Just last month, 18 students from SABD went on a study trip to Rome, Italy for 7 days (takes a 12 hours to travel to Rome from KL and vice versa) and 4 nights. Alongside 3 of our beloved lecturers, Mrs. Sujata, Mrs. Salvi and Mr. Siva, we travelled for approximately 12 hours from Kuala Lumpur to the land of pasta and pizza.
Day 1 in Rome
First site, the Colosseum! As our bus driver skilfully drove us around the site, while avoiding the infamous roman traffic of course, every single one of us sat in awe at one of the 7 wonders of the world. It was so extraordinary!
Our tour guide of the day, Alexandria, showed up and told us the many happenings and histories of the Colosseum. Things like how it was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre and how it was able to seat about 50,000 spectators. Unfortunately, we couldn't enter the Colosseum that day due to some complications, but we got our chance the next morning. (:
After that, we made our way to the Roman Forums, the Vittorio Emanuele II located at Piazza Venezia and then walked all the way to the Trevi Fountain; the legend that's held here is that if an individual were to throw 3 coins with their right hand over their left shoulder, luck will come their way. Did you know that 3k euros is thrown into the fountain every day? The money is then used to help the needy people in Rome!
We then went to the Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna, where we climbed all 138 steps! A proud moment for us rather physically challenged students. Afterwards, we had our lunch (our first Italian meal for the trip) and then was taken to the Holiday Inn, where we rested for a while before heading off to dinner.
Day 2 in Rome
After breakfast, we went to the Colosseum once again (and met up with our second tour guide, Valeria), but this time, to actually enter! As we entered (for free btw), we walked through the pathways and while catching glimpses of the arena through the arches. We headed towards the arena to find the hypogeum; tunnels that were once underground but now totally exposed to visitors.
Afterwards, we were dropped off at the Piazza Navona (which is one of the locations for the films Angels and Demons), and then soon after, the Pantheon; it was originally built as a temple for the Roman Gods, so as you go in, you’ll be able to see a massive dome above your head, with a giant hole in the middle which allows sunlight to enter. When it rains, there're little "invisible" holes in the ground to drain out the water.
Vatican City was our next destination! Since we didn’t have enough time to visit all 8 museums, Valeria dragged us straight to the Sistine Chapel, where we actually saw, Michelango’s very own masterpieces! We weren’t allowed to snap photos though but if you asked any one of us students to tell you what his paintings meant, we could lay all the stories down for you! *giggles* Then, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica (also a location in Angels and Demons). Eyes widened + mouths opened + noses flared = the expression on everyone’s faces! It was beyond amazing! Rays of light shined through the windows as if heaven dropped down on earth! Unbelievable. You. Just. Had. To. Be. There.
Nadirah! Caught red-handed!
Day 3 in Rome
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SABD Student Society
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02:00
Namaste is the universal greeting for the Nepali people!
It means good morning, good evening, good night, hi, bye, how are you, see you later, whatever greeting you can think of! HAHA!
Thandervaa is thank you/ your welcome ! haha!
Around 40 of us went to Nepal last week; including Mr. Keith, Mr. Charles, Mr. Tony and Ms. Alina! It was a 8 day 6 night trip and we managed to cover 4 of Nepal's major cities; Kathmandu Valley (Patan), Nagarkot, Bakhtapur and Pokhara. Differ from the cosmopoliton Tokyo, this trip is more cultural based; observing the people, their traditions, rituals, religion and culture. As this is a study trip, we were given a "travel kit" which we had to sketch and take notes in it, which we had to submit to our lecturers on the last day. Honestly speaking, this "travel kit" aka sketch book really did help us observe and analyse in details of the building and architecture in Nepal. It prompted us to sketch and when we sketch, then do we realize the essence of architecture. The fine wood carvings on almost every structure, be it residential areas, monuments, temples, stupas and monastries. As architecture students, not only do we want to capture breath-taking moments, but bring back memorable experiences too. We talked to the locals, played with the kids there and oh how lovely they are!
The four major places that we went were~~
Kathmandu 'City of Temples' The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu valley, is the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city of Nepal.
Bakhtapur "City of Devotees" This divine, ancient town is famous for its multi-storeyed pagodas. It is one of the most peaceful cities of Nepal where the surrounding is calm, soothing and has a spiritual atmosphere!
Pokhara "Center of Adventure" A mystical city with sky touching mountains and dazzling waterfalls; indeed a visitors' paradise. In close proximity to nature, this beautiful city of Nepal offers the most esthetic panoramic view of the Himalayas. Patan "City of Fine Arts" This city is blessed with beautiful temples and stupas! Not forgetting, its traditional handicrafts and carpets factories. We also had the chance to experience carpet making!
Cultural Sites
Astonishing enough, seven out of the ten world heritage sites in Nepal are termed cultural by UNESCO. Thus, the stupas, monasteries, temples and architecture are all representatives of the rich cultural heritage of Nepal; as following:
» Kathmandu Durbar Square
» Bhaktapur Durbar Square
» Patan Durbar Square
» Changu Narayan Temple
» Swayambhunath Stupa
» Bouddhanath Stupa
» Pashupatinath Temple
» Lumbini Starting off...
Kathmandu Durbar Square is a cluster of ancient temples and palaces, courtyards and streets that dated back to the 12th and 18th centuries. The "square" is known to be the social, religious and urban focal point of the capital city.The Palace Complex was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and is the site of important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch.
Bakhtapur Durbar Square "The Land of Devotees" is a cluster of pagodas and shikhara-style temples grouped around a fifty-five-window palace of brick and wood. The square is part of a charming valley as it highlights the idols of ancient kings perched on top of stone monoliths; guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries; done in very fine wood carvings.
One of Bhaktapur's Pride; its Golden Gate (Sun Dhoka) which is considered the most beautiful and rich specimen of its kind not only in Nepal but the entire world. The door of this monument is engraved with a figure of the Goddess Kali and Garuda (mythical bird) at the top of the door; assisted by two heavenly nymphs. It is also the entrance to the main courtyard of the palace of fifty-five windows, in Bhaktapur Durbar Square.
Pashupatinath Temple "The Holiest Hindu Temple" with its astonishing architectural beauty, stands as a symbol of faith, religion, culture and tradition. Also regarded as the most sacred temple of Hindu Lord Shiva in the world; aka 'The Temple of Living Beings'.
Swayambhunath "The Most Enigmatic Holy Shrine" is a buddhist temple situated on the top of a hill and is one of the most popular and instantly recognizable symbols of Nepal!
Annapurna Range is placed as the tenth tallest mountain in the world; located right in the centre of the Himalayas! When we were at Pokhara, we woke up at 3.45AM to hike up a mountain! Reached exactly at 6am to catch the sunrise..awww! There, we could clearly view the entire Annapurna Range where one of it looks like a fish tail! Awesome-ness! Too bad Everest is on the other side :( Bouddhanath Stupa is one of the biggest and oldest stupa in Nepal.
Talking about culture..........
Nepalese are among the most hospitable hosts. Local Nepalese are generally rural people who welcome the tourists to their homes for tea, coffee or supper. Nepalese are culturally warm, hospitable and affectionate hosts who place their heart above their head. Furthermore, they speak many languages! Chinese, Malay, French, GERMAN! WOW..! Impressive!
We had to switch hotels everyday as we moved up north from Kathmandu city to Nakargot (coldest!), then down to Bakhtapur, Pokhara and then back to Kathmandu! The hotels were not as run-down as we thought they were. The residential areas on the other hand were mostly made of timber but they were not really in bad conditions. They're doors are considerably shorter than normal height, plus their building are mostly made of wood. Nonetheless, the weather was great as it was cooling all the way!
Another great trip~
Whats up for next year? haha! I can't wait xD!
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SABD Student Society
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23:36
For six days, 33 students and Mr. Kid and Ms. Shereen, traveled around three different parts of Japan, the traditional part, whici is Mt. Fuji, the suburbs, Yokohama, and the city itself, Tokyo. Unlike the Nepal trip where it is more towards the history of the place, which is so deep in its roots that it enhances the culture, the people becoming the life of the place.
Whereas uber- modern-tecnologically-overloaded Japan, in comparison, we are looking at urban cosmopolitan lifestyle that has been infused with its traditional culture. The theme for this trip was fashion and architecture, in which we were to compare and differentiate how fashion has shaped architecture, or how architecture had been created for fashion or how both came together in unity to form an architecture that represented the fashion. To do this, we were asked to analyse buildings that could be found in Omotesando, Tokyo, a high-end fashion district.
Throughout the trip we visited three main areas which are Mt. Fuji, Yokohama, and Tokyo, and within these places we had visited :
Mount Fuji
-Owakudani Valley (The Valley of Hell) Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.
-Mt. Fuji Visitor's Centre.
-Kawaguchiko 5th Station
-Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanishi Prefecture.
Yokohama.
- Yokohama Landmark Tower
Tokyo.
-Fuji TV Head Office Building
-Asakusa Kannon Temple
-Nakamise Shopping Street
-Shibuya District
-Ginza District
-Omotesando Street.
Mount Fuji
Considered to be a sacred mountain to the Japanese and the Shinto religion, it is located between the Yamanishi and Shizuoka Prefectures. Mount Fuji stands as the highest mountain in Japan, with an elevation of 3776 meters and not to mention, it's also an active volcano. The mountain is surrounded by five lakes, one of which is Lake Kawaguchi.
Upon arriving in Japan, we took a four hour ride to Owakudani Valley (大涌谷). The name ' Owakudani', stands for the Valley of Hell, which is due to the fact that it is a sulphurous geyser valley.The valley is filled with sulphur vents and bubbling pools.
Sulphur, we kid you not, smells.
Seriously.
Despite the 'intoxicating' smell of sulphur, most of us managed to brave ourselves to eat one of the main local attractions, Kura-tamago (黒玉子), the black egg, which had been hard-boiled in the hot springs, their shells having turned black due to the sulphur. Apparently the locals believe that eating one egg will add seven years to your life.
After satisfying our need to capture loads of picturesque shots of the valley, we left Owakudani, and had to have a short briefing on Mt. Fuji at the Visitor's Centre just before going to the Kawaguchiko 5th station.
At the Kawaguchiko 5th Station, we had a clear view of the mountains surrounding Mt. Fuji and a clear shot of Mt. Fuji itself. The station is the highest area that one could travel to before having to climb the rest of the way on foot towards the peak of the mountain. The weather was really cool, and the icy winds were strong.
We spent the night at Lake Kawaguchi, sleeping in the traditional Japanese rooms complete with futons, eating dinner while wearing yukatas( tradi, and bathing at the bathhouse,also known as Onsen. (please Google for more info, we do not wish to elaborate ;) )
Yokohama Landmark Tower (横浜ランドマークタワー)
The Yokohama Landmark Tower, designed by KlingStubbins, stands at a 295.8 m high. It has 70 floors in total, out of which the 49th to 70th floors are occupied by the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, a five star hotel and the below 48 floors contain shops, offices, restaurants and buildings.The building has the second fastest elevators in the world. A Sky Garden (observation deck) is located on the 69th floor of the building, where one could capture a 360-degree panoramic view of Yokohama City. There are many retail shops, especially in the lowest few levels, selling many middle range to high end items, and also a number of branded goods.
Tokyo
Fuji TV Headquarters
Asakusa Kannon Temple
The temple is one of the oldest temples that could be found in Tokyo. Along the side of the temple is the Nakamise street, a very popular shopping street, which sells many tourist-like items such as small decorations, kimonos, samurai swords and extremely good mochi.
Ginza and Shibuya District
Ginza is a large shopping district which is home to many famous and high end branded goods such as Burberry, Swarovski, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Muji and more.To not spend here was......difficult.
The buildings in Ginza were so different, in the sense that each building had its own certain distinctive features to it, and they are all unlike the ones we could fine back here. Makes one wish that we had buildings like that.
Everywhere the locals go, the main mode of transportation is still - walking. Young and old alike, walking is how they get by to get about. Also, despite the lack of dustbins around, the country is still extremely clean. Their mentality is that no matter who you are, like everyone else you too are expected to be clean.
Tokyo International Forum
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liyuan
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23:00
The Ukiyo-e exhibition is an exhibition of Japanese woodcut prints of the Ukiyo-e genre, organized by the Design School/SABD in collaboration with the Japan Foundation. Remember to stop by on the way to class!
Cheers.
