Sunday Stamps - (B) Batik from Indonesia

For the letter B - batik

2011 - Indonesia - Traditional Textiles

Designer: De-er

The red & black (Batik Madura Jawa Timur) stamp was from a mini-sheet issued on 6 July 2011. The brown & white (Batik Parang Garuda DI Yogyakarta) stamp was from a mini sheet issued on 30 March 2011.

Batik is a traditional textile from Indonesia and perhaps the most popular. Each time I see an intricately patterned printed fabric with an ethnic design here in the SE Asian region, right away I would think, "Ah, that's batik!" 

I've been to Indonesia several times now since 2015. I've become more well-informed that batik is but one of the traditional textile design techniques. Here's an article about the different Indonesian traditional fabrics.

for more stamps with the letter "B" - visit See It On A Postcard

Postcards for the weekend 20: SE Asian land transpo

PH-61397, Sent to Pella, Greece
Traveled 9,664 km in 14 days

Here's a horse-drawn wooden carriage that's been widely used in the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines. The local term is calesa. I remember when I was a child, my grandparents would bring me to the church or to the town market in a calesa. Nowadays, it's mostly found at tourist attraction sites and is no longer used as a means of every day public transportation.

Sent from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Traveled 350 km, sent 12 June 2015

This is called a trishaw. Similar to the calesa, tourists are the ones seen enjoying a ride. The back of this postcard says that this is static image was taken in Malacca. I've never been there but I've seen for several times a row of trishaws carrying tourists around Chinatown (Singapore).  

Friendship gift postcard, Sent from Jakarta
Sent 23 July 2012, Traveled 2,787 km

Trishaw in Indonesia is called becak. I've never seen a trishaw for the couple of visits I've had to 2 different cities in Indonesia. I reckon that it has been widely replaced by motorbikes. As far as I know, at least in Jakarta, there's an app for motorbikes which works like an Uber/Grab where you can order a motorbike for a pick up / drop off service.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Ho Chi Minh, Vietman
Sent: 20 November 2013, Traveled 1,611 km in 6 days

I've been to Ho Chi Minh several times and I've seen few people still riding this type of tall bicycles. Although nowadays, as most of you may know, the city's streets are full of motorized bicycles. Perhaps for originality or to attract attention, some street vendors could also be seen like the man with his items for sale on the postcard below:

Sent from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Traveled 2,698 km

I hope you enjoyed these postcards from my part of Asia. I'm currently traveling for work and facilitating workshops even on Saturdays for this weekend and the next. It's been really busy on my end lately and I hope you all would forgive my delayed visits on the pages you share for our weekly linky party.

I hope you're all having a more relaxing weekend as compared with me!

Cheers,

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Fireworks and night views

For fireworks and night views:

UL - Macau International Fireworks Display Contest, issued in 2004

This stamp has appeared here in my blog back to 4 years ago. It came with this postcard. That is probably my only postcard from Macau and this is my only fireworks stamp to date.

LL - A 2013 issue featuring the Fehmarn Sound Bridge. It is a 963-meter long bridge connecting the island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea to mainland Germany. The bridge is considered a historic monument but I can't find any further information from wiki as to the reason for such distinction.

UR - It's from a 2-pc set joint issue in 2009 between Indonesia and Iran. This stamp is the Indonesian face featuring Masjid Al-Markaz in Makkasar. It is a center of Islamic studies in the eastern part of Indonesia. Its architecture is patterned with the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.

LR - Almost of a night view, this 2013 stamp is from the Coastlines of New Zealand set of 5 issue. This is probably my favorite among these 4 stamps shown here in my page today. I love the aptness of the name for the tiny rocky islands and the mixed hues of yellow, orange, and blue as the background.

Visit See it on a Postcard for more fireworks and night view stamps features for today.

~maria

Stamps: Foods of the world

The stamps on top are food I'm most familiar with:

Satay from Indonesia - locally, satay is pronounced as sate. There are many variants and Sate Tambulinas (beef) is the most favored in Sulawesi, the western part -- according to my research. What sets apart the Indonesian satay from other skewers is the use of turmeric in the marinade. Normally, I get my satay with diced onions and sliced cucumber relish and the best part, peanut sauce.

Roast goose from Hong Kong - this I believe is the "star" on the menu for most of the Chinese restaurants. It's crispy on the outside and tender in the inside. Here in Singapore, we often get the roast duck version. I'm not sure if I've ever tried roast goose at all.

The stamps at the bottom are foreign to me:

Kranjska klobasa from Slovenia - In English, it's Carniolan sausage. From my research, Slovenia has successfully entered it into PGI status. The sausage are joined at the ends by wooden skewers; often coming in pair. It's often served with bun and mustard.

Karjalanpiirakka from Finland - The pie has a TSG status in Europe. I'm a bit confused about the ingredients of this pie. In the end settled with, "This is rice pie but not any rice pie, it's a rice pie from Karelia." I read that the release of this stamp caused an online protest because it shows a store-bought pie not a traditional home-made version.

For more gastronomic stamps, check the page -- See it on a postcard.

~maria

B is for Borobudur, Indonesia

Facebook Swap, Sender: Yenny
Sent: 3 Aug 2012 from Balikpapan-Kaltim, Indonesia
Received, 5 Sep 2012, Traveled ~2381.31 km in 32 days

Borobudur Temple Comppunds was listed as a UNESCO WHS in 1991. It is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world; having the largest and most complete ensemble.

An excerpt from the UNESCO WHS page:

The vertical division of Borobudur Temple into base, body, and superstructure perfectly accords with the conception of the Universe in Buddhist cosmology. It is believed that the universe is divided into three superimposing spheres, kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, representing respectively the sphere of desires where we are bound to our desires, the sphere of forms where we abandon our desires but are still bound to name and form, and the sphere of formlessness where there is no longer either name or form. At Borobudur Temple, the kamadhatu is represented by the base, therupadhatu by the five square terraces, and the arupadhatu by the three circular platforms as well as the big stupa. The whole structure shows a unique blending of the very central ideas of ancestor worship, related to the idea of a terraced mountain, combined with the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana.

~maria

Besakih Temple

To be sent to Finland

On Wednesday, we did one of the highlights of our Bali trip: temple visits. The best of the three temples we went to was the Purah Besakih. It is the holiest, largest, and most important temple for Hindu religion in Bali. Uncle Wiki has a nice article about the temple and also a photo gallery. Below, you can find some snapshots from my trip there. 

I find it difficult to leave today. Bali had been an amazing trip. Cross fingers, I can go back here five or ten years from now and I'll be able to find the place with it's quiet beauty and charm, maintained by its amiable people and unharmed by the seasons.

Happy Postcard Friendship Friday everyone! The postcard on top should be on its way now to my pen pal, Tuija in Finland. For more pretty postcards, check out Beth's linky party at her page by clicking here.

~ maria

Campuhan Ridge Hike

Postcard to be sent to Finland

Greeting all of you a sunny great week from the supposedly rainy Bali! 

I'm really happy and thrilled to share with all of you that it's Monday morning, but I'm here sitting by the pool and working on this blog entry from Ubud - the cultural center of Bali, Indonesia. I'm not supposed to start with my new job until Monday next week so the beau and I agreed that we should go for an extended vacation. We decided to come here to Bali despite the forecast of rainy days. Looking online for travel recommendations, there's so much to see and it's perfect that we have several days for this visit. Also it's low season so we are hoping for a budge trip.

We arrived Saturday night. Yesterday, Sunday was our first full day here. Motivated by the surprisingly blue skies, we agreed it's best to start with the rice terraces. We did the Campuhan Ridge hike to see the rice paddies. We started a bit late so the sun was scorching hot. It was really nice though while on top of Campuhan valley, the first part of the hike. Because it's elevated, we're able to enjoy cool breeze. Campuhan is a sacred place. It is where two rivers, Sungai Wos and Sungai Agung meet. During the hike, we went past quiet villages, traditional looking hotels and spas, and many little art galleries by the road. 

The rice terraces were nice but not as grand as that on the postcard. It was really nice to do the hike nonetheless. It made us energized and set the pace for our visit here.

During the hike, I made sure I snapped a few photos for Sally's Blue Monday. I hope Blue Monday blog hoppers will find them pretty, as well as the blue sky on this snap from the valley.

I better keep going now ... there are still a lot to discover and explore!

~ maria

Furry affections

I read in Beth's blog on Monday that June is the month of romance and love.

As such, let me share some postcards showing furry affections from my collection.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Diana
Sent: December 2011, Sent from Germany

I love how the mommy bear looks serene and content here, feeling her baby caressing her side.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: My twin, Wan
Sent: 5 May 2013, Sent from Bali, Indonesia
Received: 31 May 2013, Traveled 2,651.63 km in 36 days

Bali is not far from Manila, and a month has passed, I was so sad, I thought this postcard was already lost in the mail. The beau told me he posted a card for me before leaving Bali. 

Then on Wednesday, I was so tired from giving a presentation and facilitating a discussion at a technical working group meeting. When I got home, this was one of the postcards out from the bunch on top of my study table. Yippeee!!! It wasn't lost at all.

The candid shot of the mommy monkey taking care of its young is heartwarming. More so, was the message written at the back of this card :)

NL-931574, Sender: Kitty
Sent: 14 Dec 2011, Sent from Ymuiden, The Netherlands
Received: 16 Jan 2012, Traveled 10,408 km in 33 days

Another heartwarming postcard. It's nice to see baby pandas playing and huddling close to each other. It makes me miss childhood -- being able to play in the grass and the natural affections shared with each other when you're young and innocent about the world.

Speaking of natural affections, let me mention natural kindness and goodness here.

I am so grateful for all the nice words and advice after my previous Postcard Friendship Friday post. The comments I got were really helpful and I'm gaining a better perspective about things in my life now. The comments made me realize a few things. My wait for the Bali postcard was helpful, too. I guess I'm being very impatient and worrying too much sometimes. I need to learn how to slow down a bit and appreciate the blessings I have at the moment. In terms of discontent and some uncomfortable circumstances right now, they will get better in time. Some things I wish and pray for, aren't happening just yet cause as the cliché goes:

Good things come to those who wait (and who keep a healthy attitude and who doesn't stop working hard while waiting), and that: There's a right time for everything.

Happy Postcard Friendship everyone and wish you all a relaxing weekend!

~maria

Look alikes!

It is Look Alike Day theme at Beth's Postcard Friendship Friday.

This got me excited! I have this crazy wish that once I'm ready to have kids,

I would love to have twins. Though I'm really curious how much of a challenge

it would be to raise two kids (who for sure will be as stubborn as me)

at the same time...oh well, that's far from now...

Let's see first what postcards I've got for this theme ;-)

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Indah
Sent: 30 May 2012, Sent from Jakarta,Indonesia
Received: 18 June 2012, Traveled 2,786.16 km in 19 days 

If the caption on the card is too small to read, it says:

Balinese dancers, richly attired after the manner of ancient Hindu princesses.

Facebook Postcard Swap, Sender: Hanna
Sent: 5 October 2012, Sent from Reykjavik, Iceland
Received: 28 October 2012, Traveled 10,728 km in 23 days

This card, according to Hanna, shows the national costume
of women from Greenland. Hanna got the card from Nuuk, the capital.

She taught me some Greenlandic words:

Aluu = Hello

Baj = Bye

Qujanaq = Thank you

Asavakkit = I ♥ you.

I hope you like the postcards I shared today for the 

Postcard Friendship Friday blog hop.

I wish all of you a relaxing Friday evening!

~maria

First Official Card fr Indonesia

The sender, Maya said that the quotation on the card is her favorite. 

May the cuteness and the message on this card set the mood for your entire week, folks! 

Now, hop onto Willa's page by clicking the meme below for another beautiful postcard to start the week! :)

~maria

Postcard ID: ID-22810

Traveled 2,781 km in 12 days