Before going to hajj, I’ve spoken to many hujjaj who attend last year or prior to the pandemic. Some were solid advice and others were no longer applicable. Here are some I’ve learned to be valuable.
Protect your health and energy during hajj by:
- Avoiding the sun
- Avoid drinking cold water
- Avoid the crowd
- Don’t walk barefoot in the sun
- Umrah at night is easier from the heat, but usually more traffic.
- Wash Ihram clothing after Umrah, it’s cheap and normally takes 2 days, can pay for rush.
- Service Workers:
- Avoid having any bags taken by someone else (Service luggage men) to your room or terminal etc. unless you have cash on hand.
- After any service rendered the server may ask you to pay $100 US dollars, laugh it off and pay no more than 40 SAR tip.
- Taxi is 3-5 SAR per km or minutes, which ever is higher max, can negotiate half most of them. Uber works but very few drivers available at a time. Sometimes there is no cars available. Be prepared to negotiate with taxi. Prices are comparable between Uber and Taxi. However if you tip, it’ll end up being more than taxi.
- Always ask for price of ride before getting in to a taxi, and only pay that if destination does not change.
- Always take a bag to hold your slippers when going to the haramain.
- Always bring a bottle of water even if it’s empty so you can fill with Zamzam.