Orient-Express Asian route a rare vantage point

What could be more magical than a three-day excursion through Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand on the worlds most famous train, the Eastern & Oriental Express?

The first to transport passengers between elegant Singapore and bustling Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur, this luxurious Asian version of Agatha Christies immortalized route made its inaugural journey in 1993, many years and many trials after the Sultan of Johore built Malaysias first railway in 1869. (Unfortunately, the rails were made of wood and were eaten quickly by ants.)

The train

On this first-class, luxury train, carriage walls are painted British racing green and are well insulated to keep interiors cool and outside noises muffled.

Veneers from each country decorate the walls: Restaurant cars have Chinese and Thai lacquer with Malaysian motifs and Thai wall carvings. Engraved mirrors adorn the bar car.

The accommodations

All compartments have shower bathrooms (with hair dryers), sofa-beds, a bureau and closet and an enormous window for viewing. Tip: Pullman accommodations are comfortable for one but cramped for two. 

The staff of 40 from all three route countries, plus a few Europeans, previously worked in four- or five-star hotels, accounting for their professionalism and attention to detail.

And here was a nice touch: The uniforms worn by the staff change each day to suit the country the train is passing through.

The train traverses 1,262 miles in approximately 52 hours (including land-tour time), with one engine pulling two restaurant cars, a bar car, a saloon car, six Pullmans with six double compartments, seven state cars with four doubles, one presidential car with two suites, two service cars and one baggage car.

The most serious drawback was the constant lurching and rocking, which was especially hazardous when traversing the trains very narrow corridors and when trying to shower.

The cause is probably the ancient narrow-gauge tracks, but replacing them through three countries is a daunting task nobody is willing to suggest.

The journey

As we crossed the Straits of Johor causeway, about an hour out of Singapore, the cabin steward served tea along with the first of several pamphlets that would explain what we were seeing. The flat landscape revealed fields of palm trees that provide Malaysias extensive palm oil exports.

The first real chance to meet fellow passengers occurred in the bar car prior to dinner, where a piano player entertained.

As one of three single travelers, I shared that nights dining experience with another American from New Mexico -- a bird watcher and fellow world traveler. My table was switched for each meal, changing lunch and dinner companions. 

Our first land tour in Penang, Malaysia, was handled with efficiency. Buses met our departure from the train, and we crossed from Butterworth to Penang Island on the car ferry. After a short walk through the market street, trying to identify strange fruits and roots, we met our trishaw drivers, lined up in droves along the curb.

A trishaw is a bicycle with a sort of roller-coaster car in front, its degree of decoration indicating the entrepreneurship of its driver. Some had flags, some flowers and some a sideview mirror. I should have chosen the one with the sideview mirror for our long ride through the streets in morning traffic.

The scenery changed again as we moved across the border into Thailand.

Endless forests of rubber trees disappeared as civilization grew closer. Hua Hin, for instance, is a popular holiday resort where the Thai royal family has its summer residence.

We arrived at Kanchanaburis tiny, flower-bedecked station for the much-awaited Bridge on the River Kwai tour. We had a great photo op as the train crossed the bridge and then returned for another shot.

The Thailand-Burma Railway Center in Kanchanaburi graphically depicts the horrors involved in building the railway during WWII, when the Japanese used prisoners of war to do dangerous work under atrocious conditions.

The War Cemetery across the street from the center contains rows of small, brick markers on the graves of British and Australian POWs who died in the process.

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