Vanity Fair UK – September 2019

projects, a fact that would otherwise

have escaped me. Gerry booked us a

hotel room in Xining for a shower and

a snooze before our night train to Lhasa

and, as we waved him off, we had no idea

he had already paid the bill. In my search

for those for whom trains are a lifeline,

I watched First Nations women emerge

from the trees to flag down the tourist

Skeena Train in the furthest corner of

British Columbia. Without it, they were

forced to hitchhike a notoriously treach-

erous route called the Highway of Tears.

And in Hiroshima, I met 81-year-old

Tetsushi Yonezawa, who, as an 11-year-

old, had escaped the burning city on the

first train north to Miyoshi.

Over seven months, 80 train journeys

and 45,000 miles, I discovered that

Cambodia has no running train network,

that the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

has 15 layers of mahogany but no show-

ers on board (unless you’re a resident of

a Grand Suite), and that North Korea has

10-pin bowling alleys, Celine Dion on

karaoke and the most beautiful red

maple trees. Above all, I came to see how

close and connected we are as a people,

with far more similarities than differ-

ences. Consumed by a post-colonial

search for “authentic” experiences, we

exoticise and patronise, blind to the re-

alities of the world where Tibetan monks

wear Nike trainers, Kazakh students

drink lattes in Costa Coffee, Japanese

grandmas enjoy Teriyaki McBurgers,

and modernisation, rather than being

something to bemoan, creates their

peace and security.

For some, trains will never be more

than a way to commute, a tourist trap or

a weekend dalliance. For others, they’re

a means of employment, a political tool,

a weapon of war and the lifeblood that

keeps a country’s heart beating. And for

me? Trains will always feel like home.

TO P TAB LE

Above: Monisha

observing the

spectacular plateaus

and mountains on

the Qinghai-Tibet

ra i lway. Left: a fellow

passenger sleeps off

the altitude sickness

on the ascent to Lhasa

ON YOUR GUARD

Right: a guard patrols

the train upon arrival

in Turfan, Xinjiang,

China. Below left:

a view of the Tian

Shan mountains,

Kazakhstan from the

rear of the train

MAKE TRACKS

Above: one of the many vast,

modern train stations built all

over China for the constantly

evolving railway network

VANITY FAIR EN ROUTE SEPTEMBER 2019

In Hiroshima

I met Te t s u s h i

Yonezawa who,

aged 11, escaped

the BURNING

city on the first

train north

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