Source: The Bund TheBund
Some time ago, the "China's most trench train" sent from Urumqi was full of attention.
The name of the train was "New Orient Express". 30,000 trips (14 days) price, accommodation conditions in benchmark star hotels, various "Silk Road cuisine"... Let the train also have a sense of luxury.
The Orient Express has always been synonymous with luxury trains.
In China, this way of travel is just getting started. In Europe, it is no longer a new concept. As early as a century ago, the aristocrats of the time turned the train into a "mobile palace" when they traveled.
Belmond, which operates the True Orient Express, has recently taken luxury trains to new heights.
British Pullman, the company's train, brought in director Wes Anderson, who is known for his visual aesthetics, to redesign the interior space for one of the carriages.
The gorgeous decoration, retro color scheme, and every detail bring the director's personal style to the extreme.
Of course, the price of this train is also "luxurious". Although it was only a few hours of excursions, it cost £400 per person. Private cabins for 4 people are available from £1,800 each.
It just so happened that before the epidemic, I rode in its sister car in Peru, and both the experience and the sense of ceremony were unforgettable. The value of such a fantastic journey can no longer be measured by mere means of transportation.
01
"The most beautiful carriage" ceiling
It's like being in a movie scene
The carriage designed by Wes Anderson is simply an excellent aesthetic ceiling.
You may not know the name, but you must have heard of his "Grand Budapest Hotel".
This film with a unique visual style has set off a "Wes Anderson style" boom around the world. Everyone who has seen it has been impressed by the bold and gorgeous, yet gentle and comfortable color combinations in the movie.
The newly remodeled Cygnus carriage inherits Wes Anderson's signature color scheme.
The low-saturation pink ceiling, with the dark green seats and the light green carpet, form a complementary cold and warm, as if entering a dreamlike movie scene.
As a well-known "detail maniac", Wes Anderson also designed exquisite and intricate curtains, carpets, and seat patterns.
The printed tableware on the car was also personally selected by him.
The name of the Cygnus carriage comes from the Greek god of balance, usually in the form of a swan, which later incarnated as one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky.
Based on this beautiful legend, many of the carriages have been designed with mythological elements, such as champagne ice buckets in the shape of swans, and the shadows of sky and water reflected by silver leaves on the ceiling.
The decorative wooden panels on the sides of the carriage are inlaid with patterns such as sunlight, clouds, stars, and waves, and a small swan is printed at the bottom.
If you want to upgrade your experience, try the private cabin launched by Cygnus Carriages. There are two rooms in total, each with a maximum capacity of 4 passengers.
Enjoy unlimited champagne throughout the tour, as well as gourmet meals and cocktails prepared by the train's chef, custom-made tableware and glass drinks, which are also exclusive to private cabins.
As a fan of Wes Anderson, I've always been impressed by the luxury train journey in India in Crossing Darjeeling.
Retro carriages, unknown faraways, enchanting exoticism... Trains and movies, like spring and love relationships, always spark a spark.
Wes Anderson himself also has a strong "train complex", and this "dream linkage" with Belmond can be described as a match made in heaven.
Both sides want to "usher in a new golden age of travel, which has declined." ”
02
Antique trains of the Golden Age
Daily necessities are all haute couture
British Pullman was built in the 1920s to provide a luxury travel service for European aristocrats, and once launched, it quickly monopolized the British luxury train market.
The train has a total of 11 passenger cars and can accommodate 226 passengers. In addition to Wes Anderson's remodeled Cygnus carriage, the other 10 carriages are also exquisite and luxurious antiques, each with a unique name and legendary history.
The Audrey carriage has the most experience. It was damaged in airstrikes of World War II and restored in 1947. In 1953, when the Queen of England and Prince Philip went to inspect the fleet, it was this carriage.
The Perseus carriage has 26 seats. Construction began in 1938, but was delayed until 1951 due to the war.
The carriage was used for Winston's holiday celebrations in 1965 and as Churchill's funeral car, taking him on his last journey.
The decoration of gray paneling and old prints documents its vicissitudes.
The Phoenix, Queen Elizabeth's favorite carriage, was built in 1927. When Charles de Gaulle visited England, he used to ride on this carriage.
The carriage has 26 seats and is decorated with cherry wood oval paneling and a gorgeous print.
Each carriage has been meticulously restored, and the meticulously polished brassware, wood paneling, beveled glass and smooth mahogany trims retain the charm of the Golden Age.
Even the floor of the washroom is covered with exquisite mosaics.
Although the heyday of the British rail journey has passed, British Pullman still adheres to the "Made in Britain" tradition in every way.
Every piece of daily necessities is a "couture" specially provided by the British local brand.
The ceramic cutlery used in the car was customised by William Edwards, one of the uk's finest bone china suppliers.
The wooden paneling of the decorated carriages is made by A Dunn & Son, a British family-owned company with a history of more than 125 years. The company's customers include ocean-going cruise ships such as the Titanic, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth.
The paneling of each carriage has a unique pattern: the Vera carriage is a jumping antelope, and the Ibis carriage is a Greek dancer.
Such gorgeous woodwork is rare in the modern world.
Since British Pullman only offers day trips and no accommodation, dining becomes central to the train experience.
I have always thought that the train and food cannot be said to be unrelated, but only unrelated. The train seems to have always been strongly bound to the bubble noodles. Even in the first class of the plane, there is no fresh food with cooking skills.
But in British Pullman, meals typically consist of five courses. Duck meat with applesauce, wild sea bass, rum cake, truffle chocolate and more are all made from the highest quality British ingredients and cooked on site by the chef. Even the tea comes from Tregothnan, Britain's oldest plantation.
Who says you can't eat good food on the train?
From time to time, the train will also invite Michelin chefs to host dinners, but the ticket price will be increased accordingly.
From London Victoria Train Station, British Pullman offers a variety of day trips to Bath, Goodwood, Chatsworth Manor and more.
Guests who take the train often tacitly dress solemnly and wear formal dresses to take the train, as if they have returned to the golden age of train travel.
03
The legendary Orient Express
Not just transportation
Today, when airplanes and high-speed rail continue to refresh our travel speed, some people may question: is the retro luxury train worth our spending a lot of money to experience?
But for train fans, the answer is self-evident. This steam-age way of travel has a unique charm that is irreplaceable by high technology.
Moreover, Belmond's train, both in a historical sense and in terms of experience, is completely worth the fare.
In addition to British Pullman, Belmond also has train lines such as Royal Scotsman through the Scottish Highlands and Andean Explorer deep into the Inca Empire, all of which take train travel to the extreme.
After the release of the movie Murder on the Orient Express, the company that actually owns the Orient Express has once again received attention.
For the first time, many people know that the Orient Express is still real today. Belmond's Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) train is the prototype of the Orient Express.
The train line crosses the European continent and is best known for its annual five-day journey from Paris to Istanbul. Via Budapest, Bucharest, Sinaia and Varna, Istanbul and Venice.
The film Murder on the Orient Express is set in 1930, during the heyday of the Orient Express. Dignitaries, diplomatic envoys, princes and grandchildren rushed to ride this train, which is known for its luxury, and took pride in it.
In a way, the Orient Express was synonymous with high society and exotic travel in that period.
Arms tycoon Zakharov, oil magnates Gulbenkian and Hemingway were all guests of the Orient Express. The Maharajah of Kuchibihar in India even redecorated an entire sleeper-cum-dining cart as a meeting place for him.
At that time, riding a luxury train was a "competition" between nobles. Dressed in elegant long skirts and sumptuous furs, the ladies carried expensive suitcases behind them and used the train platform as a catwalk.
Louis Vuitton's suitcase is the strongest equipment for the nobility to show pomp. The Duchess of Windsor also boarded the train with a pile full of extravagant boxes.
The Orient Express itself is a legendary work of art, with 17 carriages all antiques with history.
Two carriages were filmed for Murder on the Orient Express; carriage 3,544 was converted into a place of wind and moon during World War II; and carriage 3,425 was taken from a train taken by King Carol I of Romania when he eloped with his mistress.
All the ingredients on the bus are loaded from Paris or the departure city, and fresh food with local specialties is purchased along the way.
The bar is equipped with a piano, and from day to night, a pianist plays music until the last passenger returns to the carriage to rest.
Each traveler's suite is more of a "mobile palace"," and although limited by space, the level of luxury is not inferior to that of a five-star hotel. There is also a 24-hour butler service with more staff than passengers.
Although I didn't have the opportunity to take the Orient Express, before the pandemic, I took another train in Peru, Hiram Bingham, from the capital Cusco to Machu Picchu.
Originally, I just wanted to make the South American "hard trip" more fun and comfortable, but after riding, I couldn't help but sigh: I am even willing to come to this country for this train.
The lavish decoration of the train, meals and drinks, is already the standard in Belmond, and naturally there is no need to mention it. Hiram Bingham also takes the ritual of travel to the extreme.
The carriages have skylights that offer a 360-degree panoramic view of the Andean plateau.
The rear of the car is constantly performing in band performances, and tourists from all over the world are cheering along with the bright-paced Spanish songs.
Arriving at Machu Picchu, a special guide took us to the top of the mountain with a car of passengers to visit the ruins. While waiting to descend the mountain, you can also enjoy afternoon tea at Belmond's restaurant, which is included in the ticket for over $400.
Its value, in fact, can no longer be measured by the standard of a means of transportation.
Traveling through various countries on the train, deep into the hinterland, the window is an endless stretch of beauty, and strangers from the north and south of the world have gone from not knowing each other to talking about nothing.
The charm of the train is not only in the luxurious decoration, it is the travel itself.