Winner of the National Geographic Traveller Award for Best Travel Book
Shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award
From the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Around the World in 80 Trains is a celebration of the glory of train travel and a witty and irreverent look at the world.
Packing up her rucksack – and her fiancé, Jem – Monisha Rajesh embarks on an unforgettable adventure that takes her from London's St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan, and beyond. The 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.
About the Author
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 with her husband and daughter.
Industry Reviews
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
As Monisha Rajesh triumphantly demonstrates in Around the World in 80 Trains, there's life yet in both the trip and the telling - Daily Telegraph
Delightful ... Rajesh is not only blessed with an elegant style, but is witty and ever ready for a bit of self-deprecation - Spectator
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
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
A relentlessly curious and wonderfully descriptive writer ... [Rajesh] offers us a never-ending series of Theroux-esque, quirky anecdotes ... Remarkably engaging ... If you fancy learning about global travel in the relative slow lane, try boarding this carriage and staring out the window - here you can view the world through Rajesh's eyes, as she takes us on a lazy, time-bending meander in search of authenticity and humanity - Geographical
An epic journey ... When I say that I felt almost physically tired at the end of this book, I mean it as a compliment, a testament to its vivid evocations - Country Life
A triumph: a rollicking account, full of memorable encounters and laced with wit ... Rajesh is an elegant stylist with a winning line in self-depreciation; hers is a delightful book - The Week
This is travel-writing entirely at home in the 21st century, penned by a travel writer entirely comfortable in her own skin, and unashamedly enthused by the thrill of setting out to meet new people and to see new places - Asian Review of Books
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
Rajesh's quick-fire writing is unflinchingly frank, with details packed in as tightly as passengers on Mumbai's commuter trains. A lively read
Praise for Around India in 80 Trains, Lonely Planet Magazine
A great big lovely shambling train ride of a book, offering wonderful views, hilarious interludes, all sorts of dodgy characters and some very peculiar smells, all for the one ticket
Praise for Around India in 80 Trains, Giles Coren, The Times
