Day 01: Makkah – Arrival with Intention...

“Today, I place my heart before Allah, carrying hopes, sins, and silent prayers, trusting that every step in this sacred land is already a mercy...”

(In our ihram in Jeddah International Airport)

Day 01: 21/01/26 (Wednesday)
Route: KL - Jeddah - Makkah
Flight: MH156 1900/2340 KUL-JED
Hotel: Safwah Hotel, Makkah

We left Bidara House around noon, the traffic mercifully light. After prayers at Masjid Sultan Abdul Samad, KLIA, we parked our car at the Long Term Car Park, settled and ready to let go of worldly routines for the days ahead.

By mid-afternoon, the MKM Umrah group gathered for our briefing. Baggage checked in, boarding passes in hand, and for the first time, we smoothly passed through Immigration using MyBorderPass, a small ease that felt like reassurance.

Flight MH156 departed on time. We were already in ihram, the journey calm with only slight turbulence. As we crossed the miqat at Qarnul Manazil, we made our niat for Umrah, quiet words carrying deep hopes.

We landed in Jeddah at 11.30 pm. Immigration was swift, officers kind, and the bus ride to Makkah took about an hour. At Safwah Hotel, we checked in and rested briefly before Subuh called us awake.

The journey had begun. Not just across lands, but inward, towards surrender and remembrance.

17th Umrah Trip: A Journey That Begins Within...

"Labbaik Allahumma labbaik" (Here I am, O Allah, here I am)...

(The holy Kaabah in Makkah)

This year, hubby and I chose to begin our travels early. Instead of chasing new cities or familiar comforts, we felt drawn to start with a spiritual journey of an Umrah trip, a return to the Holy Lands. It felt right to place our hearts first before anything else, to realign our intentions before the year unfolded further.

Though we have performed Umrah many times before, the preparations never seem to grow easier. There were documents to check, bags to pack, prayers to memorise, and quiet worries of faltering health that crept in between moments of excitement. I realised that experience does not always bring ease; sometimes it brings deeper awareness of responsibility and purpose.

(Masjid Nabawi in Madinah)

In those moments, I reminded myself to pause, to breathe and to soften my heart. This journey was not only about arriving in Makkah and Madinah, but about learning to let go of control, of haste, of unnecessary anxiety. I hoped that with a calmer heart and sincere spiritual readiness, the ritual of the pilgrimage itself would be fulfilled with ease.

Our Umrah Itinerary:
(21 - 31 January, 2026)
Day 01: KL - Makkah
Day 02: Makkah - 1st umrah
Day 03: Makkah - Hudaibiah 2nd Umrah, Jabal Khandamah, Hira Cutural Village
Day 04: Makkah - Jaaranah 3rd Umrah, Souk Jumlah Kak'kiah, Nasi Unta
Day 05: Makkah - Tanaim 4th Umrah
Day 06: Makkah - Madinah
Day 07: Madinah - Mosque Tour, Raudhah Visit
Day 08: Madinah - City Tour
Day 09: Madinah - Ziarah Badar
Day 10: Madinah - KL

Perhaps this Umrah, once again inviting me to begin not only with steps taken on sacred ground, but with peace nurtured quietly within.