[Thoughtful Tuesday] How to : Travel the world lightheartedly

Assalamualaikum~ in this corner today, I want to share something about my ultimate passion collided; which are travel & food! Gotta love the combo! >.<  Fortunately for me, I've been around the world from the moment I could walk and until now, I get excited even at the sight of an aeroplane soaring above me (one of the perks of living nearby major airports). Alhamdulillah, all praise to the Almighty God. So, one might think that this must be some sharing about great places to go for food hunting or anything related to it, right? NO. Sorry to disappoint. Actually, I've never even think about this all this while. Then, instead of traveling to other countries I had the chance to actually live in one. From then, after all those years of observing Malay muslims attitude while traveling, that's it. I really have to say something about this. BTW, Oh Japan, I missyu!

Road must be taken but I didn't so is this road not taken? 

I happened to come across a few 'pious' or 'righteous' comments about 'halal food' or 'muslim-friendly' food in a non-muslim country, being served together with other non-halal food in the same space (wha...t?) yeah..I get it, I totally like 100% GET IT. You are a muslim, you can only eat halal food. Yes. YOU. it's YOU. SO why other people have to abide to your rules? You go to other non muslim countries, you expect them to provide you 100% halal food. Why? I mean, don't get me wrong bro/sis. I'm a muslim too, alhamdulillah. Please, if you, at the first place, planning to go to a non muslim country, please first of all, WORRY about your religious diet. Then only you start to plan. Still blurry? Let me show you step by step on how to travel with less burden thinking about what to eat, without harassing other people. Think about YOU. Ops, firstly we have to divide people into 2 groups; A) ones who EXTREMELY CARE, even wants to control the whole groups' diet AND B) ones who..are..not..as..extr..eme? but still, careful. At the end, only God can judge so up to you. ;)

B***es on the skyy ay ay ay ay ayy

Once you know which category you belong to, then only you can move on to the Planning Stage. But my oh my, you still have to understand a few things first before packing 'em bags~

First and foremost; try to understand very well that the most important fact here, you are not going to other muslim countries so they most probably don't serve halal food everywhere. It's not easy to find any mamak or warung or halal food court. God. Please understand this first. Once you are able to fully accept this, then only you start to plan! *for those belong to B, SKIP THIS HAHAHA

Secondly; if you belong to A and have other friends traveling together with you, by all means, PLEASE! Don't ever think that they have to eat whatever that YOU have to eat! Goodness lord. Here comes the clash in beliefs, as I would say. If you have to check every single details to make sure you eat 100% halal food, ARE YOU EVEN SURE it is 100%? Hm? Can you be responsible for whatever you decide for everyone? See..you can't. So come on..you might not know this but for me, you guys are no fun. NO JAMS! I know we as a muslims have to take care of each other, be good to one another and spread the love. yes. But not necessarily about this! Fine, you can stay true to yourself, to your belief and faith but hey, remember, no judging right? Leave the judging to God! Save the worry, my friend. Just because you have to check everything, doesn't mean you're allowed to stop other people from eating whatever they believe they can eat and good enough for them. It's not about religion anymore, it's about consideration (which is part of religion but you just can't see). You hungry, you eat. If you want to starve until you can have a nice halal feast, feel free to do so but just don't starve your friends! If they found something 'halal' enough for them, let them eat, for goodness sake! I totally get it if you want to be extra careful but I can't brain people who just intolerant, you know. Chill. *for B, even if you choose to eat anything, try to hide as possible. Even after me saying all this, believe me, A people will still think that they ARE RIGHT. My advise is just to let them think whatever they wanna think, and eat. haha

Third; so now you know you are A, then start the research bro! Book a halal in-flight meal, book a halal tour, stay in a halal hotel (do they even have this in muslim countries?) with halal food and surroundings (mosque, community center, people sharing the same beliefs) Erk, waaaiitt a second! Haaa people sharing the same beliefs?

Matcha! Matchas everywhere!

Let me tell you people of A! You'll see it, oh brothers/sisters! Not EVERY MUSLIMS in this world sharing the same beliefs as you do. Trust me, I know. I've spent Eid twice with muslims from different countries, spent Ramadhan with them, associate with them, sharing stories and observe each others' lifestyle. Eventually I came with a conclusion that we are all different but we pray to the same God the Almighty! It will be peaceful and calm IF we all abandon only one thing; JUDGING. I saw nasty remarks like 'Eh, tak sahla solat dia tu tak tutup kaki! 'Eh, dia set2 yg makan ayam/daging tu. *muka keji* 'Weh, Islam dorg pelik2 sikit.' *muka judging konon Islam hangpa la paling WIN* Amboi la muluuut. Hangpa tu maksum ka? Ha kan terkeluaq dah loghat utagha cek. Wahai kaum A, hangpa nak jaga agama hangpa, jaga la. Jangan dok pertikai orang lain punya cara. Kat akhirat nanti kita ada neraca kita, boleh jadi depa pulun habis sebelum mati, berat pahala depa lagi dr hangpa. We just never know. Depa nak makan apa pon, berdosa pon, hangpa bg nasihat yg membina sudahla. Ini tak. Nak jatuhkan hukum niii sesuka hati niii. 'Habislah masuk neraka jahanam la kau makan benda haram! Berdosa besaqla kau tak jaga makan' Oh. Yg hang duk halang kwn hang makan sampai dia sakit tak boleh solat, siapa tanggung? Yg hang duk minum Coke 'halal' support Zionist, boleh pulak? (not judging btw, just as an example) Paling suci. Nampak tak kat situ? Kalau tak nampak lagi, duit dok berkepuk2 hasil cari rezeki halal tu pi la buat lasik surgery. Ok tu lawak je. Benda macam ni, pakailah spek power beribu2 pon mmg tak akan nampak. Hati tu. Bersihkan dulu. Study banyak2 dulu.Tok sah travel la kalau tak boleh nak sesuaikan diri. Jangan susahkan orang lain. Seriously, you're being a pain in the a**.

Oh I almost forgot, there's another group of people, they don't belong to either A nor B. They're more like an A+B- kinda people, The 'Unsure'; 'Eh, boleh makan ke ni?' 'Eh ni ade ba** kot, janganla. Ko nak, ko makanla. Pepandaila ko tanggung.' 'Ala yg ni ok kot, xde daging tu haa'. Memang mengundang tamparan wanita. How on earth la, are we suppose to know whether we can eat it or not! Magaaaaaaad! We travel together maa, not like your friends are the cook or imam muda (I bet they are not sure themselves). Can you just..like..don't eat if you're not sure and stop bothering people? Can you just bring your own food everywhere so that we don't have to entertain your uncertainty every single time we about to eat outside? Even better, CAN YOU NOT TRAVEL WITH ME, LIKE EVVVVERR??!

Autumn in my heart..ececece

In conclusion, people of A, either you settle with options on halal tour nowadays, or thoroughly plan your own halal tour without worries! BACA! Read, ask, research, do whatever you gotta do, bring your own halal food everywhere, prepare them before touring or just anything. Whatever makes you at peace, just stop judging. To people of B, enjoy! You know what you gotta do. hahaha Lastly, to A+B- The Unsure people, *whispers* stay away from me. hahaha Stay safe and happy travel yalls. May peace be upon you **