LANGKAWI EXCURSION

 

Introduction

Langkawi was chosen as the destination for semester 2 architecture students since it offers the variety of retreat houses for students to observe and study for their design project. Besides that, it offers the diverse site scenario for architectural projects such as flat land, moderately sloping and very steep slope. It also offers variety of designs on ground and water (near the seaside and lakes). The whole itinerary for the visit is aimed at introducing students to residential projects with emphasis on the retreat activities and spatial qualities. Besides that, there are informal activities for students and lecturers as team bonding purposes. Our trip was initiated and organized by both lecturers and students with the assistance of our main tourist guide, Encik Badiuzzaman Jamhari, on behalf of the Travel Tailor Made for You Sdn Bhd.

 

DAY 1

Arrival at Langkawi Airport

 

We landed safely at Langkawi airport at 2.30pm. We chose Marlindo Airlines as recommended by our tourist guide since it was the most affordable and convenient transportation for the students. We were greeted by our travel agents in Langkawi, Miss Maria and Encik Daud. They prepared a bus and a van for us as our main transportation in Langkawi.

 

BON TON Resort

AZMAL SABIL

 

Once we arrived at Langkawi, our first agenda was visiting BONTON resort, which is located at about 7 Kilometres and a 10 minutes’ drive from the airport. We were transported by a single bus and van, and our trip was guided and assisted by Miss Maria from Langkawi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonton resort itself is one of the most stylish, unique and intimate resort in Langkawi. It’s formed by eight individual unique antique Malay villas. Each of the villas represent the different characteristics

of Malay traditional house. All of these villas portray antique Malay architecture which blends with beautifully conceived interiors. Another attractive point was the Nam Restaurant, which is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Langkawi.

 

The main purpose of visiting this resort is to expose students to a resort or retreat house design. By this, hopefully students can capture the rough idea about the design characteristics, planning and study about the passive design elements that mainly are applied in Malay Traditional design. Besides that, students may see the real picture of what the benefits of passive design and design by respecting the context of the site.

We were welcomed by Mr. Amir, who is representing the owner of the resort and he is the main chef at Nam restaurant. Our agenda started with the briefing and Q&A session with Mr. Amir in one of the Room near lobby area. The room itself was erected with Malay traditional construction method and it has a view of a sensational garden at the back of the resort. The students enjoyed the ambience of the room which emphasizes passive design with large amount of windows and openings to produce massive natural ventilation.

 

Mr. Amir briefed us roughly about the characteristics of each villa. The pool itself was designed oriented towards the hill with the forest at the back of the resort.

 

 

The Cabin (Pantai Chenang)

MUKRAM IDRIS

 

The Cabin at Pantai Chenang was a very convenient resort for the students since it was near to the beach, food stalls and the shopping facilities. We enjoyed staying at the Cabin and we highly recommend it to other students if they plan to visit Langkawi

 

Beach Soccer Game

Our accommodation "The Cabin" is backed by a sloping beach with the quiet Chenang beach in front and is very suitable for beach soccer tournaments. The first game played by the students’ that was carried out is a beach soccer game that was judged by way of knockout. The match took place with cheers and screams. Students showed perseverance and fighting spirit to become a champion.

 

Dinner & Free Activities

There are lots of restaurants especially seafood restaurants along this Pantai Chenang. The restaurants and shopping outlets are opened until midnight. Actually, this area is very happening particularly night time.

 

DAY 2

Langkawi Lagoon Resorts

MALIZA ISMAL

 

The students were so excited to go for another educational visit which was the Langkawi Lagoon which is located near to Padang Mathsirat and close to the airport, the Lagoon Resort offers a serene village type setting in a luxurious form. Along the way to the resort, we can see the typical kampong type of houses. Interestingly, we came across some of the area which were affected during the Tsunami in 2004.

We were welcomed by the Langkawi Lagoon Representatives and a few other staffs. Mr Ruslan Ahmad as the PR Officer greeted us and explained a brief background of the resort and its facilities. He brought us for an exclusive tour around the resorts and briefly explained the design and construction part of it. We were amazed with the layout of the overall design which blends well with the peaceful scenery of the sea and mountains.

 

There are two distinct parts of this resort. The first is the sea front hotel building which has a magnificent view of the ocean and the hills nearby. All these rooms have pleasing and modern decor and have standard luxury amenities along with kitchenettes.

 

The second part of the resort and our favorites are the chalets that are built on stilts and stand right on the sea water. Actually it's a lagoon out there which is a protected by calm sea water and the chalets have sweeping views of the Andaman Sea. The chalets look like wooden huts. They are built on traditional Malay architecture and offer a unique ambience on their own. They are accessible and connected through a boardwalk.

 

The students were so impressed with the resort design and asked lots of questions to Mr Ruslan and his staff regarding the detail design of it. We observe different designs (modern and vernacular) and different materials used which are masonry and timber. They pay attention to the material jointing methods which is relevant to their technology class. The students managed to take photograph of the entire magnificent tour.

 

Towards the end of the tour, we were guided into the ballroom where light refreshments were served to us. We were indeed astonished with their warm treatment.

 

Island Hopping

MUKRAM IDRIS

 

Island hopping was one of the agenda prepared by the tourist guide. They brought us to the jetty, and we gathered there before we were divided into 5 different groups into our own boat. The students were so excited to be on the speed boat which brought us to view the scenery of the mountains and lake. It was such a pleasant and peaceful view from the boat. The first island that we stopped over was Pulau Dayang Bunting (Island of the Pregnant Maiden) and we learnt the historical background of it. Besides that, we were introduce to the eagle feeding activities at the untouched Pulau Singa Besar. Lastly, we were brought to Pulau Beras Basah for us to enjoy swimming activities and banana boat riding. The total time spent for island hopping was around 3 hours and it was worth it.

 

Performance and Awards Night

According to what is planned from an early stage, four teams will present their performances. Plans had been made a long weekend ahead for each team with the respective lecturers.

 

DAY 3

Cable Car & Canopy Walk

ZURINDA MAT RABU

 

The last day of our visit was the Panorama Langkawi formerly known as Langkawi Cable Car. According to our travel agents the Langkawi Cable Car is one of the best tourist attractions in Langkawi other than shopping. This attraction is located on the southwestern coast of the main island of Langkawi.

 

The objective of this visit was to expose the students to the structural concept of tension structure. From “The Cabin”, where we stayed, to the Langkawi Cable Car there was about a  30 minutes journey. The Langkawi Cable Car consists of three stations and a Skybridge. These stations are named Base Station, Middle Station and Top Station.

 

We started our ascending from the Base Station. The Base Station is located at Oriental Village which is at the foot of the Mat Chincang Mountain. This cool journey gave us the experience of nature and adventure. From the gondolas we saw the panoramic views of the surrounding forests, the Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells) as well as the Andaman Sea. At the Middle Station, some of the students alighted and walked up to the viewing platforms and some went straight to the Top Station. The Langkawi Skybridge is accessible through the Top Station. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit. 

 

Even though, the students could not experience walking on the Skybridge but they were so impressed with a magnificent 125 m pedestrian curved suspended bridge. This bridge is suspended from 82 m high single pylon and hangs at about 100 m above ground.

 

The Sky Bridge

This visit gave the students the life experience about tension structure as well as bridge. This Skybridge is a made up of a continuous steel and timber deck that is supported from above by wire cables.

 

The cables support the whole weight of the bridge as well as any live loads (pedestrians). These cables are the elements carrying tension and no resistance to compression. The cables are connected to the pylon and balanced by anchor. Therefore the pylon will resists any compression to this system.

 

Students enjoying themselves at the canopy walk

After two hours at the Panorama Langkawi, we departed to the Langkawi Airport with a big smile, which corresponds with their tagline “Welcome to Happiness”.

 

Arrival at KLIA Airport

We had our lunch at the Langkawi Airport and boarded at 3.00pm. We safely landed at KLIA airport at 4.00pm and continued with our destination to reach our home sweet home. The journey to Langkawi was a memorable one for both the lecturers and students.

 

(Photos credits: Serene Ang, Kent, Karen Bong, Lawrence and How Kok Kuan)