Eastern Orient Express

[Gra777]

Has anybody travelled on the EASTERN ORIENT EXPRESS from Bangkok to Singapore?Any tips on best time to go,value for money etc

[steppenwolf108]

It's a nice experience, not a must, but wont get you disappointed.

The cabins are smaller than the ones you can find in similar trains in Europe, but service is good.

My suggestion would be to do the full itinerary Singapore/Chiang Mai and enjoying more variety of sightseeing.

Best time of the year is November/March as usual...

[lazygourmet]

That was my present for my parents 50 years weeding anniversary...

They loved it!

Here is a link

[doctormann]

My ex-wife and I did this trip back in the 90's, as part of a package booked through Kuoni in the UK. The holiday started off with a couple of days in Bangkok then the itinerary was to travel to Singapore on the EOE, stay in Singapore for a few days and then fly back to Hua Hin for a week.

It was great and the EOE train offers you a very high standard of comfort and service. The view of some of the track-side life is very interesting at times, also. I only have two reservations about the EOE:-

Firstly, the track is narrow gauge which results in quite a swaying motion at anything above crawling speed. OK in the daytime but it does make it a bit difficult to get a decent sleep at night.

Secondly, the track is not in the best of condition, as evidenced by several derailments in recent months so there may be a safety aspect to consider. When the ex and I were on the train it actually fell off the rails near Butterworth in Malaysia and could not continue. No serious injuries - a few bruises only but still not the best of experiences. The up-side was that EOE immediately broke open the champagne and we sat at the side of the track drinking copious amounts of this, free, while waiting to be bussed into Penang. The EOE secured accommodation for us at the Shangri-La in Penang and we were then flown down to Singapore next day. First class as well but as it's only a 45 minute flight there's little benefit from this.

The remainder of the holiday went as planned - can thoroughly recommend the Dusit Resort and Polo Club near Hua Hin, by the way - but the best bit was getting a full refund from EOE for the 'ruined' holiday. They even paid the full going rate for the train section of the holiday, which was just about the same as we had paid Kuoni for the entire trip. That's what I call a result!

I certainly would recommend the EOE - it's not an every day experience but is something pretty well unique in this day and age. Fairly expensive but you won't be disappointed - provided that the thing stays on the rails.

DM

[NADTATIDA1]

I would love to do it but i cannot get my head around that price $2210 for 4 days 3 nights also bringing the safety record into it,i think it is extortionate when you can fly for peanuts.It is not far enough to validate the price they are charging.

[doctormann]

I would love to do it but i cannot get my head around that price $2210 for 4 days 3 nights also bringing the safety record into it,i think it is extortionate when you can fly for peanuts.It is not far enough to validate the price they are charging.

Agreed, but believe me it's nothing like flying - an entirely different experience.

I don't know how it works in your country, whichever that is, but in the UK it's normally possible to get prices heavily discounted if booked as part of a package. I certainly wouldn't have considered paying the sort of price that you quote - only paid a small fraction of that but we got a refund of about £800, which probably represented the true cost of the train segment of the holiday. That was back in the 90's though so it's sure to be more expensive now. Anyway, if you really want to do the trip, look at getting some sort of a package deal.

DM

[lazygourmet]

Some more information from Ehotelier:

The Eastern & Oriental Express Makes Its First Pioneering Journey into Laos