2015
CLASSIC NORTHBOUND
SINGAPORE – MALAYSIA - THAILAND
Day 1 – Singapore
Check-in at the Raffles Hotel for the start of your journey, with a transfer to the Woodlands train
station to board the Eastern & Oriental Express. Stewards in exquisite Thai uniforms await you at
the station, their hands pressed together in a gracious wai gesture – a promise of the memorable
journey to come. Settle into your private cabin and enjoy a refreshing afternoon tea as the train
travels out of Singapore and crosses the Causeway bridge into Malaysia. Enjoy the passing scenery
of rubber and palm trees lining the track, and distant hills in the background As the sun sets, dress
up for dinner, then make your way to the Bar car for cocktails before proceeding to the Restaurant
car to savour the delightful meal presented by the team of chefs.
After a brief late-night stop in Kuala Lumpur, the train travels through and onward to the northern
state of Perak, one of 11 states and 2 federal territories in the Malay peninsula.
Day 2 – Kuala Kangsar – Padang Besar
After breakfast we arrive at Kuala Kangsar, the picturesque royal town of Perak and the official
residence of the Sultan of Perak. Our excursion will first take us to the grand Ubudiah Mosque,
reputed to be one of Malaysia’s most resplendent. Completed in 1917, the mosque was designed
and built by Arthur Hubback, a British architect, who applied the same Indian Mughal design
elements to Malaysia’s Ipoh railway station and the Kuala Lumpur railway station. Close by is the
captivating Royal Museum of Perak completed in 1931 as a temporary palace. Built without a
blueprint and entirely without nails, its walls are woven from spliced bamboo strips with diamond
patterns in the weave. This architectural masterpiece now houses the Royal regalia. Enroute to
the museum, you will see one of the oldest rubber trees in peninsular Malaysia. In 1882 Sir Hugh
Low, then the British Resident of Perak, brought 7 rubber trees from South America and planted
one in the gardens of Kuala Kangsar. From those experimental beginnings, rubber trees became a
highly lucrative cash crop when the automobile industry boomed in the West.The tour concludes
with a visit to the Sultan Shah Gallery. The gallery resides in a former palace called Istana Ulu or
Istana Kota, completed in 1903. Restored in 2003 and named after Sultan Azlan Shah, it houses
his personal belongings, documents, mementoes, family photographs, trophies and state regalia,
and even court notes of his first case presiding as a magistrate in 1958.
Back on board the E&O for lunch, we pass rice fields with limestone outcrops on the horizon, as
we continue towards the border town of Padang Besar, where Malaysia meets Thailand.
Immigration and customs formalities are conducted here while passengers remain onboard the
train. Crossing into Thailand, the time difference is one hour behind Malaysia.
Spend a relaxing afternoon at leisure, in your cabin catching the scenery out the window or in the
observation car watching the colours of the sky change with the setting of the sun. Dinner is
served and afterwards enjoy a digestif in the Bar car.
Day 3 – Kanchanaburi - Bangkok
The tranquil expanse of lush jungles and winding rivers set the surrounding scene for the town of
Kanchanaburi. After breakfast onboard, we will disembark from the train and set off on an
evocative river ride, with an historian providing information about the bridge over the Kwai river,
and its origins and role. Visits to a war museum and war cemetery are also included for those who
wish to do so. Depart Kanchanaburi and lunch is served onboard soon after, while the train heads
toward Krung Thep, also known as Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.