Railbookers (020 3327 2467 ; railbookers.com) Independent rail specialists which, in addition to putting together itineraries, can also arrange accommodation along the way. Apart from being a book about travel and experiences, it was also highly informative. She took out time to reach out to the surviving family members of The Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts and has listed in detail about the Japanese technology and traditions including the one with the Geisha. It's fascinating to see so many different cultures that the world has embraced and this book is proof enough that there are wonders in every place that we visit. My only concern was about how daunting this book feels in the initial few chapters. It's only after you get across them, that you'll truly be able to enjoy it. It gives a serious case of wanderlust and what more can you ask for from a book that paints a beautiful picture about traveling? Leaving my job, my home and my possessions had quietened the noise in my head. My immediate concerns were where to eat and where to sleep. The less I carried, the less I worried." With the coronavirus pandemic meaning many people in the UK will staycation this year, do you have any recommendations for train travel in the UK?

Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure

On this trip, accompanied by her terrific partner, she brings her warmth and intelligence to each situation they encounter. I am not sure I could muster her patience and humour. While North Korea spins stories, the Western media is just as guilty of indulging its own agenda, painting North Koreans as one-dimensional robots serving their great leader."

Fitfully entertaining but superficial, Rajesh's memoir never quite lives up to its potential. While she technically does travel "around" the world, she never goes anywhere near South America, Africa, or Australia. She also glosses over long stretches of the trip she did take, and it's unclear if she needed more space or just didn't talk to anyone interesting along the way. Rajesh [is] a rare rising star of the genre . She has a simple and easy style, she sees everything and listens to everyone, she's funny when she wants to be and serious when she needs to be, and she keeps the whole thing barrelling along like a wonderful dinner party conversation (Marcus Berkmann Daily Mail) 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 What makes the book is [Rajesh's] wit, astute observations and willingness to try everything ... She arrived at St Pancras, on time, tired and triumphant. Her riveting account of the odyssey leaves us feeling the same ( The Times) There’s three or four I still think about, a Tibetan nun from Xinjiang Province in China. She was very fun, there was three of us at this point, we were working and she just appeared with a big beaming smile and started jabbering at me. I had no idea what she was staying, she was so animated and laughing, it turned out she wanted to know if I was Indian, I’m a British Indian. She wanted to thank me as the Dalai Lama lives in India, and she wanted to thank me as India has looked after him.

Around the World in 80 Trains - Bloomsbury Publishing

Are you sure?’ He stared at the map. ‘There are some pretty hairy places under those pins. Iran? Uzbekistan?’ What makes the book is [Rajesh's] wit, astute observations and willingness to try everything ... She arrived at St Pancras, on time, tired and triumphant. Her riveting account of the odyssey leaves us feeling the same I had put this trip off, I felt like I couldn’t do it one book, no one had done an around the world train trip before!The trains in Japan are so quiet, there’s very little energy on Japanese trains. They’re very mindful of other people, and they’re very clean and too perfect, a little dull to be honest. They begin with a brisk tour of Europe, ending up in Moscow, where they take some nightmarish taxi journeys to find Patriot Park, a “military Disneyland” recently opened by President Putin. They then catch the Trans-Mongolian Railway to Beijing, an 11-day journey including stopovers in Irkutsk, Siberia, to visit Lake Baikal (“the deepest, oldest and largest freshwater lake in the world”) and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which turns out to be something of a disappointment: “The city’s old culture … had collapsed under the might of … KFCs and an Imax.” 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)

Around the World in 80 Trains : A 45,000-Mile Adventure Around the World in 80 Trains : A 45,000-Mile Adventure

Leaning out of doorways, perching on steps and sleeping in the odd linen cupboard, I covered the length and breadth of the country in four months and was drawn into its warm embrace by the whole railway family – from her royal highness the Deccan Queen and the sleek and chic Durontos, to the puffing and panting toy trains and thundering Rajdhanis. I hung from the badly behaved Mumbai commuters, had sweet dreams in the Indian Maharaja’s double bed, and witnessed orthopaedic surgery on the world’s first hospital train. Rajesh and her fiancé trace Sir Harold’s journey in the book. He comes across as a remarkable character who many years later, invited a remorseful Mikio Kinosh*ta, an engineer with the Japanese Imperial Army to London. Additionally, the encounter with Toshiko Yamasaki, the daughter of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only victim to have survived being at ground zero of both atomic bombs is also thought provoking. I came to admire Rajesh’s turn of phrase and her stylistic prowess (her time as a sub-editor for The Week magazine must have come in handy). She doesn’t mince her words when asserting that “the French cared for nothing else when it came to meal times”, or when describing a deserted transit stop in France where “... we shared a Coke and paced the cool empty station, listening to the squeak of our footsteps and admiring the domed roof, the interior of which was engraved with four partly clothed women...” Having travelled extensively in rural France, I was able to recognise the place immediately. North Korea, must have been an odd experience, was there anything that completely threw you about the country?The truth was that I wasn’t sure I’d be fine. In India, I’d been groped on a night train, cornered in a station, chased down a platform, stared at, leered at, spat at, shouted at, sworn at, and spent numerous nights crouched in hotels after dark with my bags piled up against the door. Above all, I didn’t want to leave Jem behind. What a waste it would be, to travel around Europe, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Canada, and America, with no one to build and share memories. I can’t get my head around train travel in the UK, the service is terrible, there are always delays. On my recent trip up to the Lake District for the price, all I got was a chocolate bar and a dry sandwich. It’s infuriating that European trains are amazing, British trains have a lot of catching up to do. The book really gets into gear in N. Korea and China, and captures so much of the romance of train travel including the numerous little epiphanies about oneself while touching the edge of inner stillness in a moving train. Blessedly, not too much of that too.

Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure

I loved Monisha Rajesh's Around India in 80 trains, and have been looking forward to reading this one. It can't really be read as a sequel because there's little apart from the author's experience in Indian trains, that gets carried forward to this book. Rajesh is equally skilled in describing the countless characters she and Jem bump into in Russia and Canada, in Mongolia and North Korea, as well as the no-less-peculiar trains in all of those countries and many more. Anything,” says travel writer Paul Theroux, “is possible on a train: a great meal, a binge, a visit from card players, an intrigue, a good night's sleep, and strangers' monologues framed like Russian short stories.”

What makes the book is Rajesh’s wit and willingness to try everything. She arrived at St Pancras, on time, tired and triumphant. Her riveting account leaves us feeling the same.”– The Times Rajesh [is] a rare rising star of the genre … She has a simple and easy style, she sees everything and listens to everyone, she's funny when she wants to be and serious when she needs to be, and she keeps the whole thing barrelling along like a wonderful dinner party conversation”— Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail it now dawned on me why long distance train travel held such appeal. No other mode of travel combined my two favourite pastimes: travelling the world and lying in bed. p116 Would you like your car to smell like the pope?’ I asked, finding a collection of car fresheners that purported to smell like different saints. Unapproved journalists are not allowed to enter [North Korea] and newspapers regularly preyed upon foolish couples and American students willing to ham up tales of their visit for a tidy fee..."