Around India in 80 Trains

Author: Monisha Rajesh
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
ISBN: 1473644518
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Book Description
"Crackles and sparks with life like an exploding box of Diwali fireworks." -- William Dalrymple In 1991, Monisha Rajesh's family uprooted from Sheffield to Madras in the hope of making India their home. Two years later, fed up with soap-eating rats, severed human heads and the creepy colonel across the road, they returned to England with a bitter taste in their mouths. Two decades on, she turns to a map of the Indian Railways and takes a page out of Jules Verne's classic tale, embarking on an adventure around India in 80 trains, covering 40,000 km - the circumference of the Earth. She hopes that 80 train journeys up, down and across India will lift the veil on a country that has become a stranger to her. Along the way, Monisha discovers that the Indian Railways - featuring luxury trains, toy trains, Mumbai's infamous commuter trains, and even a hospital on wheels - have more than a few stories to tell, not to mention a colourful cast of characters. And with a self-confessed "militant devout atheist" in tow, her personal journey around a country built on religion isn't quite what she bargained for...

Around the World in 80 Trains

Author: Monisha Rajesh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1408869780
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
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.

Around the World in 80 Days

Author: Jules Verne
Publisher: Om Books International
ISBN: 9380070918
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Book Description
A fastidious Englishman, Phileas Fogg, puts his life's savings at stake, claiming he can travel around the world in just eighty days. Thus begins his fantastic journey, full of excitement and a great deal of risk. Phileas Fogg and his servant, Passepartout visit many foreign lands, exotic and beautiful. Amidst all the excitement is a case of mistaken identity, which has a Scotland Yard detective hot at their heels! Will Phileas Fogg lose the bet? Will he be put behind bars for robbing a bank? Read on to find out.

Epic Train Journeys

Author: gestalten
Publisher: Gestalten
ISBN: 9783967040203
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
From a journey through the Alps on the Bernina Express to a ride from Colombo up to Sri Lanka's tea plantations, there are endless possibilities to explore the world through fabulous train rides. Train Journeys will provide inspiration and practical tips for people who want to experience the joys of traveling by rail. The book features descriptions and details of 50 amazing rail journeys across the globe, from short trips that last a few hours to multi-day, cross-continental journeys, ranging from budget-friendly trips aboard local transport to iconic luxury liners.

Planes, Trains, and Auto-Rickshaws

Author: Laura Pedersen
Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
ISBN: 1555917542
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 175

Book Description
A travel essay of a recent visit to India, which reveals, with humor and insight, the tensions and contradictions facing the emerging world power. In particular, the book explores the roles of women and children in India today and includes discussions with experts on this topic, providing insight into this important and often neglected issue.

The Great Railway Bazaar

Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 054752515X
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 406

Book Description
The acclaimed author recounts his epic journey across Europe and Asia in this international bestselling classic of travel literature: “Compulsive reading” (Graham Greene). In 1973, Paul Theroux embarked on a four-month journey by train from the United Kingdom through Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In The Great Railway Bazaar, he records in vivid detail and penetrating insight the many fascinating incidents, adventures, and encounters of his grand, intercontinental tour. Asia's fabled trains—the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local, the Frontier Mail, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Mandalay Express, the Trans-Siberian Express—are the stars of a journey that takes Theroux on a loop eastbound from London's Victoria Station to Tokyo Central, then back from Japan on the Trans-Siberian. Brimming with Theroux's signature humor and wry observations, this engrossing chronicle is essential reading for both the ardent adventurer and the armchair traveler.

Ticket to Ride

Author: Tom Chesshyre
Publisher: Summersdale Publishers LTD
ISBN: 1783728116
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Book Description
Why do people love trains so much? Tom Chesshyre is on a mission to find the answer by experiencing the world through train travel—on both epic and everyday rail routes, aboard every type of ride, from steam locomotives to bullet trains, meeting a cast of memorable characters who share a passion for train travel. Join him on the rails and off the beaten track as he embarks on an exhilarating whistle-stop tour around the globe, from Sri Lanka to Iran via Crewe, Inverness, the Australian outback, and beyond.

Following Fish

Author: Samanth Subramanian
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 8184752555
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 197

Book Description
In a coastline as long and diverse as India’s, fish inhabit the heart of many worlds — food of course, but also culture, commerce, sport, history and society. Journeying along the edge of the peninsula, Samanth Subramanian reports upon a kaleidoscope of extraordinary stories. In nine essays, Following Fish conducts rich journalistic investigations: among others, of the famed fish treatment for asthmatics in Hyderabad; of the preparation and the process of eating West Bengal’s prized hilsa; of the ancient art of building fishing boats in Gujarat; of the fiery cuisine and the singular spirit of Kerala’s toddy shops; of the food and the lives of Mumbai’s first peoples; of the history of an old Catholic fishing community in Tamil Nadu; of the hunt for the world’s fastest fish near Goa. Throughout his travels, Subramanian observes the cosmopolitanism and diverse influences absorbed by India’s coastal societies, the withdrawing of traditional fishermen from their craft, the corresponding growth of fishing as pure and voluminous commerce, and the degradation of waters and beaches from over-fishing. Pulsating with pleasure, adventure and discovery, and tempered by nostalgia and loss, Following Fish speaks as eloquently to the armchair traveler as to lovers of the sea and its lore.

Indian Railways

Author: Bibek Debroy
Publisher: Random House India
ISBN: 0143439723
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Book Description
The fascinating story of the network that made modern India The railways brought modernity to India. Its vast network connected the far corners of the subcontinent, making travel, communication and commerce simpler than ever before. Even more importantly, the railways played a large part in the making of the nation: by connecting historically and geographically disparate regions and people, it forever changed the way Indians lived and thought, and eventually made a national identity possible. This engagingly written, anecdotally told history captures the immense power of a business behemoth as well as the romance of train travel; tracing the growth of the railways from the 1830s (when the first plans were made) to Independence, Bibek Debroy and his co-authors recount how the railway network was built in India and how it grew to become a lifeline that still weaves the nation together. This latest volume in The Story of Indian Business series will delight anyone interested in finding out more about the Indian Railways.

Chai Chai

Author: Ghosh, Bishwanath
Publisher: Tranquebar Press
ISBN: 9789380032863
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Bishwanath Ghosh had alighted from his train at Itarsi station to stretch his legs and grab a glass of tea before he resumed his journey.