Here’s one way to end this train wreck of a year on a high note.
The iconic Orient Express train that once carried the wealthy and elite from Paris to Istanbul in the 19th century will arrive at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay in December as part of an exhibition held outside France for the first time.
The “Once Upon A Time on The Orient Express” pop-up will include a cafe, a merchandise store, a showcase of historical artefacts, and an escape room where you can roleplay as detective Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie’s mystery-drama Murder on the Orient Express.
Two of the Orient Express carriages built in 1930 as well as a 158-year-old locomotive weighing 200 tonnes will be shipped from France to Singapore for the exhibition, along with hundreds of historical items such as posters, crockery, furniture, and even an original Louis Vuitton suitcase once used in the past. They will be on display at the West Lawn of Gardens by the Bay, in a 2,000-sqm space.
“All these elements needed to be housed in a custom built infrastructure with the right conditions to store, preserve and protect the artworks and displays. This is especially due to the hot and humid climate in Singapore,” exhibition curator Claude Mollard said in a news release.
The Orient Express was a luxury train service built by railway company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits in 1883. The first Orient Express exhibition was held in Paris in 2014 in collaboration with the Arab World Institute.
The Singapore exhibition will also allow visitors to learn about the trains’ routes and scenic stopovers such as London, Paris, Venice, and Istanbul. Documentaries, newsreels, and film clips about the train’s heritage will be screened as well.
“Once Upon A Time on The Orient Express” will run from Dec. 12 to June 13. Online ticket sales start Oct. 2 at S$25 each.
FIND IT
“Once Upon A Time on The Orient Express”
West Lawn, Gardens by the Bay
18 Marina Gardens Dr
10am to 9pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays
10am to 7pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays
10am to 10pm on Saturdays
Other stories you should check out:
Watch Singapore rise and fall in athletic filmmaker’s 8-year time lapse
