Family Dinner

Today started out quite uneventful - my parents went to the our new store/office to work on it and I stayed at home to take care of my darling six year old sister, Fee. (Which means horlicks, nutella and Spongebob Squarepants, haha)

I just came home from a late family dinner held at my 2nd cousin's house, in a very, erm, 'green' village about 15-20 minutes from my house. The road to her house is very narrow and surrounded by the famous Malaysian jungle scenary.

The occasion? My 2nd cousin and her husband will be going to Mecca on Sunday to complete their Hajj.
For those who are not familiar with what the Hajj is..... I wish I could tell you.
Haha!
I'm pretty confused myself, but I 'kind of' understand it - Enough to get the basics that is.
So, I really hope this helps:

"The Hajj (Arabic: حج, transliteration: Ḥaǧǧ) is the pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah), the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.[1] It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so, at least once in their lifetime. It is the demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God." -Wikipedia

It's kind of complicated. But, as it says, completing the holy ritual is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

My 2nd cousin held a huge family dinner at her home to celebrate their departure and recieve blessing from her relatives and well wishes for a safe and peaceful journey.
The food was delicious! Ther was Laksa (Rice noodles served with a thin curry-like sauce) and thick (and extemely sticky!) yellow rice with a delicious beef curry (which definately had a bite to it! Hot hot hot...)
For dessert, we had chocolate muffins (Yes, very traditional. But chocolate is a very important food group! ^_^)