Travelling (Again)?

Assalamualaikum wbt and good day.

This morning I attended a kuliyyah and the ustazah said, Islam encouraged people who have extra money to go sight-seeing and experiencing new world, and bukannya bershopping. (ahaha like a smack on the head!)

How true.

Just to reflect during my childhood days, I happened to study in an all girls school, ala2 sekolah bandar la jugak..multiracial school and most of the students anak-anak orang berada la kiranya. I felt so down la jugak when most of my friends boasted about their family, "My Dad studied in UK", "I was born in US", " I just came back to Malaysia when I was 10" those kind of kid talks. And I actually experienced none at that time. And I did hope and pray that I would eventually set my feet on those countries someday, insya Allah.

Once when I came back from school, I went to my Dad and asked, " Abah, kenapa abah tak belajar kat oversea dulu?"
Abah said, "Dulu Abah dah dapat tempat untuk sambung belajar kat oversea, tapi scholar host abah tak bagi"
"Oh.."
And I still remember I marah sangat dengan my Dad's scholar provider!! Yelah kalau tak mesti I pun mesti boleh berlagak cakap my Dad graduated from oversea jugak kan (Alhamdulillah Allah didn't give me the chance, kalau tak dah dapat dah dosa berlagak=riak:P)

Then, I prayed my big brother dapat study kat oversea so I get the chance to visit him once in a while, but apparently he's not and just studied locally.Fine.

Later on after SPM, I tried to get myself to study abroad, and after a lot of interesting and unfortunate circumstances (believe me, alot!!), I was stuck in a local uni as well. I felt down for a while but I never regret this to happen. I was destined to be :)

Meanwhile, me and the whole family enjoyed Discovery Channel, Travel and Living, and other similar documentaries..we also enjoyed reading atlas and maps, wishing we will go there one day. Tak salah berangan kan..

Then, Abah got his license, the family's financial became considerably stable and then the whole ritual of frequent travelling started.

Alhamdulillah, for the past five years, I travelled abroad more than I ever did in my life, thanks to my parents (of course I was sponsored, I cannot afford it on my own, anyway) . While some of my friends get the opportunity as they studied abroad , some had parents and relatives stayed abroad and got the chance to visit them , and some had their job took them everywhere around the world, where they never had the experience before in their life. I believe that now, in the present world, travelling and going abroad were not considered rare and was not an exclusive hobby for the rich and wealth, anymore.

Now, everyone can fly (pinjam tagline Air Asia). Too many low rates flights, too many destinations, too many promotions to encourage people to spend their money in tourism industry.Or perhaps, Malaysians style of living is very much improved,Alhamdulillah. Its not rare now to see students going to UK with friends during summer break, new executives taking long off-days to enjoy winter in Beijing, newly wed couples honeymooning in Hong Kong and Bali..and the list goes on.

I'm not really sure where this post heads to, but I really hope those who had more opportunities to travel abroad to take the chance and look for tanda-tanda kebesaran Allah..they are always there.Lagi jauh kita berjalan, lagi banyak kita akan belajar and don't hesitate to share with the others too.Previously, I always felt reluctant to share my overseas experience, takut la kena cop berlagak ke ape kan, but I believe it relies more to your niat, and people will perceive well. To share is to care :)