This was the second time that we had crossed the causeway that links Johor Bahru in Malaysia with the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore by rail. The E&O Express pulled in on time to Woodlands on the Tuesday morning after the 1,246 mile trip from Bangkok. The railway used to run right into Singapore itself to a station close to the harbour at Tanjong Pagar but this was closed in 2011 and the railway tracks subsequently lifted. It's a real shame as Woodlands C...

The real reason for this trip to Asia was to travel on the Eastern & Oriental Express, the side trips to Indonesia and Bangkok ahead of boarding the train, provided a good filler and of course we visited a new country. The E&O Express was due to depart Bangkok Hua Lamphong station at 17.50 on the Saturday afternoon and travel 1,246 miles to Singapore (Woodlands Checkpoint) via Kanchanaburi (for the River Kwai), and Malaysia for a stop at Kuala Kangsar,...

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster . . . . . well, so goes the song by Murray Head from the musical Chess, but as we had two nights in Bangkok then who knows? After arriving at Hua Lamphong railway station we dodged the traffic after finding our bearings and headed across to the Prime Hotel Central Station. The hotel was just a few hundred yards from the station, but with the need to cross at least four roads to get there. Once checked into th...

After around seven hours of travelling through Java from Yogyakarta heading towards Jakarta we left the rice fields and started to enter urbanisation. Jakarta is a big place and has a population of around 10 million people and looking at some of the housing adjacent to the railway it certainly makes you appreciate just how well off we are in the UK. Arriving bang on time at Jakarta Gambir station in the capital we ordered a Grab taxi (for IDR 14,000 or 76p) to t...

Our journey to Yogyakarta in Indonesia involved flying overnight (Thursday into Friday) from London Heathrow at 22.05 on SQ321 with Singapore Airlines. With an arrival into Singapore Changi at 18.00 on Friday we quickly completed immigration requirements after the 13 hour flight and checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel for the night as our onward flight was at 08.20 on Saturday morning. This short break would give us a chance for some food, a shower and some sleep...