It is neither useful nor pleasurable to show all your cards. Not immediately revealing everything fuels anticipation, especially when a person’s elevated position means expectations are greater. It bespeaks mystery in everything and, with this very secrecy, arouses awe. Even when explaining yourself, you should avoid complete frankness, just as you should not open yourself to everyone in all your dealings. Cautious silence is the refuge of good sense.”
Baltasar Gracián, “The Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence”, 1647.
“But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept and grasped to death his throat who never injured me or any other living thing. I have devoted my creator, the select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men, to misery; I have pursued him even to that irremediable ruin. There he lies white and cold in death. You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself.”
16October2025:Eastern & Oriental Express Embarrassing Good-Bye and a Brutal Travel Day
A rough jerky night on the train. Feeling a tad better but when you don’t feel up to snuff even a luxurious Pullman Cabin equates to being a sardine in a tin can. No appetite so half a croissant and a sip of water.
Tipped our steward Keith and then off the train to the station platform. Our tour director organized a “ceremony” where the train staff lined up to receive a group tip. You can always be cheaper on a group tip! The whole event had a reek of superiority and servility to it.
So here it went;
Check out of Malaysia with eye scans, fingerprint scan and passport scan.
Check into Singapore with a corresponding host of scans.
Board bus for trip to Singapore Airport for the flight to Bangkok. Leave luggage on bus.
Arrive at Singapore Airport.
Pick up luggage.
Wait two hours for flight. The flight was paid for by ABC International our tour company but most irritatingly they failed to ask us for seating choice. Managed to get a bulkhead seat at check in.
Through airport security and yet more scans.
On Thai Airways for a 90-minute flight to Bangkok. The food was a slight notch above standard airline food but after the stellar cuisine aboard the train it just about turned my stomach.
More entry into Thailand scans.
Back on a bus to the departure point for a night cruise where a “local cocktail” was served and a minute appetizer. ABC International can’t spring for more than a COSTCO size sample it seems.
Alvin was to be our guide in Thailand and he certainly was a lively card but being so tired after a gruelling travel day his loud voice lead to a mental and nonverbal prompt of, “Just shut up. You are giving me a headache.”
Horrific traffic to our next destination a hotel where our boat would take us on a scenic night cruise of the Chao Phraya River with dinner and of course the parsimonious ABC International command of only two drinks per person during the two-and-a-half-hour cruise! Thousands of dollars spent on this tour and treated like adolescents. The food was excellent and the night skyline and illuminated buildings were spectacular. Bus to Peninsula Hotel. Had a shower and collapsed into bed past midnight. What a long day. Get that feeling I am in the military.
A piece of advice about the Eastern & Oriental Express. Unless you are a single person avoid the minute Pullman Cabin as it denigrates an otherwise blissful and memorable experience.
15October2025: Forget That Martini and Gourmet Dinner: I Have the Queasies!
Back on the Eastern & Oriental Express hot and steamy. It has been in and out of stultifying heat on Penang Island and then thrust into the chill of air conditioning. It has been plaguing me the entire trip.
Why on earth did I have a Cappuccino in the Bar Car upon my return? It seemed far too strong. The bartender can craft an excellent Martini but coffee from a mini barista device. Why in the hell didn’t I have glass of Veuve!
At a cocktail party on the observation car having a chat with a Singaporean shipping magnate about narcotics and weapons smuggling in shipping containers and then talking about Martinis watching the sun set over the Malaysian jungle. Geez time for a Martini as after all this is our last evening on the train. Then the queasiest feeling struck. Bloody caffeine/air conditioning/heat and cool flashes? Back to the cramped Pullman Cabin with a gourmet dinner, any food or a Martini the last thing on my mind. Concerned staff offered all sorts of remedies. Broth. Herbal teas. How kind! No thanks. Crawled into my bunk and tried to nod off but of all nights it is a jerky ride. Off to Bangkok tomorrow!
Travelled on a bus from the Eastern & Oriental Express train to the Butterworth ferry terminal for the twenty-minute trip to Georgetown on Penang Island. Arrived at the Penang Island ferry terminal for a Vespa tour of Georgetown. Met Jimmy my driver and off we went to the “first stop” to a puppet show. One look at all the gringo Ozempic crowd milling about the entrance I surmised a break from the planned itinerary and I said to Jimmy, “Let’s get outta here. Just because I am a tourist I don’t need to hang out with them. Perhaps if I gain 100 pounds, have a white beard and a tight T-Shirt so my gut hangs out this puppet theatre is for me.”
On the back of a Vespa and helmeted we zoomed about. Georgetown might be described as quaint and lightly commercial and far from the sterility and wealth of Singapore. Small shops and restaurants of all sorts so unlike Singapore. Jimmy is an excellent driver helpful and comforting considering all the exculpatory clauses contained our contract with ABC International. I mean if you read the small print there could have been a war breaking out resulting in the cancellation of the tour and there was no obligation to refund your money! Actually, rather interesting as there were skirmishes ongoing between Thailand and Cambodia our next destinations.
First stop was at one of Georgetown’s main marketplaces. I was the only gringo to be seen. Impressive meat and fish stalls, spices, vegetables and loads of cheap Chinese goods.
Next stop the picturesque and shady English Catholic and Protestant Cemetery with the graves of English colonialist most gravestones marking an early death including those of babies and young children. Diseases of the tropics? The oldest deceased was a man of 73. Many of the gravestones indicated the employment of the deceased such as tax collectors. The grandest mausoleum has no description of its inhabitants. Very touching lines on the gravestones.
The 38-degree heat and 98 % humidity was beginning to take a toll so we stopped at a 7-11 for a Vida drink…Japanese with stevia instead of aspartame. A cool lychee delight. The air conditioning was vicious, so one had to escape outside. From the freezer into the oven. The last stop was City Hall and a provincial administration building both stellar examples of British colonial architecture. War monuments were in a square outside the buildings.
For the last twenty minutes it was simply too oppressive to continue walking about so we sat on a bench with a view across the Penang Strait to Seberang Perai from whence we had departed.
Back to the ferry terminal to yet more brutal air-conditioning to catch a bus to the train and an ill-advised drink I paid the price for. No not Veuve!
“I am, the soothing voice of my Elizabeth and the conversation with Clerval will be forever whispered in my ear. They are dead, and but one feeling in such solitude can persuade me to preserve my life. If I were engaged to any high undertaking or design, fraught with extensive utility to my fellow creatures, then I could live to fulfill it. But such is not my destiny; I must pursue and destroy that being to whom I gave existence; then my lot on earth will be fulfilled and I may die.”:
Just reaching 5 months of age all I really know outside is slush and snow. Is there anything else in Canada?
Over the last two days we had a record 60 centimeters of snow in Toronto. I stepped out of the back door and disappeared into the soft snow and thank goodness my big black nose was visible like a submarine periscope and I was plucked to safety.
Bob had to dig a tunnel through the snow so I had a place to do my business. It must have been five feet high and narrow. I had just finished my business and was heading inside when I bumped into a the tunnel wall and a huge roar of snow was heard and I was buried like in that documentary “The Man Who Skied Down Everest”. Thank goodness it was powdery snow so readers I survived a Canadian avalanche! Well it wasn’t really a huge roar…..
Let’s alter that Willie Nelson song a bit and hum “On the Rails Again”.
The seasoned jungle explorers reeking of danger and DEET having seen terrifying piles of elephant dung on their jungle trek (actually a ride on a Jeep) return to the safety of the Eastern & Oriental Express to recount their adventure and consume a hearty lunch my selection being grilled Wagyu beef with a glass of Chateauneuf du Pape.
Returned to the bar and observation car to watch the Malaysian scenery roll by and enjoy a glass of Veuve.
My shower was quite an experience holding on for dear life attempting to manage the motion! Hint…plan your shower when the train is stationary.
Cocktails and live music at the Piano Bar Car. My Martini was just the way I like it. This may be Malaysia you say but even in far flung locales it is possible to snag a top rate Martini and may I add superior to most Martinis served in Canada.
Prior to departing Canada I read a comment on social media from a teetotaller complaining why should he have to pay for every passenger boozing it up and running up and down the corridors in a drunken state late at night. True drinks are included in your fare but as to pie eyed drunks running amok no such depraved behaviour was noticed on this trip. Well there was a very well-oiled gentleman at a pre dinner cocktail gathering but well behaved. Premium brands are not included…..and indeed they are premium.
I am business casual but there is a snazzy man dressed in a tuxedo with three well dressed birds in evening wear. Tittering and giggling from the ladies. Of course, the man in the tuxedo is residing in the Presidential Suite
14October2025 Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia
Breakfast in our Pullman Cabin is so cramped it is near impossible to eat. Pastries galore and all manner of fruit including dragon fruit and various melon pieces on a skewer sitting atop a bowl of yogurt. A delicious bowl of pork congee for me. I do love this Asian rice porridge. I heard a few fellow passengers were squirted with a stream of chocolate filling in their pain au chocolat. No such misfortune for me.
At 08:00 the train stopped at Maripoh station in Malaysia and our group was picked up in jeeps with a guide to transport us to Taman Negara National Park with one of the oldest rain forests in Malaysia composed of dense jungle, wide rivers and lush mountains. Once a habitat of the Malay tiger, the national animal of Malaysia, which is emblazoned on Malaysia’s coat of arms and on the insignia of the Eastern & Oriental Express. The Malay tiger is now an endangered species. Incredible ride through the forest and no tigers seen although a pile or two of elephant droppings. We had started with a long walk on suspension bridges giving us an aerial view of the rain forest. Lush and verdant.
My basic chow (not Olivia Chow tax loving mayor of Toronto) is chicken kibble. I eat at free will as opposed to set feeding times. That suits me just fine. Polish it off with cold clean water and I’m good to go. I hardly call it exciting but I must believe Bob when he tells me it is vital for good puppy health.
There are other foods that create more neurological excitement.
Poultry. Duck, chicken and turkey!
Occasional bits of fruit. I will eat a blueberry after I play with it awhile.
Vegetables? I am told Dylan the Westie loved raw carrots and all manner of cooked vegetables. Not me.
Cheese!
CARBS BABY. CARBS BABY!!! I love potatoes and pasta which I love slurping up like Tramp in “Lady and the Tramp”. Bread is my regular morning treat whether it be bagel or toast. If I don’t get my chunk to start my treat tyranny believe you me I will “advise” Bob and Fay of such!
Bob claims it is time for a CARB INTERVENTION! I don’t eat Wonder Bread or those flimsy grocery store loaves that are more sawdust than bread. I prefer whole wheat 7 Grain Sourdough and Montreal bagels. After all I am a Westie and we have taste!
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