Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019, 336 pages

“Trains are rolling libraries of information, and all it takes is to reach out to passengers to bind together their tales.”

Monisha Rajesh loves trains (in fact she wrote a similar book about riding trains in India). She quits her dream job in London, packs her bags—and her fiancé—rents out her apartment, and circumnavigates the globe in 80 trains.

Her travels through Europe are fairly quickly dealt with in the book, which was a little frustrating. But as the journey progresses, Rajesh slows down and I started to get a sense of the places she visits.

It is quite a trajectory. After Europe, it’s on to Russia, then China, Mongolia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan (even to Cambodia, which does not have a railway anymore). A flight to Vancouver, across Canada, and then around the United States. She then loops back to Asia: to North Korea, Tibet, and Kazakhstan.

Her path takes her through a range of political systems, landscapes, and cultures. Rajesh thrives on the sense of community created on long train journeys, and the way they break down barriers between strangers: “the passengers who would always tell their story to strangers, offer advice, share their food, and give up their seats”. And how trains can take you into the heart of a country, where you can see how people live.

Rajesh’s book is full of little encounters: the Tibetan nun who exchanges WhatsApp contacts with her, the six-year-old on Amtrack who invites them to share her family’s meal, the two Aleksandrs on Russian trains, one of whom thinks she is a spy, to the amusement of the other one.  

I loved the way she gave me a glimpse into places I don’t know if I will ever visit. Here is her description of the North Korean countryside as the train leaves Pyongyang: “The North Korea of tanks, missiles and the Kims was already a world away: oxen ploughed the fields; clusters of cottages had roofs of red chilies drying in the sun; and beautiful children squatted in the yard sifting piles of corn. Their parents paused their work and watched stony-faced as we swept by. Buffalos huffed and bowed, drawing wooden carts piled with people, and cyclists stopped to inspect the train as we slowed into a tiny station.” Although is a lot that is still hidden to tourists, her description of North Korea brings out some of the nuances that we do not get in the media.

There is a growing movement towards slow travel, towards taking the time to see and know and talk to people.  

Read my interview with Monisha Rajesh.

This review first appeared on Women on the Road.