I’ve always loved trains. Not the hellish, crowded commuter versions, of course. You know the ones. Where you’re basically hurtling along in a crappy, mobile tin truck, hot air blowing in through dirty vents and soot-caked windows, and you’re packed in with every man, his mother and all their chickens. And the whole time, you’re desperately gripping your bladder, because the alternative is to visit the unspeakable toilets. No, not those trains.
The ones I love are the ones lined with plush fabrics, free WiFi, air-conditioning (or heating if it’s snowing outside); and with lovely food and wines served by attentive staff whose life goal is to make your trip onboard as memorable and life changing as the birth of your first-born.
Like the Belmond Royal Scotsman through the misty Scottish Highlands, and the Orient Express from Bangkok to Singapore, both of which I still rank as my all-time favourite train journeys.
To this list, I now add ‘Journey through Java with Aman’, a once-in-a-lifetime trip on the Aman train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. From there, it’s a 90-minute road trip to Amanjiwo – a stunning 36-all-suite haven in light sandstone whose circular silhouette was designed by its architect, the great Ed Tuttle, to echo the lines of nearby Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple.
