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

Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh – Review Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh – Review

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) 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 Lifeafter Pol Pot captured Phnom Penh in 1975, the trains played accomplice to his genocidal regime, enabling the evacuation and relocation to the countryside of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians forced into hard labor that led to their starvation and eventual massacre." 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." More diverse travel writers would make such a difference with travel and make people more understanding. I was unaware of what it’s like for people to travel on trains with disabilities. Only when people with disabilities started writing to me to ask how certain journeys would be with a disability did I realise. Now I’m conscious of it and ensure I focus on how my experience would be for someone who was disabled. 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

Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh, review: a

Delightful ... memorable ... Rajesh is not only blessed with an elegant style, but is witty and ever ready for a bit of self-deprecation”— Spectator 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.”In North Korea] The chance of an uprising was still remote, as the money and power lay with the upper echelons of society, who were quite happy to maintain the status quo so long as it worked in their favor." So many things, all the time! North Korea was the one place I could have read lots about and equally read nothing about and still learnt loads. Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure’ by Monisha Rajesh is published by Bloomsbury,

Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh review – the

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) 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.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. China's cultural Revolution unfolded in the mid-1960s, driving the desecration of almost all of Tibet's monasteries, destroying libraries and paintings." 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) 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..."