So having had all my belongings – rucksack, sleeping bag, money – everything stolen in Istanbul while on my way to Afghanistan, I decided I had no choice but to turn back to London.
Arriving in Thessalonica I managed to sell half a pint of blood at the American Hospital for $5. (I fainted and had to be looked after for about three or four hours before I could get back on my feet!)
You could get seven bucks at the civilian Greek hospital – but you had to know your blood group and I didn't. I did go there for a short while. It was like an auction. A queue of hippies outside the door and every now and then a Greek nurse would come out and shout "A+" – and there would be a rush of people climbing over each other to be first, who are lucky enough to fit the bill.
"A-"…. 

On through Yugoslavia (as was) and into Austria. Hitchhiking went well and in Austria I visited the British Embassy to ask for help because my five bucks had run out.
The people at the embassy declined but on my way out some very sympathetic lady gave me £2 which I promise to repay her as soon as I could (I did).
Germany was always wonderful for hitchhikers and I work my way up very quickly and hardly spent any of my money but eventually I crossed into France – I knew someone in Boulogne sur Mer who would lend me the price of a ferry ticket.
Got a German ride all the way to Paris where I spent several days – a few nights in a squat with some young French people. A few nights in underground car parks. There's always someone who forgets to lock their Citroen DS and if you look hard enough, you'll have a great night sleep in comparative luxury as long as you make sure that you leave at about 5.30 in the morning.

I decided to leave Paris and got onto the Rue Nationale heading north-west towards the coast.
Frankly the generosity of Parisians is poisonous at the best of times and although this was the late 1960s, I waited for more than two days – no rides. Lots of girls turned up and needed to hitchhike only a very short time before they got their ride.
After 10 hours or so each day I turned back to my underground car park in the comfort of a Citroen DS.

Eventually I went to the station – Gare du Nord – just as filthy and as disreputable as it is today. I asked whether I could get a ticket to Boulogne and pay at the other end.
Non!

In desperation, I went to the police station and told them my problem and that I need to get to Boulogne and could they help me – NON!

So I made my way back to the station. There was a train leaving in about half an hour. The barriers were manned and tickets were being checked. But alongside the train, there was another one which wasn't due to go for an hour or so.
The barriers were unguarded. I went on to that platform opened the door of the train, went across to the opposite door, opened it and then opened the door of the soon-to-depart train alongside.

I found a seat and settled in.
The train set off. I was en route!

About an hour through the journey, the ticket collector came along. I pretended to be asleep. The ticket collector started pushing me quite roughly so I woke up and confessed that I didn't have a ticket.
The next up was Arras where the gendarmes boarded the train and took me off in the back of the police van to the police station.

Searched and questioned – they took all my details. I explained how hard I had tried to deal with the matter honestly and that nobody would help me. I told them that it was extraordinary that when you try to be honest nobody was interested but now that I had been forced to break the law, there was no limit to their interest and their resources.

I spent a fairly uncomfortable night in the cell and the next morning they let me out.

At least I was out of Paris. A completely different culture. A completely different mindset and I got a lift less than half an hour after I hit the road – all the way to Boulogne.

A couple of days in Boulogne with friends and then back to London on borrowed money.

I sent £2 to the British embassy in Vienna with a letter of thanks.

A few weeks later I got a demand for payment from the French Railways. I paid them by return.