Day 21: Fellow Malaysian and Indonesian Muslims I salute you.

3 days to go. I'm beginning to miss this place already. Not so much the routine but how many people have the chance to pray in the Holiest place in the world (for their religion) so regularly.

It's an opportunity not to be missed. I guess that's how I can drag myself out of bed at 3 in the morning to do Fajr prayers having had only an hour and a half's kip.

This has been my 3rd trip in my rather short lifetime and hopefully there will be many, many more. While the trip's not finished yet, I hope to think I have taken full advantage of my stay here.

And now the award for the friendliest people in Mecca and Medina. It has to go to my fellow Malaysian and Indonesian pilgrims. They always have a smile on their face, when in an elevator, they allow you the opportunity to exit first AND they do their utmost not to push and shove even though they are being pushed and shoved in the mass of people as we all try and exit al-haram/Prophet's mosque all at the same time.

While you can accept less so called 'polite' behaviour from others - cultural differences after all BUT there is no excuse for British Bengalis and Pakistanis. Born and grown up in the UK as most of the ones I have come across have been, they've no excuse for their poor behaviour and manners. Shame on them

[Category saudi arabia][tags saudi arabia, umrah, pilgrim, photography, photo, al-haram, ka'aba, mecca, medina, people, mosque, religion, islam, ring, introvert, shopping, malaysia, indonesia, bengali, pakistani, lift, polite, culture]