Yasir Imran

Yasir Imran is a Pakistani national living in Saudi Arabia since 2004. He writes because he want to express his thoughts and share his knowledge about expatriate issues in Saudi Arabia.

What to Pack in your bags for the Hajj 2017

Hajj 2017 is coming within coming week. Here is a list of items which you need to pack in your bags before going to Hajj. This list is compiled by Learn-From-Your-Mistakes-Blog. I just re-write that given information for you.

 

What to Pack if you are going to Hajj – Men & Women

  1. Ihram outfits 2 pcs: One to wear on first day and second you may change it at mina after returning from Arafah.
  2. Face Masks to wear out in crowds.
  3. Sunglasses and Cap.
  4. Rubber slippers.
  5. Running shoes socks for 3 day’s stoning the Jamarat. Be ready for long walks and try to practice in advance.
  6. Pajamas, only cotton casual clothes, extra under clothes. Bathrooms are a bit tricky.
  7. A Safety kit with..
    1. Band-Aids
    2. Tissues and wet wipes
    3. Vaseline or Deo Sticks (for Ihram rash or others)
    4. Non-scented soap and Shampoo
    5. Sunscreen for last 3 days
    6. Toothbrush and toothpaste
    7. Panadol tablets
    8. Vitamin c effervescent. (Must take one 1000 m every day to beat infections)
    9. Anti inflammatory to help with after walk pain Antihistamine. Take one every day even if not needed.
    10. Antacid (Gaviscon etc)
  8. Personal Mobile Phone and a Power Bank, you will mostly use it to call your companions and your family in women’s tents.
  9. Extension Cord. Your phone battery won’t last more than a day. Every tent has limited sockets. Having your own cord will help have constant power.
  10. Umbrella for sun. A battery operated fan would be optimum and water spray bottle
  11. Quran, Duas (supplication) and other Islamic books
  12. Always carry a water bottle in hand. You need to stay hydrated. (You can buy these locally)
  13. Ziploc bags for stones picked in Muzdhalifah. Empty water bottle will also do.
  14. Ear plugs, very important unless you are immune to snoring.
  15. Coat hanger (also to use for drying washed clothes)
  16. Get online search for Makah on Google maps. Make sure you can see Mina Arafat and Muzdhalifah on the map.  Save map offline. This will help you use the map without any Internet connection. Mark your tent when you reach mina. Now you know how to get back whenever you get lost.
  17. Waist Pouch
  18. A bag that fits the above stuff. Remember you will need more bags in case you are going to Hajj with your family.

What to Pack for Hajj 2017

Some Additional Stuff for Women Pilgrims Only

Along with above items, women may need additional items below.

  1. Sanitary Pads
  2. Chap-stick
  3. Deodorant
  4. Safety Pins for Hijab (Niqab, whatever you call it.)
  5. Snacks high in sugar, high glucose and high fiber for the much needed energy boost. Cereal bars, m&m peanut, fruit bars, dates. Etc

And lastly the most important point

Make sure you pay attention to detail. Learn what you need to do. Ask. Investigate. Don’t follow others blindly. So why pack the above items???  The author is having years of experience behind this information. Taqabal Allah (May Allah accept your hajj)

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New 6th Series Currency BankNotes of Saudi Riyal

New 6th Series of Banknotes were introduced on December 2016 and will be available to public soon. New Banknotes bearing the face of current Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Notes are available in amounts as SR 500, SR 100, SR 50, SR 10, SR 5 as well as there are coins of 1 Halalah, 5 Halalah, 10 Halalah, 25 Halalah, 50 Halalah, 1 Riyal and 2 Riyals.

Saudi Arabian Currency Banknotes

New Currency notes comes up with strongest security and they will be more secure to reduce forgeries.

SAMA (Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) announced 6th issue of national banknotes on 13-Dec-2016 and there is a brief video available at Sama’s website.

5 SR banknote comes in Violet color & it has a picture of Oil Refinery in its face.
10 SR banknote comes in Brown color & it has King Salman Picture on its face.
50 SR banknote comes in Green color & it has dome of the rock picture on its face.
100 SR banknote comes in Red color & it has Green Dome of the Prophet’s Mosque on its face.
500 SR banknote comes in Blue color & it has picture of Kaba Makkah.

Sources: This information is gathered from above sources.
http://www.sama.gov.sa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_riyal
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1023411/saudi-arabia

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Mobile Apps Leak your personal data

Mobile Apps leak your personal data including device’s unique ID, information about network and software, your location latitude & longitude coordinates, your personal identifiable information like phone number and email address. In a recent post at Zscaler blog it is mentioned that private data of the users of most famous Mobile OS of today’s era like Android and iOS has been leaked via various apps.

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Ar Ruddaf Park Taif Pictures

Ar Ruddaf Park or Al-Rudaf Park is a beautiful man made park located at heart of Taif. In the middle of the park there are dancing fountains which are operated with music beats. Last weekend I visited Ar Ruddaf Park Taif city, Saudi Arabia and I got a chance to take some pictures.

I would like to share them here as I like it there very much. Although I did not get a chance to see those dancing fountains because they operated in the evening time & I got to leave for home before evening, still you will love park scenery and beauty. There are huge rocks at various spots in the park which adds a lot to its beauty & natural look.

The park opens for public on selective days during the weekend. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So make sure if you are planning to visit there go on above mentioned week days.

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We love to work and live in Saudi Arabia say expats

A recent survey My Yellow Brick Road conducted by The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) reaffirms that migrant professionals residing in Saudi Arabia feel secure, happy and fulfilled in the kingdom due to a wide variety of reasons.

There are 151 people participated aged 30 years in average, in the survey throughout Saudi Arabia. 46 percent think that safety is the key reason of their satisfaction, 44 percent think comfort of friendships is the best reason, while 34.6 percent think comfortable lifestyle in the kingdom is best reason.

Participants said they had collectively achieved several goals, Money savings (54.6 per cent), a better lifestyle (38 per cent), buying a home (37.5 per cent), and paying for education (32 per cent).

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New Regulations & Fines by Ministry of Labor

Saudi Ministry of Labor (MoL) will impose various fines on employers / companies who are unable to follow new regulations. Below is the summary of these fines under new regulations, please note we have compiled this for information sharing purpose only, you may visit actual news site for further clarification.

SR 2,000 fine on employer on keeping passport of employee with him.

SR 3,000 fine under wage protection program on companies who are unable to pay salaries on-time to their workers. This amount of fine will be for each unpaid worker. Furthermore workers will be allowed to transfer their services to another company without the need of approval from current employer. Wage protection program will be compulsory for companies who are having at least 11 workers and a maximum of 100 workers on Feb 2016.

SR 5,000 fine on employer if he did not provide a copy of contract to his workers.

SR 10,000 fine on employer for offering such a job to male worker which is restricted for female worker.

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SAUDI HORECA 2015 Biggest Hospitality Food & Beverage Exhibition in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Horeca 2015 Exhibition

HORECA is the biggest annual hospitality exhibition. HORECA Exhibition has been running in various Middle Eastern Countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait from more than 22 years. Saudi Horeca 2015 held from 18-20 Oct 2015 in Riyadh. It has been running in Saudi Arabia from 5 years. There are more than 113 local and international companies participated in this exhibition making it a big success.

HORECA is the biggest annual hospitality exhibition. HORECA Exhibition has been running in various Middle Eastern Countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait from more than 22 years. Saudi Horeca 2015 started in Saudi Arabia from 2010 and up to 2015 it runs for 5 times in the Kingdom. There are more than 113 local and international companies participated in this exhibition making it a big success.

In Saudi Arabia, Horeca has been organized by SEMARK – Saudi Event Management & Marketing Company. Horeca features a host of activities and shows including workshops, culinary art show and much more. It has been held in RICEC – Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center which offers 4 halls of 15000 square meters and parking capacity of 1500 cars.

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Human Trafficking in Saudi Arabia – News Report

Saudi Gazette has reported that Summary courts in Makkah and Jeddah have charged 24 with human trafficking and they are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment along with 1000 lashes and fine from 20,000 to 100,000 Saudi Riyals. Below is the infographic showing details of the court’s decision.

Court's Decision on Human Trafficking Saudi Arabia
Court’s Decision on Human Trafficking Saudi Arabia

Source: Saudi Gazette

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