Around the World in 80 Trains
A 45,000-Mile Adventure
Monisha Rajesh
Captured with wit and warmth, energy and zest, one woman’s attempt to circumnavigate the globe in eighty eventful train journeys
‘Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things. Prepare for a very fine ride’ Michael Palin
When Monisha Rajesh announced plans to circumnavigate the globe in eighty train journeys, she was met with wide eyed disbelief. But it wasn’t long before she was carefully plotting a route that would cover 45,000 miles – almost twice the circumference of the earth – coasting along the world’s most remarkable railways; from the cloud skimming heights of Tibet’s Qinghai railway to silk sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
Packing up her rucksack – and her fiancé, Jem – Monisha embarks on an unforgettable adventure that will take her from London’s St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan, and beyond. The ensuing journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair strike up friendships and swap stories with the hilarious, irksome and ultimately endearing travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth’s most breathtaking views.
From the author of Around India in 80 Trains comes another witty and irreverent look at the world and a celebration of the glory of train travel. Monisha offers a wonderfully vivid account of life, history and culture in a book that will make you laugh out loud – and reflect on what it means to be a global citizen – as you whirl around the world in its pages.
Picture Credit :Bloomsbury
- Monisha’s debut Around India in 80 Trains sold over 45,000 copies (TCM) and was described by William Dalrymple as ‘a wonderfully wry and witty debut’
- Monisha Rajesh is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller, Independent, Sunday Telegraph, Guardian, and the New York Times. She wrote columns documenting her journey, including one in the Sunday Telegraph and one for Spear’s.
- For fans of witty travelogues such as Italian Ways by Tim Parks (over 25,000 TCM), Running Over Lemons by Chris Stewart (over 400,000 TCM) and the books of Geoff Dyer.
Reviews
“Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things.
Prepare for a very fine ride” – Michael Palin
“A wonderfully wry and witty debut. Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks” – Praise for Around India in 80 Trains, William Dalrymple
Author Biography:
Monisha Rajesh is a British journalist whose writing has appeared in Time magazine, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Sunday Telegraph, in which she wrote a column about her journey around the world. Her first book Around India in 80 Trains (2012) was named one of the Independent’s best books on India. Born in Norfolk and mostly raised in Yorkshire – with a brief stint in Madras – she currently lives in London.