Take the train
Whether the risible Agatha Christie novel, "Murder on the Orient Express,” comes to mind immediately, or in steamy dreams in the middle of the night as the train patters on – the ambience of luxury train travel is much the same (minus the murder part, one hopes) as a hundred years ago. It was the American industrialist George Mortimer Pullman who, in 1864, introduced what some called a "hotel car.” Soon after that was the dawn of luxury trains, as they spread to Europe and Asia, with the first being the Orient Express; its maiden journey leaving Paris and traveling across the continent to Venice.
The days and nights really slow down, and a welcoming - almost unfamiliar - leisurely pace conducts absolutely everything. However, there are hints of modernization that may also welcome you today; like a health spa, secret WIFI codes and organic food. I mean, if we absolutely have to, we’ll take those…
The golden age of cocktails, peacock dressing, and the ceremony of a non-occasion are exalted on board a luxury train. Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s ultimate debonair, encourages such a revisit to a certain jazzy epoch for all the world’s splendor. And this is where the attraction sits for many seekers - including madams, spies, and princes - of a meditative and romantic kingdom on wheels.
But trains are not just for the rich and famous, the romantics, or the trainspotters – today it’s for everyone wanting desperately to slow right down. So whether you are the hardline train jumper type, or not, a simple life rolled away from time, is the perfect place for, if nothing else, reflection.
I wrote about trains for the South China Morning Post - featuring Rovos Rail, Japan's Seven Stars (with their “Sweets Train” that serves fine dining dishes and desserts designed by a “World's 50 Best” list restaurant, Narisawa), Golden Eagle (known for that famous Trans Siberian Route), the Canadian super luxury train VIA Rail and, crucially, of course, Belmond’s “museum on wheels” Orient Express. Naturally, I tried them all…
An old-school bush adventure
A trip to the bush for some (not me, evidently) usually starts off by a car packed with the kids, square-cut sandwiches, blue and white cooler boxes, and the requisite pair of binoculars. Well, for this journey, grab those binoculars but leave the rest behind (this is sounding more like me). Rovos Rail, with 25 years of experience, will take care of everything else – including activities for the kids like board games, playing cards, and of course sightseeing from the back Observation Car.
"Rail 'cruising' is more relevant today than any time since the 1960s, as it exemplifies a safe, 'unpacking-once', picturesque method of travelling without the concerns of airline safety or baggage restrictions," says Brenda Vos, communications manager at Rovos Rail, Africa's No 1 luxury train. "We bring the world to them."
The Vos family launched Rovos in 1989, and its fleet of lounge, dining, observation, and sleeper cars have all been restored to their original 1930s aesthetic and eminence. Rovos' observation cars, originally 28 dining cars, obtained special permission to run at the back of the train in 1988. This enabled a substantial enlargement of the windows and the construction of unique open-air balconies. Now, the most remote and beautiful African landscapes are now in perfect full view.
The Edwardian design features on the train have an aesthetic that's Howard's End on wheels. It feels like a celebration of the good life that's in deep contrast with the puritanical values of the previous Victorian design of trains. Cushioned benches, extra-shiny wood panelling and carpets that give way to bury your feet slightly all combine to offer a distinct sense of the swank old world.
Life on board most trains is simple. TVs, Wi-fi, and other connectivity are often abolished (but quietly available with a wink wink), whilst chess, bridge and inexhaustible conversation soar.
My bush trip on the rail took me from the Jacaranda purple streets and newly formed hipster community, Pretoria, all the way down to balmy Durban. With a prompt 10am departure from the original colonial station, your friendly porter will get your luggage on board. While the station is a trip back in time, you’d be surprised how few Louis Vuitton trunks were in sight – multi-colored suitcases in nylon and canvas appear to be the order of the day. But once you are aboard, watch the train slow down time and the whole scenario turns to a kind of sepia.
I make my way to my cabin through the shoulder-width passage of wooden paneling. As the sliding door rolls open, my deluxe accommodation is revealed: four giant windows to peer out at the endless landscapes, a double bed spacious enough for two and a bathroom that comes complete with an antique ball and claw Victorian bath. Sure, I’m ready to slow down to the 1930s, or any era, with a suite like this.
As I unpack, I discover key details to rail travel, like everything needs a stable place to stand on – including myself to avoid injury and embarrassment. This is all part of the adventure. The almost century old cars offer up a meditative rattle and the soft patter soothes me as I ready for lunch.
Heading out of the smog that circles Gauteng means that the Drakensberg Mountains are nearly in sight. Lunch, a long and immoderate affair, starts with bottles of South Africa’s finest wines (Hamilton Russell, Meerlust) in a newly refurbished dining car serving Springbok Carpaccio to start and Ostrich fillet with fresh salad as my main course. All this with elegant white tablecloths, silver cutlery, and Rovos insignia crockery that festoon my table. A recommendation from the waitress to pace myself is taken into consideration and I decide to apply this to all meals on the train.
The afternoon is spent lounging in the observation car winning a game of Scrabble with a non-English speaking tourist. It doesn’t take me long to forget that I have a nap waiting for me, but instead end up eating too many spongy cakes, along with the world’s smallest cupcakes.
I should be doing the climbing but the train does all the work as we ascend the historic Majuba Hill in KwaZulu-Natal. With time to reflect and a bed ready for napping it is fortuitous that the train has an old school bell beckoning me to eat yet again at dinnertime.
A dapper jacket, slim tie, and shiny shoes garnish me for the formal dinner. Endless courses of conversations, fresh lobster, local game meats, and slices of cheesecake to ready me (and the rest of the guests) into a comatose sleep.
The sun has barely kissed me good morning as breakfast dawns. Pastry in hand I am escorted off the train and into the Nambiti Private Game Reserve for my first game drive of the day. Some cheetah, a whole lot of giraffe, and a deceivingly cheerful hippo later means it’s time for brunch. I skip the food for once and spend the afternoon gazing at animals on my second game drive at the nearby Spioenkop Game Reserve.
Reluctantly I leave the game viewing and venture back to the train for an encore of the dressy dinner in the dining car. The next morning, as we descend the escarpment ready to arrive at Lions River station (in slow-slow down Durban) I am still stuffed from all the feasting and game viewing. With my arms behind my head as a pillow and the Natal Midlands in full view, a flash of the past comes to me - the frocks and dames, the gentleman and their airs and how nothing has really changed. Maybe one less frill on that frock and a shaving plug for the gents – but we, the riders of the train, are exactly the same as always.
Just a little rail romance
What it’s like on board one of the most renowned trains of all time.
One of the most famous train journeys in the world is also one of the slowest. Whether it’s the allure of glam 20th century novels or great love stories on board recounted by nostalgic grandmothers, train travel has a certain romance about it. Air travel is fast and efficient, but a reprieve from all of that is a slow and mindful train journey. And Golden Eagle’s Silk Road journey and their Trans Siberian Express journey offer all of this, and some…
Traveling across continents by train, west-to-east or vice versa, isn’t for fast paced thrill-seekers. The 6400km Silk Road forms part of a vast network of trade routes formally established during the Han Dynasty of China and linking the world of commerce. The history of the Silk Road dates back to the Persian era of the Achaemenid Empire (500-33 BCE), when east and west were first connected. And, you can fully see why China is so keen to revive this little route.
For both of these journeys you start off in Moscow and for the Silk Road you pass through some of the most remote former Soviet republics - Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan - all still with a distinct Doctor Zhivago feel. For me, a west-to-east journey to end-of-the-earth Mongolia (where I hopped off) made the most sense: over the Urals Mountains (known as the “Great Divide,” creating the natural border between Europe and Asia), across the magnificent and endless steppe and alongside the shore of the world's largest freshwater lake (hauled by a Soviet Era steam locomotive for this section). The realization that all these different routes were the conduits for the ultimate exchange of art, philosophy, language, and technology was just so damn enticing.
The journey kicks off at Moscow’s Kazansky Station, with a glass of Russian champagne (ok, just go with it!) and a military brass band serenading me as I embarked. It offers the kind of first-class traveling experience Dame Agatha Christie would have loved. For a journey like this suitcases are, of course, passé: they’ve been replaced by vintage trunks, handled by bellhops and porters from the moment you approach the station. Since dressing up in the dining areas is encouraged, a hatbox and steamer trunks for suits should be among your baggage.
So, yes, as you can imagine, it’s utterly decadent on board. The maître d’ and everyone else already knows your name, and will chat to you in the sexiest Russian accents, whilst serving up old world charm and drinks, plenty of drinks. The Golden Eagle comes with a personal cabin assistant, and who will show you to your quarters: an Imperial Suite with underfloor heating, a mini-bar stocked with things that should be (and probably are) illegal, a giant bed, plus en-suite bathroom - all fit for a tsarina.
The dining car is where all the action takes place - with a raft of live music throughout the day and new flower arrangements that seemingly appear out of thin air...I mean, who’s on this train? A princess? A diplomat? A missionary? A socialite? I was sniffing them all out, and trying to find the subplots on the rails…Outside the world passes by slowly, with friendly clouds far off in the distance, we pass the River Volga (near the historic city of Kazan), some sinister forests, and quiet nature-led Russia fills our carriages.
Dining on board, dressed in my blazer, gives a sense of proper occasion. White tablecloths and starched-for-the-gods napkins are de rigeuer and the tinkle of bone china and crystal soothes me. Food is locally sourced and reflects the traditional cuisine of the areas we’re traversing: zakuski (aperitifs) are an elaborate course in themselves, ranging from dressed herring to involuted soups that will keep you warm for the rest of time, all the way to wild boar and deviled eggs that may or may not contain edible diamonds. Speaking of expensive delights, caviar, naturally, is absolutely standard across the train, and served at every whim with all meals, snacks and just at each wink of an eye.
So, we ventured to Irkutsk, the “Paris of Siberia,” with a stop to explore their classic wooden architecture, a jaunt at the deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal (it holds 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater), and a stop at Ulan Ude (for some throat singing and a stay in a gorgeous yurt) before arriving in the capital of Mongolia, Ulanbataar…I mean I say, train more darling, train more…and plane, bus, drive, walk, crawl, bike less…even sexier Brad Pitt is getting into bullet trains.
Some train journeys I plan to do next - if you’re interested stay tuned for my special trip planning for 2023:
Maharajas' Express: Delhi to Mumbai
The Transcantabrico Gran Lujo: San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela
The Ghan: Adelaide to Darwin
Belmond Royal Scotsman: Scottish Highlands