Day 2: Dandenong to Nar Nar Goon
Vishal bhayia and I got up early, had a cuppa and some snacks before leaving Amol bhai’s place and drive to Dandenong. After touching my forehead to ground, I sought permission from Mother Earth to begin the long walk out of Melbourne. Dandenong is still considered to be a part of Melbourne. A Chinese proverb states, A thousand miles journey begins with a single step and that step I took on Day 2. We started the walk on the corner of Stud Road and Princes Hwy. I met a bike rider right at the beginning. He was very impressed by what I was doing to repay the community and raise awareness about such a dreadful illness.
This was Vishal’s first day on his own and that too in the Ute. For communication, we tested the radios, and we also had mobile phones. As much as I could, I walked on the footpath on the left side of the outbound lane on the Princes Highway. There was no footpath on the other side. Then I had to switch sides and walk on the opposite side to face the oncoming traffic. At Westfield Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, we had breakfast and some rest. We stopped for a cuppa at Café 445 at Officer. A big thank you to Taylor Ashley and Kaity Baker for treating us with some goodies to support our walk. Vishal and I had lunch at Pakenham. I was getting tired because it had been a long day. I was going to terminate it at the end of Bald Hill Road. But somehow, I found more energy and continued to walk until we reached Nar Nar Goon our destination for the day. After walking more than 57K steps, I was totally drained.
Vishal had arranged for Sharad Patel to meet us at the end of the day. Sharad bhai arrived just intime to witness the final steps of the day. We all drove back to Pakenham to Manoj Mehra’s house. On arrival, we were welcomed by the Mehra family with a cuppa with some snacks. They had also prepared a delicious dinner. I went to shower to wash off all the sweat from walking the whole day. Vishal and Sharad bhai left after the cuppa as they needed some private time. It was great to see Yash ji and his family who came over to meet us at Manoj Ji’s house. We had some tea and snacks together. Thank you so much Yash Ji and family. By the time we had dinner, I was exhausted and ready to hit the bed. I was asleep when Vishal bhayia returned.
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