.: Scarlet labyrinth :.

Uncovering the identity.

Previous post; Crossing Borders dealt with the Malaysian hujjaj's travel pack along with the things obtained throughout the Hajj journey. As promised, here is a continuation of the article in aiding readers to distinguish a Malaysian hujjaj with another.

Typically, all Malaysian hujjaj will have these items with them. We were advised, not to mention also required to have these with us at all times. Even in the hotel.

Left to right::

1. Steel bangle with the bearer's name, identification number inscribed on one side and the alternate side has the bearer's country and Hajj authority contact number.
   
2. Travel sling bag - For each place that we go to; Medina, Muzdalifah, Arafah, Mina and Mecca we were given labels to stick on the sling bag and our ID tag; markings primarily for quick identification. Labels consist of i.e. name, flight number, serial number, passport number, camp number, hotel name, room number, bus number information.
3. ID tag - In case you're wondering why my ID tag is blank, it's because we have another ID tag which I'm unable to publish here cos' it has my photo in it. That, plus the details of my Hajj account number and medical history [allergies, blood type etc.]
4. Medical record book - Malaysia has its own medical facilities in Mecca; Aziziah Hospital and Syisyah Medical Centre thus, patients that have chronic ailments are often sent there instead of the Saudi hospitals. However, each KT or group has their own medical team. The book serves as a concise medical record book comprising details of appointments, medicine prescribed, comments etc. Extremely beneficial for those referred to a Saudi hospital or is required to obtain medication from the pharmacies. Soon after my Muzdalifah experience, I had 6 recorded clinical appointments, consuming 24 different types of medication in a span of 21 days, therefore I became adept in the medical terms and reading the doctors' hand writings. *an accidental case of cursive meets awfully ugly scrawls*
   

In spite of having these items as a precautionary exercise, there were cases of missing people then, though things weren't blown out of proportion. Alhamdulillah, the cases reported were handled well. The things proved to be effective in assisting the authorities to resolve it efficiently.

How to spot a Malaysian hujjaj if they don't bring any of these things with them?

Fairly easier to recognize the women because the majority will wear the white telekung [our prayer clothes] with ماليزيا sewn. On the other hand, the men sometimes wear the Baju Melayu top, or some kind of head gear [kopiah, songkok]. Some people create their own identification i.e. wearing different colored telekung, sew ribbons or flowers, or just put each other on an invisible leash. There are absolutely no problems in figuring out the Malaysian Hajj authorities as they are required to wear a blue colored jacket with the words "Tabung Haji"; literally means 'Hajj Savings' written at the back so we can spot them miles away. They're almost always nearby, scouring the areas in search of lost Malaysian hujjaj. I was approached by quite a number of them, commonly asking me "Do you know your way back?", "Don't you think you have strayed far enough?', and "Where are you going?". If you still encounter problems, try asking the vendors. They are exceptionally good in spotting Malaysians.

A bunch of other stuff that I retrieved from my Hajj travels chest.

Left to right:: A pamphlet from a Saudi medical centre, an empty bottle of zamzam water given by the Zamazemah United Office *garbage to you may be perceived as a treasure to me; given the opportunity, yes, I can be sentimentally unsound*, Hajj Graphical Chronological Events Guide, maps of Medina and Mecca, Panduan Kesihatan Jemaah Haji [Hujjaj Health Guide], a book collected at Jabal Rahmah, stoning of the Jamarats schedule, a compendium obtained at the departure gates of King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah and the flashlights given by my uncle to use in Muzdalifah.

Journal entries.

9.33am Malaysian Time

.: Portrait of a marriage :.

The life of two.

Quite a number of Muslim brothers had this as their status updates;

Earlier I said it is easy to find a job and hard to find a wife but now both are hard due to Global financial crises!

Alternatively, in the real world, I’m surrounded by workaholics thus our conversations are more or less centered on work whereas sister blogs are more inclined to discuss on marriage issues. Tonnes of posts elsewhere discussed on mahr, dower, bride price, marriage ceremonies etc. Lisa’s entry; Islam's Perfect Wife Maintenance: Make Your Own Money And Marry Someone Funny sets the gears running, and I took it upon myself to extract the gist out of it coupled with paltry additions.

Wife maintenance; the wife is supported by her husband on what is required from him.

“but the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing on a reasonable basis”

Al-Baqarah 2:233

The focal point then was, does the exact practice suit our present situation?

Before I make my elongated entry, this is not a personal experience as I am not married to anyone besides my job *this is besides the point, but I agree on her title*. Furthermore, I won’t be sharing my opinions much as I will only be repeating myself. *figured it doesn’t hurt for people to go-over Lisa’s insightful entry and READ*

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading remarks from sisters on their viewpoints. Brothers almost never post about this, except on the mahr. I suppose they’re preoccupied with piling their stash for a ridiculously imposed rate, and the whole idea of wife maintenance falling snugly on their shoulders, backs, and wherever that is appropriate *it comes as a package deal*.

If I were to see this from a solid ground perspective *coughs*, Malaysian mahr rate is not fixed; usually below 100. *unless you're referring to the princesses that can fetch up to 2.5k* It’s the “wang hantaran”; bride price/extra monies that cause the heartburn. Of course typically one has to include the engagement, the ceremony, yadaa yadaa yadaa coming close to 50k, if you’re lucky. *not inclusive of honeymoon, pre-bachelor/bachelorette party yadaa yadaa and more yadaa blah* A cousin that used to work in a bank disclosed that the majority sought personal loans for marriage. Not kidding.

Stuff that real world friends and relations had on marriage …

1. Get married to someone who’s near. The nearer, the better. You cut down on lots of stuff.
2. Find someone rich. Make it bloody rich.
3. A foreigner is fine as long as he has the 2nd criteria. A twofold bonus if the exchange rate is higher.

While the only thing I see in common here is, $, has it really overtaken our lives? Years ago when my brother got married, mum envisioned the weddings of her daughters. I believe her heart skipped a heartbeat when I said I’ll have nothing of the sorts, strictly adhering on what I think is necessary and that I shall have no qualms in slashing the preventable expenditures myself, shredding to its bare essentials despite husband-to-be is filthy stinking rich, idolizes me to the max, and willingly showering all his wealth upon me. *Frugal, frugal behavior* Seems like henceforth I’ll withdraw from mentioning anything on myself, as this is far from being a “Confessions of a Frugal Series Episode 1” or “I am up for grabs” blog entry.

Reverting back to reality, one of the discussions I had with friends was, how low were they willing to go for their “wang hantaran”? *I was bored* The lowest I could haggle was 5k. *haggling … is an art that I am clueless in* If there are any decent single brothers that are in search of an appropriate candidate and agreeable to fork out 5k, I can suggest a couple of decent sisters that fit the bill. To the decent sisters, you may try sending in your applications to this brother here. *coughs*

Note:: The link above is obviously an April Fool’s Day prank, but hey, it’s an innovation really. *I did not apply* By the way, no promises that my matchmaking prowess will lead to a happy ending.

Weddings these days have certainly become over the top. Outdoing one another, overdoing it with the glitz, processions, performances [ghazals, kompang *small drum*, dancing, traditional martial arts etc.], decorations, dee jays, dedications, even karaoke sessions … akin to attending a parade…

Reiterating the statement I left at Lisa’s blog…

I’d much rather choose someone that chases after Jannah than a chunk of metal.

Metal gets rusty over time.

9.49am Malaysian Time

.: Midsummer night's dream :.

Robin Goodfellow; a dream "past the wit of a man".

Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell:
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it love-in-idleness.

There I was, sitting in front of the mirror, all alone in the room. Crackles of sheer laughter emancipated from every nook and cranny of the house.

Mum:: It’s time.
Me:: I can’t go through this.
Mum:: What do you mean? You’re already engaged to him, and you can’t possibly bail out in the last minute.
Me :: I just can’t.
Mum :: I don’t understand.
Me :: I’m waiting for someone …
Mum :: LoL~ He’s out there already.
Me :: Not him. Someone else…
Mum :: You can’t be serious… Who is he?
Me :: I don’t know…
Mum :: When will he come?
Me :: I don’t know…
Mum :: Then why are you so sure he’ll come?
Me :: I just know…
Mum :: What if he never comes?
Me :: He will…
Mum :: Be sensible. He might not come at all.
Me :: He will…
Mum :: Why do you think so?
Me :: I know so…
Mum :: What if you wait for him but he never comes? You will regret it.
Me :: Mum, he will come … even if it means I’ll have to wait at the gates of the other world … eventually … he will …

And I woke up.

With eyes half opened, hands scrambling for the spectacles in the pitch darkness, couldn’t find it, muttered garbled nonsense, grabbed the cell, fumbled with it, squinted, saw it was nearly 4am, continued the senseless nonsense and crept back to sleep seconds later. :P

First thing in the morning, I related the dream to my sis, minus out a bulk of the conversation summing that I was firm with mum on the waiting part. Ironically, sis had a similar dream. Difference was, she married the person.

Sis :: You’re such a liar! You’re not waiting for anyone!

Or am I?

Fast forward. My friend said that I’d fallen sick ‘cos I’ve been neglecting my health due to work…

Surely when one is committed to something, one will do its best at it even at the expense of one’s own health … is it not?

In an attempt to deviate from the aforesaid contents, *coughs* it had been almost a month since my body clock automatically wakes itself up at precisely 2am. I have not programmed myself to do so. No matter how early or late I retire to bed, I will wake up at 2am on the dot.

So I concocted this conclusion after contemplating on it …

"How many more nights till you realize that God is giving you the chance to do the voluntary night prayers you had wanted to do so badly? Get on with it already!"

Note :: Some of the context posted are massively layered with obscured meanings. *coughs* Although the head is still spinning a little with mild coughs breaking out once or twice, Alhamdulillah, I am well again. Thanks. :)

Puck.

3.47pm Malaysian Time

.: Magnified elements :.

Gripped by a fundamental question.

You’d think that staying in a Muslim populous country would be a smooth sailing feat in enriching yourself further in the quest of Islamic knowledge …

Think again ...

• Not so when you don’t have many practicing Muslim friends *that still lives in Malaysia* to begin with …
• Trips to Islamic institutions greets you with "Are you a revert?" or “Do you want to convert someone?" or "Why do you have questions?"
  
• Unknown people saying “Judging from your dressing, you must be a student from the Islamic University.” *so yeah, that’s a random statement … only happens when I’m in my traditional attire*
• Just about all of the programs held use Malay as the main medium. *sometimes I have comprehension disabilities… took me 1 bloody week to translate a 4-page government form for my expatriate friend to extend his visa. I am boldly admitting that my Malay proficiency is not on par with the general public.*
• Some of the programs are held in places that I am unfamiliar with or requires me to cover quite a distance. Currently in the process of sorting it out.
• Odd, odd looks and speeches coming from random people when you at long last get the appropriate time to attend a halaqah or Islamic talk ... *what's with the casual marriage, family digging talk anyway?*
  

Life itself is not easy as pie. *coughs* There are perks beneath each tight spot, therefore it is really up to us to bring out the best of things and taking it as one heck of a remarkably worthwhile journey. The abundant existence of other alternatives help tremendously in one's pursuit of knowledge.

The only thing that sort of depresses me is when in the name of goodwill, we advise people on their actions base on the amount of understanding and knowledge we have acquired but the consequence places people to counteract in an aggressive defensive manner even though things are clear enough that it is wrong.

There was a statement … "You start to think people will only take you seriously if you’re over the age of 25 and have a job. "

Sadly, that is not the case.

2.58pm Malaysian Time

.: Putu lady :.

Rain or shine.

You know you can count on her for those delectable fares.

Couple of months ago was the first time I saw her. Instantaneously, I was fascinated with her warm and bubbly nature. Not much of a putu eater, I only bought it twice. On my third purchase, after a 2 weeks absence on my side, she smiled at me and said …

It’s been a long time since I last saw you. Were you ill?

Then it downed on me that I may have made her concerned on my whereabouts during my hiatus. The fact that she remembers me together with the worried expression she had on her face left an unpleasant feeling inside, thus I try to pay her courtesy calls every now and then.

On that day, I told her frankly that I hardly eat putu, hence I won’t be able to purchase it that often. She asked whether I can eat any other Indian fare. *she had to bring up a topic that I can discuss at wits end* My response, a definite yes. She threw me a smile, wherein the next subsequent days she kept some of her other Indian fares for me. *I didn’t know she was selling anything else besides putu*

Today, I bought some putu mayam after close to 1 month of not seeing her.

I'm giving you extra since you're my special customer. :)

She's seriously feeding me well, and I am more than obliged to entertain her with that. :) To this point, I never get the chance to ask her name.

_____________________________________________

:: Addendum Apr. 5th 8.12am ::

Thank you Sister Serendipituouslife for bringing this up. :)

I've somehow rather missed out on mentioning what Putu is. Base on my knowledge, Putu itself means a kind of steamed cake/muffin or unleavened bread. Putu is made from rice flour, mixed with water or coconut milk. Depending on the variation; i.e. Putu Mayam [vermicelli-like], Putu Piring [small saucer], Putu Bambu [bamboo], the dough is steamed with or without the moulds. Screwpine leaves or juice are sometimes added in the water for steaming as an aromatic natural flavor enhancer. Normally, it is eaten with freshly grated coconut and jaggery [unrefined sugar; varying from golden brown to dark brown in color]. The jaggery are often substituted with gula melaka [coconut palm sugar], gula kabung/nau [palm sugar] or gur [date palm sugar]. With regards to the texture, Putu Mayam is lacey-like, Putu Piring has a soft almost cottony-like texture while the Putu Bambu is quite brittle.

There are other varieties of Putu i.e. Putu Tegar, Putu Ayu, Kueh Putu etc. but I'm only mentioning the common ones. In Malaysia, typically the Putu Piring and Putu Bambu have the jaggery stuffed inside the dough; often cooked/sold by Indians, Malays and Chinese. So far, I've only seen white or yellow colored versions of it, and I have never made it myself. Just the observer. :P

The picture above is the Putu Bambu, minus the sweet stuffing which is served at the sides. Hope this helps the readers to have a better understanding of what Putu is. :)

Note:: Putu Bambu can be savory or sweet. The sweet one is as described above, though if you exclude the sweet stuffing, it can be taken with curry. In Indonesia, the sweet version of the Putu Bambu is known as Kueh Putu.

_____________________________________________

Once more, thanks to everyone for the well wishes. I'm still recovering from the nasty flu, and I really think that I should exclude the gross details. Things are becoming better, Alhamdulillah, with me not falling rock bottom.

Scuttles for her ghastly medication.

10.15pm Malaysian Time

.: Kitchen series :.

4th day.

Of being confined in bed. Alhamdulillah, the stifling viral fever have subsided a little and I'm finally able to move around *in a semi-comatouse state*, dragging myself away from the comforts of the bed, pillows and blankets. Loads of gratitude to the ones that sent me messages to my cell, FB and email. To the ones that called, and I didn't pick up, sorry. The medication made me delusional, unable to distinguish whether the phone is really ringing or it's all in my head. Insya'Allah, I'll return the calls @ well wishes once I'm better.

~

In case people think that I haven't been in the kitchen ... :P

• Pai Tee [Top Hats] :: Incredibly time-consuming to make. The Pai Tee casings [top hats] are made using metal molds. Normally, the fillings comprise of julienned jicama, carrot, and chopped shrimps. My aunt decided to break from the norm, suggesting to have beef and mixed vegetables instead. Took me nearly 2 hours just to finish frying the 'hats'. Anyway, it's great as hor’deurves.
  
• Cucur Jagung [Corn fritters] :: Aunt found this recipe in one of her Indonesian recipe books, hence we tried it out. The ingredients are similar to the standard cekodok ikan bilis [Anchovy fritters], substituting the ikan bilis [anchovy] with jagung [corn] and chili.
• Stir-fried Vegetables.
• Sweet Bean Pau [Chinese:: 豆沙包 Pin Yin:: dòushābāo Hokkien:: tāu-se-pau] :: Steamed bun filled with sweet bean paste. Sometimes we have this for breakfast or tea.
  
• Pistachio cake :: The original recipe calls for peanuts. There weren't any so I replaced it with pistachios. Dad said it tasted like something from his childhood. *it's uncommon for dad to complement like so* Needless to say, it only lasted 2 days.
  
• Ubi Kayu Rebus [Boiled Tapioca] :: Super simple dish. Boil tapioca and sprinkle sugar on top. Mum used to mash this for us.
• Fried Tang Yuan [Chinese:: 汤圆 Pin Yin:: tāngyuán]:: Made from glutinous rice flour. These were filled with sweet bean, boiled, coated with sesame and fried till golden brown. Usually Tang Yuan is eaten during the Lantern Festival, served in sweet soups or boiling water instead of frying.
  
• Stir-fried Vegetables.

~

Mother nature have been playing games in the sense that on certain days we are blessed with downpours for all those puddle sploshing sessions, with other days being sunny and breezy for kite-flying. *yes, you can see kites in KL*

Aunt and mum do most of the cooking, but sometimes they get me to do a part of it. I dictate simple, easy, quick as well as healthy and good cooking so of late I've been dabbling with stir fries to complement the dishes. *stir fries are healthy?* As a matter of fact, yes. Although my posts beforehand are more of me baking, my forte is actually on stir fries. I won't be sharing a recipe on that though. :)

The one I'm sharing is one of the base soups for Tang Yuan; sweet bean soup known as tong sui [sweet soup]. A basic sweet bean soup comprises of 30grams rock sugar, 100grams red beans [red azuki beans], 6-8 cups of water and screwpine leaves. I cook by instinct *mum doesn't use measuring cups* so I'm roughly estimating the amount. The amount really depends on how thick or sweet you want the soup to be. Soften the beans by boiling it with water and screwpine leaves for 45mins till 1hour. Once softened, add in the rock sugar, cook till dissolved, discard the screwpine leaves and serve hot or cold with or without the glutinous rice balls. Thin the soup if the consistency is too viscous. Variations can be made by including orange rinds, lotus seeds, lotus roots, lily bulbs, longan seeds etc. or using brown sugar, artificial sweetener etc. topping off with crushed peanuts. :)

Best be off to make barley drinks, the best option for hot days and cooling off one's fever.

Work starts again tomorrow. :)

12.41noon Malaysian Time

.: Shadow play :.

Earth hour Malaysia.

Enshrouded by the darkness

Encased in isolation

Despite it all

A flicker of hope

Burns brightly in the corner

Hand shadow illusions.

10.57am Malaysian Time