Rajesh has worked for
The Week and written for
The Guardian,
The Times,
The New York Times and
Time. In 2010, she embarked on a four-month journey around India by train, using 80 train journeys to reach the furthest points of the Indian rail network, described in her 2012 book
Around India in 80 Trains. The book was named as one of
The Independent "Top ten books about India". She subsequently travelled around the world in another 80 train journeys, writing
Around the World in 80 Trains (2019), which
The Independent listed in 2020 as one of "10 best travel books to satisfy your wanderlust in lockdown". This book won the 2019
National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year.. Rajesh won the 2020 National Consumer Feature of the Year award of the Travel Media Awards for a piece in
The Guardian about the
Trans-Siberian Railway. She was one of the judges for the 2021
Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year, after her
Around the World in 80 Trains was shortlisted for the 2020 award. In December 2025 Rajesh's most recent book
Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train, documenting the resurgence in European sleeper trains, was shortlisted for the 2026
Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year. In mid-2021 Rajesh received racist abuse on social media as a result of her criticism of depictions of
autism and of students of colour in
Kate Clanchy's book
Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me. In November 2025, she appeared on a BBC podcast documentary speaking about the incident. ==Selected publications==