Jun 14, 2024 • 8 min read
25.05.2024 - 14:45 / cntraveler.com / Nova Scotia / Express
I pried open the blinds, letting dawn’s filigreed light into the cabin. Outside my window, wild forest zoomed past. All night the train had barreled up the “jungle rails,” a historic set of tracks that spans the length of peninsular Malaysia, from its southernmost tip to its border with Thailand in the northeast. Those tracks would lead us to Taman Negara, one of the world’s oldest rainforests and the last refuge of the Malayan tiger.
I was one of 56 passengers, from as far as Texas, Romania, and New Zealand, who’d assembled the previous afternoon at Singapore’s Woodlands station to experience the return of the Eastern & Oriental Express, A Belmond Train, Southeast Asia, four years after being shut down by the pandemic. Waving the sticky heat around with our tickets, we awaited our boarding call, combing the crowd for the likelihood of new friendships.
Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express returns to Southeast Asia with two new routes from Singapore through Malaysia.
There’d be plenty of time for both great conversation and long silence. Over three days the train would bear north on the eastern coast to Taman Negara, then backtrack and head up Malaysia’s more populated west coast to Penang, before looping back to Singapore. We’d pass forests, paddy fields, and townships while cosseted in the silken luxury that Belmond’s sleepers, like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, are renowned for. For its second coming the train has retained its trademark exterior green and gold, but its interiors have been carefully restyled. My cabin was bathed in peacock blues and jade greens, with vintage touches like brass lamps and fine marquetry. A velvet couch would turn into a bed at night; cherry wood paneling concealed a full bathroom. This was my private oasis—breakfast and high tea would arrive here, along with wake-up calls and turn-downs—and for my part, I’d sit by the large windows with the tasseled curtains and surrender to the views.
The cabins on the train (like the Pullman cabin, pictured above) have been restyled with rich velvets, Thai silks, and vintage touches like brass lamps and fine marquetry.
On our first evening the piano bar—resplendent in gold Thai silks, with tiger orchids blooming across the green carpet—was filled with laughter, the glug-glug-glug of Champagne pouring, and the tinkle of keys. An opening night special, magician Ming Da brandished a pack of cards and a broad grin for guests in floaty dresses and linen jackets. I met Andy and Chris, a young couple in tech from San Francisco, and Rob and Alan, brothers from Nova Scotia with unflagging pep. We toasted the start of the journey, then ate laksa bouillabaisse in the train’s glamorous dining cars as it trundled through the darkness.
About
Jun 14, 2024 • 8 min read
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 14, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Accor's Orient Express brand — which is perhaps best known for trains but has expanded its sights to hotels and superyachts in recent years — now has a new, ultraluxury partner.
LVMH and Accor said Thursday they had signed a deal to speed up the revival of the Orient Express brand.
Summer travel is kicking off in full force, and that can mean only one thing (aside from school ending, barbecues and packed flights to Europe): It's time to name TPG's Best Airline for 2024.
Jun 11, 2024 • 4 min read
My partner and I decided to splurge on a vacation to Costa Rica for a milestone birthday celebration this year. We spent 12 nights traveling across the western side of the country, trying to soak up as many of the Central American country's highlights as possible.
Although I love small cruises , I've recently grown fond of big ships.
The MICHELIN Guide Inspectors have spent another year travelling Estonia in search of its best restaurants. The MICHELIN Guide Estonia 2024 recommends 35 restaurants, four of which are new to the list including: 1x Two MICHELIN Star restaurant, 1x One MICHELIN Star restaurant, 6x MICHELIN Bib Gourmand restaurants and 3x MICHELIN Green Star restaurants.
Lithuania is the happiest place in the world for children and those under 30, according to the World Happiness Report 2024.
I've lived near Disney World for almost eight years, so I'm always keeping up with the latest food trends at the parks.
Two months after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, cruise ships are now taking off from the Port of Baltimore.