We're now in Melaka, and it took quite some getting here.
The original plan was to leave after the zuhur prayer - that's around the middle of the day. I needed to spend the morning at work helping to prepare an examination hall and other sundry matters whilst Noi was running the last of her many errands. Some fierce rain slowed everything down, reminding us that whilst Man proposes, God disposes. And then we were off, as far as Geylang where I needed to pay my zakat - the sort of annual tithe on income & property we pay, usually in Ramadhan. I have made a habit of paying most of mine at Darul Arqam, the centre for converts at which I once took classes. It's a jolly little place with, thankfully, very short queues for payment this afternoon, so we were soon on our way, after Noi had bought a few more mysterious things related to her baking at a specialist shop for all your baking needs just around the corner.
By now I was estimating we'd arrive in Melaka a good while before the time for breaking the fast. But then Noi reminded me that we'd decided to pay a visit to Alexandra Hospital to see Zainab's mum who'd been recently admitted after a fall in which she'd broken her leg. The old lady was looking quite a bit the worse for wear, having just come round from an operation, but it was nice to have had the chance to pop by if only for a few minutes.
Unfortunately back in the car park came the sudden realisation that somewhere along the way I had parted company from my employment pass. The green card is an absolute necessity for getting through immigration, and vital to the smooth running of my life here. So this was a blow of major proportions - though made a little easier by my sense of certainty that the card was in the hands of the young man I'd paid the zakat to an hour or so before. A quick call to Darul Arqam confirmed this (accompanied by huge shivers of relief from me and the missus) and off we went to retrace our steps across the island to reclaim it.
The traffic was now getting heavier, but wasn't too bad, and we finally made it out if the country by the early evening. This meant that we had to break our fast on the road, something we don't do often but to which we're not exactly unaccustomed. It was sort of fun really, stopping off at Pagoh, the timing being propitious, and dining on dates, a polar puff and water underneath the noisily gathering bird population of Malaysia.
And now we've arrived, eaten well, started to sort of unpack, and I'm gazing ahead to the end of Ramadhan,with just one day of fasting left. The truth is though that there's no real finish to any of the journeying. It's just nice to entertain that illusion sometimes.
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