Jacky came, she went away, deep in the valley I kissed her that day (Exponents)

Jalal is now 700Kms from Makkah (as at the 14th of January). He has about a week of walking to go.
For the full Gulf News story on his progress - http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/bin-thaneya-weathers-odds-to-reach-destination-on-time-1.965514

One of his comments particularly interested me:

"When you live in cities, you realise people don't walk any more. In fact, walking today has become almost an unnatural activity." The more he walks alone in places where no one walks, the more he realises that this is a limited period privilege. 

Having just returned from a shortish walk to my local mall to grab some phone credit and a morning tea, I'd have to agree.
The walk takes about 30 minutes there, 30 minutes back. It's a pleasant waste of time via lots of trees and a good footpath. The temperature is a pleasant sunny 29 degrees. Certainly not a deterrent.

I saw no one else walking apart from a couple of workers with wheelie bins picking up rubbish. I got strange looks from drivers and the taxis all slowed down to check out if I wanted a ride but I saw no other walkers.

Jalal continues to be a real source of inspiration to me. He was held up for two days recently when his walk was stopped by Saudi officials. Luckily sense prevailed and he was allowed to continue his charity walk after two days of wrangles.

Think about this for a while - on a 2,000 Km walk he is stopped 750 Km short of his goal and told he can't continue. Imagine you are him - what would you be feeling? How would you react?

The mind boggles but Jalal, I'm sure, took this in his stride (sorry 'bout that)!

Love and peace - Wozza