Today, we're embarking on a special adventure – a voyage through the enchanting world of train travel. Our guest today is a true connoisseur of locomotion, travel writer Monisha Rajesh. In 2010, Monisha spent four months travelling around India by rail recounted in her debut book, Around India in 80 Trains. After India, Monisha took on the world, over seven months and 45,000-miles, on an adventure through the global rail networks, which later became her next book, the brilliant Around the World in 80 Trains.Today, we’ll hear Monisha’s train travel diaries, from her earliest train travel memory being carried across the train tracks in Switzerland by her parents, to falling in love with train travel on a journey from Mumbai to Goa and her all time favourite journeys, to suit all budgets. From journeys that last just a few hours to those that last several days, Monisha brings to the life the unique perspective that travelling on a train can give us as travellers, the romance, the camaraderie, the excitement, unparalleled vistas, and a deep connection to the world around us. She evokes it so beautifully in our episode today. I think this is one you’re going to love.So, all aboard, and let’s get started, with Monisha.Destination Recap:SwitzerlandIndiaMandovi Express, from Mumbai to Goa, IndiaUS AmtrakDelhi, IndiaCannes to Ventimille Train, France to Italian border Canadian railway Vancouver to TorontoEuropean Sleeper Brussels, Belgium to Berlin, GermanyRome to Palermo, Italy train Norway midnight sun train Oslo to Trondheim and Trondheim to BodøSkeena Train, Jasper to Prince Rupert, CanadaTransmongolian RailwayThe Santa Claus Express from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, Finland With thanks to my sponsors today …Airbnb - Visit Airbnb.com and find out more. Prospective Hosts can learn more about how much they can earn sharing their space through the What’s My Place Worth Tool.Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.Sunweb - Use my promo code TRAVEL50 for £50 off your booking and your ski pass included.Thanks so much for listening today. If you'd like to hear more from the podcast don’t forget to hit subscribe, or if you use Apple Podcasts to press follow so that a new episode lands in your podcast app each week. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on Threads and TikTok, I’m also @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. And if you can't want until then remember there’s the first nine seasons to catch up on, that's over 100 episodes to keep you busy there. Don't forget that all the destinations mentioned by my guests are included in the episode show notes here on your podcast app, and listed on my website, thetraveldiariespodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.