Here's What You Can Do At The Orient Express Pop-Up, Which Arrives In Singapore In December

The legendary Orient Express will be making a pit stop in Singapore, so even though travel isn’t on the cards, you can now at least pretend to be teleported to another time and place when the ‘Once Upon a Time on the Orient Express’ pop-up exhibition reaches our shores.

The iconic luxury passenger train, which once whisked rich folks from Paris to other parts of Europe in the 19th century, will be making its way to Singapore from Dec 12, 2020 to June 13, 2021 at the West Lawn at Gardens by the Bay. This makes Singapore the first stop outside of France to showcase the Orient Express. The first exhibition was held in Paris in 2014.

Ticket sales kick off on Oct 2 at 9am. Prices start at $25 per ticket; an $88 family bundle for two adults and two children is also available.

There will also be dining and escape room experiences onboard, and organisers tell 8Days.sg that there will be additional charges for these — bookings can be made on the pop-up attraction’s official website, which is slated to go live this month.

Touted as “a fairytale universe related to travel, culture and gastronomy”, the Orient Express, created in 1883, has been said to inspire works such as Agatha Christie’s Murder on The Orient Express and Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train.

The exhibition, which will span a whopping 2,000 sqm, will have two original 1930 train carriages (they’re classified as national treasures of France) and a 158-year-old locomotive, all shipped from France. These will be restored to their former glory and replicate the days of ultra-luxurious rail travel, and teleport visitors back to a bygone era.

Expect to see some 300 artifacts and interactive displays, including uniforms, a sleeping car, porcelain, menus, crockery, and even Louis Vuitton original luggage from the days of yore. Visitors will also discover more about The Orient Express’ history and its scenic stopovers such as London, Venice, Istanbul, Damascus and Cairo, via documentaries, newsreels and film clips.

A replica restaurant car will also be built and will be your pitstop for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just coffee and a bunch of Instagram shots. While the menu remains a mystery for now, it’s said to be a “bespoke menu created with luxury, history and fusion in mind”.

There will also be an escape room experience onboard, where you can step into the shoes of Hercule Poirot and solve a detective case, just like the Agatha Christie character did in Murder on The Orient Express.

Once Upon a Time The Orient Express is on from Dec 12, 2020 to June 13, 2021. Open Mon, Tue, Fri, Sun 10am-9pm; Wed, Thurs 10am-7pm; Sat 10am-10pm. Ticket sales start Oct 2, 2020 at 9am. Tickets from https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/orient2021.

Photos: Orient Express, Sistic