Matthew Woodward – The Railway to Heaven

Description

Matthew Woodward’s long-distance train travels are taken to a whole new level,  he embarks on an intrepid journey from his home in the UK to Lhasa in deepest Tibet on the world’s highest railway.

Travelling over 20,000 kilometres on trains across Europe and Asia, he sets out to reach his objective via the little-used Trans-Manchurian route across Siberia to Beijing, and from there to the Qinghai–Tibet railway across the Tibetan Plateau. Unprepared for what he is to experience in Lhasa, he discovers a city in modern-day China, but a place still largely living in the traditions of a truly mythical past..

Those that know Matthew’s writing will appreciate the honest and humorous reflection of life on the rails, and his efforts – sometimes successful – to decode cultural misunderstandings. He tells his story with the thoughtfulness and introspection you’d expect of a solo traveller and gives you the detail that makes an incredible journey like this feel possible for you too.