September 4, 2012

Eastern and Orient Express(ish)

Once again, we took advantage of our location to see Asia a different way...

A quick flight to Bangkok set us up to begin a train trip back down the Malaysian peninsula to Singapore on the Eastern and Orient Express.  

That name is just a guideline, the Express part means they don't stop at every station and take on passengers... but the trip itself lasts four days and three nights. 

That's less than two hours by jet up, 90 hours by train back.  

So Express is solely demonstrated in the number of stops, which is a good thing when you are ensconced on a turn of the century train full of really good food and endlessly entertaining scenery.  

We had a few days in the beginning in Bangkok to wander around and soak up the atmosphere, so of course we hopped on a boat (water taxi) and headed for the giant reclining Buddha at Wat Po ...


My scale model checking boat schedule...






















Buddha head...







Buddha head closer...


Buddha body...





Buddha feet...




Bottom of Buddha feet...














Giant Reclining Buddha. Quite the little tourist attraction.

Here's a couple pics of the detail in some of the temple:




We got there pretty early in the day and it was starting to get really busy even then.  Our admission price of 100 Baht (about $3.50) got us entry to the temple, gardens, a free bottle of ice cold water and a frozen washcloth.

We put our spare change into an offering box that allowed us to take a bowl of token coins and walk down a line of bigger bowls, dropping coins into them a couple at a time.  We assume we were getting luck, or wisdom or some kind of Asian spiritual uplift.  We didn't really care because it was just fun to do.

Over the next couple of days, we wandered and dallied and rode boats and trains...

We were walking.  A little lost.  Still havin' fun...

Boats, temples, questionable water...






































Three fun pics:


These guys are at one of the water taxi stops.  You can buy food to give them, but we didn't need to- everyone else did.  The fish just flop all over each other trying to get the food... it's bizarre.



These are flood stairs.  They are everywhere in Bangkok, at least near the river. Like urban 'stiles' to get you over little flood walls- in hotels, on walkways, on docks.

Usually about two feet high, sometimes higher in the hotels. Good idea, but as CNN shows us every year, not good enough. 



Train station on the "Sky Train" monorail in Bangkok.

If you are related to me by blood, you will probably find this worth a chuckle.

Everyone else can maturely scroll on...








So eventually, our Bangkok tour led us to the train station where we were pleased and amused to find this guy...





...surprising number of dogs hanging around a country that considers them dim sum ingredients.  We aren't sure what's up with that.  But this one was happy enough.















There was a trackside barber shop that we were also pleased and amused by...



"Late for your train but forgot to get your hair cut? No problem! Let us cut it for you trackside!"













And here is the Eastern and Orient Express Train itself waiting to whisk us away into the last century...


The observation car was at the end of the train and we were in carriage 'A' which was the next car up.  Yippee! It's like being on the last car of a roller coaster and way more fun.  :)

They kindly provided a map of our journey in the Library car, so I include the map and then the map being photo bombed by my scale model...




(click them to make them bigger, both for the route and to better see the Bomber)

Our compartment was standard train issue, but since they are so much fun, I am just going to include a buncha pictures of it...




Origami beds in daytime...


Stretched out with Ted as a backrest, watching the countryside go by at a rattling 40mph.


Munchkin sink...


Munchkin toilet (facing the shower which was actually pretty good sized)...






The hallway of our carriage...
















This is the open air observation car.  My scale model is demonstrating proper use.

Improper use is when you stand at the open parts and stick your head out.



Which is what we usually did. 







This is the reading car.  Books provided.  There is a hallway outside so people aren't trooping through while you relax.

















There was also a saloon car, a bar car, and three dining cars.  But you get the idea, right?


Here is the train looking back...


Or actually, the train looking forward.  In any case, it's the whole train.  



We got these cool Thai flowers when we boarded...


and we placed them on a pair of graves at the cemetery for the men who didn't survive the forced labor camps on the River Kwai.

The train stopped on the bridge on the River Kwai so we could get off and take a tour down the river and into the Thailand Burma museum for the WWII POWs there.  

The river isn't actually the River Kwai, and of course the bridge the prisoners built was blown up by the Allies, but despite the misnomer (Hollywood strikes again!) this was the actual location (and the Thai gov't got around the pesky problem by renaming a short section of the actual river "Kwai" since that is what people come looking for)... 



...and that's our actual train on the not actual Bridge Over the (not really) River Kwai.  :)

The museum was very interesting and very sobering.  The cemetery is just next to it, and thanks to meticulous records the Allied soldiers who died there are all identified and given individual graves.  Not so lucky the Asians- (Thai, Malaysian, Burmese) they were cremated and rest en masse in urns near the temple.  

Back on the train, some random shots as we clattered down the peninsula, eating way too much, drinking just enough, and banging into walls everywhere we walked.



And a nice shot of my scale model doing a commercial for the company...


It was a really interesting way to see the Malay Peninsula and it was fun to be on a sleeper train again.  We met some interesting people, and some people who were interesting simply for being kind of... oddly boring.  

It was a truly international mix of passengers, and one night we ate with a British couple doing time in Brunei... but that's a whole other blog.  

Fun times in Asia!








2 comments:

Barbara said...

Thanks for taking me along for the ride. It was wonderful as usual and good to see your scale model looking so happy.

Looking for some mo chit when you have the time. :)

Barb

Leanne said...

You can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends. And apparently I pick good ones.