An Adventure on Rails With the Orient Silk Road Express: Where Marco Polo Meets Agatha Christie

The two red velvet benches and golden wood paneling of the train compartment might, with a bit of imagination, lead you to expect Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective, to poke his meticulously groomed mustache inside, ready to solve the mysterious murder on the Orient Express. In reality, it’s Alexander who knocks on the compartment door—a conductor and butler in one. Dressed in a dark blue uniform with sleeves just a touch too long, he serves chai, black tea in a glass, poured from a samovar. It all feels a bit like a movie set, but the view through the window of passing Karl May-esque landscapes is pure cinematic magic.