JazakyAllahu khayr Khala Noha!

I (Age 28, Male) just returned yesterday from the Hajj Trip back to Lahore, Pakistan and the 1st thing on my mind was to write a blog for all the people who wishes to travel in future for this Holy journey. I was travelling with my parents (On the Wheelchairs), Wife & a brother. The trip was between 14th October to 30th October from Lahore , Pakistan. This was a PRIVATE trip and not from the Government side. I carefully selected the tour operator bearing in my mind the convenience for my parents and Alhamdolillah it went smooth and we didn’t miss any Rukn at Hajj!

The Trip:
I carefully chose the tour operator from Pakistan, who had the best reviews i.e. UNIVERSAL EXPRESS, who have an office in Lahore as well but have the HQ in Karachi, there is similar named operator called Universal Brothers as well so please don’t mix up! They have 3 different packages Prime, VIP & Deluxe; the names refer to the level of facilities you’d like to have, that I am going to explain in a bit! Brothers remember 1 thing, from 7 Dil Hajja till 12th you can manage to complete all the Hajj, rest all the days are for Ibadat, so do Hasb-e-taufiq as much as you can! On 7th Dil Haj or before you must have performed your Umra (Compulsory which is a part of Hajj e Tamattu) and then remove your Ihram, which was worn by you at Meekaat. On 8th Dil Hajja, after Fajr Prayer, again wear Ehraam and leave for Mina, there pray next 4 prayers of the day and next morning after Fajr at Mina, go to Arafat, pray Zuhr & Asr and after that leave for Muzdalfa, pray Maghrib & Isha together as Qasr & leave spend the night outside under the sky (No Tents). Next morning after Fajr Leave Muzdalfa & Reach Mina, after some rest leave for Jamrat & have Ramy of Big Satan, do Qurbani, cut the hair, & Remove Ehraam. From 10th Dul Hajj till 12th Maghrib, complete your Tawaafe Ziarat. On 11th & 12th Do Ramy for all the 3 Satans! Do Tawaaf e Vida just before leaving Kaaba for the last time & your Hajj is complete. I travelled directly from Lahore to Medina, spent 3 nights in hotel Darul Taqwa just before Ladies gate its the most nearest hotel you can think of and also can see the Haram from its lobby & rooms (Insist to get this one). In Makkah we got Darul Tauheed (Intercontinental Hotel) again nothing better could be an option, it was even better than the Taqwa hotel! We got half board package means our lunch & dinner were buffet and amazing meals! In both hotels we could reach haram in no time! In Mina the tents were provided with Sofa cum Beds with air conditioned rooms & private toilets with the buffet 3 times. Bus took us to Arafat & Muzdalfa, however, on return from Muzdalfa one has to walk to the Mina Tent, we got Maktab 1 in Mina which was the closest option to Jamraat as you need to go there 3 days, so prefer the near Maktab! Choose this trip if you have almost USD 6000-9000 per person. They give a tent in Arafat with a meal, also in Muzdalfa the meal is served but toilets are only public so bear this in mind.

Tips:
Get the vaccine of Influenza, Flue, Meningitis MUST before you leave, Also take the medicine including pain killer, sleeping tablets, anti biotic other necessary medicine which you use regularly as the medicines are very expensive and not with the same names in Saudia
* Remember the best time to Tawaaf is 40 Mins after Isha Prayers as the crowd is the least (For Umra Tawaaf, Tawaf-e-ziara & Vida)
* Insist on the nearest hotel in Makkah so that you dont have to take any cab as the taxis charge Rl 100 per person if you are living in Aziziya
* Pls check for the private toilets in Mina as the queue can be exhausting
* Take cash equivalent to Rl 1000 per person per day
*Avoid taking children and toddlers to Hajj as there are many un predictable viruses on the Hajj which attacks the kids first
*Never argue to run the wheelchair on the ground floor for Tawaaf as the wheel chairs only are operated on the roof and the 1st floor
*Battery operated wheel chairs are available from the 1st floor for only Rl 50 per tawaaf best is to take it
*Remember in Hajj e Tamattu (Which you must all do), there is SAI in Tawaaf-e-ziara
*Do not take more than 100ML bottle in the hand carry
*In Ehraam please do not cut the hair, nails or wear any kind of frangrance, the fragrance free creams & lotions are available, please buy that from Saudia
*Sunglasses, watches, bags, lenses can all be worn in ehraam, please read the obligations of ehraam before leaving
*If you are in any particular city for less than 14 days then read the Qasr Namaz, but if you join the jamaat then complete all the Rakats as per Imam! If Imam is on Qasr as well, so the Jamaat will be only Qasr Fard
*Get a spare Ehraam with you from home country
*Choose the flights closest to Hajj dates, if 1 option is available then try to return immediately after Hajj
*Medina to Mecca is always done in the buses, check before if they have toilets on board as in our case there was the one. It may take 10 hrs near to Hajj days between the cities
*Consider your pocket before helping others, if most necessary please buy them the food
*Keep your toiletries extra before you even start your journey, as in those days every thing becomes double
*Keep the cash with every person, in case if someone loses you are not drained
*Shops only accepts the Rials, no Dollars or any foreign currency, also I toiled to convert it
*Try to select Saudi Airline, as it always gets preference on landing and take off
*Pre Book your trip 6 months before the Hajj season to grab the best deals possible
*Try to find the closest Maktab to Jamaraat, in Mina, as you need to go for Rammy at least 3 days
*If going by private Hajj operator get the best one after making enquiries from the person who travelled with them before
*If you will be buying the food yourself, get ready to expect the major mob at the restaurants
*At Arafaat do the Tauba & Maghfirat as mush as you can as this is equivalent day to the day to Judgment when Allah will gather everyone at Arafat in Kafn! Consider your Ehraam as your Kafan and ask as much as you can from Allah and repent and ask for the forgiveness
*Don’t waste the time un necessarily, in roaming around rather set the target to be better and read Quran with its full translation