There are a few great trains in the world. One is the Eastern and Oriental Express that goes back and forth from Singapore to Bangkok. Nevertheless, if you are frugal like me, you can take the same trip on local trains. Of course, you miss such amenities as suites with private bathrooms, white tablecloth dining, afternoon tea, uniformed stewards and a piano bar car. But you will see the same scenery although it will be through smaller not as pristine windows.
In 1996, my husband and I started our trip from Singapore to Bangkok with second-class tickets. We boarded in the late afternoon with our stash of snacks (crackers and cookies) purchased in the K-Mart in Singapore as there was no diner on the train. Others smarter than we were had meals that they had brought aboard. Two girls had Kentucky Fried Chicken which we unfortunately observed had roaches swarming over them when the girls left the train at the first stop.
At this stop, we saw most of the people from the train buying food from a cart. And believe it or not, we decided to buy a hot meal combo of rice and vegetables because we were so hungry even though we had never purchased street food before. It actually was quite good and did not cause us any stomach distress.
Later, the porters changed our chairs into lower and upper berths with privacy curtains. While we elected to sleep in our clothes, most of the passengers stripped down to their underwear or pj’s in the aisle. No modesty at all!!!!!
The highlight of our trip was when we arrive in Bangkok. There on the adjoining track was the magnificent Eastern and Oriental Express train in all its glory with wood panels and brass decorations. Quite a contrast to our train. However, as a consolation note, the entire train trip only cost us $100 each – not thousands of dollars.
aginggratefully 