TRAINS - EPISODE 5

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MARRAKESH EXPRESS - CROSBY STILLS AND NASH

OK, it's not a relevant song but I couldn't find any song about the East Orient Express so have this travelogue instead:  THE EAST ORIENT EXPRESS

and this:

MALAY MUSIC

Some years ago The Old Girl and I travelled on the East Orient Express. We both love train travel so, on an overseas jaunt, decided to break up the trip to Europe by going to Singapore first for a few days and then to travel to Bangkok by train. The best and most exciting train option was the East Orient Express, a 3 days and nights luxury experience.

The train, made up of 16 carriages, (which used to run on New Zealand railway lines and have been luxuriously refurbished), has sleeping cars, dining cars, lounge, piano bar and an observation car. Sumptuous.
We had a twin cabin with ensuite bathroom that was converted during the day to a sitting room, and back at night to a bedroom. It gave us a lot of privacy and comfort.

Breakfast and afternoon tea was had in or cabin but lunch and dinner was in one of the dining cars.

It was an interesting seating arrangement whereby at every meal we were seated with two other people - different each time. Our fellow passengers were a mixture of old and young, working and retired from around the world. It was interesting interacting with them and, if you didn't have an affinity with them it didn't matter as at the next meal you would be seated with someone else.

The meals were 3-course fine-dining affairs that were beautifully presented and served.

Dinner was more formal than lunch with the men expected to wear suits and the women dressed in evening wear. We enjoyed fine wines (extra) at dinner and cognacs after. It was a taste of a different world.

The trip was very comfortable. I love the way trains gently rock which lulls you into sleep. The big windows afforded a great view of the outside world which was the Malay peninsular at first and then Thailand with Myanmar in the distance. The further north we went we noticed changes in agriculture and demographics. The Malaysian tractors and agricultural machinery gave way to water buffaloes and more primitive farming utensils.

At one time the train stopped in the middle of nowhere for a while. The steward came to our cabin and told us that we had stopped because somewhere along the track further north the army or police had discovered a bomb planted by 'insurgents'. This was a reminder "that we weren't in Kansas now". Later, in Bangkok, wherever we went by taxi the hotel or restaurant people at the arrival point would check for bombs under the car using mirrors attached to long handles.

Over the three days we had two excursions off the train. One was a ferry ride to Penang where we spent some time in Georgetown which had many historic colonial buildings. We had  a drink at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel before catching rickshaws back to the ferry.

The other excursion was to visit the museum next to the (new) bridge over the river Kwai, part of the old Thai-Burma railway where so many British, Australian and some New Zealand servicemen perished along with many thousands of Thais and Malays. It was a sombre experience.

Bridge over the river Kwai