First Day of Raya Report

Whew, what a day. Well I hope everyone had a great 1st day of Raya today. I just got back from Lumut, Belait where every year on the first day of Shawal the entire family get together at my grandparents house. I've spent the whole day there and visited a few relatives around the Lumut area as well. Pretty exhausting but it has been a great first day of raya for me.

However, there is a time for joy and there is a time for sadness, even on the festive month. A tragic car accident occured in Telisai which caused a major traffic jam along the highway earlier this afternoon. We received this tip of information from my cousin who came late to my grandparents place as they were caught in that jam and witnessed the eerie accident (which involved deaths, or so I've heard). Well it's gonna be all over the news tomorrow so I can't really explain much.

So we can't just simply think Raya is merely about happiness as there are people who are not as lucky as we are, that we have to be aware of. Imagine having a huge family gathering and expecting family members to arrive only to recieve ill news of their loved ones on that day. I'm just saying that it really saddens me to hear such things happened on the first day of Raya.

I travel far a lot because I have families and relatives to visit in Belait district, and I had to drive through the accident-prone highways to get to my destination, it really gives me the shivers to hear every accidents that occur along that highway. The risks are just quite high. That's why it really worries me if I let my mom drive on her own without me. I feel a lot more comfortable if I drive for her even if its a long one hour drive, keeping myself constantly on the left lane and maintaining the speed limits. It is highly advisable to be extra careful when using those roads, and its entirely best not to drive too fast there, especially on a rainy night when the roads and highways are wet. So please, do drive safely always, especially during this festive Raya season. Life is so fragile its certainly irreplacable.

Anyway, I'll be posting some pictures of my first day of Raya at my grandparents' place soon. Right now I'm working on editing those pictures. Wish you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Maaf Zahir & Batin.