A s h l e y
I truly enjoyed and loved every single bit of this project as we get to go out and explore new and exciting things. First of all, I love to travel and go on adventures. Secondly, I love photography. Thirdly, it's a trip consisting of food. Forthly, being able to go on a day trip with my best friends! What more could I ask for?
By doing something that you love and getting the opportunity to learn at the same time is just pure satisfaction. Moreover, this project made me feel like a blogger going on trips and documenting about it.
Throughout the trip, I have learned more about Sekinchan such as their lifestyle, culture, food and architecture. Futhermore, I am more aware about the importance of respecting different cultures. We got to chat with the friendly locals in Sekinchan. They were really eager to share information about the specialty there. Being able to communicate with the locals allowed us to feel closer towards their community and also to feel belonged in Sekinchan for a day.
"The purpose of life after all is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." - Eleanor Roosevelt
B A R B A R A
I remember the first time I heard about a magical place called Sekinchan. I couldn’t imagine such a place existed. This trip has been an eye-opening experience for me as it taught me to develop deeper understanding about Sekinchan. Evidently, from the outcomes of this trip, I have gained more knowledge and information about Sekinchan such as their lifestyles, culture, architecture and food.
I have learnt that, Sekinchan is indeed an eye-opening on the simplest things in life and how rice are grown till its time to harvest it and send for export or locally consumed. The paddy field is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and seared in my brain for the rest of my life. This trip does not allow us to relax and unwind, but it also serves to bring us closer like a big family.
I don't for a second take for granted how lucky I am to have these experiences - the good and the bad. The blessing in a little bit of apathy slipping in after this trip is that when a place still manages to wow you, you know it’s something special — and you grab onto that moment with both hands.
Lastly, I am grateful for the friends and fellow group members who have helped me every step of the way.
M I N C H U E N
Throughout the trip to Sekinchan, We explored on the culture, architecture and food in Sekinchan. Sekinchan is a fishing village and also comprises a vast paddy field. Here, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, we had the opportunity to get closer and experience the village life. While we travelling around Sekinchan, we saw mostly farmers, fishermen besides tourist. They lived in Sekinchan for years, repeating the same routine every day, wake up before dawn, working in their own yield, and leave for home at evening. Their hardworking and contentment towards simple life inspired me. Life is simple, but most of us insist on making it complicated. Farmers and fishermen live a simple life and yet they are satisfied of their life, despite how hard and tiring their work is.
Apart from that, I learned that architecture in a place reflects the life of people and culture of the place. In Sekinchan, we found traditional Chinese style houses which built by wood and Zinc roofing, the simplicity of the structure shows the difficulity of village life. Special designed swiftlet house are spotted along the paddy field, this shows the special activity in Sekinchan, which is swiftlet farming. Many people thought that Sekinchan is a Chinese village, however, we spotted some Mosque and traditional Rumah Melayu in Sekinchan, showing that Sekinchan is a multiracial village.
Food, what we consume daily, we tend to waste it unknowingly in our daily life. From the outcomes of this trip, I witnessed the process of food production, it is not simple as we thought, and it is all the effort of our farmers and fishermen. Without their hard work, we won’t have so many scrumptious food on our table. I realized that we should appreciate every spoonful of food, it is the hard work of others.
M A D E L I N E
In this project, I have acquire new knowledge about Sekinchan. Sekinchan is not only about the paddy fields and fishing village, what is important is the people and the culture there. It makes Sekinchan, Sekinchan. Without the people established there, Sekinchan will not be as beautiful as it is, same applies to other places. The people is what makes the place special.
Through communicating with the locals, we also get to see some spots that are not touristy but recommended by the locals. For example, the Malay village is a spot that is least known by others but we get to see it as we communicate with the locals.
In addition, we also get to know more about the culture and activities that the people here practice everyday. This is a really interesting project and I enjoy it very much.
K W A N G Z H O U
When our dear lecturer Ms Lojana told us there will be a learning trip, I felt so excited.This is the first ever assignment that made me feel so excited. I think it's a natural love we budding architects and QS have for photography.
For me it is a wonderful trip as I learnt many things such as culture, social, architecture, religions and the life there. As we know that Sekinchan is a small town located in Selangor state and it is in the middle of the main rice-bowl area of Selangor. We choose to go to Sekinchan because it is a green and nature place which suitable for us to release stress in our university life.
Besides that, we learnt how to create a blog and use photo to convert our experience and information in a non-verbal way. Lastly, I am happy and statisfied with this project and I hope there will be more similiar project in my future study.
D A R R E N
The first ever assignment of effective public communication definitely caught everyone's attention at first 'brief'. It's because its was like a trip we have to explore ourselves. So when Ms Thivilojana briefed us about a photo blog we would have to create by actually visiting places, we were extremely excited.
A 6 man team we were supposed to form. My team consist of Darren Tan, Barbara, Min Chuen, Ashley, Madeline and Ng Kwang Zhou. Next, was choosing the right venue given by Ms Thivilojana. Almost straight away, we decided on Sekinchan. The reason being was we wanted to find a place that is close yet has a lot to explore, after few light research showed that it was a relatively nearby plentiful small town village, that was also relatively popular among tourists and locals.
We decided to go sekinchan on a public holiday, because that was our only free time we had. We when for a one-day trip to Sekinchan. We actually had the discipline to start out from school at literally 6 am, it took use about an hour's drive away. The whole day was filled with bike rides, exploring the little Sekinchan to traditional architect houses, and from its main agriculture plantations to fishing borders. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and took as many photos as we could to be filtered out later on. Throughtout our trip we found out there was more to sekinchan then we know. It was truly an amazing one day trip as we all enjoy the constant laughter thru and back.
