It was a hot night in 1989 when my wallet – stuffed with $1,000 cash – fell out of my pocket.

After university, I left the UK and went travelling in Australia for a year. I saw the delights of the east coast – mostly from various building sites, as I worked my way around doing long hours in the blistering sun. But I loved every minute of it. After 10 months, I had saved enough to make my way slowly back home.

I was enjoying one last night out in Darwin with a gang of traveller friends with whom I was flying to Timor the next day. The intention was to island hop all the way to Singapore.

Cash was king in those days, and the $1,000 I had in my wallet was enough to last me a month on the road. The beers went down easy and I was completely unaware when, at some point in the evening, I lost my wallet. I was still none the wiser when I went to bed to get some sleep before the flight the next morning.

At 1.30am, I awoke to a loud knocking on my door.…