Santosh travels alone from Mumbai, where he lives with his mother, to Kolkata, on holiday. But he has secret plans to look for his father whom he barely remembers. The train ride brings him into contact with people quite outside his sheltered world - an eventful prelude to another, deeper, journey. With a refreshingly light and honest touch, Just a Train Ride Away explores the emotional dilemma of young boy who craves the space for both parents in his life and faces the bitter-sweet reality of estrangement and belonging. A short, quick-read, coming of age novel.
A lucky little boy is going to visit Grandma! But as much as he looks forward to seeing his grandmother's friendly face, the ride on the train may just be the best part of the trip. There are bridges to cross, instruments to study, and aisles to tromp up and down. All aboard!
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.
This is the definitive guide to North American train travel, complete with booking procedures, on-board etiquette, maps, floor plans for typical coach and sleeping cars, and more. This new edition reflects all the recent changes at Amtrak, North America's largest passenger rail system.
This guide describes 27 short treks of 2-6 days and 10 day walks in the mountains of Romania. Although there is a slight focus on Transylvania, most of the main massifs are included, with chapters covering the Mountains of Maramures, the Eastern Carpathians, the mountains around Brasov, the Fagara?, the region between the Olt and the Jiu, the Retezat, the mountains of Banat and the Apuseni. Also included is an ascent of Moldoveanu, Romania's highest peak at 2544m. There is a wealth of advice to help you plan your trip and organise the logistics of your walk or trek. Some routes avail of the network of mountain huts; others offer opportunities to camp in attractive wild locations. Overviews and a route summary table make it easy to choose an appropriate excursion. Each route includes clear description and mapping, as well as notes on accommodation and access (some can be accessed by public transport, although others require either pre-arranged pick-up or hitchhiking). There are fascinating insights into Romania's colourful culture and history and appendices containing hut listings, useful contacts and a helpful glossary. The graded routes are as varied as Romania's diverse landscapes. They take in rolling hills, craggy karst peaks, glacial lakes and Europe's last virgin forests, with other highlights including Transylvanian castles, wooden churches, the Piatra Craiului ridge and the spectacular Sapte Scari (Seven Ladders) and Turda Gorges. Historic towns such as the medieval towns of Brasov and Sibiu and the spa resort of Vatra Dornei offer easy access to the mountains; other routes visit remote villages that have changed little over the centuries, where self-sufficiency is still very much the way of life. All in all, the guide is a perfect companion to discovering the unspoilt beauty of Romania's enchanting mountain regions.
4 starred reviews! "Heartbreaking, hilarious, and life-affirming" (Ami Polonsky, author of Gracefully Grayson and Threads) Rydr is on a train heading east, leaving California, where her gramma can’t take care of her anymore, and traveling to Chicago, to live with an unknown relative. She brings with her a backpack, memories both happy and sad, and a box containing something very important. As Rydr meets her fellow passengers and learns their stories, her own story begins to emerge. It’s one of sadness and heartache, and one Rydr would sometimes like to forget. But as much as Rydr may want to run away from her past, on the train she finds that hope and forgiveness are all around her, and most importantly, within her, if she’s willing to look for it. From Publishers Weekly Flying Start author Paul Mosier comes a poignant story about a young girl’s travels by train from Los Angeles to Chicago in which she learns along the way that she can find family wherever she is. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Sharon Creech.
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.
Hopping a freight in the St. Louis rail yards, Ted Conover0́4winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award0́4embarks on his dream trip, traveling the rails with "the knights of the road." Equipped with rummage store clothing, a bedroll, and his notebooks, Conover immerses himself in the peculiar culture of the hobo, where handshakes and intoductions are foreign, but where everyone knows where the Sally (Salvation Army) and the Willy (Goodwill) are. Along the way he encounters unexpected charity (a former cop goes out of his way to offer Conover a dollar) and indignities (what do you do when there are no public bathrooms?) and learns how to survive on the road.But above all, Conover gets to know the men and women who, for one reason or another, live this life. There's Lonny, who accepts that there are some towns he can't enter before dark because he's black, and Pistol Pete, a cowboy who claims his son is a doctor and his daughter a ballerina, and Sheba Sheila Sheils, who's built herself a house out of old tires. By turns resourceful and desperate, generous and mistrusting, independent and communal, philosophical and profoundly cynical, the tramps Conover meets show him a segment of humanity outside society, neither wholly romantic nor wholly tragic, and very much like the rest of us.
