Sunday Stamps - (D) Dinner with a Singaporean Family

For the letter D - Dinner with family

2018 - Singapore - Singpost's Evenings in Singapore

The stamp was one of the six designs released early last month, 2 August 2018. The six designs were about familiar evening scenes in Singapore. This particular stamp shows a family sharing a home-cooked dinner.

Somehow, this stamp makes me emotional as I don't have any of my family here in Singapore. However, from time to time, I get to enjoy a home-cooked dinner together with my two flatmates.

The rest of the stamps from this set can be seen here. For more stamps with the letter "D" - visit See It On A Postcard

Postcards for the weekend 76: Masjid Sultan

For the theme - places of worship this weekend, I've chosen to share another postcard for one of my favorite buildings in Singapore -- Masjid Sultan.

I wrote "another" as I've previously shared another postcard for Masjid Sultan or Sultan Mosque exactly for the same theme last year. The building was gazetted as one of Singapore's National Monuments in 1975. According to a trivia from www.visitsingapore.com, each of the domes are decorated with glass bottle ends. The glass bottle ends were donated by poor Muslims during the construction so that all Muslims, not just the rich, could contribute.

Happy weekend everyone!

~maria 

Sunday Stamps: New Year

2018 is the year of the Earth Dog, the previous one being in 1958. Wow, that's 60 years ago! 

I just realized that my mother has an Earth Dog zodiac sign. She's turning 60, two days from now.

Now onto the stamps: (1) The Singapore stamp was released on 5 Jan 2018. It was designed by Mr. Leo Teck Chong, who has been designing Singapore's Chinese zodiac series of stamps since 2009 up to present. (2) The Taiwanese stamp was issued on 1 Dec 2017. It features a paper cutting of a dog surrounded by peonies. 

For Sunday Stamps hosted at See it on a Postcard.

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 72: Love/Lovely

I wish that I've bought more copies than I actually did of this postcard for this weekend's theme. Perhaps I'm too sappy -- I imagine this postcard can bring a nice smile to the recipient.

Have a lovely weekend!

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 65: December holidays

FI-3122027, Sent from Lahti, Finland
Traveled 9,247 km in 12 days

This is the very first Christmas-themed postcard I received this year. I'm very pleased with the bright and glossy finish of this postcard. I reckon there's no heater inside Santa's workshop ... Santa and his helpers' cheeks are all extremely red!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Singapore
Traveled 2,391 km

A card that I've received 4 years ago from Singapore when I was still living in Manila. The sender of this postcard loves to draw. This postcard featured a festive illustration of the Singapore's icon, Merlion at the back:

If you noticed, the message was written for Krissa. I'm Krissa to family and friends. It wasn't until I entered university that I was called using my real name, Maria Kristina. In the Philippines, children are usually given official long names and shorter nicknames.

Speaking of family & friends, I won't be spending this upcoming holidays with loved ones. For those of you who are, I truly wish that you make memorable moments with your family & friends.

We will not have any linky for next weekend ... So please allow me to greet all of you a Merry Christmas in advance!

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 63: Singapore Merlion & Supertrees

I have a colleague from our HQ in the US who will visit Singapore next week. He's coming for one big project I've been working on and hoping to finish before the year ends. Since he will be traveling literally from the other side of the world to help me and that it will be his first time in Singapore, I'm planning to make sure I can tour him even for a little bit while he's here.

The Merlion Park is always a good place to start a quick tour. Merlion is a half fish, half lion mythical creature used as the iconic symbol of Singapore.

From the Merlion Park, as it gets darker, we can walk towards the left and aim for the Helix Bridge. This bridge was intentionally build to take a left-handed DNA-like design.

There's a series of different colors illuminating the bridge. In this postcard, which was taken from a wider angle, the yellow has turned into blue lights. The lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum is also visible to the right of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

If the night is still young, I will bring him to see the Supertrees. It is at the back of Marina Bay Sands Hotel, where there's a free outdoor Music and Light Show called Garden Rhapsody. I've previously featured more postcards for the Supertrees at the Gardens by the Bay, here.

Walking in a counter-clockwise direction, if we're lucky, we might also catch the Spectra, another free outdoor Light and Water Show in front of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

I hope this sounds like a good sightseeing plan!

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 61: Food & beverage

I have just returned from an overnight team building trip to Melaka, Malaysia. We were joking among ourselves that it was not a team building trip but a food marathon instead. Melaka is a foodie haven! I wish I found a postcard for a souvenir but I didn't! Too bad as I realized that it would have been nice to share a postcard with Melaka delicacies for this weekend's theme of food & beverage. 

Now, onto the main topic, postcards:

Postcard sent to self, sent from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Sent 26 June 2016, Traveled 2,678 km

One of the best things about Vietnam is food. My partner and I went to a cooking class where I learned how to properly wrap a fresh spring roll without creating tears through the rice paper. 

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Beaufortain, France
Traveled ~ 10,600 km

This slice of cheese is from my first trip to France this summer. I was taught to eat more varieties of cheese. For this Beaufort cheese, the affinage variety was said to be the best. That variety also costs twice as much compared to the rest. Thankfully, its strong taste didn't agree with my palate. I don't have to break my wallet whenever I have the craving!

Postcard kept as a souvenir

For a Christmas treat last year, my boss invited us for a high tea at the Fullerton Hotel here in Singapore. It was a very expensive experience that I most probably won't pay for by myself. As a souvenir, I took this postcard from the hotel shop. It features local Singapore dishes, that are served in the hotel. These dishes are a combination of Malay and Chinese dishes.

I hope I have your tummy full by the end of this post.

Happy weekend, 

~maria 

Postcards for the weekend 58: Markets

Souvenir Postcard from a trip to Bangkok, Thailand

So I've been to Thailand for many times, both for work and personal visit, but, for some reason, I've never been to the famous floating markets. I mistook this market on the postcard for Damnoen Daduak, a floating market which I know is just in the capital. However, upon reading the information at the back, this market is actually farther away in a province called Rajburi. I can't imagine how busy and how organized this chaos is in real life!

Postcard sent for postcrossing

Here's one of the busiest markets in Singapore. I've been to the Little India several times and I have always enjoyed the vibrancy of the place. There's a section for fruits and vegetables. There's also a section for dry goods that we can see on this postcard. Insets are a snap of a Hindu temple and the Taipusam Festival, where people puncture their body.

I hope you like these insights of markets from my side of the world, South East Asia.

Happy weekend,

~ maria

Postcards for the weekend 46: Places of worship

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Helsinki
Sent 28 December 2016, Traveled 5,757 km

I had my first ever hail storm experience on my way to this cathedral back in April. My friend Tuija who sent me this postcard and who was with on that same day of the hail storm, wrote: This stunningly beautiful church is Helsinki Cathedral and most probably the most beautiful in Finland. I was only able to look at it in awe both outside and inside!

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent from Bulacan, Metro Manila
Sent 21 June 2012, Traveled 35 km

This is probably one of my postcards that took the shortest distance to reach me (see caption). It's a Postcrossing Meet-up Postcard featuring the Basilica of St. Martin de Tours. It is considered the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia.

Postcard sent for swap

In my opinion, this is the best building in Kampong Glam, a historic Malay area in Singapore. I always love sitting at a cafe at night and just marveling at the beauty of this mosque. The website YourSingapore describes this mosque as the focal point of Islamic faith in the country.

Postcard sent for swap

Will you believe that this Hindu temple is located in Chinatown? It is indeed! Sri Mariamman is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. The number of sculptures & figurines at its entrance is just awe-inspiring. More so, is the social role this temple plays in the life of South Indian Tamil Hindus. I read that this temple provides them shelter until they find work and a more permanent accommodation in Singapore.

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Ho Chi Minh
Sent 23 Oct 2016, Traveled 2,679 km

This card is from my solo weekend trip to Ho Chi Minh last year. It was such a traumatic trip though and I vowed that I will never go back to Vietnam on my own again. I am sad to give this bad impression of Ho Chi Minh but my experience was pretty terrible. Oddly enough, I'm writing this blog post while here in Vietnam at the moment. Only at a different city though, Hanoi.

I'm sorry for disappointing my blogging friends for my tortoise-ness with the linky. It's been really insane at work. I've just finished organizing and hosting a regional distributors sales meeting. I went back to Singapore for one night and back on the road again today. I'm away for another 2 more weeks for this series of business trips. I hope the rest of you are able to enjoy less demanding days.

~maria 

Postcards for the weekend 45: City views (night time)

For the night time city views theme, I'm sharing cities in Asia. 

Postcard sent to self, Sent from Taipei, Taiwan
Traveled 3,248 km

The Taipei 101 skyscraper clearly towers above any other building in the city on this scenery. The temperature of the print on the translucent material on this screen postcard offers a somewhat close to reality view of the city of Taipei. This first postcard is the fanciest I own to date. 

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sent by Renz & Raqz
Sent 14 July 2013, Traveled 2,994 km in 5 days

This is Ginza Street in Tokyo at night. The entire street with its neon lights was just magnificent and breathtaking when I saw it for real back in November 2016. 

Postcard sent for swap

Singapore Chinatown is recognized as one of the cleanest Chinatown all over the world. Seen here in the foreground is the Tooth Buddha Relic Temple and behind are the tall buildings in the cental building district of the city.

Postcard sent for swap

Behind those buildings on the Singapore Chinatown is the iconic Singapore Merlion. It's always very nice to visit Merlion Park in the evening as the area is full of lights.

Postcard sent for swap

And for this fifth postcard, here's one from Metro Manila -- a city where I lived for 11 years before moving to Singapore. This is a skyline of Makati, the central business district area. I worked for 5 years on the 29th floor of the leftmost building called RCBC Plaza. 

I'm sorry everyone for the late posting this weekend. I'm organizing a regional sales meeting at work, happening this Tuesday to Thursday (wish me luck!)

Happy weekend folks,

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Hari Raya Aidilfitri

We're enjoying a 3-day long weekend here at the moment to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri. The stamp was issued on 29 February 2008. 

Apart from the much awaited long weekend to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the entire month of Ramadan is a source of inspiration for me. For the past 3 years of witnessing the tradition here in Singapore (partly in Malaysia as well), the dedication and discipline of my Muslim friends during the hours of fasting made me revisit my own spirituality at the same time. The sense of community and atmosphere of festivity specially during sahur and iftar, made me yearn for my immediate family back in the Philippines but at the same time, blessed me with friendship and deeper understanding of the Muslim faith -- specially on those occasions that I was invited to dinner, which more often than not, was coupled with intelligent conversations.

For expositions/fairs/events @ Sunday Stamps.

~maria

Sunday Stamps: Gardens or Forests

Left to right --

50th Anniversary of the Jardim Botanico Madeira

Issued in 2010 (Portugal)

Eero Järnefelt 150 Years Commemorative Stamp, Forest Landscape 

Issued in 2013 (Finland)

Nuuksio National Park

Issued in 2013 (Finland)

Singapore, my second home is a garden city. One of the most admirable features of this garden city is the lush greeneries lining the roadsides. Left to right --

Saga, Adenanthera pavonina

Issued in 2010 (Singapore)

Angsana, Pterocarpus indicus

Issued in 2010 (Singapore)

Rain tree, Samanea saman

Issued in 2010 (Singapore)

For Sunday Stamps: gardens or forests

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 10: Foods of the world (Asia edition)

Sent from Bangkok, Thailand by myself
Sent 5 Dec 2015, Traveled 1,409 km

My partner and I love Pad Thai! This is our favorite street food in Thailand. There's a food cart run by a couple in their late 50's at the end of the street of Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok. Facing the Holiday Inn Express, the cart is on the right. No trip to Bangkok is complete for us without eating Pad Thai at that humble street side location. Sukhumvit Soi 11 is accessible via BTS Nana station.

Sent from Yokohama, Japan by myself
Sent 16 April 2016, Traveled 5,291 km

I had the pleasure of enjoying Kumamoto-style ramen at the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum earlier this year. This ramen style is said to be invented in Fukuoka, the origin of pork bone soup base or tonkotsu. Eating ramen at the Museum felt like an experience in a different era of Japan. The place has street and shops scene replication from 1958 Japan. It's the year when the first ramen was invented.

Outgoing: sent to Manila, Philippines

Chili Crab is on my top 3 must-try dishes for a visitor in Singapore. One must be willing to eat with bare hands to enjoy this dish the most. It is savory, rich, and fluffy. To be honest, I love the sauce more than the crab meat. But it's always fun cracking the shell and extracting as much meat as you can from the delish crustacean.

I'll be traveling to Japan & Thailand before the year ends. I'm excited to enjoy the first two dishes in their home countries. I'm also very much looking forward into inviting my whole family who will visit me here in Singapore soon to one of the restaurants that serve good chili crab. I can't wait!

Happy weekend everyone,
~maria

Postcards for the weekend 9: Gardens by the Bay

I thought it would be easier not to work on a theme but I was wrong! When having a theme requires me to dig through my collection, not having one puts me in a big conflict. There’s a lot of beautiful and special cards that I wish to share!

But finally … here are cards from Singapore Gardens by the Bay – a place where I love going for a jog or a walk during the weekends. Though the scenery doesn’t change, there’s always new energy depending on the crowd of people who are there at the time of my visit.

To start with, here are two artistic renditions of the place. Are you able to count how many birds are there in the yellow postcard? How about the butterfly, dragonfly, and frog on the white one?

Outgoing, Traveling to Finland

SG-221079, Sent to Arizona, USA
Traveled 14,646 km in 21 days

For these next two cards, they’re almost identical but taken at different angles. It’s nice to notice that the bright white dot-like lights on the supertrees are more luminous on the last card.

The Gardens by the Bay is self-sufficient. There are solar panels on top of the supertree structures that power the place.

SG-224826, Sent to Gwynedd, UK
Traveled 11,074 km in 13 days

SG-221631, Sent to Bochum, Germany
Traveled 10,353 km in 9 days

I hope you enjoyed these cards. Have fun visiting each other’s page for their chosen features for the theme anything you wish!

~maria

PFF: Happy Halloween

SG-221629, Sent to Saint Petersburg, Russia

Traveled 8,974 km in 10 days

For Postcard Friendship Friday this week, I'm sharing this card that received the comment: fantastic, unusual amazing postcard. I'm glad that the puzzle pieces arrived all intact.

Upon seeing social media posts of Halloween dress up costumes, I was reminded of this puzzle postcard. I think, these are two men in elephant costume for the circus.

Enjoy the Halloween festivities, everyone! 

Head over to Beth's page to see what others have shared for PFF.

~maria

PFF: Hurray for Beth!

SG-221621, Outgoing to China
Sent 22 Aug 2016, Traveled 4,556 km in 24 days

Beth, the host of Postcard Friendship Friday has been in my thoughts. As some of you may know, she underwent surgery. I wrote to her last week and I'm happy that she's feeling better and a lot more mobile. Sending warm & cheerful thoughts your way Beth! I hope you will be back into good health again real soon.

The Best Hearts Are Crunchy, Beth's page is one of my favorites -- lots of beautiful vintage cards there. Most of these cards I can only admire online and never will be in my collection. Thanks Beth for sharing joy with your collection through your blog.

Postcards for the weekend 6: Singapore Postal Boxes

Outgoing: 7 October 2016 to Tasmania, Australia

The postcards that can be found in bookstores and souvenir shops usually have touristic themes. In my efforts to find requested postcard theme(s) for swaps, I chanced upon The Postcard House. This post box postcard is one of the three designs I ordered last week. The ordering & delivery process was very efficient and this card is now on its way to Australia. I really like this card for featuring modifications for the Singapore postal box over three decades. Although, I reckon it would have been even nicer if the current post box design is on this card, too. There's a separate card for that, which can be found here. 

I found it a nice coincidence that the theme for Sunday Stamps linky this weekend is similar to our Postcards for the Weekend theme. To view stamps that are postal related, please head over to See it on a Postcard this Sunday, 8 Oct 2016.

Our previous theme, domesticated animals - generated a lot of informative and amusing postcards. I gathered that not everyone has postcards that will exactly fit the chosen theme every time. However with that experience last weekend, each of us were resourceful and creative with the postcards we shared! I hope we can continue with this spirit for future themes that pose to be challenging, given our individual preferences for the themes in our respective postcards collections.

For the end of this month, October -- I've decided to make it free and easy; hence, an anything you wish theme. It should be equally interesting and exciting to find out what postcards we'll share for that theme-less weekend. 

Happy weekend everyone,

~maria

Stamps: Birds

I'm very happy when I saw these new stamps last week. I thought to myself, "Perfect for the upcoming Sunday Stamps theme!" 

There were four designs issued on 21 September 2016. I only have these two, though. The theme was local birds of prey in Singapore. The other two designs can be seen here.

~maria

Loving is sharing joy

Outgoing: SG-221625 to United Kingdom

I have recently decided for a "soft return" into two of my [quite] long abandoned hobbies: postcard swapping & blogging. Postcards have always brought me joy. Writing and sharing these postcards with other postcards enthusiasts, had brought me even more joy. I was inactive at the postcrossing.com website but still swapping with friends I've met from the site, friends from blogging, and sending postcards to myself. My flatmate labeled me "crazy" because of that last one. Perhaps I am! Life has been passing by so quickly and I wanted tangible souvenirs of my days spent jumping from one city/county to another.

I haven't been doing heavy back-to-back traveling for the past 3 months though. I miss the excitement and anticipation of receiving mail. One's love for postcards can never be enough. So here I am, back to "active" status in swapping postcards. In addition to that, I'm also not just going to be back to blogging but will be hosting a weekend postcards linky party. Cross fingers, my subscription to linky tools will be validated soon so I can start the linky party next weekend. Watch out for more details ;-)

For now, please enjoy the postcards for Friday at my friend, Beth's page. 

Happy weekend,
~maria