Introduction
Travelling By The Moon is a full-length travel book.
It's the story of a journey around the world. A journey guided by the phases of the moon. An unpredictable voyage of adventure and discovery, which led the author to an acute awareness of the cultural and environmental destruction being caused by the continuing process of globalization.
Angered by white tourists in an Aboriginal community near Alice Springs, in central Australia. Heavily tattooed in Suharto's Indonesia in the middle of a witch hunt against tattooed people. Trying to keep his big mouth shut at election time in Malaysia — where it was illegal to discuss politics in public. Dancing on the beach at the full moon party on the tropical island of Koh Pha Ngan in Thailand. An international observer in Chiapas, at peace talks between the Zapatista National Liberation Army — the EZLN — and the Mexican government.
Returning to England, where he was born, and discovering new places in an old country. Driving to Dumfries in Scotland - where his great great grandfather was a friend of the poet Robbie Burns. Enjoying samba music at the Edinburgh festival. Visiting old friends in Basque Country and new ones in Barcelona. Pruning lemon trees on an organic farm at Auroville in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Walking around Mughal-era hill forts in Andhra Pradesh and the ruins of Hampi in Karnataka. Losing his shoes overboard from a speedboat on the Mekong river in Laos.
It was a long, often difficult and usually apparently aimless journey, which led the author to a greater understanding of the patterns and rhythms that affect the earth and the lives of the people living on it.