Moonlight Express

'Nobody writes trains like Monisha Rajesh' IRVINE WELSH
'Full of the stuff of life' SPECTATOR
'Travel writing heaven' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
'Incredibly inspiring' SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR
The magic of the night train: headlamps ablaze, passengers boarding after sunset and arriving in new cities at dawn.
For Monisha Rajesh, the unique thrill of sleeper trains inspired a new journey around the world. From sipping pisco sours aboard the Andean Explorer to retracing the original route of the Orient Express, Moonlight Express takes us on an unexpected, at times hilarious adventure - and drops us back at the platform before sunrise.
SHORTLISTED FOR TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2026 EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL WRITING AWARDS
WINNER OF THE EASTERN EYE AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2026 INSPIRE GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
A FINANCIAL TIMES READERS BOOK OF THE YEAR

Monisha Rajesh is a British journalist whose writing has appeared in Time magazine, the New York Times, and Vanity Fair. Her first book, Around India in 80 Trains, was named one of the Independent's best books on India. Her second book, Around the World in 80 Trains, won the National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year. In 2024 she was named in Condé Nast Traveller's Women Who Travel Power List. She lives in London.