Postcards for the weekend 50: Patterns & prints

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sent 16 Aug 2017, Traveled ~10,486 km in 7 days

Delft was the first of four cities I've been to during my very recent trip and first trip to the Netherlands. My Dutch mom brought us to the city center on a Saturday. There was a flea market and lots of delft blue in display in the open stalls on the alleys and roadsides. Delft blue is a renowned pottery from Netherlands, tracing its roots to Chinese porcelain craftsmanship. Original and collectible Delft Blue are the ones with patterns painted by hand.

UA-536831, Sent from Kiev, Ukraine
Sent 14 March 2013, Traveled 8,707 km in 27 days

At the back of this postcard was written: Traditional ceramics of Kosov. I did my research as nothing else was provided about these ceramics on the card. If I'm not wrong, these are traditional prints and patterns from the Hutsul folk artists of the Carpathian region. I love how some of the bowls are shaped like open petals of a flower.

RU-1007560, Sent from Ivanovo, Russia
Sent 29 May 2012, Traveled 8,0479 km in 240 days

The sender wrote that Ivanovo is the traditional textile capital of Russia. Take a close look at each roll of cloth, which one is your favorite?

For patterns and prints.

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Flying

This miniature sheet is from a postcard that I sent to myself from my first business trip back in 2015. 

This special edition was issued back in 1998. According to wikipedia, this Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower was the tallest in the world when it was built. It monitors two runways for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (main and also referred as KLIA1) and KLIA2 (domestic). Currently this tower is only 3rd highest in the world. It has been overtaken by another tower monitoring a 3rd runway for KLIA2 and that in Suvarnabhumi International Airport - Bangkok.

Fly around the world today through Sunday Stamps @ See it on a postcard.

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 28: Japan

The theme for this weekend is from a country you have visited or a favorite place in your country that you have visited. I'm sharing postcards for the former.

Last November 2016, I traveled to Japan with my partner and four other friends. Our first destination was the old capital of Japan, Kyoto.

Postcard sent to self from Kyoto, Japan
13 November 2016, Traveled 5,368 km

I would admit that I was faked in a kinda ignorant way by women walking around in kimono. I thought these are real Japanese women who roam around as part of their local tourism board initiatives. But then, I came to a realization that many of them are tourists who have rented a kimono for the day. Many boutiques offer such experience including photo shoots.

JP-905949, Sent from Saitama, Japan
Traveled 5,368 km in 17 days

I can still remember how delighted I was when I received this postcard and the explanation behind the photo back in December 2016. This was one of the fishes we were wondering about the name when we're in our Japan holiday. It's a narrow and long fish with not much flesh but very tasty. It was explained by the postcard sender that this fish is locally called as autumn sword fish or sanma. Its common name is Pacific saury.

Postcard sent to self from Nikko, Japan
16 November 2016, Traveled 5,368 km

Nikko, our second destination in Japan is a town renowned for lavishly decorated shrines and temples. On this postcard is the heavily decorated Yomei-mon Gate at the Toshogu Shrine. It was under renovation and covered by scaffolding and while plastic drapes when we were there. Nonetheless, the rest of the place was equally astonishing. More details about this UNESCO WHS can be found here. 

Postcard sent to self from Tokyo, Japan
20 November 2016, Traveled 5,368 km

Our third and final destination was the bustling and busy capital city of Tokyo. The atmosphere was a stark contrast with that of Kyoto and Nikko. Tokyo was a maze of tall buildings, colorful neon lights at night, and people on the go regardless of the time of the day. 

Japan was a balance of relaxation with the charm of the old world in Kyoto and Nikko, and adventure with the action-filled urban atmosphere of Tokyo.

Happy weekend everyone! Looking forward, as always, to see the postcards you're sharing for this weekend's theme.

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 22: Anything you wish

Some of you may have seen in my previous posts that I have a habit of sending postcards to myself whenever I go for a trip. These postcards were sent from Mumbai Airport. I got them though from New Delhi. 

Swaminarayan Akshardham is a spiritual and cultural complex. It was placed at the Guinness World Record as the World's Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple in 2007. 

Akshardham means the divine abode of God. Information about the place says that the mandir in the middle is the most visited structure within the complex. I was totally in awe of the statues decorating the mandir. The gajsthar (plinth of elephants) was my favorite. Our visit became all about walking around the mandir to examine and understand the story depicted by all 148 full sized elephants.

We had a great view of the entire temple complex from the elevated express way leading to the entrance of the place. We were brokenhearted at first as we thought the queue was so long and we only had 2 hours left. Good thing, we realized it was the queue for the cloak room and not for the entrance! A lot of items are prohibited inside, such as cameras and mobile phones. Visitors need to deposit the prohibited items prior to entering the place. Needless to say, the security was very tight and we had to queue for at least 15 minutes to pass through the x-ray machine and body frisking.

We're almost left by our flight from New Delhi to Mumbai. I wanted to run into the Post Office inside the New Delhi Airport but we won't just make it on time. In the end, I had quite an adventure to get the stamps in Mumbai but gladly, I was able to send the postcards from Mumbai Airport before eventually boarding my flight back to Singapore.

These are my postcards for this weekend for our theme "anything you wish" . Sending myself postcards during my business trips gives me interesting memories from the place, and not just the endless meetings and usual stuff about work -- which leaves the travel experience too dry sometimes.

Hope we're all having a good break this weekend! I'm glad to finally get a real weekend after a continuous 16 days of work! 

Signing off this post from a place surrounded by pepper farms in the province of Kampot, Cambodia.

~maria

P.S. My apologies for the late posting as internet here wasn't working last night. I wish for those who came here to my page prior to getting the linky up will be back to link up their postcards for this weekend. If not, please help me get the word out -- thanks!!

Postcards for the weekend 21: Sunrise/sunset

Thank you to everyone who wished me well for my trip to India. I'm now in Malaysia and will be back to Singapore in 2 days. It feels like I've been chasing sunrises as for two consecutive days, I was on the plane very early in the morning. One was coming in and another departing from Singapore.

For most of my postcards that has sunrises or sunsets, I reckon the most beautiful ones are those that are coupled with a water reflection. From the country that I just visited:

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Dehradun, India
Traveled 4,710 km

On the above postcard is a Colva Beach sunset. Colva is in the west of India. It's a popular destination because of its powdery white sand beach, tall coconut trees, and yes, beautiful sunset. I've never been to this part of India and really keen to visit just for leisure and play.

Sent from Bangkok, 18 Sep 2016
Traveled 1,434 km

One of the many postcards I've sent to myself from Bangkok ... it's from September when I was really longing to watch the sunset while on a longtail boat ride through the Chao Phraya River. This wish finally came true before Christmas when I came back to Bangkok with my partner.

This postcard is from Thailand's neighbor, Cambodia and had been shared here in my blog in the past. It's one of my favorites to send out whenever I visit Phnom Penh, where my partner currently lives. Siem Reap, the city where Angkor Wat is more accessible is approximately 6 hours from Phnom Penh. Angkor Wat is truly magnificent! 2D photos like on this postcard isn't enough to give justice to the wonders within this religious and cultural complex. It's a sight to behold though with the silhouette of the towers amidst the fiery sunrise sky.

I'm traveling again to Phnom Penh at the end of the month. If any of you wishes to receive a postcard from there, please send me an email to avi_resha@yahoo.com and I'll happily mail you one! :)

Thanks in advance for sharing your sun!

~maria

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

Postcards for the weekend 7: Children from JP, USA, & PH

Sent from Yokohama, Japan by myself
Sent on 30 May 2015, Traveled 5,291 km

Since Feb 2015 when I started traveling mostly around Asia for work, I've been sending myself postcards from my trips. This one is from my first trip to Japan. There's a poem/song about Akai Kutsu that tells the story of an adopted girl, best remembered for her red shoes. According to our Japanese business partner, the little girl with red shoes is a metaphor for little girls being adopted by Americans back then, leaving Japan through the port of Yokohama. I found an article here that elaborates more about a little girl with red shoes on.

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Terry
Sent from Arkansas on 3 May 2013, Traveled 13,544 km

This second card is among my favorites! Terry said that these two friends -- the blonde girl is her and the other one with black hair is me. Terry and I met through a postcards exchange group in Facebook. We became close friends through the years since meeting each other back in June 2012. Terry pointed out to me that by the leg of the stool, there's the ME initials. ME is for Mary Engelbreit, illustrator of children's books.

~maria

Cambodia in my mind

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: My twin (bestfriend)
Sent: 25 June 2015 from Phnom Pehn Airport

Should / If you have / had the time to check out my previous posts about Cambodia, you know that Cambodia was just a dream back in 2009.

Fast forward to this year, 2015 -- my mind has been constantly wandering into being back to that country. The possibility to witness the above with the magnificent silhouette of Angkor Wat during sunrise in Siem Reap is slim. But I would be happy, even just with the sunrise in Phnom Pehn, seen in this photo below. The photo is also from "my twin". He captured this while we're having breakfast on a wooden boat, cruising along the Tonle Sap River.

Check out an amazing collection of photos from around the world, by clicking here.

~maria

Taal Volcano, Philippines

Sent to Mircea in Romania

I am just back here in Singapore from a 10-day vacation in my home country, Philippines. I did a Manila-Ilocos-Manila-Tagaytay-Manila tour; basically north of the country. In Ilocos, I visited the old Spanish town in Vigan, "rollercoaster-ed" and surfed on the sand in Paoay. I wanted to share a Vigan postcard but I realized that the one I had was posted here in my blog, 3 years ago.

In Tagaytay, for the third time - I climbed to the crater of Taal Volcano. The trail wasn't that difficult and there's a majestic view on top. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to get out of Manila just for a day. It's 2-hour away by bus and the entire boat ride on the lake and trek up to the rim of the crater takes a total of just 3 hours.

~maria

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Jay Tio
Traveled 1,611 km

This card is a souvenir from a friend who went to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) back in 2011. The previous weekend, I flew to HCMC and had the pleasure to actually see this hotel in person and the other two that I was only seeing in postcards back in April.

Ho Chi Minh City has the busiest yet most fluid road traffic I've seen so far in my travels. It also has some of the best dishes I've tried in my Asian gastronomic trips. Curious? You may find some of these dishes that I had in my instagram posts, shared on the upper left corner of this page.

I definitely recommend this city to any traveler who wants to have a Southeast Asian adventure -- both on the palate and on the road!

~maria 

Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon

Sent: 20 May 2015 from Yangon International Airport, Myanmar
Received: 9 July 2015, Traveled 2,563 km in 50 days

I thought this postcard would never arrive at all! I was in Myanmar prior to my Japan trip. My postcards from Japan came last month, way ahead of this one.

While in Myanmar, I had the pleasure of experiencing a quick tour of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The whole pagoda complex was fantastic! At night, the temples were literally glowing gold. My room window at the Best Western Green Hill Hotel had an excellent view of this Myanmar architectural treasure. I had lovely evenings just watching the glow from afar.

This is a post I'm sharing for Our World Tuesday. Through my bloghop for this link-up, I discovered the lovely blog -- A Hole in My Shoe -- by travel enthusiasts, Lyn and Steve. They're running a #TheWeeklyPostcard Link-up. I'm not very sure whether my posts would qualify since I'm not able to talk extensively about my travel details here, but well -- let's try :)

~maria

Minato Mirai 21 - Day & Night View

I was sorting out my recently received postcards last weekend and I had a pleasant surprise! I noticed the postcard that my colleague sent to me from her Yokohama trip back in April is the day time view: 

Sent from Yokohama, Japan, Traveled 5,291 km

...of the postcard I sent to myself when I went there in May:

Sent: 30 May 2015 from Yokohama, Japan
Traveled 5,291 km

One striking difference between the two postcards though is the presence of the Cosmo World Ferris Wheel on the night view postcard. It was for a time considered one of the biggest clocks in the world. It was mesmerizing to watch with all its magnificent changing bright lights!

I very much wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel as I haven't experienced this at all! We didn't have enough time so perhaps I'll try the one here in Singapore.

Have you experienced riding a Ferris Wheel? Was it fun?

~maria

Blue Lake Inle from Myanmar

Souvenir postcard, not sent over the mail
(c) Win Kyaw Zan, Myanmar Travel Photography

I was in Myanmar one month ago, before my trip to Japan. The postcards that I sent to myself from Japan arrived last week. But, the postcards I sent to myself from Myanmar hasn't arrived until now. I'm glad that I kept 3 postcards with me; hence, I still have a souvenir from that trip. One of the postcards is of Lake Inle, shown above. 

Yes, you read it right. I send postcards to myself whenever I am traveling. The very first one was from 2012 during my first trip to UK. That postcard could be found here. Some people find it weird. My rationale behind it is these would be nice souvenirs of my younger years. I keep my postcards in albums. I would love to flip through the pages when I'm old. I also write to myself on the back of the card -- simple things that I want to remember from the trip.

Since I'm traveling a lot more now because of work, I dedicated a new label for postcards from my trips that I share here on my blog. These postcards would be grouped under the "travel diary" label. 

Are you curious on what exact details I tell to myself on my postcards? I'd be happy to share, all you have to do is ask :D

Happy Blue Monday and I'm rolling over this post for Tuesday's Our World blogfest.

~maria

Our World and Grati - Tuesday!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Renz & Raqz
Sent: 14 Jul 2013 from Narita Airport, Japan
Received: 19 Jul 2013, Traveled 3,040 km in 6 days

I was continuously on the go; traveling overseas and really committing my time and energy for the new job lately. Being back here in Singapore from a trip in Japan, I have this intense need to just slow down, breathe, and meditate. At the same time, I am anxious about getting my ducks in a row after being overseas for 3 weeks, understanding the roles and responsibilities for my position and structuring the objectives and goals moving forward.

Since writing has always been an effective strategy to calm my nerves, I decided it would be inevitable for me to keep on trying to draw a clear line between simply sharing straightforward facts and interesting information about the postcards and stamps I post here on my page and the blog being a live journal. Oh well, no one really said I shouldn't mix the two, right? I reckon, it's probably nice for my blog visitors too to read on how I'm able to relate or on why a postcard or a stamp is significant for me. So from now on, this page will no longer be so trying hard to stay with a rigid writing format :) I think it's easier that way.

Last month, I was invited by Darla, a co-participant to the April A-Z Blogging Challenge to sign-up for another linky party. I didn't have the time to find out more until today and the linky @ The Writer's Retreat has since closed up. There's a linky party though on Vidya's page that is refreshed every month! Hurray! Vidya is Darla's inspiration for Grati-Tuesday. I believe the gratitude posts are consolidated at Vidya's page via the Gratitude Circle. 

And so now, for my much needed pause from the hustle and bustle of life, here's a 5-point gratitude list from the first 6 months of this year:

1. For a chance to explore roles and responsibilities for a technical position in an inter-national level for a biomedical testing and measurement manufacturing company. Two years ago, it was just a dream to be in this position.

2. For people who are confident in my capabilities to carry on with a position that I had no experience in an inter-national level. These people are also supportive; guiding and teaching me how to navigate the complexities and struggles with this new position.

3. For my first trip to Europe! For a little brown girl from a small island in the Philippines, that was such a big dream came true!

4. For an experience to party until early in the morning. I've always been the "kill joy" and it's nice to learn how to step out of my comfort zone in regards with socializing. I'm glad that despite staying out late under the influence of alcohol, I didn't go overboard; being dead drunk, wild, and crazy.

5. For being able to fly out of Yokohama, Japan area safe and sound after experiencing 2 earthquakes in a period of 4 days. That was my first trip to Japan and I want to keep good memories from that one.

I'm smiling after creating this list. It helps put things in life on a better perspective. 

The modern Tokyo postcard is my contribution to Our World Tuesday. 

The list is for my sanity and the Gratitude Circle ;-)

~maria

Blue forget-me-not blooms

I got this postcard while shopping for souvenirs during my recent trip to Gothenburg, Sweden. The postcard is quite pricey and I am looking to have it swapped for a USA state map postcard for my collection.

The designer is French Marie Cardouat. I really like her designs and this is just 1 of the 4 cards I bought. I wish her cards are available in bookstores here in Singapore. I have to check! For the meantime, I'll delight myself to the different pics posted for Blue Monday @ SmilingSally's.

~maria

Y is for "Your Mind Afloat" with Gothenburg's Opera, Sweden

For letter "Y" --

"Your mind afloat" is the vision of the architect Jan Izikowitz for the Gothenburg Opera. He said:

The building should be possessed by an airiness that sends your mind soaring 

across the meandering landscape like wings of seagulls.

I sent this postcard design to several people (including myself) while I was in Gothenburg last week. Now I am excited to receive it from the post.

Do you think the architect was able to realize his vision with this work?

~maria

W is for Warwick Castle, England

So many things to do, so little time. That's what I am feeling right now when I am about to fly out of Stockholm. It reminds me of another trip where one full day wasn't enough to experience everything the place has to offer.

For letter "W" --

Sent: 31 May 2012 from Southampton, UK
Received: 19 Jun 2012, Traveled 10,880.8 km in 20 days

If you happen to remember the entries I had for letters "D" and "E", this postcard is from that same visit to England. A tour of the castle and its grounds was probably the most jampacked day from that trip. I am not complaining though; the activities were well-organized and there's so much to discover about the place.

Are there any Merlin TV Series fanatics here? Warwick Castle has a special tower for you. It's called the Dragon Tower where you could enjoy a magical experience with the characters from the story.

~maria

P is for Petronas Tower, Malaysia

Being in elevation of around 40,000 ft for the past 10 hours or so, it's but most appropriate for me to share this postcard today.

Sent: 13 March 2015 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Received: 25 March 2015, Traveled 350 km in 12 days

For letter "P" --

Petronas Tower is the tallest twin towers in the world. It stands at around 1,400 ft. I was definitely in awe and felt super small when I saw it in Kuala Lumpur early last month (March). I was only able to view it from the ground, feeling like a worm. I didn't go up cause there's a fee and I was stingy. 

What are the tall skyscapers that you've visited before? We're you able to experience going up that tall building?

~maria

I is for the Iconic Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

I'm doing more stretching for the theme I've chosen this year for the A-Z Challenge. Instead of the actual name of the buildings and structures, I'm using adjectives. But hey, I don't think that's a bad thing nor a bad excuse, right? The A to Z challenge doesn't really have hard core rules. One could go thematic or not.

For me, there are two sides of going thematic. I realized that when it narrows down and gets you more organized, some letters prove to be difficult. In my case for the theme I've chosen which is "Buildings and Structures on Postcards", and not just any other available postcard, but postcards I've received (or sent), I got stuck with approximately 6 letters of the alphabet. Well enough of that, it's quite an early reflection for the challenge ...

For letter "I" -- 

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent by: Wayne & Ron
Sent: 19 May 2012 from Edinburgh, Scotland
Received: 26 Sep 2012, Traveled 10,610 km in "like forever!!"

Iconic is the adjective that the Scotland's National Tourism Organisation used to describe the castle on their website. Such a pity I only went to look at the exterior. I was too stingy and I didn't want to buy the entrance tickets. Perhaps next time!

For more postcards on Friday, check out Beth's The Best Hearts Are Crunchy page, accessible through here.

~maria

H is for Hathaway's Cottage, England

For letter "H" -- 

Sent: 31 May 2012 from Southampton, UK
Received: 19 Jun 2012, Traveled 10,880.8 km in 20 days

It is a bit of a stretch for me. It's actually Anne Hathaway's cottage. I used the maiden name of Anne to distinguish the cottage and gardens to be of Anne's family and not of her famous spouse, William Shakespeare.

A place I visited back in 2012, this is my favorite from the "Visit the Houses" tour. It is one of the touristic highlights in Stratsford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. For this specific site itself, the highlight for me was the garden.

I have another post with two more postcards of the Shaspeare houses, here.

~maria