The legendary Orient Express train will be steaming into Singapore this December with the pop-up event “Once Upon a time on the Orient Express”. You might know this train from the many pop culture references like the recent movie, “Murder on the Orient Express” a detective thriller set on the exact train.
This pop-up event will mark the exhibition’s first time outside of France to feature a series of showcases that relate to travel, culture, and gastronomy. The event will run from 12 December 2020 to 13 June 2021 at the West Lawn of Gardens by the Bay. Tickets are available on SISTIC from 2 October 2020 onwards.
Image Credit: SISTIC
Orient Express, a name that clearly sparks the sense of travel and adventure in the hearts of many. Synonymous with the idea of luxury travel and intrigue, the Orient Express was a long-distance passenger train service that ferried the rich and famous across multiple countries since 1886. Imagine there’ll be continental breakfast and all that jazz.
The history of the Orient Express or also known as Express d'Orient is a long and mysterious one, unsurprisingly since it has been chugging down the tracks for over 120 years. The Orient Express originally traveled from Paris to Constantinople or as we know it today, Istanbul. Since its inception, the service line has gone through a lot of changes but it still remained the gold standard in luxury travel up till its retirement.
The 1930s was the golden era of the Orient Express. These days, the carriages of the Orient Express have been classified as National Treasures of France. The same ones that will be on show at Gardens by the Bay.
Image Credit: SISTIC
Be ready for the authentic experience at this pop-up event as it will feature two original train carriages from 1930 and a 158-year-old locomotive engine, straight from the railways of France. Together with the two hundred tonnes of machinery, the exhibition will also feature 300 precious items and documents restored to its former glory in hopes of replicating the world-class luxury rail travel in its heydays.
Train guests will be able to immerse themselves in the whole experience as the exhibition will be adorned with “larger than life” artifacts, interactive displays, and historical facts that encapsulate the legacy of the luxury rail service, telling the stories of their journeys from Europe to the Orient.
Image Credit: SISTIC
The exhibition was planned in a way to let the visitors experience what the travelers would have experienced back in the day. One interesting way the pop-up will be doing this is that the exhibition will also allow visitors to learn more about the routes and scenic stopovers frequented by the service. Through screenings of movie clips, pictures, and other sources of media, guests will be treated to a unique "travel" experience. Other than just the sights, visitors will also get to go on a gastronomical journey through coffee blends that were discovered and made famous by the different stops of the Orient Express.
Image Credit: SISTIC
If that’s not enough, the pop-up exhibition will also have an escape room experience where you get to immerse yourself and roleplay as Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective trying to solve a detective case on the train.
Leisure travel has changed so much since the 1930s. Although train travel has not been the main mode of travel since airliners have taken over, the idea of traveling by train has that unique appeal to it that no other form of travel seems to capture. This pop-up event comes at a time where borders and travel restrictions are causing everyone to miss travel. Some of us have never traveled by train even, let alone on something as fancy as the Orient Express. If you haven’t, why not visit this pop-up exhibition, you could even say the magical and legendary Orient Express was the first train you’ve ever been on! (Well if you don't include the MRTs)
If you are planning to change that or if you have an interest in traveling by train, check out our past blog ”Great Train Journeys”.
