My slippers have been missing for a whole day.

I have to put up with plenty of ‘told you so’ from Manchester lad.
I am going to go later to see if they are where I left them.
We are so close to the Haram I go to all the salahs barefoot.

I saw my first dog in Mecca today. Looks so out of place.
That evening I saw a cat on the third floor of the Haram.
How on earth did it get up here?

Our new roommate (who we name Cyborg because of his unstoppable quest to fit everything into his day and make the absolute most of his time here) tells me that Indonesian and Malaysian couples who are serious about getting married come to Hajj with their families. This is so that both can see and hear about how the other coped with all the tests and trials that Hajj brings. You really don’t know what is going to happen day to day or how you are going to be tested so it is impossible to keep up an act.
I think it’s a great idea.
Bit expensive, but a great idea.

Our roommate Jedda has a unique style of sleeping. He always sleeps on his back and always claims he wasn’t sleeping if you mention it.

We have our last addition to the room and he is a very quiet brother who I have seen around. This is like the perfect room Alhumdulillah. He is given the customary welcome pack from us.
He gets the nickname ‘Terminator’ as the lads tell me he was fast asleep and then he woke up at 2am, said, ‘I need to go make tawaf’, got out of bed in one movement, did wudu and was gone.

I went for a late night ice cream and saw a man get his ihram caught in an escalator. It pulls the garment in and he falls backwards. I jump into action and hold him up, stopping him from cracking his head open.
All in a day’s work for Hajji Scented.
He is fine but they didn’t have any strawberry sauce for my ice cream.

It’s confirmed. I’ve lost my slippers. They are the first pair I’ve lost this time. I hope they have a good new owner.

I got caught doing ‘The Robot’ dance in the lift by an Egyptian man. No way I am able to explain so I don’t bother.

I have found a truly awesome view of the Haram from another room our hotel which is still under construction.
You can see all of it and the surrounding areas.
Showed the lads. Me thinks they going to take their wives and claim they found it!

All the Hajjis that are coming this year are here now. Haram is packed out. I can’t even get a decent view of the Ka’bah from the third floor.

Tomorrow is the last Jummah before Hajj.
This time next week Hajj will be over. A scary thought.

Nicknames I have been given so far include:
Lastminute.com, because of my relaxed attitude
Sherlock, because I love to go investigating.

Manchester lad from this day forth will be dubbed ‘Mighty Zinger’ due to his love of everything big and chicken.
Google ‘Mighty Zinger’ burger and you will see what I mean.

Zinger tries to educate everyone on what a planetarium is. Apparently it’s where they keep fish!!

The story of me and Zinger is quite amazing really. I had bumped into him twice before we shared this room together and both times I thought I really am not going to get on with this guy. Appearances can be so deceptive and a person you may think is really good will show their true colours once you share a roof with them. On the flipside a person like Zinger who I thought I would never in a million years have anything in common with has become very dear to me.

Some local lads from back home turn up and don’t believe I am staying in Zamzam Towers so they insist on coming up to the room. They tell me that our bathroom is bigger then their living quarters.
For the price they paid and the price we paid I think somehow our reservations got mixed up!