Challenges you should know regarding Hajj journey

[hassam]

Following are excerpts from detailed article given in subsequent posts in this thread.


My article is divided into multiple areas and you can skip to the area of your interest.

1. Hajj Logistics
2. Choose the right travel plan and do not trust your travel agent.
3. Challenges in and around haram.
4. Hajj is a business for many so how much money you should carry.
5. Facilities provided by Ministry of Hajj
6. Lies of travel agents

Muzdalfa to Mina: This is another challenging journey. There are two ways to go back to Mina.

1. Take the train from Muzdalfa to Mina.
2. Walk to Mina from Muzdalfa.

Some travel agents arrange for busesfor the elderly and needy hujjaj too. The train ride is free usually otherwise you have to make sure that you get the tickets in advance. It is another ordeal. You will witness the indiscipline our ummah has on that day. There is no regard for women or elderly. Some hujaj may prefer running over people just to get into the train.

It took us 2.5hrs to get into the train from the doors of the train station. The last train station is where Jamart is. The train conveniently drops you off at the third level of jamarat and you can walk from there and perform your Rami. The jamrat is next to Maktab 1.

One of the lies that our travel agent told us was that since we are in Maktab 1 we do not need a ride to walk back to Maktab from Jamrat on first day of Rami.

That is a lie. During the rami time all the passages to Maktab 1 from Jamarat are cordoned off and you will have to walk at least 2 to 3 KM to just get into Mina vicinity. There is bridge next to Jamarat that you will have to walk all the way to get to Mina.

The local police will not allow you to sit anywhere on the bridge to catch your breath. If you have elderly people with you it will not be possible for them to cross the bridge easily. Close to Jamarat there are kids who push Wheel chairs. They charge 200 to 500+ SAR to give you a ride on wheelchair. I had to go through this because my travel agent lost my parents wheel chair and did not provide me any alternative.


Every travel agent will tell you that you can trust them but trust me I had my journey and the agent I choose was not trust worthy. The lies started from day one of our arrival at Makkah. We were promised that we will be staying at Makkah but we were made to stay at Azizia and reason provided was that Azizia is part of Makkah. In spite of paying big bucks the place that was provided to stay was dirty both in Azizia and Mina.

1. Taxi cab charges from Haram to Azizia runs into 100+ SAR and there is no ceiling on that limit.
2. From Jamrat to Mina wheelchair drivers cost 200+ SAR on the day of Jamrat.
3. From Mina to Makkah there are buses that cost 40+ SAR per passenger.
4. Taxi will cost you several 100 SAR to get from Mina to Makkah during Hajj days.

Pakistan ministry of Hajj is doing a wonderful job in Saudia. They are running a completely free of cost and very neat and clean hospital in Azizia near main maktab of ministry of Pakistan. I think it is Maktab three, but not sure. This facility is free if you are a citizen of Pakistan.

Lies of Travel agents.
Following are the list of lies our travel agent told us.

1. Azizia and Makkah are the one and the same thing. Ministry of Hajj refuted their claim in front of us.
2. They cannot provide any transportation from Azizia to Masjid alharam because Saudi government does not allow. In reality there is an area near Haram where they can in fact drop off and pick up hajies.
3. They are not responsibly for the luggage of Hujaj. According to the law the private travel agents are responsible for that so if they try to add this clause to your contract call Ministry of hajj and talk to them.
4. All the problems in Hajj are part of hajj and we should just live with them. In reality many problems are created by them that could have been avoided easily by proper planning.
5. The buses are provided by maktab so if they are in bad condition travel agents are not responsible.
6. That is not right. Maktab only provide facilities in Mina and they have nothing to do with buses. Depending on how much Travel Agents pay they make arrangement for busses. Air conditioned and working condition buses can be arranged if proper steps are taken. Due to this lie our travel agent had to pay back to our group for not providing promised vehicle conditions after intervention by Maktab and Ministry of Hajj.
7. If the bus has dropped off hajies away from Muzdalfa it is not their responsibility. It is a lie. It is completely in their hands to make that arrangement.

 

[P4kistani]

Bhai Hajj Jawani mein aur Paidal..

Bhurapay ka Hajj buht Mushkil hai....


Aur Kosish ki jay k, VIP Hajj Package se Hajj kia jay.. q k Hajj Ameer per hi farz kiya gaya ha..

 

[hassam]

Re: challenges you should know regarding Hajj journey : logistics

I would like to share with you my Hajj journey that I had last year. My intent is not to discourage any one from going to hajj but I believe it is my duty to ensure that each one of you who is going to hajj has planned it well in advance and better to ensure that you can avoid any disappointments.
This is a very details article. My article is divided into multiple areas and you can skip to the area of your interest.

1. Hajj Logistics
2. Choose the right travel plan and do not trust your travel agent.
3. Challenges in and around haram.
4. Hajj is a business for many so how much money you should carry.
5. Facilities provided by Ministry of Hajj
6. Lies of travel agents

Hajj Logistics.
It is very important to understand your logistics and travel plans before you go out on Hajj journey. Depending on which plan you take you will be staying in the following places.

1. Makkah (that includes its surrounding areas)
2. Medina (you may stay there before or after Hajj)
3. Arafat
4. Muzdalfa
5. Mina

I am not going to discuss the actual fiqh of Hajj but my points are relevant only to your journey as a traveler. For actual fiqh please refer to scholars who are knowledgeable in this area. Most of your time will be spent in either Madina or Makkah. The journey of Hajj includes performing an umrah as soon as you reach the vicinity of haram. This is called Tawaf-e-ziarah. Then when the haj starts you move to Mina at least one day before the day of Arafah. On the day of Arafah, we leave for the Medan Arafah from Mina early morning. Spend the whole day there and then leave for Muzdalfa before Magrib. The night of the day of Arafat has to be spent in Muzdalifah. Next morning we leave from Muzadalfa to Mina. Here we have to go to Jamarat to perform rami and tawaf. Then for the next two to three days we stay in Mina performing rami each day. During the stay in Mina you may or may not want to go to Kaba every day depending on if you can find a ride. Then from here you either move back to Makkah/Azizia or go to Madina depending on your travel schedule.
It is important to understand how much time you are going to spend in each place. As you can see that majority of your stay is in Mina, in and in the vicinity of Masjid Al Haram or Madina. So when planning for your journey you have pay special attention to what kind of housing you are going to get in those areas.
Azizia/Shesha: Azizia is an area near Masjid-al-haram that starts around 4.2 KM from haram. Shesha is further down. If you happen to stay in this area please confirm with your travel agent exactly how many KM is your residence from the haram. Your may stay anywhere within this area and the Azizia Jonobia that is the farthest end of the area is around 14 KM away from haram. If you are staying in Azizia you will not be able to reach Haram easily on regular basis unless some transportation is provided to you.
I have walked from the haram to my building called maktab and it took me more than 2 hrs. My travel agent kept telling me that it is very close. It is important because when you are in the city and you are there for hajj you want to go to haram every day. Hotels are very expensive during this time. Staying close to Makkah becomes more expensive.

[/IMG]

In order to travel from Azizia to Makkah you have following ways of transportation:
Taxi: This is the easiest way to get to Haram but please be aware for majority of the taxi drivers the hajj season is business peak season. They can charge you anything they like. One night I payed 15 SAR to get the haram and next morning after Fajar I paid 45 SAR after struggling for two hours to find a ride. After fajar when a lot of people head back home the transportation facility is a mess. Taxi drivers charge extravagant charges. One family that was staying with us in the maktab payed 200 SAR the same day. There are private cars also on the road making money out of misery of hajis. I was able to get around with 45 SAR because I begged the shurta that I do not have that much money so he asked one of his acquaintances to provide the ride. The guy was not local and he could not find the way by himself. During the hajj season the fare is somewhere between 200 to 500 SAR depending on the time of the day.
Buses: There are public buses (most red colored) that are allowed to go near Masjid Al Haram. These buses are run by ministry to transportation of Saudia. The year we performed Hajj these buses were free of cost but they usually cost 10SAR per passenger. There is a bus station not close to azizia from where you can get these busses. The distance is not drivable in most of the cases depending on where you are staying. These buses drop you off near Masjid al haram. Going to Masjid al Haram is easy but coming back from there in these buses is an ordeal.
Number of Hujaj willing to jump on to these busses is large as compared to the number of buses so there is a furious fight to get on to these busses. At the time when buses arrive you will be amazed by the kind of indiscipline and impatience shown by Hujaj. There is no line up and absolutely no respect for woman and elderly in most of the cases. If you have wheel chairs the chances of you getting onto the bus in the first 1 to 2 hrs is none.
Private Carriers: There are many private carriers also roaming around on the streets of Makkah during the hajj days. They can cost you anything from 50SAR to several hundred SAR depending on the day and time.
Makkah to Minah: Typically your travel agent will provide transportation from Makkah to Minah.
Minah to Arafat: Again the travel agent typically makes this arrangement. Please ensure that you stay with your group all the time. Stay with your family all the time and ensure that your luggage is also loaded in the same bus. If you have wheel chairs fight for it as it is worth fighting for.
Arafat to Muzdalfa: This is the journey where you will find many of the challenges. Because all the Hujaj are travelling at the same time there is a lot of traffic. There is no traffic discipline on the streets of Saudia. Your travel agent should make arrangement to be able to drop you off close to Muzdalfa bus station that is walking distance from train station that you may want to use next morning to travel to Mina. Again, ensure that you and your luggage are in the same bus. In our case our travel agent forced us to hop in a different bus and then eventually lost our wheelchairs. Due to that my parents had to walk on their foot when they could not. The agent was ruthless and did not take any responsibility. It is a long and painful story but remember your luggage is the responsibility of the travel agent but they will deny it all the time. When I complained to Ministry of Hajj and the Muktab then they took the responsibility only.
Please stay with your group. On the bus stand there is a kuhram and Nafsa nafsi. You can easily get lost and may fail to reach muzdalfa on time. It is your travel agents responsibility to ensure that you safely reach muzdalfa. Please make them have some discipline and plan the journey if they do not do it for you.
Muzdalfa to Mina: This is another challenging journey. There are three ways to walk back to Mina.

1. Take the train from Muzdalfa to Mina.
2. Walk to Mina from Muzdalfa.

Some travel agents arrange for buses for the elderly and needy hujjaj too. The train ride is free usually otherwise you have to make sure that you get the tickets in advance. It is another ordeal. You will witness the indiscipline our ummah has on that day. There is no regard for women or elderly. Some hujaj may prefer running over people just to get into the train. It took us 2.5hrs to get into the train from the doors of the train station. The last train station is where Jamart is. The train conveniently drops you off at the third level of jamarat and you can walk from there and perform your Rami. The jamrat is next to Maktab 1.
One of the lies that our travel agent told us was that since we are in Maktab 1 we do not need a ride to walk back to Maktab from Jamrat on first day of Rami. That is a lie. During the rami time all the passages to Maktab 1 from Jamarat are cordoned off and you will have to walk at least 2 to 3 KM to just get into Mina vicinity. There is bridge next to Jamarat that you will have to walk all the way to get to Mina. The local police will not allow you to sit anywhere on the bridge to catch your breath. If you have elderly people with you it will not be possible for them to cross the bridge easily. Close to Jamarat there are kids who push Wheel chairs. They charge 200 to 500+ SAR to give you a ride on wheelchair. I had to go through this because my travel agent lost my parents wheel chair and did not provide me any alternative.
If you are old the chances of getting lost are very high today. There is no direction provided by Saudi government on alternative routes when all the standard routes are closed. Try to find a volunteer who speaks your language. Usually maktab volunteers from Bangaladesh, India and Pakistan are extremely helpful. Local Saudis are useless as they do not even know the routes and do not understand different languages.

 

[hassam]

Re: challenges you should know regarding Hajj journey: other aspects

Choose the right travel plan and do not trust your travel agent.
Finding the right travel plan is very important in your hajj journey. In fact Allah will help you at every moment of your journey but I am strong believer of thorough planning like our beloved Prophet Muhammad Ibn-e-Abdullah PBUH has done in every stage of his life. He is the Prophet of Allah but read about his detailed planning about his migration from Makkah to Medina.
Every travel agent will tell you that you can trust them but trust me I had my journey and the agent I choose was not trust worthy. The lies started from day one of our arrival at Makkah. We were promised that we will be staying at Makkah but we were made to stay at Azizia and reason provided was that Azizia is part of Makkah. In spite of paying big bucks the place that was provided to stay was dirty both in Azizia and Mina.
Make sure that whatever residential location is being promised you get it written down as part of your agreement in your contract. Force them to write the exact location and write down the distance between your location and haram. Force them to write the exact transportation facility they are going to provide in your contract. They promise different things to different people depending on their knowledge of the challenges during Hajj. Following things must be clearly articulated in your contract with the travel agent.

1. Place of stay in Makkah.
2. Transportation provided between Masjid al haram and your housing.
3. How frequently the transportation will be provided.
4. Each day when the transportation will be provided.

If possible confirm the details of your plan with someone familiar with the area and has already performed Hajj.
Challenges in and around Haram.
Following challenges are very common in and around masjid al Haram.

1. Utmost display of indiscipline by many Hujaj especially those that are performing tawaf. Sometimes it feels they will rather kill someone to touch the Kaba. If you are weak and you have women please use second or third floor so that you can focus on Ibadat.
2. It is easy to get lost. Make sure that you always carry a charged cell phone and store it in a secure area of your clothing. We usually carry a belt tied to waste. Also with all your family members make one land marker such as one of the doors or a shop outside the masjid. In case one is lost and there is no contact then you all meet at that location.
3. As I have mentioned earlier it is difficult to find transportation. If you find it, it is 100+ times more expensive than regular prices.
4. Embrace yourself for waiting for several hours to get a ride.
5. During tawaf and rami one more phenomenon that is painful is the service men who provide wheelchair service. For them it is a job. They want to get rid of this trip asap. They run with the wheelchair and many times they will hit your feet with their chairs. You will often hear the voice Hajji tareeq disturbing your focus on ibadat.

Hajj is a business for many.
For local Saudis Hajj is a big money making event. They will try to pinch every penny if they can from you starting from taxi drivers, to shopkeepers. The price of every commodity sky rockets during that time. I have already discussed at lengths about transportation but here is a recap.

1. Taxi cab charges from Haram to Azizia runs into 100+ SAR and there is no ceiling on that limit.
2. From Jamrat to Mina wheelchair drivers cost 200+ SAR on the day of Jamrat.
3. From Mina to Makkah there are buses that cost 40+ SAR per passenger.
4. Taxi will cost you several 100 SAR to get from Mina to Makkah during Hajj days.

Price of every commodity will sky rocket. Here are exmaples:

1. Wheelchair that will cost you 150 SAR before hajj will cost you 500+ SAR during hajj.
2. Dates twice to 5 times more expensive than how much they cost in Medina.
3. All gift item at least twice as expensive.
4. Please ensure that you take with you enough clothing items because you may not get laundry facilities anywhere.
5. Take toiliteries with you. The toilets provided to us in Maktab 1 were extremely dirty I have their pictures if anyone is interested.

It is better to do shopping in Medina because in Makkah every things is extremely expensive. If you want to eat outside I suggest you go to the restaurant level of clock tower. There you will find more variety and less expensive food.

Facilities provided by Ministry of Hajj.
Pakistan ministry of Hajj is doing a wonderful job in Saudia. They are running a completely free of cost and very neat and clean hospital in Azizia near main maktab of ministry of Pakistan. I think it is Maktab three, but not sure. This facility is free if you are a citizen of Pakistan.
In addition the ministry has a very active wing to listen to the problems of hujjaj and take action on them. Please inform them about every complaint that you have with your private travel agent. They have helped me a lot in protecting me from the lies of our travel agent. According to the direction of Ministry of Hajj from Saudia and Pakistan if a Haji complains about the travel agent the travel agency does not get the quota for next year until the dispute is resolved. When we had challenges I called them and their agents arrived at our hotel in median on the same day to resolve our problems.
The ministry also provided transporation from the maktab to masjid al haram to all the hujjaj.
Lies of Travel agents.
Following are the list of lies our travel agent told us.

1. Azizia and Makkah are the one and the same thing. Ministry of Hajj refuted their claim in front of us.
2. They cannot provide any transportation from Azizia to Masjid alharam because Saudi government does not allow. In reality there is an area near Haram where they can in fact drop off and pick up hajies.
3. They are not responsibly for the luggage of Hujaj. According to the law the private travel agents are responsible for that so if they try to add this clause to your contract call Ministry of hajj and talk to them.
4. All the problems in Hajj are part of hajj and we should just live with them. In reality many problems are created by them that could have been avoided easily by proper planning.
5. The buses are provided by maktab so if they are in bad condition travel agents are not responsible. That is not right. Maktab only provide facilities in Mina and they have nothing to do with buses. Depending on how much Travel Agents pay they make arrangement for busses. Air conditioned and working condition buses can be arranged if proper steps are taken. Due to this lie our travel agent had to pay back to our group for not providing promised vehicle conditions after intervention by Maktab and Ministry of Hajj.
6. If the bus has dropped off hajies away from Muzdalfa it is not their responsibility. It is a lie. It is completely in their hands to make that arrangement.

 

[Spartacus]

Before start the Hajj or Umra.
" Swear yourself that you are using all the money which you earn by Halal means and process"
Apply this process then you would see there would be no RUSH in HAJJ and Umra season.

 

[amber123]

I got the opportunity to go for Hajj by Allah's blessings in 2013. It was planned at the last moment. I had very litttle knoweldge about Haj rituals.. Someone referred a group from Manchester, (again I had not known about them). It was not a VIP package. However Alhamdullilah all gone well. Our stay just 10 min walk to Haram in Makkah, and accomodation was appreciable with decent food twice a day....(Lunch and dinner served in dinning hall). Our tents in Mina were fine, although I had to walk to Jamarat three days, that took more than an hour each way, however our guide choose relatively calm hours. Buses were arranged from Makkah to Mina, and Mina to Makkah. So were for Madina with a hotel at 5-10 min walk from the Masjid-e-Nabvi. Only problem that we faced were another group associated with the same travel agent, with Green turbans who preferred to pray five times a day in the basement of the hotels than in Haram, however it was their conduct, nothing to do with us. Again I had no idea of them before reaching in Makkah, otherwise I could have re-considered my package with the group. It was God's blessings that it went well. The BUG/fever/flue issues are real problems, so get vaccinated well in time before departure and keep pain killers and paracetemole in stock. Although medical facilities are just in reach.

 

[bilalgi007]

Following are excerpts from detailed article given in subsequent posts in this thread.


My article is divided into multiple areas and you can skip to the area of your interest.

1. Hajj Logistics
2. Choose the right travel plan and do not trust your travel agent.
3. Challenges in and around haram.
4. Hajj is a business for many so how much money you should carry.
5. Facilities provided by Ministry of Hajj
6. Lies of travel agents

Muzdalfa to Mina: This is another challenging journey. There are two ways to go back to Mina.

1. Take the train from Muzdalfa to Mina.
2. Walk to Mina from Muzdalfa.

Some travel agents arrange for busesfor the elderly and needy hujjaj too. The train ride is free usually otherwise you have to make sure that you get the tickets in advance. It is another ordeal. You will witness the indiscipline our ummah has on that day. There is no regard for women or elderly. Some hujaj may prefer running over people just to get into the train.

It took us 2.5hrs to get into the train from the doors of the train station. The last train station is where Jamart is. The train conveniently drops you off at the third level of jamarat and you can walk from there and perform your Rami. The jamrat is next to Maktab 1.

One of the lies that our travel agent told us was that since we are in Maktab 1 we do not need a ride to walk back to Maktab from Jamrat on first day of Rami.

That is a lie. During the rami time all the passages to Maktab 1 from Jamarat are cordoned off and you will have to walk at least 2 to 3 KM to just get into Mina vicinity. There is bridge next to Jamarat that you will have to walk all the way to get to Mina.

The local police will not allow you to sit anywhere on the bridge to catch your breath. If you have elderly people with you it will not be possible for them to cross the bridge easily. Close to Jamarat there are kids who push Wheel chairs. They charge 200 to 500+ SAR to give you a ride on wheelchair. I had to go through this because my travel agent lost my parents wheel chair and did not provide me any alternative.


Every travel agent will tell you that you can trust them but trust me I had my journey and the agent I choose was not trust worthy. The lies started from day one of our arrival at Makkah. We were promised that we will be staying at Makkah but we were made to stay at Azizia and reason provided was that Azizia is part of Makkah. In spite of paying big bucks the place that was provided to stay was dirty both in Azizia and Mina.

1. Taxi cab charges from Haram to Azizia runs into 100+ SAR and there is no ceiling on that limit.
2. From Jamrat to Mina wheelchair drivers cost 200+ SAR on the day of Jamrat.
3. From Mina to Makkah there are buses that cost 40+ SAR per passenger.
4. Taxi will cost you several 100 SAR to get from Mina to Makkah during Hajj days.

Pakistan ministry of Hajj is doing a wonderful job in Saudia. They are running a completely free of cost and very neat and clean hospital in Azizia near main maktab of ministry of Pakistan. I think it is Maktab three, but not sure. This facility is free if you are a citizen of Pakistan.

Lies of Travel agents.
Following are the list of lies our travel agent told us.

1. Azizia and Makkah are the one and the same thing. Ministry of Hajj refuted their claim in front of us.
2. They cannot provide any transportation from Azizia to Masjid alharam because Saudi government does not allow. In reality there is an area near Haram where they can in fact drop off and pick up hajies.
3. They are not responsibly for the luggage of Hujaj. According to the law the private travel agents are responsible for that so if they try to add this clause to your contract call Ministry of hajj and talk to them.
4. All the problems in Hajj are part of hajj and we should just live with them. In reality many problems are created by them that could have been avoided easily by proper planning.
5. The buses are provided by maktab so if they are in bad condition travel agents are not responsible.
6. That is not right. Maktab only provide facilities in Mina and they have nothing to do with buses. Depending on how much Travel Agents pay they make arrangement for busses. Air conditioned and working condition buses can be arranged if proper steps are taken. Due to this lie our travel agent had to pay back to our group for not providing promised vehicle conditions after intervention by Maktab and Ministry of Hajj.
7. If the bus has dropped off hajies away from Muzdalfa it is not their responsibility. It is a lie. It is completely in their hands to make that arrangement.

Assalam Alaikum Hassam,

Mashallah, you really have taken out time to give so much detailed information. I hope all including benefit from this. Just to let you know, I have planned for hajj 2019 Inshallah. Will request the travel agents to give all in writing. I stay in Dubai but will take hajj package from Karachi as not allowed anymore for hajj Visa in UAE. so lets see how it goes.