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Sometimes a train is more than a means to get from Point A to Point B—sometimes, the train itself is the point.

So it is on the Orient-Express's Eastern & Oriental Express that winds through Thailand and Malaysia and ends in Singapore. Inaugurated in 1993 after the company's 123-year success with the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express on the Continent, this train is a beauty.

Think four days of anachronistic elegance: rattan, silk, linen. Think straw hats and white gloves and seersucker suits that don't look the least bit out of place. Imagine meals on crisp linens and fine china, wine decanted into crystal stemware. Think rail travel as it was meant to be as you make your way through dense jungle, along rice paddies, past loitering water buffalo and untouched village montages.

Begin in Bangkok's Hualampong Station, where your steward shows you to your reserved compartment. During the daytime hours, this is your very private lounge. Do exactly as you'd like. Curl up with a good book (or your good friend) or concentrate on the verdant scenery outside your picture window. Should you decide to have a closer look, head for the open-deck observation car, where you can glimpse Thailand as it unfolds and chat with your fellow travelers.

Dress as the dinner hour approaches, then head to the bar car for a chance to mingle, sniff out the intrigue, see who's about, and hear the resident pianist tickle the keys. Make your way to one of two restaurant cars for a delightful full-course meal as your steward magically transforms your compartment into your boudoir. Voilà.

Breakfast (and later, afternoon tea) is served in your compartment at the time of your choosing, though on your second day on the rails we urge you to arise early to have a look outside as the E&O reaches an old wooden trestle en route to the River Kwai. Plenty of World War II drama unfolded here. In Kanchanaburi, disembark and spend time with a local historian, who paints a picture of what went on here during the war. (Before you leave home, rent David Lean's masterpiece, "Bridge on the River Kwai" to get in the mood.)

Just the other side of the Chunnel, board the VSOE herself, a thing of beauty, a train with more history (and intrigue) than you can imagine. Spies exchanging whispers. Heads of state exchanging ideas. Hollywood's heavy hitters and journalists sidling up to the bar and in and out of compartments day and night.

We enter Malaysia via Butterworth, where we again disembark, this time for a visit to the colonial Georgetown and Fort Cornwallis. Hear tales of the East India Company and its role in developing this part of the world. Ride a trishaw through narrow streets and past historic sites.

Our final day brings us over the Straits of Johor and into the island republic of Singapore. Thank Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles for buying the place in 1819.

Bid farewell to the E&O, and you're back in the 21st century.

More? Consider your time on the E&O as a pre- or post-tour to R. Crusoe's A Dream of Indochine. It's your choice: Head for Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and/or Laos. Call an R. Crusoe & Son tour specialist for details.

Southeast Asia in Panorama Via the Eastern & Oriental Express. 4 Days.