Though I mentioned my reasoning briefly before, some more explanation of why I chose to go to Singapore is in order. I had to get from Amman by air since the silk road trains travel thru Russia or thru Russian-aligned countries. I would love to take one of these rides some day (https://www.seat61.com/central-asia-by-train.htm ; https://www.mircorp.com/train/orient-silk-road-express-train/) but not now. I could have gone to Doha or Dubai from Amman and then flown to Perth – 11-12 hours of flight time, but I did want to stop in Asia somewhere and a little jaunt to Asia Minor in Istanbul was not going to be sufficient. Railbookers told me that the Belmond Company, the people who ran the Orient Express for a while (https://www.belmond.com/experiences ), also had a train, the Eastern & Oriental Express, which ran out of Singapore. I’d considered the Orient Express when I was planning this trip but decided that the experience of 3 – 4 nights at $9 -14K USD was too steep for me. At those prices, I’d feel guilty even going to sleep instead of eating, drinking and enjoying the train! Then too, I’d be traveling through European cities that I’d like to explore without stopping. Although Belmond no longer runs the Orient Express (https://www.orient-express.com); they do have luxury train adventures worth considering at a later date. With the Eastern & Oriental Express, I could have the experience of luxury train travel in Asia at about a third the price of the European experience. 

I woke up late on April 8th. Since I knew that the car would not arrive until early afternoon, I had lots of time to have a few leisurely coffees, shower, pack and have lunch. I was packed and signed out of my room by 1:30 pm. The “car” was a luxury SUV with driver: it arrived around 1:40 pm and took me to Woodlands Station where the train was supposed to depart. Though I didn’t recall seeing mention of visas in any of the materials I received, I had to get a Malaysian visa for the trip – I’d assumed that since the train had my passport info that they had dealt with it – semi-silly to expect it but then how luxurious is luxury train travel. They had not, but I did get a lot of assistance in getting the visa at Woodland Station before I boarded. I was assigned a cabin and my bags were taken for security scans and delivery to my cabin. Going through Malay immigration wasn’t quite as uncomfortably warm as being outside, but I was still sweating a fair amount by the time I reached the train. The car steward, Vishnu, greeted me and showed me to my cabin. Vishnu gave me a juice and some snacks while I waited for the train to get settled. The cabin is beautiful with inlaid wood paneling; it is comfortable and yet compact – a closet for my clothes, a hotel safe for valuables and a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower.  

The train departed on time at 3 pm and there was an audio announcement that afternoon tea was being served in the piano car. I did not go; there would be plenty of time to get to know my fellow travelers. I wanted to just enjoy the very comfortable cabin, watch the scenery pass by. I did write some notes for myself and unpack my bag a bit. I had a ticket for an early dinner seating, so I pulled out the travel sports coat, blue button-down shirt and travel dress pants to wear to dinner.

Walking on a moving train is challenging, even more so with a dicey knee. I was very aware of all the little compensations one makes while walking; they become even more apparent and painful when the floor is moving. The dining car was several cars away and I was early for dinner seating. Afternoon tea had transformed into pre-dinner cocktails so I had a gin martini cocktail with live music in piano car before dinner. I was relieved to see that there was a wide spectrum of dress – the ladies dressed up in general but the men were dressed in range from casual shorts and polos to jacket, shirt and tie. I resolved to stay casual for the rest of my trip; there just hadn’t been room in my suitcase for multiple dress outfits.  I was seated at a table for four where I had dinner with Michael, Kendra and Sally. The food was delicious; I had a spring roll starter and the beef cheek entree with wine. I did learn from Michael and Kendra who live in Singapore that the breakfast meal in Singapore is all over the map which explained my hotel experience as very Singaporean. Sally was from the UK and had lots of travel stories to relate.

Though I don’t recall the details, I do remember having a very pleasurable evening of food and conversation. I returned to my cabin far too tired to write in my journal. Vishnu had made up my bed.