From Bangkok to Singapore aboard the Eastern
& Oriental
Photos by Mela and
Staff and Article
by Tory
and Mela
Don't forget to move
your mouse over pictures
for a description
We departed the noise and lights of Bangkok
aboard the Eastern
& Oriental at dusk
after our "Hospitality
Crew" checked
to make sure all
of our Moove guests had
arrived safely. As we pulled away from the bright lights
of Bangkok, I felt
a wave of excitement
come
over me. Although our next stop would be yet another
city, Singapore, there was a feeling of entering a dark
and forbidden place...a
place of deep secrets
and unknown adventures. Mela and I found our compartment and began
to unpack. As I lifted
my head to hang up
a sweater, my eyes
looked into the reflection
of the window and
I JUMPED back. For a twinkle of an eye, I saw a face looking
at me in the reflection,
and it was not mine.
"Mela, did you
see that?",
I asked
with my voice shaking.
"What?",
she answered as she
poked her head around
the closet door.
"Nothing",
I answered
as the goose bumbs
began to form on
my arms
and I fought the
feeling of danger
which
hung thick in the
room. We skipped heading to the Bar Car for a drink with our fellow Moove guests (although I
really wanted to
listen to the Thai singer
and band that were
performing that night),
and decided instead
to go to sleep early
and try to catch
the sunrise on the Observation
Deck. I laid awake
in my bed and listened
to the clickity clack
of the railroad tracks
mixed with the sounds
of revelers in the
Bar Car, and tried
to make some sense of
the odd feelings
and fleeting shadows that
had plagued me since
our first day in Bangkok.
I fell asleep still
unable to sort through
the confusion, Mela and I awoke before dawn the next morning
and headed to the
Observation Deck for our
morning coffee. Most
of the riders on the
train were still
asleep - and with the exception
of Ky and Auntie
JoJo, the deck was deserted.
It was obvious that
the two love birds wanted
to watch the sunrise
together, so Mela and
I went to the other
end of the deck. The warm morning breeze felt wonderful as
we exited the darkness of our first night
on the E&O and the steward, who brought our delicious
coffee, spoke in hushed tones as the sun
peeked up over the horizon - as if we all
sharing a secret. It was a very special moment
and I forgot the concerns that had filled
my thoughts the previous night. It wasn't long before the Observation Deck
began to fill with
our family and friends
from Moove - Auntie
Nymph, MysteryMan, The
Rayden Clan, Mickey
Blade, Dark Embrace,
JoddieHottie and
Smartest Blond all made
their way to the
deck. Before long, Bloody
Marys were being
sipped (Livid was the only
one actually drinking
a TRUE BLOODY Mary)
and the deck became
a party. Del and Stacia were talking in the corner
and pointing over the edge - looking at a
map and giggling. I was just about to go
over and see what they were talking about
when the Steward came up to me and handed
me a note. I opened it but could not read it - it was
written in some sort of Chinese or Japanese
alphabet. I grabbed the Steward as he was
leaving and asked him if he could translate
it, which he could not. He explained that
the characters were not Chinese, Malaysian
or even Japanese, but Tibetan The Steward took my hand and led me to the
dining car, saying softly, "I know who can help
you". He introduced me to Saljey Rinpoche,
a Tibetan Monk who also spoke English quite
well. I sat down at the linen covered table
with the finest crystal, silver and china
and looked at the quiet Holy man across from
me. After introducing myself and explaining I
was an Angel and a representative from the
community of Moove, he peered deep in to
my eyes and asked, "What troubles you
my child?". I handed him the note I
could not read and he spent like forever
reading it. As his eyes raised up from the letter and
met mine, he took
my tiny hand in his
worn
palm, and a look
of concern came over
his
face. "My child,
you and those you
love
are in danger - this
note is a warning
from
someone who is concerend....as
am I". "These words tell you, that you are
never alone, that
the shadows are everywhere
and the eyes of darkness
watch you...waiting..learning...for
that time in which
it all will be revealed."
He then picked up
his quill, dipped
it in
his ink and wrote
something on the
note.
"You will need this in time", he
said very seriously.
"You will know
when it will guide
you", and he handed
me back the note.
Just as I was about to
ask a billion questions,
Mela came up to
the table and I introduced
her to my new
friend. I do not
think Mela knew what to
think of me sitting
with a stranger in a
red robe in the Dining
Car. When she asked
later, I just told
her we were talking about
Nirvana. I did not
want to worry her. We excused ourselves and Mela told me that
Del, Stacia and Angie
wanted to meet with
us in our compartment,
so we headed down
to the next car to
our Presidential
Suite. I turned around just as we were exiting the
dining car to give
a smile to the Monk and I stopped in my tracks. He was
gone. I know we poof
alot in Moove, but poofing
does not come natural
to those that live
in Real...I may be
a blond, but I know that
much. And then I saw it again. A shadow moving
to the other end
of the car...gliding
as
if on air a few inches
from the ground.
I
grabbed my phone
and took a quick
pic and
then it was gone
again. For the first
time
in Real, I was pretty
creeped out, maybe
even scared. We arrived at our compartment just as the
goosebumps on my arms were dissapearing and
met with our Hostesses. "Change into
your shorts and get your waterproof wings
on Tory", Angie told me laughing, "we
are going swimming". I was still a bit
disoriented from the odd conversation in
the Dining Car and the appearance of the
"Shadow Walker" (no connection
to our dear friend ShadowWalker in Moove),
so it did not even dawn on me that trains
do not have swimming pools. After changing into a pair of cutoffs, we
headed back up to
the Observation Deck where
I was told the plan
which my CRAZY friends
had come up with.
Del and Stacia had studied
the map and found
a bridge near the first
stop at the River
Kwai - near enough to hike
to the next stop.
Acting like some Army General,
Del used a pencil
to show the exact place
where we were going
to jump off the Observation
Deck in the River
Kwai. "Now if you hesitate and jump too late,
you will probably
get squished on the rocks
or bounce off the
trellis", she warned
us. "So when
I say JUMP!, you better jump." UH...okay".
As the train chugged towards the Thailand
/ Malaysia border
and we all acted like we
were just having the most relaxing time, I looked
over the edge and
saw the blur of the ground
zooming by. "I
leaned over and whispered
to Mela, "this
is about the dumbest
thing ever, you know?"
Mela just smiled
that smile she has
and said, "Yep, but
WTF?" We both
started laughing.
As Brett, Del, Stacia, Angie, Mela and I
sat and held hands
waiting for the bridge
for our "dumb"
jump, I heard Del
say, "30 seconds...get
ready".
My heart started
to beat really hard and
I decided I would
not look when I jumped
but try to do a swan
dive and just pray all
the way down that
the water was more than
6 inches deep. JUMP! The five us left the safety of the train
and a scream of YEEHAWWWWWWWWW and OHHHHHHH
SH*T filled the air. It was too kewl floating
like that and then a SPLASH as each of us
hit the water. We watched the train rumble
down the tracks as we laughed and bobbed
in the water. We floated on our backs to
a nice spot to get back on dry land and hiked
the few miles to the next stop, cracking up laughing
the whole way. After sneaking back on the train and showering
and changing, we caught up with the group
for a view of the amazing rice paddies of
Malaysia. Rice is a staple for billions of
people across the globe and grows very well
in the fertile lowlands of Southeast Asia. In nearby Burma, a person eats about 500
pounds of rice a year, a mind-boggling figure
when you really think about it., but perhaps
not so astonishing when you consider that
Burma is smack in the middle of land where
rice cultivation most likely started thousands
of years ago. Radiocarbon dating of dirt and rock containing
grains of rice found in south China indicate
rice was cultivated as far back as 7,000
year ago. Researchers claim rice may have
been indigenous to India and then moved eastward
to Indochina and southeast Asia. There are literally thousands, perhaps as
many as 40,000 or more, varieties of rice
grown on every continent .......except Antarctica.
We got back on the train for our ride to
our next stop on the following morning at
Penang Island. Mela and I decided to hang
out in the Bar Car. Upon arriving, it was
obvious it was not an original idea. The
car was packed with Moove residents and we
finally caught up with Auntie Nymph who we
had not seen for several days. We grabbed
a table with Chanteel Roses and Cardinal
Sin where the conversation quickly turned to Chanteels
new Design House in Moove - while we I sipped
on a Malaysian brandy called First Class. As the train entered the Malaysian evening,
the Bar Car started to thin out as our fellow
travelers went to dinner. I sat alone with
Mela, contemplating whether to tell her all
about Shadow Walker, the Monk, the message
in Tibetan and my feeling we were in a tiny
bit of danger. Just as I was ready to blurt
it all out, Waya arrived and invited us to
dine with her that evening. We accepted. After a wonderfully delicious meal of Pan-Fried
Sea Scallops with Lemon & Vanilla Dressing,
Cauliflower Puree, Deep-Fried Lotus Chips
in Sweetened Red Wine Reduction and a dessert
of Gingered Pineapple Tarte Tatin & Macadamia
Parfait drizzled with Mango Sauce, Mela and
I decided to get in on the poker game going
on down in Bryan1's compartment. Fed, buzzed
and happy, I was ready to teach these Moove
boys how to play. I wound up losing more than two grand, with
Eggman taking most of it. Mela and I headed
back to the compartment which had been turned
down by the concierge and I fell asleep forgetting
about the odd events of the past few days. After our ritual sunrise-morning coffee on
the Observation Deck, we arrived at our next
stop, deep inside Malaysia for our tour of
Penang Island. Penang is one of the 13 states
of the Federation of Malaysia and is located on the north-west
coast of the Peninsula of Malaysia. The official religion of Penang Island is
Islam, but there is freedom of worship. There
are a bunch of mosques, Christian churches,
Buddhist and Hindu temples all over the island.
Much of our tour of the island centered on
around the diverse religious and holy places
dotting this tropical paradise. My favorite
was the Sri Mariamman Temple. Built in 1883, this is the oldest Hindu temple
in Penang and features fascinating sculptures
of gods and goddesses over it's main entrance
and facade. Housed within it's ornately decorated
interior is the priceless statue of Lord
Subramaniam embellished with gold, silver,
diamonds and emeralds (yummy). I am told
the the statue is is used in in the annual
Thaipusam festival when it is carried on
a silver chariot though the city streets
to the temple. After touring the religious shrines of the
island, grabbing a spicy beef dish from a
vendor cart, Mela and I, like many of our
group, headed into the surrounding countryside
to explore. As was the rule of the whole
trip, it was forbidden to venture off all
alone and everyone had been assigned a buddy.
This rule seemed to have been forgotten by
Dark Embrace as she ventured deep into the
jungle alone. After exploring just a smidgen of all Penang
Island had to offer, we reboarded the train
for our final journey to Singapore, not realizing
that one important member of our group was
missing. Dark Embrace.
As our final night aboard the train came
upon us and the sounds of the jungle filled
the air, I was happy to see that no wierdness
of shadows, mystery monks or cryptic message
had occured and for the first time on the
train from Bangkok to Singapore, I slept
without a worry in my head, not waking until
the next morning as we entered the outskirts
of Singapore. Little did I know that once
we reached the city, our lives would be changed
forever.
We departed the noise and lights of Bangkok
aboard the Eastern
& Oriental at dusk
after our "Hospitality
Crew" checked
to make sure all
of our Moove guests had
arrived safely.
with our fellow Moove guests (although I
really wanted to
listen to the Thai singer
and band that were
performing that night),
and decided instead
to go to sleep early
and try to catch
the sunrise on the Observation
Deck. I laid awake
in my bed and listened
to the clickity clack
of the railroad tracks
mixed with the sounds
of revelers in the
Bar Car, and tried
to make some sense of
the odd feelings
and fleeting shadows that
had plagued me since
our first day in Bangkok.
I fell asleep still
unable to sort through
the confusion,
and the steward, who brought our delicious
coffee, spoke in hushed tones as the sun
peeked up over the horizon - as if we all
sharing a secret. It was a very special moment
and I forgot the concerns that had filled
my thoughts the previous night.
saying softly, "I know who can help
you". He introduced me to Saljey Rinpoche,
a Tibetan Monk who also spoke English quite
well. I sat down at the linen covered table
with the finest crystal, silver and china
and looked at the quiet Holy man across from
me.
Monk and I stopped in my tracks. He was
gone. I know we poof
alot in Moove, but poofing
does not come natural
to those that live
in Real...I may be
a blond, but I know that
much. 
having the most relaxing time, I looked
over the edge and
saw the blur of the ground
zooming by. "I
leaned over and whispered
to Mela, "this
is about the dumbest
thing ever, you know?"
Mela just smiled
that smile she has
and said, "Yep, but
WTF?" We both
started laughing.
miles to the next stop, cracking up laughing
the whole way.
conversation quickly turned to Chanteels
new Design House in Moove - while we I sipped
on a Malaysian brandy called First Class.
Malaysia and is located on the north-west
coast of the Peninsula of Malaysia. 
