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For Rajesh, the romance of train travel does indeed live on, “in the passengers who would always tell their story to strangers, offer advice, share their food, and give up their seats”. Unexpected acts of kindness and generosity of spirit create a unique sense of community, “like we are a train family”, as one traveller tells her in Thailand.
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.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." Around the World in 80 trains is about the author's journey as she sets out to cover 45,000 miles across the World. Monisha records her journey through this book as she explains in detail about the various trains that she took, the food that each place had to offer, the sleeping arrangements, the people and struggles of adjusting to new culture though it was for few days. Monisha and her fiance set off from London and cover Moscow, Asian countries, America, Canada, Kazakhstan and many others. My favourite part was their experience at Moscow which was terrifying to even read. I also thoroughly enjoyed how she explained the sceneries that she witnessed through the windows. One can almost imagine the hues spread across the skies and smell the food that she devoured over the course of her journey. Fletcher, Alex (2 December 2021). "Around the World in 80 Days: David Tennant cast as Phileas Fogg in BBC adaptation of Jules Verne classic". BT . Retrieved 5 December 2021. Traveling by stage coach from San Francisco to the next train station going east, the group is forced to allow US Deputy Marshall Bass Reeves, escorting a Southern war criminal and Klan member to stand trial in Louisiana, to ride with them. Arriving in Battle Mountain, the captive's cronies try to rescue him but are thwarted by Abigail riding her horse into the saloon and shooting two of the criminals. Meanwhile in England, Bellamy, using the news of Fogg's death at sea and facing bankruptcy, tries to pressure Fortescue into releasing Fogg's money as the executor of his will but fails when Fortescue receives Abigail's telegram that they are still alive and heading to New York City. 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.
Pet peeves aside this was an interesting enough book. However, it took me a while to work out what was jarring about it. Rajesh is a journalist and this book felt dispassionate and insincere in places. Worst of all, I have no doubt that she was sincere but it came across as a series of journal articles shared with the express view to inform but not alienate, to critique but not completely criticise. As other reviewers have noted too, she complains about the state of the trains when she could clearly afford better - if you don't like it, don't do it; if you want to do it, don't bitch about it. But it was better to come and leave disappointed, than not to have come and be disappointed, imagining I'd missed something being disappointed about. p273Around the World in 80 Days review – David Tennant channels a Victorian Jeff Bezos". TheGuardian.com. 26 December 2021. 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." Rajesh, born in Norfolk in 1982, the daughter of two Indian doctors whose training sent them all over England, was perhaps fated to be a traveller. For her debut, Around India in 80 Trains (2012), a journey she finished alone after falling out with her companion, she endured harassment that’s inadequately described on the subcontinent as “Eve-teasing”.