Aboard the Eastern & Oriental Express: Life As the General Manager On A Luxury Belmond Train

Valentin Waldman shares his unexpected journey of managing a “hotel on wheels”.
Eastern & Oriental Express

Valentin Waldman, General Manager of Eastern & Oriental Express.

Valentin Waldman has worked with the Eastern & Oriental Express for 13 years. But it almost did not turn out this way. “I got the job but almost disregarded the offer. I couldn’t quite relate to the job description for train manager,” recalls the amiable, candid Frenchman who rose to become the train’s general manager in 2016.

It is a balmy afternoon, and I am having lunch with Waldman in the restaurant car at the Eastern & Oriental Express, A Belmond Train, Southeast Asia. Outside the damask, curtain-framed windows, blankets of rice paddies, and sun-gilt rubber trees form a constant panorama.

The Eastern & Oriental Express started running between Bangkok and Singapore in 1993 but took a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic. It relaunched in February 2024 with new three-night journeys between Singapore and Penang or Langkawi.

Up for an adventure

Eastern & Oriental Express

The Presidential Suite package comes with exclusive treats, such as complimentary Dior Spa treatment per person and free-flowing champagne. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

On that fateful decision made in 2012 to join the luxury train service, the boyish Waldman chuckles, “I was worried that it was always going to be the same on the train, and I’m someone who gets bored easily.”

Truly, adventure is in the blood of the now 38-year-old. At 16, Waldman left his home in Paris to fulfil a dream of exploring all the continents. That was achieved, and he eventually settled in Thailand after meeting his wife there.

Eastern & Oriental Express

Part of the fun of taking the Eastern & Oriental Express is wandering from car to car on a moving train. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

No trip on the Eastern & Oriental Express is boring, as Waldman eventually discovered. He also learned that managing a “hotel on wheels” vastly differed from managing standard hotels, even though he already had several years of experience working in luxury hotels in Phnom Penh and Bora Bora.

Tight spaces and the logistics of refuelling and acquiring fresh supplies mid-journey were new challenges.

Eastern & Oriental Express

Marquetry, plush fabrics and brass details evoke an ambience of old-world grandeur. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

Cross-country sleeper trains have the allure of a bygone past, and popular culture has cemented them as settings promising adventure — the train was the real protagonist in Agatha Christie’s book, Murder on the Orient Express; Wes Andersen added one in his film, The Grand Budapest Hotel; and the fictitious Phileas Fogg started his race around the world in eighty days on the Orient Express from London to Istanbul.

Thus, guests come on board the train expecting to make unusual memories. They also have high expectations of being whisked away on a luxurious train experience popularised in recent history, Europe’s Venice-Simpleton-Express.

A sister train of the Eastern & Oriental Express, James Sherwood started it in 1982 with vintage 1920s and 1930s sleeper trains.

Eastern & Oriental Express

The train’s upholstery was all refurbished; pictured is the State Cabin prepared for sleeping, dressed in blue and green tones and dragon and orchid embroideries. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

Slow travel in a fast-paced world

“With a train, it doesn’t matter where you go; it’s about the journey and the experience,” states Waldman. With no hurry to check off holiday to-do lists, guests on board the Eastern & Oriental Express settle into a relaxed mode, exploring the carriages, sipping tea in a marquetry-wrapped train car, or heading to the windy open-air observation deck, cocktail in hand.

“Belmond’s luxury train service is quintessentially slow travel. We aim to help luxury travellers embrace the art of slowing down through our world-leading collection of luxury trains and navigational experiences. Compared to aeroplanes, it is also a more eco-friendly travel method due to the lower carbon footprint,” says Waldman.

Eastern & Oriental Express

The Observation Car of the Eastern & Oriental Express caps the end of 15 carriages. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

Beyond these reasons, a train is simply a fun way to travel. Sleeping, eating and being entertained (in this case, singer Janet Lee’s Nanyang jazz rhythms in the Bar Car) to shifting scenery are unparalleled experiences.

Camaraderie also runs high throughout the journey, with friendships naturally formed via ad-hoc conversations and shared mealtimes and excursions such as learning about tigers in Taman Nagara National Park, cooking Peranakan food on Penang Hill or yoga on a beach in Langkawi.

Quality service makes the experience

In their service, Waldman and his team contribute to the convivial spirit with laughter and heart. “I’m very protective over how staff interact with guests; they should be your friend by the journey’s end. It was important to me that our recruitment efforts focus on finding like-minded people and detail-oriented individuals to have an authentic flavour to local hospitality,” he says.

For Waldman, service ranks top in creating a great experience. “Many of the passengers have saved up for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Can you mess that up? If you have, you would feel so bad. So I tell the team, we have a mission: We can’t mess up.”

But finding the right people is not easy. Most of the original E&O Express staff had returned to their home countries during the pandemic, and Waldman had to reassemble a new team.

This task came alongside the new direction for the post-pandemic re-launch; after the acquisition of Belmond by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Möet Hennesy) in 2018, the Eastern & Oriental Express was refocused on the ultra-luxury sector.

Eastern & Oriental Express

One of two restaurant cars, Adisorn, upholstered with green tones to mirror the tea plantations outside the window. (Photo: Ludovic Balay)

“We used to run with 120 guests; now we are running with a maximum of 64 guests. We used to run with 22 carriages; now we have 15,” states Waldman. Package prices increased, and so did the level of experience.

He had a short time to put everything together, including planning the excursions that came in the all-inclusive package, refurbishing the train, acquiring border permits and hiring staff.

“We re-launched in seven months. I’ll never do that again, no way!” he laughs, half in jest. “This is the train trip in Southeast Asia. There was so much anticipation. A month before the re-launch, I only had 20 per cent of the staff.”

Luxurious touches

Eastern & Oriental Express

Travellers, especially from Taiwan and Singapore, book a trip just to savour chef Andre Chiang’s cuisine; 2025 will see the launch of a new menu on the train. (Photo: Frankie Lin)

The introduction of chef André Chiang as culinary director added to Eastern & Oriental Express’s allure. His December shuttering of Michelin-starred Raw in Taipei and announcement of retirement from the restaurant business make the meals on the train all the more coveted — where else can you enjoy multiple meals planned by the celebrated Taiwanese chef for three days straight?

In July 2024, the Eastern & Oriental Express added a new activity on board — it became the first in Asia to have a Dior Spa. “A spa on a train is very intriguing, and it goes along with the narrative of the Eastern & Oriental Express,” Waldman remarks.

Eastern & Oriental Express

Formerly the library car, the Dior Spa matches the fashion house’s recognisable Toile de Jouy motif in the fabrics with tropical hardwood surfaces. (Photo: Eastern & Oriental Express, A Belmond Train)

Such activities are necessary to attract travellers who now want exceptional experiences and are ready to pay, especially for the top-end market. Says Waldman, “For some with billions of dollars, what else can appeal? (One-in-a-lifetime) experiences to tell your friends.”

This article was first published in The Peak Singapore.

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