Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Brunei

well, my plans for tonight were somewhat different...but then this weather outside decided to take things in its own hands...and of course mess up with my plans.....so instead of having a few glasses of Yeni Raki with a friend, here I am with my cup of coffee, rambling...

And first comes a card from Brunei that Lai sent me as a surprise from his trip last year :)  This card is actually designed by him, while the image is by some guy, called Fairus Khafiz

- a trip to Brunei wouldn't be complete if one does not pay a visit to the magnificent Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, located in the capital of the country, Bandar Seri, Begawan. The most distinguishable feature of the mosque is its gold-plated main dome. Other materials used for the building include marble imported from Italy and carpets brought in from Saudi Arabia (from the back of the card...)


I have posted a similar Brunei card here, but I think it is from some different side...and I must admit I prefer the colours of the one above! just beautiful!!

Lai used a number of stamps, all featuring the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah - if this guy is not on a separate stamp, he like appears in some corner on almost all the other Brunei stamps...and I complained about the Queen...the blue and the pink/violet ones were issued in 2007 in a set of 12 stamps.....the year of issue on the other stamp unfortunately remains a mystery to me...


thank you Lai for this lovely surprise and for taking the time to send me this card! :)

Kampong Ayer, Brunei Darussalam

Last time it was Bahrain, now it is Brunei, another "B" country gets ticked off the list :)

I was lucky enough to enter the Brunei group in the Vacations RR..and here is what I got, an AWESOME card (I think actually that all of the Brunei cards ive seen are not less fantastic). Plus it didnt take to travel long, like two weeks....
The card here says to be showing Kampong Ayer, the largest water village...and at the front you can also spot a water taxi.
This water village is actually an area of the Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. All of the Water Village buildings are constructed on stilts above the Brunei River.
Although it is classified as one village, it is actually a cluster of 42 smaller villages, interconnected by 18 miles of foot bridges.
In the background you can also see the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque whose most recognizable feature, the main dome, is covered in pure gold. Well, with the Bruneian golden era, this comes as no surprise.

boy, stamps with no year printed on them give me a real headache...as if I didnt already have one...I dont know if it is coz of the weather or something else, but ive been enduring headaches two days in a row now...
Luckily, I managed to locate this one...a definitive from a set of 12 issued in 1985....im often surprised to see such stamps still being in circulation.

Thanks a million to Kate from Russia for enriching my collection!