Edinburgh From Ikram's Eyes ...

The ladies gave Ikram a solo day trip to Edinburgh, Scotland (pronounced without the "gh" and slur the "r"). They bought him a three hour train ticket to Edinburgh (return trip) so that he learned to be independent. Since they were working and the kids had school, they did not want Ikram to be cooped up in the house. Ikram was game to try and he was told to visit the old town and new town of Edinburgh. Ikram had a marathon walk for the whole day. ( He left with an 8:30am train to Edinburgh and return on the 6:00pm train to Manchester.) He enjoyed it even though alone (since he was used to go everywhere alone). It was a safe place and it was something new. Edinburgh was much colder and his feet ached from all the walking. It was such an incredible experience. Here I shared some of the photos from his eye view ... I thoroughly enjoyed the photos and it was as if I was there. The places were so familiar if one used to read novels by English writers ...

The mosque

What did he have for his lunch? He was supposed to try out the famous fish & chips there but the shops that he found were closed. So, he ate rice and chicken curry which cost him ten pounds. It was a portion enough for two people! But due to all the walk he did and he was hungry, he did justice to the food! He proclaimed it was nice and finished off the whole lot of it! :-(0)

When he was due to return to Manchester, there were some complications with his return ticket that it was upgraded to first class train courtesy of the random act of kindness by the conductor ... how British they were :-))

The train company kept their word ...

First class coach came with some refreshments ... ;-))

What an experience. Incredible and unbelievable. What happened prepared him for what was going to happen on his departure day .... 

If we have busking by musicians and singers on the streets of KL and other tourists' spots ... Edinburgh has a busking bagpipe player ... how quaint ... ;-))

A Dream Comes True - The Ski Trip

The ladies had included Ikram in their week long skiing trip to Chatel, France. To get to Chatel was via Geneva, Switzerland. Thus, before Ikram arrived, they had already booked Ikram's ticket to Geneva. They had prepared for him his skiing gear - clothes, shoes, skis, private tutor to teach him to ski ... the works. Fully sponsored by the two lovely ladies. Ikram once said that if he ever went overseas (he had plans to visit his friend who was studying in Nice, France) he wanted to go in winter to experience snow. SubhanAllah ... not only Allah granted his wish but so much more - a skiing experience. As he put it - unbelievable, incredible and just awesome amidst the falls, the pain and the stomach upset. He made many new friends (it was a group of 24 people - friends and families) and I was just grateful he could get along with all of them. It was wonderful to watch Ikram happily mingling and having fun with all of them irregardless of age (via the many videos which Ismahan and he recorded). What an experience ...

Ikram at the Chill Factore in Manchester where there was artificaial snow to learn how to ski

Here are some of the views that he took of Chatel ... a ski town enveloped by the mountains covered in snow. The sun may be shining bright and the skies were clear blue ... yet it was freezing cold in Chatel. The magic of Allah ...

And here are some of the photos of Ikram and the group in action ...

Exhausted after the trudging up the hill to play sledging

Instead of the common snowman, they decided to build a walrus ... ;-(0)

Ikram, in black, checking out the skis at the ski shop

Ikram, getting into the snow - exhausted like the others

I asked Ikram ... what did it feel like to be standing in the vast land of whiteness all around him? Incredible. Awesome. Unthinkable that it was him with his two feet buried in snow. ... What did the snow feel like? Like cotton. Soft. That if you fell into it, it was difficult to get up. The ski slopes were hardened by a snow vehicle that compacted the snow so it was hard enough for skiing. I was deeply grateful to Ismahan and Syarizan. Ikram was blessed that a simple wish was granted by the grace of Allah. Which deeds of Allah do you deny???? ;-))

Manchester - A Walk-About View

Ismahan took Ikram around Manchester town and showed him the tram station, train station and the places of interest. They also taught him how to take the tram into town from their residence. Being a smaller town than London, it was easily accessed by taking a walk-about around the town which was exactly what Ikram did one day. What impressed him was that the town had no high-rise buildings like in KL specifically or Malaysia in general. There was a sense of taking things at a more leisurely pace compared to busy KL. He enjoyed his solo walk-about and here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. It was winter but there was no snow in Manchester. Just cold, chilly weather. I may not be there but through the photos, I experienced what he had gone through even though he kept telling me it was not the same as being there. One day ... ;-))  

The park in winter. So bare and gave an eerie, gloomy look especially in the evening. The days were short and the nights long. Ikram went for a walk into the park and found a few squirrels playing happily in the cold weather. And here I had the assumption that they hibernated in winter ... remember that squirrels collect nuts for winter??? I guess the park would look glorious in summer and fully utilised by the people. 

I think Manchester is quite a peaceful, calm and easy going pace place. It looks developed without the overwhelming high-rise buildings crowding the place. It still retains its English country quaintness of which we know through the many books we have read ....

A Giant Step ...

Six years of primary school in Alor Setar. Five years of boarding school in Seremban. A three-month stint of National Service in UUM, Sintok. One year of Matriculation College in Changlun, Kedah. One semester of Uitm in Shah Alam. Two and a half years of Uitm in Jasin, Melaka. A five month internship in Shah Alam. And all Ikram wanted after fifteen and a half years of his life studying, assignments, projects, reports and exams ... was a break. And, subhanAllah ... his break came in the form of an invitation for a holiday in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Ikram was quite apprehensive of accepting as he hardly knew  Ismahan, an ex-student of mine 26 years ago when I was teaching in KL. Although he had received an offer to pursue his Masters from his university, he could not make any decision. He had never planned to further his studies. He did not know what job he could apply. Thus, with a ski holiday and a Manchester United (his favourite football club) match dangled before him by Ismahan, he decided to accept. As he was still in his last few weeks of internship, the reality that he was going to fly halfway across the globe to a very unfamiliar country and to people he hardly knew did not hit him yet.

This was going to be his first overseas trip (besides driving into Thailand) and alone. He was confident and self-assured that he could do it. Besides, he justified that he practically went everywhere alone - boarding school (after Akmal had completed form Five), Matriculation college and university. The internship stint at a travel agency built up his confidence as he had to deal with booking, checking in luggage and being part of the team overseeing the preparation of organising an overseas tour. Thus, he did his own preparation with Mum's support and encouragement all the way. He booked his own tickets, applied for his international passport (for the Thailand trip, he only needed a border pass being a northener), shopping for the suggested items, converting his pocket money into pounds, packing and finally leaving .....

When I asked him how he felt about everything, he felt that it was all happening so fast (6 weeks). At times he was afraid of the unknown. Sometimes. disbelief ... as his own friends exclaimed - What??? Really???  Overwhelmed and surreal. Excited, definitely. With all the apprehensions, he was actually looking forward to start an adventure on his own. Alhamdulillah ... everything was easy and smooth by the grace of Allah ... and he is now in Manchester for a month's break.

Checking in and finally ... leaving for the unknown  ;-}}

What was served during the flight - he requested for Muslim meals

His impression of Heathrow airport - huge but easy to find his way

The multi-faith room at the airport. 

Old Trafford - he has tickets to watch a Manchester United match before he returns

I can only hope and pray that the ladies (Ismahan and Sharizan plus their families and friends) will get along and accept him thus, building and strengthening the "ukhuwah" among them. For me. For them. For us. Being an easy-going guy and accepting whatever comes his way, this is Allah's plans for him. Maybe it is just the small part of a picture He has planned for Ikram. We have never planned it and it never crossed our minds that this will happen ... yet with the grace of Allah, it did. So, my advice was just to be himself, have an open mind and make the best of the situation. See the world and what Allah has to offer. I will update this post when Ikram returns. Do pray for his stay there ... Aamiin.