian jemaah so if there are any issues, you can have them addressed accordingly. If you have room mate issues, you can also have counselling / mediation sessions with counsellors provided by Tabung Haji.
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| In front of our Mekah Hotel |
Okay that's all..I hope i can document my Hajj journey before the Jemaah for 1441H depart ..😅
With Love (ifyouknow,youknow :D)
Azreen
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