Eastern & Oriental ExpressFour days through Malaysia on the Eastern & Oriental Express, a Belmond train. You're not really going anywhere in a hurry. That's rather the idea.
Deep green and gold, the whole length of it. Art Deco inside, fittings of a sort nobody commissions any more. The windows do most of the talking: a city out of one, jungle out of the next, the two swapping over while you sit perfectly still and let the route do the joining-up.
Dinner is silver service. Tables laid properly, on a moving train, which is fiddlier than over a fixed floor and rather the point of it. A Dior spa aboard, if the mood takes you. Plenty give it a miss.
The guides are what people go on about afterwards. Ask one something and you get an answer worth having, not a line off a card. There are photography excursions too, off the train and on foot, so Malaysia turns up twice. Once through glass. The second time at walking pace, next to somebody who actually knows the country.
And slow. On purpose. You won't make good time and nobody's pretending otherwise. Somewhere around the second night the cabin quietly stops reading as transport. It becomes a room you happen to be living in. Yours, for now.
A train, strictly speaking. Behaves like one about half the time.
Eastern & Oriental ExpressGuests who prioritise location and a comfortable stay.
Eastern & Oriental ExpressEastern & Oriental Express consistently delivers comfortable stays with reliable service standards.
Eastern & Oriental ExpressPeople say this train journey through Malaysia is a four-day adventure that delivers a five-star experience on rails. They highlight the beautifully set tables, the photography-tour excursions, and the silver-service dining. They also like the level of knowledge from the onboard guides and the quality of the accommodation in the cabins.
Pullman CabinThe classic Eastern & Oriental cabin. Daytime sofa seating converts to comfortable berths come evening, with an en-suite bathroom, air conditioning and round-the-clock steward service.
State CabinA spacious cabin with two single beds at floor level, an en-suite bathroom and air conditioning. Recline by day, then settle in with a nightcap as the Malaysian landscape slips past, with round-the-clock steward service throughout.
Presidential SuiteThe largest cabin on the train, and the windows to match. Room to sit, a bathroom of your own. Champagne flows freely, and a steward's on hand whenever you ring, day or night. The spa treatment runs 45 minutes, one per guest.
Double or TwinYour Sands Premier Room comes with floor-to-ceiling windows and a choice of one king or two twin beds. City or garden, depending on the room. There's a deep soaking bath, a work desk, and Wi-Fi that won't show up on the bill. Part of the redesigned Sands Collection.
Excursion to LangkawiThe day starts at Arau Station. A car runs you to the jetty, then a speedboat out to one of the beaches along the Langkawi coast. The whole point is to do very little. Swim in the sea or the pool. Sit in the shade with tropical fruit, something off the grill, and a drink that's better for you than the last one.
If you want more than a lie-down there's the wellness side, yoga and a sound bath and a massage. Then the boats head into the Kilim Geoforest Park and thread the narrow channels, where the mangroves run straight up against the limestone. It doesn't look quite like anywhere else.
Excursion to Penang IslandThree ways to take George Town, depending on your mood. Art first: a guide steers a Vespa through the Old Quarter while you ride pillion, past the shophouses and the cultures layered into them, then into the studios of artists actually working there. Or chase the food: shop the spice and grocery stores for Peranakan ingredients, then cook the dishes yourself in a class. Want neither? You get a tri-shaw, a driver and a map, and you wander the streets, stopping wherever takes your fancy.
