Postcards for the weekend 48: Philippines

I'm finally back in Singapore after a 3-week outstation work. I'm happy to end this Saturday with a dinner together with a friend from the Philippines. He's here for a business trip and since there are no Filipino restaurants in Beijing (where he's based now), we decided to eat at a Filipino restaurant. Talking in Filipino and about the Philippines made me miss home even more. Hence, this weekend, I'm sharing scans of postcards that I sent out in the past while I was still based in Manila.

There are three main island clusters for the Philippine archipelago. Luzon in the north, Visayas in the middle, and Mindanao in the south. Let's start from the north -- 

Vigan is a city on the northwest coast of Luzon. It's a popular tourist destination due to its well-preserved colonial Spanish narrow streets and buildings. On this postcard is Vigan Cathedral, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site declaration for the City of Vigan.

The capital city of Manila is on the same mainland Luzon as Vigan. Luzon is a long stretch of land mass and the distance from Vigan to the nation's capital, Manila is approximately 405 km. On this muti-view postcard, we have a glimpse of old and new buildings in Manila. And oh, there's the monument of our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

An island to the southwest of Manila is Palawan. Here's a subterranean river national park postcard from Palawan's capital of Puerto Princesa. 

From the center of the Philippine archipelago: Visayas, there's the beautiful city of Cebu. Here's a postcard of a grand Taoist Temple, that is open both for worshipers and non-worshipers. I had a great time exploring the place back in the year 2012.

And from the south -- here's a dance called dugso. 

Its origin is the mountainous province of Bukidnon in Mindanao. It's a dance of thanksgiving and invocation of protection. The dancers wear colorful costumes in local patterns, wear equally colorful headdresses, and bell anklets to which they dance with the rhythm.

Happy weekend everyone! I hope you enjoyed these postcards from my home country.

~maria

P.S. We will have no linky party for the first 2 weekends of August as I will be on a holiday. We will resume on the 3rd weekend of August. Ciao everyone!

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 

Sunday Stamps: Places of Worship

Left stamp - Cathedral of Gniezno

The stamp was issued on 1 March 2002. It is also showing the coffin with relics of St. Adalberg. 

The Cathedral of Gniezno, according to wikipedia, served as the coronation place for several Polish monarchs and the seat of Polish church officials continuously for nearly 1000 years.

Right stamp - Fortified Church of Biertan

The stamp was issued on 11 September 2011. The Fortified Church of Biertan was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 under the category: villages with fortified churches in Transylvania.

For more places of worship stamps, visit See it on a Postcard.

~maria

Postcards for the weekend 26: Serenity

This post is quite early for this upcoming weekend. I am anticipating intermittent internet access. I will be in my home island for a delayed birthday celebration with my family.

FR-764739, Sent from Rennes, France
Traveled 11,043 km in 13 days

For the serenity theme this weekend, I've chosen first this card -- a woman with a tranquil countenance in her senior years,

RU-5218172, Sent from St. Petersburg, Russia
Traveled 8,974 km in 20 days

finding serenity in solitude; the liberty to be still, enjoy a good calming cup of tea, meditate, or slowly read a good book with lighted scented candles nearby, and

Sent by myself from Santorini, Greece

in renewing faith in each deep breath we take while witnessing the beauty of creation.

Have a great weekend everyone and I sincerely would like to express my gratitude to all bloggers and friends who have been very creative with the postcards shared for our themes this month of February.

Cheers,

~maria

Stamps: Places of Worship

The theme this week at Sunday Stamps is worshipful places.

Here are two stamps issued in 2009 by Lithuania. On the left is Church of Deguciai and on the right is Church of Inturke. These two designs are part of the set of definitive series with the title "Wooden Sacral Architecture of Lithuania and Wooden Church Belfries ".

~maria

T is for Tilburg Places of Worship, Netherlands

If you missed my "S" post, it was also about a place of worship.

For letter "T" --

NL-1921426, Sender: Joannes
Sent: 17 June 2013 from Tilburg, The Netherlands
Received: 29 June 2013, Traveled 10,431 km in 11 days

The sender of the postcard was very nice to give me a detailed description. He wrote:

On this card you can see almost all places of worship in Tilburg. The Hasselt Chapel (1540); a lamp in the Suleymani Mosque, St. Dionysius Church by daylight and festively illuminated; Jewish synagogue, Trappist monastery and brewery "de Koningshoeven"; former Hasselt church, now cultural center, St. Joseph Church with Sacred Heart statue in front at "de Huevel, the mosque, this time from outside the Norbertijnerpoort in Goirkestraat, again Hasselt chapel synagogue and mosque, the Cenacle former convent, the water tower in the Bredaseweg = road to Breda.

A bit of a challenge, but with persistence, you'll be able to identify which is which!

~maria

S is for Spas-Na-Krovi, Russia

From a city that also starts with "S", here is a postcard from St. Petersburg.

For letter "S" --

RU-2118338, Sender: Alya
Sent: 25 Oct 2013 from St. Petersburg, Russia
Received: 3 Dec 2013, Traveled 8,648 km in 39 days

Spas-Na-Krovi or Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is a stunning church covered by mosaics in both the interior and the exterior. While reading the details at the back of the card, I was a bit puzzled by the detail "A. Parland". Thanks to Google, I was directed to a page for Alfred Parland, the lesser known architect of the church. Uncle Wiki says that this church is the life of A. Parland since it took a quarter century to finish and after that, he was responsible for maintaining the place.

If you would dedicate your life into a project, what would it be?

~maria

G is for Gothenburg, Cathedral

For letter "G" --

Direct Swap, sent by Iwona Miazek
Sent: 17 Oct 2013 from Salzgitter, Germany
Received: 07 Nov 2013, Traveled 10,108.2 km in 21 days

Gothenburg Cathedral is a church that was burnt down and rebuilt twice. The current building is of classicist style, designed by Gothenburg's first city architect, Carl Wilhelm Carlberg.

It would probably be one of the places I'll try to see for my touristic side trip. I'll be traveling to Gothenburg very soon for work. I am currently researching for a few touristic places which are not too far from the city center to see in the evenings. Any suggestions?

~maria

S is for Sucevița Monastery, Romania

Facebook Swap, Sender: Mircea
Sent: 22 Oct 2012 from Focsani, Romania
Received: 12 Nov 2012, Traveled 9,137 km in 20 days

Sucevița Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent. It is known for the mural paintings on its outer walls. It was included in the UNESCO WHS list in 2010. It is one of the eight Churches of Moldavia built from 15th to 16th centuries. 

Another one of those churches is the Moldovita Monastery below. It's striking resemblance made me mistake if for Sucevița.

Facebook Swap, Sender: Danut
Sent: 14 April 2012 from Ploiesti, Romania
Received: 11 May 2012, Traveled 9,243 km in 27 days

This monastery church is also known as the Church of Annunciation. 

The UNESCO WHS description says that these structures undergone no significant alteration since the time they were built.

~maria

O is for Old Church of Petäjävesi, Finland

FI-1556824, Sender: Riitta
Sent: 5 Oct 2012 from Kuopio, Finland
Received: 7 Nov 2012, Traveled 8,636 km in 33 days

Riitta wrote me many details about the old church at the back of her card:

The Old Church at Petäjävesi was marked as a UNESCO world heritage landmark in 1994 as an excellent example of a Lutheran country church built of logs. It is an architectural tradition unique to eastern Scandinavia. The church was built from 1763-1765. Nowadays the Old Church of Petäjävesi is used for worship on summer Sundays and one of Finland's most well-loved churches for weddings.

Here is another postcard with a view of the door facing the altar.

FI-1969245, Sender: Mepu
Sent: 30 Dec 2013 from Jyväskylä, Finland
Received 17 Jan 2014, Traveled 8,901 km in 18 days 

I am lucky there are many members from Finland at the postcrossing.com website and I got not two but three postcards for this site from there. Here's a card with a view of the church from the outside. We have a nice view of the main structure built with horizontal logs and the bell tower at the west end.

FI-1213439, Sender: Sipi
Sent: 29 Sep 2011 from Helsinki, Finland
Received: 11 Oct 2011, Traveled 8,944 km in 12 days

~maria

A is for Avignon, France

Facebook Swap: Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 7 Aug 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 13 Aug 2013, Traveled ~11,528 km in 6 days

Facebook Swap: Sender: Sebastien
Sent: 7 Aug 2013 from Cadillac, France
Received: 13 Aug 2013, Traveled ~11,528 km in 6 days

I have wanted to do the #atozchallenge for two years already but for one reason or another, I always miss to sign up. And before I know it, the sign up list is closed and the alphabet express has arrived. This year, I promised myself, this should change. The postcards that I haven't shared here on my blog has piled up. The challenge will give me a great venue to share my collection and this beautiful hobby of deltiology. I am not a hardcore collector but my hope is to be able to share my simple happiness of sending and receiving a small piece of paper through the postal service. A small piece of paper nonetheless, connects me to the world.

My theme will be UNESCO world heritage sites on postcards. Having just started a new job, I know it can be demanding right now for me to post an entry a day for an entire month so as suggested by the #atozchallenge team, my posts will be short. They will be composed of (1) the postcard/s, (2) a brief information about the site, and (3) some side information should I have the luxury of time on that specific day of posting. As early as now, I'd like to mention that whatever will be on the (2) portion will most likely be contributed by the sender of the postcard, the ever helpful Uncle Wiki, or an excerpt from the UNESCO WHS. 

So much for introduction then, roll the alphabet please .... A is for Avignon, France

It became a UNESCO site in 1995. Seven successive popes lived in Avignon between 1309 and 1377. I am very grateful to Sebastien who sent me these two cards giving me an insight of how Avignon looks like both from the inside and the outside. On the second card, the view is from the Rhône River, where the 4 arches of the initial 22 now remains from a bridge with an actual length of 900 meters.

I'm so excited I finally caught up with the alphabet express this time! *giggles*

~maria

Spire of St. Stephen's Cathedral

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Sensei
Sent: 9 October 2013 from Vienna, Austria
Received: 17 October 2013, Traveled 9,880.5 km in 9 days

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Sensei
Sent: 9 October 2013 from Vienna, Austria
Received: 17 October 2013, Traveled 9,880.5 km in 9 days

As mentioned in my post from yesterday, I got 22 postcards on Friday and these 2 are among them. My sensei (former professor and thesis advisor at the Graduate School) traveled to Austria and Germany recently and sent me 5 postcards from Vienna and 2 from Braunschweig. It's really cool cause I've only got 2 official postcards from Austria so far. I've got a lot from Germany but the two he sent me are the only ones I have from Braunschweig.

These cards features the spire of the St. Stephen's Cathedral. According to Uncle Wiki, it is the mother church of the Roman Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of Archbishop of Vienna. It's of Gothic and Romanesque architecture and one of the most recognizable symbols of Wien (Vienna).

On the second card, it's seen from the palace complex of Belvedere, which means 'beautiful view'. 

I am dreamy right now of walking on the streets of Vienna under a clear blue sky. Hopefully, in the future!

~maria

Domes and Spires

Bloggers Postcard Swap, Sender: Anne
Sent: 11 Sep 2013 from Swindon, UK
Received: 24 Sep 2013, Traveled 10,838 km in 13 days

Facebook Private Swap, Sender: Diana
Sent: 26 Sep 2012 from Kėdainių r., Lithuania Traveled ~9,082 km

Friendship Gift Postcard, Sender: Marie
Sent: 7 July 2013 from Padova, Italy
Received: 15 July 2013, Traveled 10,569 km in 8 days

BE-229035, Sender: Marie-Jeanne
Sent: 11 Sep 2013 from Brussels, Belgium
Received: 24 Sep 2013, Traveled 10,478 km in 13 days

Linking up for:

~maria

Miag-ao Church, UNESCO Heritage Site

Miag-ao church is listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site under the 'Baroque Churches of the Philippines' category. It was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries. The bas-relief facade features a large coconut tree -- the tree of life. It also features native dress, and native flora and fauna. The church was meant to defend the local people from Moro attacks. Hence, it's made of thick walls and secret passages.

This card will travel to India tomorrow for a private swap. :) And here's a prayer inspired by this card & the recent happenings in my life:

Lord, in the hustle and bustle of my life,

I admit that there are moments when my faith falters

Thank you for even in my moments of weakness,

You kept Your faith and never left my side.

Most of all, let me thank you for the people --

Who are truly good at heart and hard to come by in this world

Yet You showed me the way, and our paths inter-fold

Now I believe, kind souls are ample.

~ maria

St. Hierarch Nicolae Church, Moldova

I really wanted to join Beth (with a really catchy and interesting blog title, 'The Best Hearts Are Crunchy') in her Postcard Friendship Friday but my broadband connection has been too slow and I kept on being kicked out from the net. Since just a few hours have passed since Friday, I wish this post would still qualify...

The postcard is a direct swap Moldova. The sender's name is Kate and she said it's her first time to mail a postcard to the Philippines. Hurray for her and I am really glad that I am the one who received her first card to Las Islas Filipinas.


More to my delight is this picture of a cute and white church on a seemingly summer day in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. I bet my grandmoms would be equally delighted if I can tour them here! (Too bad I am not yet capable in fulfilling that wish.) I came from a devout Roman Catholic background from both sides of the family and my aguelas, Victorina and Editha are both devotees to the Virgin Mary. This church belongs to Eastern Orthodoxy but it is still a very pretty Catholic church!


The captions confused me at first but after some research, I learned that the church pictured here is only a part of a bigger structure, Capriana Monastery. Hence, the caption at the bottom of the postcard. Capriana Monastery was built in 1429 and is one of the oldest in Moldova. The church in the picture is from 1903. 
Source: http://www.tur.md/eng/topheritage/58/ 


Republica Moldova can be found between Romania and Ukraine, check out the red mark on the map below: