F E AT U R E
include the world’s finest foods, wines and undoubtedly best service levels. Visit www.orient-express.com.
Eastern & Oriental Express
on various routes between Venice and London. Known as the train by which all other luxury trains are judged in the non-fiction world, and as murderous adventure grounds for the fictional Bonds and Poirots of the world, the Venice Simplon Orient Express is the epitome of luxe train travel. Highlights of the journey
120
PRE S TI G e
Agatha Christie said: “Trains are wonderful… To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns… and rivers, in fact, to see life.” Few train journeys offer such an in-depth glimpse into life as a whole, as the Eastern & Oriental Express. Nearly 500 metres long, with 66 airconditioned cabins, this train is perhaps the perfect way to discover south-east Asia in a celebration of gourmet cuisine, personal service and lush accommodation. The 2,000-kilometre journey, linking Singapore and Bangkok, harks back to a colonial age of rattan chairs on the veranda, linen suits and enchanting tea dances and ceremonies. The interior is inspired by the East, and decorated with veneers of wooden marquetry, mirrors and motifs that
fuse Chinese, Thai and Malaysian themes. Highlights include being able to travel through all of the countries that contributed to the design and decor of the train, and watch the patchwork paddy fields unspooling from the observation car windows to get a real sample of the cultures that live along the tracks. Visit www.orient-express.com.
The Royal Scotsman
For those who aspire to smaller, more intimate trains, the Royal Scotsman offers journeys straight into the heart of the Scottish Highlands. The Western tour that runs on Scotland’s West Highland Line, famous as one of the world’s most scenic rail journeys, originates in Edinburgh and winds through the wild Scottish countryside past Ben Nevis before meeting the coastline with magnificent views of numerous isles and beaches that stretch for miles. Through emerald green pine