When this photo of the Old Railway Station Hotel popped up on one of the Malaysian Historical sites I follow on Facebook, it immediately triggered fond childhood memories of the Station Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. You may or may not know that this station housed a rather posh hotel back in the day.
In the late 50’s we used to travel to KL from Penang by train or car, whenever Dad had a meeting to attend. My love for historical buildings must have started around then. This hotel was unique and majestic and captivated my heart even then. Alighting from the train you immediately checked in without much fuss. I loved the big spacious room we used to get, probably equivalent to a suite these days, as Dad was Chief Surgeon Penang and a Division 1 officer in the government service. Do you know the beautiful minarets of the station? Well in the suite this was the extra bedroom all on its own. I used to imagine this being a princess’s boudoir with a canopy and all. And yes the imagined splendor came in the form of a suspended white mosquito net from a point in the ceiling above the bed flowing down and tucked around the bed. Being the eldest I bagged this nook. The master bedroom extended into a sprawling sitting area with a settee and lounge chairs. Armoires of teak enough to fill a week’s worth of family attire were set in one corner. The sturdy slated teak stand for luggage was beside it. There was always a welcome fruit basket on the coffee table.
The bathroom was lavish. Black and white tiles in a checkerboard pattern stretched from wall to wall. Twin classic pedestal-style Twyford sinks with separate knobby handles for hot and cold water took up one wall. The stand-alone bathtub with a shower at one end and a side vanity table full of soap and hand towels was situated nicely tucked in the corner. I recall the linen was white starched Egyptian cotton.
White bath towels had Station Hotel embroidered in red across one edge. After the customary romp around the room and bathroom, we were ready to explore.
Breakfast was served in the large dining hall on the ground floor. Attractive geometric terracotta tiles covered the floor like a giant carpet, again in a checkerboard pattern that brought our eyes up to the French-styled panelled walls. Square tables with white tablecloths set for four were laid out neatly. A prepared hot breakfast of preferred eggs, toast and Chivers marmalade. The waiters in white tunics, ferrying trays from kitchen to table, complete with a white serviette on their arm. My love of thick-cut marmalade at first bite must have started here. The restaurant serves a mean Hailam mee, yellow noodles sitting in a dark sauce with the perfect taste of salt and sweetness. To this day it is one of my favourite dishes and I will never miss a chance to order this at old coffee shops, Coliseum Café and hill resorts of Frazer’s Hill or Cameron Highlands. This comforting dish has slowly but surely been wiped off the face of Malaysia. Coliseum Café on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman has already taken the hit by its closure recently.
This railway station was built in 1910 and fully commissioned in 1917. It was the main hub for the Federated Malay States Railways, which later became Keretapi Tanah Melayu. The architect was Arthur Benison Hubback, one of the more prolific architects of important historical buildings in Malaya at the time.
The Old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
I remember Dad saying, “The British, used Malaya as their architectural playground to replicate and experiment with the Indo-Saracen style buildings they acquired from their time in India.”
Lucky us. The Railway Administration Building opposite KL Railway Station is another unique architectural gem. The British saw the need to develop the transport infrastructure in the north for the all-lucrative tin ore mining in and around Ipoh. Hubback built the Ipoh railway station in tandem with the one in KL. Perhaps after approving the plans of the more paired back design, he concentrated on the masterpiece in Kuala Lumpur and allowed the deputy architect in the public works department a freer hand in this project.
Not to give away too much of my memoir, I will reveal that we moved to Kuala Lumpur permanently in 1960 as Dad was promoted to the post of Chief Surgeon of Malaysia at The General Hospital KL. His move to KL was also to enable his contribution to developing the Medical Faculty of the University of Malaya which was being established in 1962. That was also the time he, Dato Dr Syed M A Alhady, became a member of RSGC.
What memories a picture can bring back of a time past? A picture paints a thousand words…
Enjoy this beautiful photo of the current Railway Station in KL taken by my friend Zain Abdullah, who has generously shared for this article.
