Episode 54
January 29 , 2019
54. Monisha Rajesh; Around the World by Train, the Siberian Galapagos, the Death Railway from Bangkok, Fascinating North Korea and Tibetan Nuns with iPhones
After writing Around India in 80 Trains Monisha Rajesh decided to tackle the whole world in 80 trains and left London on a journey that took in 45,000 miles across Europe, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Canada and America. Stopping at the world’s oldest lake in Siberia, taking the ‘death railway’ from Bangkok to Nam Tok and meeting Tibetan nuns with iPhones she has some wonderful, inspirational and entertaining stories for you in a conversation everyone who loves travel will just love.
On this episode we cover:
How many trains it really took to do ‘Around India in 80 trains’ and ‘around the world in 80 trains’
Not having previously been a big train fan
Living in India for two years as a child
Her Indian heritage
Deciding to travel India on her own
India’s domestic airlines covering 80 cities
India’s amazing network of trains
80 cities became 80 trains
Trains became the life blood of her writing
How India can be quite hard work
How Indian people treated her
Not seeing women travelling long-distance on their own
Being invited into carriages to share food
The upside to being an insider and an outsider
Understanding cultural nuances
Travelling some of the way with her photographer friend
Feeling quite safe yet being cautious
Hearing about a growing rape culture in India
Being mindful of where you are
Lisa filming in the centre of Bangalore and attracting a crowd
People being curious about her
The best view in India
Rajasthan, the Golden Triangle – Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udiapur
Sunrise at Jaisalmer – one of the oldest working forts
India Raj era palaces, deserts, coconut groves, the greenness of Kerala, electrifying Mumbai, snow and glaciers in Ladakh
Returning to London and working for The Week Magazine
The isolation of writing a book
Being unable to replicate what she’d done in India in any one specific country
Being daunted by going around the world in 80 trains
The thrill of going from London to Asia overland
Staying overland all the way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam
Waking up on the trans Mongolian railway pulling into Beijing
The mesmerising changes of the landscape
Realising how linked we are to Asia
The no-mans land of Siberia and central Asia
Seeing the change in people’s faces and colouring
The food changing, packets of noodles appearing, food getting a bit spicier
How such a journey can change the way you see the world
Travel’s power to combat prejudice
How travel can be an escape but finding the similarities in people all over the world
Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris, Europe, Latvia, the overnight train to Moscow, four and a half days in excruciating heat across Siberia
The stunning Lake Baikal, in south-east Siberia, the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world
Known as the ‘Galapagos of Russia’,
Fresh water seals turning somersaults
Hiking trails around the mountains
Feeling far away from everything
The train from Siberia to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Through the Gobi Desert
Conical hats and fisherman
The incredible feeling of arriving in Beijing in China after that incredible journey
Having the time and money to take the trans Mongolia
How the domestic Trans Mongolian isn’t so expensive
Travelling through the south of China to Hanoi in Vietnam
The phenomenal trip along the Reunification Express all the way down Vietnam – stopping in Da Nang and the stunningly perfect town of Hoi An
Trains being so cheap they could get off anywhere and come and go as they pleased
Taking the ‘death railway’ from Bangkok to Nam Tok
Allied prisoners of war being used by the Japanese to build the death railway
For every sleeper laid one man died
The ‘hellfire pass’ where the prisoners worked in excruciating circumstances
The monk who sat motionless for 8 hours on a delayed train
The special moment at sunset to the Bridge on the River Kwai
Banana pancakes by the broken down train on the track
How delays are part of travel
How you think travel will change you versus how it really does
People not talking to each other on the train in England
The journey to Birmingham on the train
The people she met along the way
The Tibetan nun on the train from North West China forever grateful to India for protecting The Dalai Lama
Visiting Lhasa, the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple Monastery
The nun with the iPhone and her zest for life
Cambodia’s lack of trains after Pol Pot used them for the killing fields
Thailand, to Malaysia, to Singapore on train
Flying to Japan and onto Vancouver
Travelling across Canada and across the US by Amtrak
North Korea being one of the highlights of the trip
How North Korea is probably the most fascinating country she will ever visit
Pyongyang being a show case city
The North Koreans being detached and unwelcoming
The ten day train tour all around the country
How tourism is a growing source of income for North Korea
America and the UK selling arms to Saudi Arabia
Referring to all Americans as ‘American Imperialists’
Propaganda about Americans and Japanese
If having children clips your wings
Watching Game of Thrones whilst the whole train bottom gets changed
Pirated copies of books in India and other Asian countries
Taking a Kindle but not reading for fear of missing things
The curious border crossings that take 5-6 hours of lifting the train up between China and Mongolia
Travelling through the American deep south listening to jazz
Whiling away hours drinking mint juleps in New Orleans
The Sunset Limited train from New Orleans to Los Angeles
