Eastern and Orient Express

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website. 

 Another day, another train, but so far, this doesn't look like any train I've experienced.  We started in the very posh Regent Hotel, running through the E and O's efficient check-in system.  Bags first, then boarding passes, then meal card for today's lunch, tour preferences, then off to the lounge for  optional refreshments and time to fill out immigration forms.

A view of the dining car

 Now THIS is a train.  Beautiful cars, beautifully appointed, marvelous food, excellent service, interesting traveling companions, and best of all, a real bathroom with a real toilet, sink, (no fold-ups!) and separate shower.  And a hairdryer!  And you can tell that it's clean instead of suspecting that all sorts of unknown horrors are growing in it.  

Yes, I know it's just a toilet, but if you'd ridden our previous train, you would understand my delight in this bathroom!

A real sink, and a real shower stall--small, but NOT all in the same space.  Heaven!

Lovely compartment--beautiful woodwork, fruit, water, and orchids!

This bench seat becomes a bed at night, and the wooden panel above it folds down to become the upper bunk.  Typical of train compartments, but very nice.

 After we boarded, we were fed a three course lunch, followed by tea, then a multi-course dinner.  Decent nights sleep, then continental breakfast in our room, before  the day's schedule fell apart as we were two hours late getting into Butterworth for our walking tour of Georgetown on Penang Island.

Tea.  We tried this once but quickly realized we would disembark as cargo if we didn't watch ourselves!

I could get used to having a French chef...

...who does wonderful Asian things, too...

...and irresistible desserts!

We enjoyed Thai dancing one night before dinner.

It's a bit hard to say goodby to this train.  This is the open air observation car.

This train took us from Singapore to Bangkok, through Malasia with stops at Penang Island and another at the River Kwai. (More on both of those later.)  It is hot and steamy outside, with more poverty than I expected to see.  This is a bit like riding in a bubble, enjoyable on one level, uncomfortable on another.