A train isn’t just a vehicle; it’s a place (a remix encore, with Monisha Rajesh)

Deviate with Rolf Potts

“A wonderful aspect of traveling by train is the transactional relationship between passengers who feed off one another, picking up tips, offering advice, guarding each other’s belongings, and generating a trust that is unique to railway travel.” –Monisha Rajesh

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Monisha discuss how her interest in train-travel dates back to a series of journeys she took around India (1:30); her more recent experience of taking the Trans-Mongolian train across Russia and into Asia (14:00); what it was like to travel by train in North Korea, China, and Southeast Asia, and how they differ from European trains (28:00); what it was like to take trains across Canada and the United States, and which global trains Monisha likes best (45:00).

Monisha Rajesh (@monisha_rajesh) is a travel journalist, and the author of Around India in 80 Trains, and Around the World in 80 Trains. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

Notable Links:

• Indrail Pass (Indian rail-pass for foreign nationals)
• Saint Basil’s Cathedral (church in Moscow’s Red Square)
• Eurail Pass (rail-pass covering 33 European countries)
• Trans–Mongolian Railway (long-haul train route)
• Circum-Baikal Railway (railway in Russia’s Irkutsk region)
• War and Peace (novel by Leo Tolstoy)
• Game of Thrones (fantasy TV series)
• Korean State Railway (train system in North Korea)
• Southwest Chief (American Amtrak route)
• German Baptist Brethren (Anabaptist group)
• Qinghai–Tibet railway (Asian train route)
• Skeena (Canadian passenger train service)
• Mandovi Express (train route in India)
• Flight shaming (environmental social movement)
• Sunset Limited (American Amtrak route)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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