first day in Makkah-al-Mukarramah

3:30 ~ 5:30am
Jeddah - Makkah -
it's dark outside and i'm sleepy (plus hungry). can't really see what's outside the bus, and try to sleep in the crampy bus.

5:30am
my first solat in Makkah -
when arrive in Makkah, nearing fajr. i see people busy walking to Masjidil Haram (tho i can't really locate where it is).
road closed, bus can't pass thru to hotel (dar raed 4).
perform solat outside nearby masjid.

6:40am
bus takes us to the hotel, as the road is now opened again.
got into my room (6 pax hotel room), get acquianted with others.
rest for a short while.

8:30am
tawaf qudum (tawaf selamat datang) -
went with mak and others, follow mutawwif disediakan oleh UTAS.
he's a tall big african, speaks arabic. can't really understand him, just follow.
we went in thru gate 62, put our footwear in a shoe bag and left them in the shelf outside.
lots of people at this time of the season (and at this time of the day). finished tawaf in 1½ hours time.
proceed to Safa with mak to perform sa'ie (for hajj). really can't find place for solat sunat tawaf at dataran Kaabah, and there is no place either along the way to Safa. managed to get a small area for me to perform solat sunat tawaf along Safa-Marwah pathways.
it's only 10am now and people are already taking their place in Masjidil Haram for solat jumaat come 12.30noon.

the Kaabah is a magnificent sight under the strong morning sunlinght!
there is a du'a (supplication) upon seeing Kaabah. and Baitullah al Haram is among the three, which, if one set his sight upon, is considered a good deed and Allah grants him pahala (the other two is al-Quran Karim and your mother's face).

10:30am
sa'ie (for hajj) -
lasted for 1½ hours. quite a long stretch. mak went home, and i'm finding my way back into al Haraam for a place for solat jumaat.

11:30am
my first solat jumaat in Makkah -
Sa'ie ends at Marwah, which is actually outside of Haraam, meaning technically you have to re-enter Haraam.
tried my best to get into Haraam, and said to myself there is one small place for me - just go on and find it. after ½ hour getting to the front, saf after saf, i actually have to get back and be content with a place under the hot sun outside al Haraam, near zamzam fountain nearby Marwah. it is a tough place.
i'm lucky i have my oakleys with me, at least i could open my eyes under the glaring hot sun.
½ hour later the azan starts. and solat jumaat ends at 1:30pm.
i managed to get back to my room at 2:30pm (there was a ½ hour walk amidst the crowd from where i perform solat to get back to gate 62 to get my sandals - outside Haram it is so dense with people, truly unimaginable).

2:30pm
had lunch and rest for an hour.

3:30pm
asr, maghreeb & isya. stayed in Haraam.
Makkah Prayer Times:
fajr 0530 zuhr 1230 asr 1530 maghreeb 1800 isya' 1930

7:30pm
really famished. had my dinner. no complaints.
rest for a while, and went to sleep at 9:30pm. it is considered late, for the next day have to get into Haraam at least 1½ hour before fajr (= 4:00am) to get a good place inside (and solat tahajjud, etc.).
what a day.