A taste of the good life in another time awaits on board the Belmond Royal Scotsman and the E&O Express.

Luxury train journeys have long held a certain fascination, it not cachet, amongst well-heeled travellers. The very idea conjures up scenes of panoramic beauty whistling by; mood-lit dining rooms filled with tuxedos and evening dresses; and, if you’re an Agatha Christie fan, perhaps a tantalising murder or two.

As it turns out, Belmond, the owner of the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, runs a fleet of nostalgic, evocative sleeper train journeys in Europe and Asia – including one that departs from right here in Singapore.



The journeys vary in duration but, for our money, the three-night/four-day programme is just the ticket to get a taste of the good life. Here, we go bi-coastal and get on-board the Belmond Royal Scotsman, and the Eastern & Oriental Express.

THROUGH THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS: THE BELMOND ROYAL SCOTSMAN

Through the Scottish highlands on The Belmond Royal Scotsman. Photo: Belmond

Nothing quite prepares you for your first view of the Scottish Highlands, that vast terrain that stretches out to the horizon and sweeps up, along the way, craggy mountains, mirror-flat lochs, and tumbling hills swathed in mist and moody sexiness.



Squint a little and you could almost convince yourself that you’ve stepped straight onto the set of that handsome time-travelling show Outlander.

Except this is no green-screen special effect. Instead, you’re watching it all whizz by from the cosy warmth of your gently rocking cabin aboard the Royal Scotsman, the pride and joy of the Belmond line.

The Belmond Royal Scotsman at the station. Photo: Belmond

The cabins of The Belmond Royal Scotsman are luxuriously appointed and filled with old-world charm. Photo: Belmond

Kitted out in tartans, old-world light fixtures and polished timber panels, this locomotive beauty stretches out 250m, holding 10 carriages and just 22 cabins.

And with a retinue of staff on hand – including an utterly knowledgeable on-board guide, and a fully-stocked Bamford spa for meltingly good massages, facials, manicures and pedicures – it sometimes feels a shame to get off the train for the daily excursions through the Instagramable Nevis Gorge to Steall Waterfall, or the eye-opening tour of the third Marquess of Bute’s Victorian Gothic mansion at Mount Stuart.

One by one, the towns and natural sites zip by– Britain’s largest lake Loch Lomond, one of Scotland’s last great wilderness spots, boggy Rannoch Moore, the silver sands of Morar beach, the UK’s highest peak Ben Nevis.

Harry Potter fans, meanwhile, will thrill to the train’s clicketty-clack passage over the sinuous Glenfinnan Viaduct – in their minds, on their way to Hogwarts with the Weaslys’ enchanted car flying overhead.

Through the Scottish highlands on The Belmond Royal Scotsman. Photo: Belmond

The magic of the Glenfinnan Viaduct is real, even without the flying car of the Harry Potter films. Photo: Belmond

The magic of the journey is real. The kind that makes you forget, for a few nights at least, the world outside the train.

As evening falls, the mood onboard turns desperately romantic. Cabin lights come on, and guests emerge from their cabins in evening wear, slowly swaying their way to the dining room where three-course dinners and wine-pairings are served by liveried staff.

Post-prandial treats are measured with whiskey and song by local musicians, while quiet orders are whispered to cabin stewards for the morning’s breakfast – Scottish porridge with cream and brown sugar for traditionalist, and black pudding, potato scones and haggis for others.

Traditional entertainment on The Belmond Royal Scotsman. Photo: Belmond

Drinks and old-world service at the lounge of The Belmond Royal Scotsman. Photo: Belmond

If magic wands really did exist, we’d wave ours and say a spell to stay onboard for an eternal day.

The Belmond Royal Scotsman runs from every April to October, and offers two-night and seven-night journeys departing from Edinburgh’s Waverley Station. Prices start from £2,829 (S$5,193) per person, inclusive of all meals, beverages and excursions.www.belmond.com

FROM SINGAPORE THROUGH THE GULF OF THAILAND: EASTERN & ORIENTAL EXPRESS

The Eastern & Oriental Express wends its way past rice-paddies and tropical foliage thick with birdsong and shadowed forests. Photo: Belmond

There are few journeys in the modern world that capture the exotic and nostalgic experience of travel, the way our grandparents with their leather valises, straw hats and plimsolls might have travelled. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express from Venice to Istanbul is one and, luckily for those of us living in Asia, the Eastern & Oriental Express is another.

Encased in elm burr, ash, cherry, teak and rosewood, the E&O is a real throw-back, billing itself as the only true luxury train service in Southeast Asia.

From the very fancy staff who greet you with a gracious Thai wai, to champagne and Oscietra caviar served in the Burmese teak-lined Observation Car, and the platter that arrives in your cabin each afternoon laden with freshly baked scones and thick mounds of clotted cream, it is clear from the start that this is a locomotive experience like no other.

Champagne and Oscietra caviar on board the Eastern & Oriental Express. Photo: Belmond

The luxurious cabins of The Eastern & Oriental Express. Photo: Belmond

The train runs between Singapore and Bangkok’s Hualampong station, a journey of some 2,150km through Thailand’s lush wetlands, down the narrow peninsula along the Gulf of Thailand, through the hilly, palm-strewn hinterlands of west Malaysia’s seemingly endless rubber plantations, and outskirts of the looming metropolis that is Singapore. Some variants of the trip head either north from Bangkok towards Chiang Mai, westwards to Ubon Ratchathani, or north-east to Nong Khai on the Laotian border.

Rocking and rolling, the E&O wends its way with stately grace, flashing past startled villagers, rice-paddies, and tropical foliage thick with birdsong and shadowed forests. The restless eye snaps from one vista to the next – one moment, wall to wall green, and the next, a blue on white horizon rising over granite mountain ranges.

Each day brings an opportunity to step off the train, both to stretch the legs and to dive into the local sights and cultures. For many passengers, the most memorable stop will be in Kanchanaburi on the original metal and stone bridge over the River Kwai – the infamous Death Railway constructed by Allied POWs and local labourers for the Japanese army in the Second World War.

The Eastern & Oriental Express wends its way past rice-paddies and tropical foliage thick with birdsong and shadowed forests. Photo: Belmond

The Eastern & Oriental Express wends its way past rice-paddies and tropical foliage thick with birdsong and shadowed forests. Photo: Belmond

The deck of The Eastern & Oriental Express. Photo: Belmond

The exoticism of the E&O aside, the journey is an opportunity to see the interiors of Thailand and Malaysia from an entirely different perspective. In many respects, it is, literally, the path least travelled. And, as life experiences go, it is all the more precious for it.

The Eastern & Oriental Express runs two seasons: January to April, and September to December. On offer are two and five night journeys departing from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Prices start from USD2,550 (S$3,370) inclusive of meals and excursions. www.belmond.com