" For those who appreciate architecture & design, the many beautiful buildings around the world provide enough motivation to travel "
The above quote came from a young Malaysian traveler who described himself as an "amateurish architecture observer" who has a strong interest in travel in pursuit of interesting architecture ! Based on his travel article, he has tracked some of them down for your future travel inspiration ! Of the 8 beautiful buildings / monuments or structures with unique architecture & design he singled out, I had in recent years the opportunity of visiting 7 of them - a great outcome in my world of traveling thus far !
Taking a cue from an article published in a local English media on June 12 2021 by a young Malaysian writer, this has helped me to create a post captioned " Reminisce My Good Old Days - Travel by Design" & I am pleased to post below a number of pictures taken (plus the writer's story on each of these buildings) on the 7 magnificent buildings / monuments / structures I had visited during my travelling years in overseas :
1) China - Great Wall of China, Beijing (package tours & free & easy visit to China in Sept 1997, Dec 2002 & Sept 2010) - this over 3,000 year old wall, due to its architecture, is often compared to a dragon, it stretches approx 21,196km from east to west of the country, making the wall one of the most amazing architectural engineering feat of human history; visited the Great Wall of China three times to admire this UNESCO world heritage's wonder !
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| Sept 1997 |
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| Dec 2002 |
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| Sept 2010 |
2) United Arab Emirates - Burj Khalifa, Dubai, (my solo visit to UAE & Oman in Jan 2018) - at 829.8m high, Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building, a record it has held since it opened in 2010, that great scale & height also makes it one of the modern architecture's most impressive success stories, the massive skyscraper also houses the highest outdoor observation deck (554.7m) & longest elevator (503.8m), the design for the 162 storey tower blends local cultural elements with technology to withstand extreme desert climate, this tallest free-standing structure is built of reinforced concrete & clad in glass, the building was also inspired by patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture.
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| Jan 2018 |
3) India - Taj Mahal, Agra (my free & easy visits to India in July 2008 & Nov 2018) - this "Jewel of India" is arguably one of the most romantic structures in the world, the mausoleum's status as a symbol of love aside (it was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal), its also known for its architectural perfection, no other tombs, palace & fortress in India come close to the perfect symmetry of the Taj Mahal, the monument - from its stunning domes to its glistening minarets & shiny marble screens - features impeccable bilateral symmetry along the central axis, the only break in symmetry is at the burial chamber, where Shah Jahan's grave lies next to the grave of his beloved; visited this UNESCO World Heritage site twice (a lapse of 10 years after my 1st visit in 2008), one of the world most impressive buildings !
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| Nov 2018 |
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| July 2008 |
4) Spain - Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (my solo visit to Europe in May 2011 & May 2014) - this largely unfinished Roman Cathodic church has been under construction since 1882, still not finished yet, but plans to finish construction by 2026, during which 100 years would have passed since the architect Antoni Gaudi's death, Gaudi combined Gothic & Art Nouveau elements in the building's design; the duality of the architecture aside, what's even more impressive is Gaudi's original vision of the church, the man envisioned a structure that's 95m long & 60m wide; his original plan is a church that's able to seat over 13,000 people, with a central tower 170m high above the transept (said to represent Jesus Christ), despite being unfinished, Sagra Familia is the most visited monument in Spain ! Visited twice this UNSECO site in two of my free & easy trips to Europe in 2011 & 2014 !
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| May 2014 |
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| May 2011 |
5) Australia - Sydney Opera House (my working visits to Australia in Sept 1984, April 1990, Sept 2001 & Sept 2003) - widely acknowledged by those in the architectural circuit to be one of the 20th century's most important building, opened in 1973, it has today become an enduring icon of Sydney & Australia, the building is notable for its modern expressional design, courtesy of Danish architect Jern Utzon, the design features 3 groups of interlocking shells that visually reference a yacht's sail, there are over 1 million Swedish roof tiles covering approx 1.62 ha sitting over the structure.
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| Sept 1984 |
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April 1990
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| Sept 2001 |
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| Sept 2003 |
6) Russia - St Basil Cathedral (my solo visit to Europe, Russia, Mongolia & China in May 2009) - instantly recognisable by its psychedelic combination of colours, patterns & shapes, St Basil Cathedral is the epitome of unique Russian architecture, the building's explosion of colors is a stark contrast against the largely solemn weather in Moscow; the bizarre shape of the Cathedral is due to the fact that it actually holds 9 main chapels within, with the tall tower in the centre belonging to the Church of The Insurrection of the Mother of God; the building has endured a different past, former Soviet Union president Joseph Stalin threatened to demolish it and during the Bolshevik's reign, the bells were melted, some historians claimed that Ivan the Terrible blinded the St Basil's Cathedral architects so that they cannot build another comparable structure, however this claim is unsubstantiated, St Basil Cathedral today stand tall as a symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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| May 2009 |
7) Italy - Leaning Tower of Pisa (my solo visit to Europe in May 2011) - it took 199 years to build this world famous landmark, the tower's tilted structure has als made it one of the most remarkable architectural stories in Europe, due to soft ground on one side and inadequate foundation, the tower began to lean during construction, it was left on its tilted state after completion, the tower was stabilised during restoration works in 2001, currently it tilts just under 4", experts have estimated that the tower will collapse in the next 75 to 100 years ! Took an early morning train from Florence to Pisa (approx 1hr 5 mins).
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| May 2011 |
8) USA - Flatiron Building, New York - while it is not the biggest or tallest building in New York City (which is known for being a hub of many architectural splendour), the Flatiron Building is definitely the city's most dramatic looking, the 22 storey building originally called the Fuller Building has a distinctive triangular shape that makes it popular among photographers & artists, designed in the Beaux-Arts style, architecture enthusiasts have remarked that its facade featuring limestones, terra cotta & steel - only gets more beautiful & complex the longer you look at, when the building first opened in 1902, it suffered the blunder of failing to incorporate any female restrooms, its early years were also plagued by criticisms of its triangular shape, with detractors questioning its stability, but the Flatiron Building has stood the test of time & is one of the New York's enduring architectural legacies !
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Visited New York City in May 2019
but missed visiting this building ! |
In travelling, you win some, you lose some ! I spent a total of 6 days 5 nights in New York City (arrival & departure), never mind I missed seeing this Flatiron Building in the 5th Avenue of New York City but I was overtly happy when I walked into the The World Trade Center site (a 14.6 acre area in Lower Manhattan), formerly referred to as "Ground Zero" or "The Pile" immediately after the 911 attacks in 1993 !
Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) - a total lockdown had been imposed by Malaysian Government effective June 1 > 14 2021 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases. However, the latest announcement revealed that the nationwide total lockdown has been extended for another 2 weeks ending June 28 2021 ! So the best course of action was to stay at home !
In the meantime, the Malaysian Government has stepped up a nation wide online registration / vaccination program & drive to encourage more & more Malaysians to come forward for their vaccinations at various nation wide vaccination centers. I had my 1st dose of Sinovac vaccination in the Setia Alam Convention Center, Selangor on June 7 2021 & my 2nd dose vaccination is due on June 28 ! So far 1.3 million people had fully vaccinated, 3.030.096 people had received their 1st dose !
Eat by Design (Rice dumpling wrapped in triangular shape) - Monday June 14 2021 is a Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu (Double Fifth) Festival, a traditional holiday in China that commemorates the life & death of the famous Chinese scholar & poet, Qu Yuan, the festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, main cultural activities are race dragon boats, eating of rice dumplings etc, my wife brought home some home-made rice dumplings, a treat from her sister so my family members will have steamed rice dumplings as breakfast in any of the day in the coming week ! I tasted one rice dumpling (wrapped in triangular shape bamboo leaves) on last Sunday morning (June 13 2021) as breakfast + a cup of hot Nescafe coffee - very filling & tasty !
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