To my mind, there is no point in leaving home if the intention is to take home with you. To recoil from anything new and unnerving is to do a disservice to your hosts, but more so to yourself. Being willing to try another person's way of living is the first step towards developing a spirit of empathy..

Around the World in 80 Trains is not my standard pick of book but I found myself drawn to this book written by a woman about her travel experience around the world. Monisha Rajesh's initial plan was to do the 80 trains mostly alone with her fiance Jem joining her for a month in the middle. However, in the end, he decided to also pack his job in and come on the journey with her following her previous experiences of harassment in India.

On my travels around India I'd often been harassed which was never my fault - yet the onus always fell on women to protect ourselves, to dress down, cover up, look away, keep off the streets, go home early, stay in after dark, travel with a chaperone. No one ever told the men not to grope, not to stare, not to touch, not to follow women, and not to rape. The injustice tied my nerves in knots. This was why so few women explored the world with the freedom and abandon of men; they were frightened of what might happen at the hands of one of them.

This really captured to me why I was incredibly interested in this travel novel as so few women actively choose to travel alone because of safety and concerns. In the end Monisha was not alone, but her aim to travel the world was no less impressive.

Around the World in 80 Trains was an absolutely fascinating read, particularly once they left Europe and started trekking across Russia and Mongolia on the Trans-Mongolian railway. Into China, down into Vietnam and Cambodia. Their journey through Japan was particularly interesting, following on from the trip to see the railway lines in Vietnam built by the Japanese prisoners of war. The focus on trains and the way trains fed into the history was absolutely fascinating and really surprised me how much I loved the book. They then trip onwards to Canada and America and tour from Vancouver to Toronto, and Toronto down to New York. Then from there, down to New Orleans and then up and round to Los Angeles. It was a very impressive trip around the states.

However, I found myself most drawn to the final chapters where they went back to China and flew into North Korea. The time they spent, the thoughts Monisha Rajesh pondered as she talked about the vilification by western media of North Korea. Her discussions with fellow passengers about how it had changed. Then when they meet up with their friend Marc and travel through China, Tibet, Kazakhstan and onwards to Russia as part of their final journey home was fascinating based on the people they met, the stories they told, the experiences they had.

Unlike on European trains - where dining alone is like the modern-day equivalent of having leprosy - lone passengers looked content in their solitude. There was no need for an accompanying phone, book or bottle of wine for them to be visibly at ease as the countryside beat on past the window, the smell of burnt fields carried in on the wind.

Around the World in 80 Trains was not only a travel book, it was a story about friendships, people, history, relationships and it was funny, sad, stark, interesting and a learning experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was so deeply absorbed in Monisha Rajesh's journey and life for the 7 months of travel. This is one for everyone, not just travel lit fans.