Anniversary Adventure
Our 30th wedding anniversary was on June the 6th so Dave and I headed off on Sunday 12th June to Singapore for a few days relaxation followed by a trip on the Eastern and Oriental Express from Singapore to Bangkok.
The first evening in Singapore we met a friend of Dave’s and he took us to the East Coast where we had great chilli crab and garlic prawns at Jumbos. In retrospect this may not have
been such a good idea as I had an upset tummy for the rest of the week!! It didn’t really cause a problem although I ate and drank slightly less than I expected. The best bit being that I didn’t put on any weight!!
On the Monday, after a lovely champagne breakfast, we met with Susan Hack and had a whistle stop tour of her favourite bits in Singapore. We had a great curry at Samy’s with Susan and a surprise guest, Sophie Colligan, who many of you will remember. After that we went on a short shopping trip where I got a lovely box to keep my mahjong set in. (More about this later). Dave had had enough shopping by mid afternoon so we headed back to the hotel and left Susan to carry on.
The next day we had a quiet sunbathe by the pool in the morning. The weather in Singapore was cooler than Bangkok and, with access to wide pavements, we took the opportunity to get some exercise by walking to Fort Canning. The evening saw us in another seafood restaurant and the scene of Dave’s one strop on the holiday as we experienced the case of the missing crab dish. Just as we decided to bale out and had asked for the bill the said crab arrived 45 minutes since the order – perhaps we should have been stroppy earlier.
Early next morning we were all packed and set off to Keppel Road Station to get on the train. We got a taxi from the hotel and arrived in such a downpour that I rushed into the station without helping with the luggage. When all of it arrived at check-in I realised we didn’t have my mahjong box. We could neither of us remember if it
had gone in the taxi so I phoned the hotel and they tried to find it in the room and the lobby. To cut a long story short it was eventually found in the taxi. I couldn’t believe our luck – the driver delivered it back to the railway station and it was safely stowed on the train. Needless to say he was given a good tip, I was so impressed with his honesty.
We all trooped through customs and got on the train by 10.45 and left on time by 11. Our cabin was plenty big enough with our own tiny bathroom and shower and beautifully decorated in wood. During the day we had a couple of chairs to sit on by the window as well as a sofa and
whilst we were having supper the steward arrived to make up the beds. We spent the day in the observation carriage and our cabin watching the Singaporean and Malaysian countryside.
The next mini catastrophe came when Dave was dressing for dinner and asked where I had packed his cufflinks. I remembered looking at them and trying to decide which pair to bring – unfortunately I didn’t finish this decision making experience and forgot to pack any! (When we got home I found them all in their drawer together with the belt that I had also forgotten to pack). Anyway, the steward came to the rescue and we managed to buy a very nice pair for a mere $95. Well worth it to keep Dave quiet.
He was also suitably impressed with a gift of champagne and a card from the train manager congratulating us on our anniversary. After supper we were chatting in bar when we saw the twin towers of Kuala Lumpur – a spectacular sight especially at night.
We slept reasonably well even though the beds were quite narrow but they were comfortable and, by 11pm after morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, supper and a couple of brandies, we were more than ready to sleep.
The next morning we were told that the engine had broken down during the night and had had to be replaced causing a
delay of two hours in our schedule. We had arranged for breakfast at 6.30 am as we were originally due to arrive at Butterworth by around 8.00am to go on a trip to Penang. As the early start was not needed we had a lovely, leisurely breakfast in our cabin.
We eventually had our Penang trip around 11am – a trip over by ferry followed by a tri-shaw trip round little India, Chinatown and Fort Cornwallis. It was a really hot day and one or two of the tri-shaw drivers were a bit too old for the job. Ours kept falling further and further behind, we passed one couple where the husband had got out to walk! We went to Penang a while ago so it was lovely to see it all again and we fortunately knew where we were going as I don’t think our driver had much English - or breath - or both!!
Once back at the train we had another lovely lunch and then trekked to the end of the train to the observation deck where we got a good view of the local palm and rubber trees. I was still feeling a bit lethargic so the afternoon was spent in the cabin reading and generally loafing about. “Lovely”.
Supper was a bit later than the previous evening, which suited us fine – once again, a very good menu – not too rich but plenty of flavour. I managed my share of the wine so I was obviously getting better! During the two days we had a couple of meals at a table for two and sometimes we shared with other passengers so we managed to meet quite a few people. There were a great mixture of nationalities –American, Australian, English, German, New Zealand, and quite a lot of Japanese. Many of us congregated in the bar after supper each evening where there was a pianist who seemed to be able to play whatever anyone asked. Most people were there for some kind of anniversary and there was at least one honeymoon couple. Nearly all dressed up for the occasion – I managed to wear all my new finery and the latest purchases from my jeweller in Pattaya.
It was amazing how quickly the time passed even though we weren’t really doing anything – the train is very smooth and quiet and a very restful environment. We were still a bit behind schedule when we arrived in Kanchanaburi the next morning at the famous Bridge and had a photo opportunity of the train on the bridge. We then went by boat under the bridge and upriver for a while before being taken to the War Museum and cemetery. A very moving experience and most of us had a tear in our eye as we left – in the coach on the way to meet the train again the Thai travel guide sang us a song which was completely inappropriate but made me smile as it was so very Thai.
So it was time for our last lunch – yes we did seem to spend much of our trip eating and drinking – and all of it was worth putting on weight for!!! We arrived back in Bangkok only a little behind schedule and Prasert (our driver) was there to meet us and take us home. He had told our maid that we were coming back to Bangkok on a train from the south and she thought we’d been “Slumming it” until I showed her the brochure! Not slumming it at all but a truly memorable two days with exceptional service and care.