Thai Trip In Words & Pictures

So I came back home Sunday night after spending 5 days and 4 nights in Thailand, Bangkok. The main reason of this short visit was to have some change of air, have fun and do a bit of shopping. The plane took off from Muscat and after 1 hour and half reached Karachi for an extra one hour transit then landed in Bangkok after 4 and a half hours. The flight was smooth although I'd have appreciate it more if there were personal TV screens to keep me entertained.

After settling in the Ten Stars Inn, we wandered around to the near shopping malls like Platinum Fashion Mall and took this picture while crossing the bridge from and to the opposite street.

Early the next day we headed to Pattaya, the famous beach city to see what the fuss is all about and after spending 1 hour and a half at the car we finally reached and was surpised to see many foreigners there. Mainly American and European. Since we arrived early, we had to wait till 10 or 11 for the malls to open. We visited Lotus, Carrefoure (where I bought novels from Bookazine) and some other malls.

The next day was an enjoyable one for me. We took a tour around the Floating Market, which is basically a floating city, with people selling on their small wooden boats and tiny houses (that had its own boat).

Then it was Dream World's turn, where I had the time of my life there, playing and enjoying the thrill of the moment in the many different games.

First, right after the entrance, you'd see the Love Garden which is decorated beautifully with heart-shaped flowers and trees and I actually saw a Bride and Groom taking pictures at one of the fountains.

Then I rode the cable car which took me to the other, far side of the park. And snapped these couple of shots from above. You could practically see the whole theme park.

There's also a Fairy-tales Land, featuring various characters of Disney's tales and other legendry houses, castles.

Sleeping Beauty inside her castle

Her castle, after climbing the stairs that leads to this.

The well of the prince who turned into a frog.

Plus the incredibly -2.0 C cold Snow Town.

And of course the Wonders of The World miniatures.

Paid the Giant's House a visit as well.

Have you ever had a 4D experience? Well I had. Right there in Dream World, located next to the Giant's House. The 20-minutes-long show's description fits it perfectly ''You don't watch the movie, you're part of it''. Whenever there was lightning, you'd notice the whole theatre glowing with flashing colours and water splashing right across your face, matching with the action going on the show. It was a scary, heart-pounding experience that kept me on the edge of my seat. Make sure to try it if you ever go there.

Overall, it was an awesome trip..with a perfect timing. The people were nice and friendly, unlike Chinese (not generalizing here but pointing out what I personally noticed) and wouldn't give you the 'look' for being an Arab with a hijab or point fingers at you (Chinese did that to me). They, thankfully, understand English so it was easy to communicate.

As they say, Sawatdi (See you again/Goodbye) :)

3 Hours Prior To My Flight...

I'll be flying off to Thailand in a couple of hours from now. Packing wise, it's all set. For the first time in my life, I've done that part already two days back. What an accomplishment, I know. Other than that, I could practically jump off my seat because of the excitement. Even though I'll be staying there for a few days but as as long as I get to get on a plane for some shopping spree, I'm happy. Midterm breaks started yesterday so you could see that I wasted no time here in Oman. The weather, I've heard, isn't all that but the thought of travelling alone does the whole job for me.

My flight book this time would be The Girls which I've started last night although I'm tagging Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult with me..just in case I changed my mind.

And stay tuned for my next update; will blog all about the trip when I come back inshAllah. As for now, take care!

The Perfect Way To End The Year

After 7 years of wanting to perform Umra I finally had the chance to on Monday. We took off from Oman on Friday night after lots of drama from my part as mom didn't agree about me hitting the road with my uncle and aunt without my parents. Her only reason was that she'd worried sick about me. I tried to talk her into it but she'd refuse to answer my requests so I got frustrated and left her room, my heart shattering into pieces: After all the planning and when everything was all set for us to leave that night she says no. My older sister then asked me to pray 9alat elisti5ara and ask Allah if it was good for me, then he'd let me go and vice versa. I prayed and when mom woke up that afternoon she told me to start packing. I was overwhelmed and started doing what she asked. She then went shopping for me and resumed the packing dilemma while I went out to say good-bye to my close family and relatives.

We took off that night at 10 PM with tears welling in my eyes to be parting from my parents but knowing that I'd finally be able to do what I've always wanted to experience, I let the drama pass. We stopped occasinally to use the restrooms and for prayers. At 2 AM, we stopped at a mosque in AD so that my uncle (the one who drives) could rest for a while. And boy! It was freezing cold. I slept for a mere of 30-45 minutes due to my non-stop shivering.

Then time flew by really fast and we reached AlMadinah at 10 or 11 PM on Saturday. My aunt pointed out AlMasjid AlNabawi to me and I was speechless. The dazzling lights that englightened the mosque's minrates didn't leave words for me to utter. We then took out our bags and chose a hotel to settle in for the next two day. Early the next morning we visited the mosque and it was HUGE, mashallah. My aunt and I headed to the women's praying section and visisted the place near the Prophet's grave which is call the raw'9a. We prayed and made du3a and left the mosque. On our way back to the hotel, a little farther than the mosque entrance was a souq called Aswa8 AlHaram and I did a lot of shopping for my cousins that day and the next.

After 2 chilly (yes, I had to wear my sweater at all times) days, we packed and got ready to leave AlMadina and head to Makka to perform Umra. A 10 minutes distance then we reached the Mi8at and did abultion with the intention of being on our i7ram for 3umra. And on the way we met a group of monkeys (who didn't say to bits of cakes)

At 8 or 9 PM we reached Makka and I was even more astonished by the sight of the HUGE alharam almakki. We then checked in at a hotel, left our baggage there and walked to Alharam to perform Umra. The moment my eyes set upon the Ka3ba I silently made du3a for myself, my family and the rest of Muslims worldwide. The ka3ba is literally larger than the size we're used to see on TV obviously and then we did the 6awaf which was easy given the quite reasonable amount of people. Afterwards, we did the sa3i 7 times which was harder than the latter due to the distance but I kept praying and thanking Allah for this valuable opportunity.

On Thursday, I came back home to be welcomed by my whole family for it being my second time. They kept calling me half 7agiya and I took the gathering as a chance to distribute the gifts I've brought along for every single person.

What a great way to end the year! InshAllah tkoon 3umra ma8boola.

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I'm sick of checking my blogger account, as if I'm waiting to read a comment or two when there's absolutely nothing in it that deserves commenting. I'd be honest if I said that Twitter took Blogger's place for me but I have a good excuse for it: My PC crashed two weeks ago, my brother's laptop battery has gone mad and I hate working on Dad's PC or sister's laptop. My phone acts as a great way of tweeting but sadly to say, it's really hard to write a blog post through it.

I've been on a roller-coaster lately given the school work and the numerous quizzes I have to take. Although I'm extremely grateful for the national day events that kind of decreased the stress a bit. Attending the Students Parade has to be the most important highlight of the past couple of weeks along with the Fireworks championship, plus my siblings' school celebration. I wish I had the time to upload the pictures I took during those occasions but as always, I'd do what I'm good at; procrastinate.

Muharam's 5-long-holiday was okay; full of laziness, unscheduled routines and a bit of reading here and there. I'd wanted to tag along with my family to Dubai but the whole packing dilemma pulled me back. What can I do? I'm just lazy like that. Holidays aside, school starts tomorrow. Like people my age, as much as I hate going, I know I'd have to at the end of the day. Let's just keep our fingers crossed for it to be enjoyable. No, scratch that. For it to end as soon as it started.

Speaking of school, I literally haven't written for a while now and I missed it epically. Hearing a Lebanese accent the other day made me realize how out-of-it I've grown to be and especially reminded me of completing my latest story, Hiatus Lane. When? Can't make any promises so stay tuned anytime soon from now on.