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Around the World in 80 Trains
- A 45,000-Mile Adventure
- Narrated by: Monisha Rajesh
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
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Around the World in 80 Trains
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents Around the World in 80 Trains written and read by Monisha Rajesh.
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK
SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
'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
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.
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What listeners say about Around the World in 80 Trains
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- gavmcginty
- 30-01-21
Stick with it
Like others, I struggled to get into this in the early chapters, but am very glad I stuck with it.
The author's early experiences and narrative in Europe didn't warm me to her as a traveller - she comes across as simultaneously smug and naive. It improved though as she moved out of the familiar, and focused more on describing the train journeys rather than the city breaks in between. Then it became really very enjoyable.
And once it reaches that stage this is very much a book about travelling the world by train. The focus is on the train journeys, and the encounters and train adventures along the way. After the initial European stage there is very little about the places encountered in between. And that focus is what makes it a great book.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nick S
- 18-07-21
Great book for COVID times
As someone who loves going abroad but is limited by COVID, this book was a great way to enjoy an adventure by proxy. The overall idea is fantastic, and there are some hilarious and fascinating scenes - from rogue Japanese alarm clocks to Tibetan nuns and drunk Russians, this book has a wide variety of engaging anecdotes. However, I found some of them grating and daft - for the author, the most notable thing about European train travel was when she got overcharged for laundry, and there was a long section where she was scared by a loud air conditioner in a motel, while whole cities seemed to barely merit a mention. However, these more mundane stories did make the author's experience more relatable, and I feel like throughout the whole book, Rajesh shares a brutally honest and open view on her travels. I plan to listen to her other book, which I guess is the best vote of confidence I could give in this one. She narrates it very well too (though some of the Chinese and South East Asian words are butchered). Worth a listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-04-23
Lovely book to inspire travel
Lovely book following the writers journey round the world by train, certainly all the better for being read by the author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie Baillie
- 23-06-20
A very enjoyable summer listen.
having the author as the narrator was a fantastic move. you can really here the passion for the story and being Scottish myself love her attempt at her friends accent.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alan
- 27-12-20
A fantastic book, perfect for lockdown!
This is the PERFECT escape from our current situation! The locations, the encounters and the experiences are so well described (and performed) they are almost palpable. Pack your bags, are you are about to travel around the world!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- KingWeir
- 03-10-22
not so much trains but a person's journey
interesting listen, seems to skip at times, which can only assume, not much happened then.
voiced pretty well, though did get abit preachy at one moment.
overhaul good, would be better with pictures though, lol
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joshua Dickerson
- 23-02-24
What an adventure!
Loved listening to this with my partner, inspired us to get some train adventures booked!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Harper
- 21-03-21
Fabulous
A book that takes you on it’s wonderful journey- brilliantly written and narrated! Thank you !
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 17-05-21
Perfect piece of escapism
Listening to this during lockdown in the pandemic was the perfect piece of escapism. The author reads it well and it's great it's read by her as you can hear the emotions in her voice as she retells stories from the train journeys. I love travelling and meeting people of different nationalities so these tales were lovely to picture while listening
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alex Edwards
- 24-06-24
A brilliant travel book far above the standards of the genre.
Travel books tend to have a mixed reputation, sometimes being too glib or straying into what Edward Said coined as orientalism. I'm pleased to say this book challenges those stereotypes with a heartfelt travelogue of a train afficionado. Every step of the journey is unique in its tone and focus, and kudos to the author for doing her own audio recording plus accents for some of the characters she travelled with.
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