Wednesday was a big day for the family of my friend But. His Granny was off on her pilgrimage to Mecca. And that meant a big send-off at the airport, a day of great celebration for all relatives and friends. As I understand it, all Muslims should try to get to Mecca at least once before they die. Now was Granny's turn.Despite all the odds being against her, the little old lady from a small village in the Phang Nga area had managed to raise 150,000 baht (about 4400 US dollars) for the trip to Saudi Arabia. She would be travelling with a big group of pilgrims from the Muslim-rich southern part of Thailand. Over the past few months the entire family had been scrambling to find the money. It's a huge sum for most Thai people. Most ordinary workers out of the major tourist areas earn around 5,000 baht a month, and most of that has to go on day-to-day expenses, so saving a sum like this requires huge dedication.
My friend But contributed 10,000 baht, as did his brother who works for Thai Airways. His parents and other brothers gave lesser sums, and steadily the amount in the kitty rose. I think one aunt, who owns a furniture store in Krabi and has the only vehicle in the family, probably had to dig deep into her pockets to finally reach the required total.
Anyhow, a few weeks back But asked me if he could borrow my pick-up truck to help transport the family to Phuket International Airport for the big farewell. As I would be leaving for Bangkok on the Tuesday, I was happy to agree and do my bit for this family event. En route to the airport to catch my flight, I got a glimpse of what a big occasion it was. Another flight to Mecca was obviously leaving that day.
A huge area next to the airport, which usually functions as sports fields and parade grounds, was totally packed with vehicles, literally hundreds and hundreds of pick-ups and cars. Huge tents had been erected and people were picnicking and serving food and drinks. I was amazed, as I had never expected it to be such a big event.
On Wednesday, But and his family were up at 4am for the trip from Krabi to Phuket Airport (a two-hour drive). Granny was only departing in the afternoon, but much time was needed for the farewell celebrations. He tells me that there were even more people there for the Wednesday departure. His family, dressed to the nines, took along big pots of food and a great outing was had by all.In the end, Granny had been a little nervous about the flight, as she had certainly never seen the inside an aeroplane in her long life. In theory, it had all been exciting, but actually being confronted by the airport and the big planes shooting off into the sky had proved to be rather intimidating. But had added to the tension by explaining that the aircraft go "much, much faster than the fastest car", getting his own back on her for constantly chiding him if he travelled much over 70kms in my pick-up.
She will no doubt be the one to brag when she arrives back in a few weeks time. But tells me there will be a welcome-back celebration much the same as the departure party, so I guess my pick-up will become a taxi once again. Naturally, I don't mind and am happy to do my bit for something so important in their lives.
As I write this, Granny must be facing her first few days in Saudi Arabia with the millions of pilgrims from all corners of the globe. A friend of mine who works in Jeddah said this annual event is so huge it is mind-boggling. I just hope that the Thai pilgrims have an incident-free and safe time in the land so very, very far away. And let's hope they especially good care of one bent-over lady with thick glasses from a village in Phang Nga. There's a group of people here who can't wait for her to come home.
