When I arrived in Delhi I was instantly hit by the contrast between this developing country and all the other places I had visited. When I went for a walk through a market on the first afternoon I was amazed by what an assault on the senses the place was. It had been a ride on an auto-rickshaw to get out to the market, which is an experience in itself; the wind and fumes blowing in your face, the thrum of the two-stroke engine under the wooden seat, the reckless abandon with which the drivers swerve and race through the streets. It was exciting and a little terrifying!

When I got to the market I was not prepared for what I saw, heard, and smelt. There was a ramshackle tarpaulin pulled over an area of rickety benches and a few street vendors selling samosas and daal cooked in steaming brass cauldrons. The smells were enough to stir an unknown hunger in me, so I quickly moved over to them breathing the air deeply. That was the first mistake I made. The smells in India can change very quickly with the slightest change in the breeze or the passing of an inconsiderate cow, and it so happened that despite my proximity to the delightful and delicious curried foods, it was a smell of raw sewerage that had had just filled my lungs. Not allowing this to put me off my food though I recovered quickly from the reek and was soon enjoying some lovely samosa and strong chilli dip, though I was careful for the rest of the day not to breathe in too deeply.

The sounds in Delhi were also as incessant and insistent as the changing smells, whether it was packs of dogs barking into the night or the constant honking from the auto-rickshaws and cars. As no vehicle appeared to have any seatbelts, mirrors, or effective brakes, and as the roads had no defined lanes or apparent rules, it was necessary for every person on the road to constantly sound their horns to let others around them know where they were. The colours of New Delhi are as bold and vibrant as anything else in the city, and whether it was the saris of the women, the plants and trees, the birds, spices, or fabrics in the markets – it was definitely a bright and beautiful place to walk around.

The other thing that I was struck by straight away was of course the tastes of India. Whether it was the samosas bought for pennies from a guy in the street and served wrapped in newspaper, a take-away of daal, curried goat, and breads, or a banquet in a world class restaurant – the food was consistently amazing. The flavours were often different to our Western interpretations of the same dishes, as the ingredients were often different. The herbs were very fresh and grown in a different soil and fed with different nutrients, the meats had different flavours, the pulses were types that we don’t get back home, and something like a creamy curried dish wouldn’t for example, be made with cream from a cow. I think that there are very few places I have been outside of India where the curries were half as good as the average I had in those weeks. When I could, I would have something tasty and Indian to eat four or five times a day, and only stopped when I fell foul to the expected ‘Delhi Belly’. I wasn’t surprised. In fact I was pleased that it didn’t afflict me for the first five days! And I would definitely eat everything I had again even knowing what gruelling two-day stomach upset I would have to endure. It was all too delicious!

As I was able to work remotely, I packed my laptop and flew to Delhi where I started work early in the mornings, explored the city in the afternoons, and hung out with Mike and his girlfriend in the evenings. I was able to see quite a lot of the place. I visited many markets, explored lots of parks, and spoke to people from all over India about their impressions and lives. It was exciting to hear about the history of the place and the hopes for the future, but also very upsetting to see how families live in the slums.

The contrast between the rich and the poor is so completely indoctrinated in the society that there is very little that can be done about it without massive national paradigm shifts and state overhauls. It was amazing to hear that many nice apartments came with a servant who might live in a lean-to on the roof or in a tiny box room on a different level of the building. Beggars lined all the streets and junctions, many trying to scrape out a living selling old editions of international magazines or packets of tissues, but with so many competing for attention most of them can’t have had much success.

But you help where you can. You buy a banana from a guy on a street corner, give a few grubby children some change from your pocket, and support the local businesses whatever they might be.

One of the other interesting places I visited in my brief time in India was the Himalayan foothills, and there we stayed in the town of Manali. At around 2000m (6500 ft) above sea level the climate is very different to that of Delhi. I had left heat in the thirties and whilst Manali was very pleasant on most days it did snow a couple of times! Although there was still a lot of evidence that this was India (the occasionally sound of a rickshaw’s horn in the distance, or a pile of litter by the roadside) the mountainous and wooded surrounding area is a truly beautiful place. The immense pine trees fill the air with their woodland aroma, the rushing river is a pleasant contrast from the rushing cars in the city, and the remote hillside temples are something quite different from the mighty structures in Delhi. Some of the temples and forts are incredibly ancient and give insight into a time where this area was a significant seat of power. The animals were much more varied and exotic, with monkeys and brightly coloured birds in the trees, vultures, kites and eagles soaring in the air above, and even the occasional sheep grazing on the side of a road.

The many shrines we visited were strewn with items meant to encourage the Gods to bring them success in their daily lives: tridents for fishing, tin houses for safety in their homes, rams skulls for the health of their livestock, and offerings of puffed rice and incense could be bought and immediately discarded in many of them. The people were friendly, the temples were humbling, the views were breathtaking, the food was wonderful, the fires were warm at night, and the weed was everywhere. It was a place I will definitely go back to.

Have a look at my pictures from Delhi or from the Himalayas in the photos section of his site.

It was with much sadness that I left the wonders, warmth and whimsy of Australia behind me and returned, prematurely I felt, back to the UK. I had made so many friends, seen so many fantastic things, and been to so many exotic places that the previous year had swept past me with the speed and force of a tornado, leaving me a little dazed and dizzy in much the same way.

The plan was to arrive at the beginning of October 2008, find a job as soon as possible, and be back Down Under three months later. I was determined to make that happen! I spent the first two weeks mainly locked away in the eaves of a barn with Internet-based recruitment portals as my only friends, and took the first role that was offered to me. The money was average, the project was vague, but I could work remotely, and that would give me plenty of time to catch up with my friends!

Rather than live in Leigh where I had been immediately before I departed, I was staying in the countryside of Burnham-on-Crouch, as my family home had been sold in my absence (parents are like toddlers when they get to a certain age – you should never leave them unsupervised!) And Joe, my mother’s partner, very kindly agreed to take me in. So in a back room of his converted barn I worked away on my employer’s website during the week, and returned to civilisation at the weekends to catch up with the friends I had missed whilst I had been abroad.

I managed to balance my life pretty well. I was saving money by not having to travel to work and by sponging off my mum, and so fairly quickly I had paid off my debts, paid for my next visa for Australia, and had money in the bank for the flight back.

Realising time was short, I was keen to resurrect Super Monster Destroyer – the greatest comedy metal band to ever wear Christmas lights and stuffed turkeys on stage – and we organised a Christmas Spectacular, rocking loud and long into the night, and even managed to have Santa Claus deliver presents to all the good (and bad) boys and girls that came to see us. This was certainly the highlight of my first few months back in the UK – to play again with some of the most amazing friends and musicians I have had the privilege to be amongst, and get royally wasted in the process.

After Christmas, for various annoying reasons, the return trip to Australia was not yet ready to happen. So I postponed for another three months, and decided a change of strategy. I had my money, I had worked hard and been far away from my friends, so now was the time to start celebrating being back in England throughout winter and spring.

I sensed that my mother and Joe wanted their space, and I would be omitting all the facts if I said that it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind too, so I moved in with some great and longstanding friends back in Leigh. The house was large and very comfortable, the entertainment was always on hand, and the pool was freezing cold. What a daft time to live in a place with a swimming pool! It really made me miss Oz and the warmth! So before long I was planning some trips away! If I was going to be stuck in the Northern hemisphere, I didn’t have to remain in England!

And so in February I visited my family in the Prague. In March I visited my friend in New Delhi, and we spent some time in Manali in the Himalayan foothills. And in so doing, being unable to return to Australia wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Truth be told, I loved being back around all my friends. Most of whom I had known for so long that the time apart was like it had never happened. I was able to see friends’ bands, like Scratton Road and Dark Matter Transfer; Meet new additions to the various social circles I had left behind like the new role-players and photographers I met. We had some excellent reunions in familiar and homely locations like the Leigh Seafront and The Elms pub; and had I not so often been drinking a little bit too much, I would probably be able to categorically say (rather than assume) that I had some very deep and meaningful conversations!

Those three months passed quickly – and instead of getting straight in a plane and returning to the place I was still thinking of as ‘home’, another delay scuppered my plans. Spring was now here, and summer was approaching as fast as it could in England, and it seemed silly to delay another three months just to disappear as the Australian winter was in full swing and the British one just beginning – so I decided that I would wait out the summer. Before I left Australia everyone had told me that if I went back I would be gone for at least a year but I refused to believe them, and here I was making plans that would ensure I would be doing just that.

I was determined to make the most of my time in England though. I arranged to go to the mighty Roskilde Festival in Denmark to see some astounding bands, and meet with some very beautiful people; the new Dark Mills alternative festival in London, and I was also keen to have another Edinburgh festival before I ventured to the other side of the world.

In between these various trips I spent my time working for the same awful company, and tempering the irritation that came with that by role-playing with my friends, visiting shows and gigs, photographing anything and everything I saw, and trying to meet new people.

I ended up living in Burnham on Crouch again. For a while back at the barn – which in just the few months I had been away had transformed into something so drastically different it was practically palatial – with beautifully tended flower beds, large daisy-speckled lawns, newly planted trees and pot plants on a newly constructed patio, and decking around the swimming pool which was just crying out to be exploited on a long summer evening. When I had out-stayed my welcome again [or maybe a few weeks after that point] I moved into a cottage down the road where I could have my own space, leave my mess around the house, cook stinking foods in the kitchen, and not worry about disturbing anyone with the screeching noises coming from my guitars or computers.

Moving to this place was more of a blessing than I had expected. I was further away from the expensive temptations of the town, and so began slowly to save up some of the money I had spent on my too-frequent overseas trips and jaunts down the pub, and met several new people who really made my time there fantastic. The sort of people that made sure they were around to see me off before I finally left the UK, and brought more wine than sense to make sure that we had a fantastic night to remember (through the little windows the booze left us to look back through). I learnt to shoot traditional longbows, made by Joe, and even cooked my first bit of road-kill (if you want a recipe for worm-stuffed pigeon give me a call!) The evenings by the water were as stunning as those spent cycling through the corn fields, and to have that last glimpse of quintessential English life before I left was just what I needed to temper my normally all-too-jaded outlook.

So sincere thanks and love goes out to all who made that year more than bearable (and apologies for including such a corny ending to my first blog in a year.) Thanks to all of my family who I know made sacrifices to bring me much happiness. Thanks to Robbie, and Darryl for being so much fun to rock out with; Gaz, Vince, Mark, Matt, Stu, and Jim for being very entertaining role-players and great friends; Chris, Liesl, Jeni, Keeley, Tina, Joel, Leo, Pete, Dan, Hayley, Jeff, and many more for being wonderful people to talk to and to listen to me – in and out of good times, and in and out of the pub! Steve and Scratton Road, and the crew from DMT for making my ears cry with joy and scream in pain (respectively); Fatts and Amy for their generosity and humour when we were up in Edinburgh, and Juan for his amazing cooking and unparalleled cheerfulness; Ian for being a constant source of provocative thought, inspiration, technical and spiritual guidance, Mike and Dave for being wonderful friends I would love to have known for longer, and everyone else (I know there are many of you) who I have not mentioned here but who I will always love very dearly.