Pullmans:  The least expensive accommodation on the E&O.  A cosy compartment with sofa & fold-out table by day (above left), converted by your steward while you're at dinner to an upper & lower berth at night (above centre).  There's a small en suite washroom with toilet, washbasin & shower.  UK-style electrical sockets allow you to recharge your camera, phone or laptop.  The train has a few 'Pullman Singles' which are similar, but without an upper berth.  The Man in Seat 61 says: "The room is comfortable but compact, pretty much like a luxury version of regular railway sleeper compartment, in fact.  These photos give a good idea of the full size of the compartment, so if you'd like more space (or want to avoid climbing a ladder to an upper bunk) it may be worth the extra for a Stateroom."

Staterooms:  A Stateroom gives you double the floorspace of a Pullman, with a sofa, armchair and freestanding chair by day.  While you are at dinner, the steward converts your compartment to two lower beds (so no ladder required!).  As in a Pullman, there's a small en suite washroom with toilet, washbasin & shower, and UK-style sockets allow you to recharge your camera, phone or laptop.  The Man in Seat 61 says "You'll appreciate the extra room if you upgrade to a Stateroom.  It's a really nice layout - One of you can lounge on the sofa during the day, or you can each have a seat next to the double windows, which are better for watching the scenery, too, compared to the single window in a Pullman."

Presidential Suite:  This is the E&O's best accommodation.  There are just two Presidential Suites on the train.  Sofa, chairs and table during the day, it converts to two lower beds by night, in a similar arrangement to the Stateroom shown above.  There's a small en suite washroom with toilet, washbasin & shower.  The Man in Seat 61 says: "The Presidential suites are slightly bigger than a Stateroom, and the en suite is fractionally bigger too.  But personally, I think I actually prefer the cosier but still relatively spacious Staterooms, with their sofa & armchair arrangement!"

Dining-car 'Rosaline', although personally I think 'Malaya' is even nicer...

Excellent lamb cutlets...

Ice cream in a chocolate ball...

Sea bass, wonderful...

Breakfast is served in your sleeper compartment by your steward at the time you specify...

Afternoon tea is also served in your compartment, with a selection of cakes or pastries.

Observation car...  In many ways this is the Eastern & Oriental's signature car.  It features an open-air observation deck at the rear of the train where you can look back along the tracks, excellent for watching and photographing the scenery.  A steward will keep you supplied with coffee, although this being Southeast Asia it's not exactly cold outside!  Smokers can indulge here, although few do so it's not a problem if you're an ardent non-smoker.  On a Singapore-Bangkok or Bangkok-Singapore journey, the train reverses at Butterworth and the observation car is turned round and moved to the other end of the train.  The open-air deck gets busy at times as you can see in the photo, but you'll always find a place when you want one...

Observation car lounge:  With a colonial tea-planter theme, complimentary tea, coffee and nibbles are available in the observation car's lounge at the rear of the train. You can always dash out to the observation deck with your camera when you spot something interesting outside!

Piano bar car:  Located in the centre of the train, the piano bar is also the social centre of the train.  A place for cocktails, a G&T (purely for anti-malarial purposes, of course), socialising and of course listening to Singapore Pete on the piano...

Saloon car with reading room & boutique:  The Saloon car features a small private dining area (above left), a small gift shop selling Eastern & Oriental Express souvenirs, and a narrow reading room with small library (above right).  The tables are used as an overflow diner, but also for small groups who want private dining...

Day 1, 10:00:  Check-in at a luxury hotel in Singapore city centre.  Until June 2011, the E&O checked its guests in at Singapore's historic 1932 art deco colonial railway station pictured above.  Sadly, largely for political reasons explained here, Singapore station closed on 30 June 2011, and the regular trains and the Eastern & Oriental Express now leave from Woodlands Train Checkpoint, located some 15 miles north of downtown Singapore, just south of the causeway to Malaysia.  The E&O now check their guests in at a luxury city centre hotel, and they will bus you to Woodlands when the train is ready for boarding...

Day 1, 12:10:  Departure from Singapore Woodlands station.  At Woodlands Train Checkpoint, you pass through Singapore exit formalities and Malaysian immigration checks, head onto the platform & board the train.  The photo above left shows the E&O boarding at the original downtown Singapore station, the photo above right shows the train at Woodlands, where it now starts.

Day 1, 12:40:  The Causeway.  The Eastern & Oriental Express rolls across the famous Causeway, built in 1923 to link Singapore island with mainland Malaya.  The Causeway carries the single-track railway, a road, and several huge pipes carrying Singapore's fresh water supply.  The E&O enters Malaysia, passes through Johor Bharu's new Central Station and heads up the Malay peninsula past many palm oil plantations, passing wayside colonial station such as Gemas and Tampin...

Day 1, 20:15-21:25:  The train stops for a while at Kuala Lumpur's famous colonial Moorish-style station, built in 1911.  You're free to get out onto the platform and stretch your legs here.  This historic building is still used as a station for commuter trains, but long-distance trains to Singapore and to Penang now use Kuala Lumpur's shiny new KL Sentral station instead...

Above:  The E&O passes through a stretch of Malaysian jungle.

Above:  The train crosses another causeway across a lake.  Note the British-style semaphore signals in the background.

Day 2, 08:45:  The Eastern & Oriental Express arrives at Butterworth, the railway station for the ferry to Georgetown on Penang island, once capital of British Malaya.  At Butterworth E&O passengers alight and board coaches which cross over to Penang island on the ferry.  There's a ferry every 10 minutes and the crossing takes just 15 minutes.  In Georgetown, guests are treated to a trishaw tour (above right).  You're back on board the train at Butterworth in time for lunch to be served.

Day 2, afternoon:  The E&O crosses into Thailand at Padang Besar.  This time, you can remain on board the train.

Day 2, evening:  Enjoying a Singapore Sling in the E&O's bar car and listening to Pete on the piano...

How the other half live:  Passing a State Railways of Thailand 3rd class local train...

Above:  Heading north on the single track railway towards Bangkok.  The observation car is the place to be...

Day 3, 09:20:  The Bridge on the River Kwai.  Very early in the morning, the Eastern & Oriental Express briefly halts at Nong Pladuck, the junction where the infamous Death Railway to Burma leaves the Singapore to Bangkok main line.  The train changes direction and heads up the branch line to River Kwae Bridge station, 5 km (3 miles) beyond Kanchanaburi and 200 yards before the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai.  Guests get off the train here, and are treated to a short river cruise under the Bridge while the coaches of the E&O are hauled across the Bridge for the photo opportunity.  The Bridge is still used by three passenger trains each day, although they only as far as Nam Tok, not all the way to Burma.  For more information on the significance of the Bridge on the River Kwai and other sights in the area, see the Bridge on the River Kwai page.  Guests leave the river barge at Kanchanaburi with time to visit the war cemetery and museum before rejoining the E&O at Kanchanaburi station in time for lunch...

Day 3, 14:45:  Arrival in Bangkok at the wonderful Italian-designed Hualamphong station, opened in 1916. 

You'll find more information about Bangkok Hualamphong station & its facilities on the Thailand page.

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Raffles Hotel, a little colonial island in a sea of modern high-rise blocks.

A suite at Raffles:  This is a suite in the main building with sitting room, bedroom, bathroom & veranda...