Tioman Island, Malaysia

Huh, i dont know about you...but whenever the school semester is approaching to its end, im becoming more and more impatient for it to be over, longing for some break, wanting to get away from everything and everyone...wouldnt mind if i end up at a place like this one...

this is one of those places which you can call, the paradise of Earth...or thats how the image of paradise is portrayed through the travel agents'. But it is indeed amazing, and i have it thanks to my dear Lyan :) And thats just coz i had it on my wishlist ;)
Hmm, well, ok, some education time...since i missed it with some of my students (coz they were just in some chatty mood) i guess i will still need to fulfill my required dosage of teaching and you happen to be the victims..yeah, i can be cruel and mean sometimes :)
Tioman is a small island in the state of Pahang. Its beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie,"South Pacific" as Bali Hai. Well, i havent heard of this nor i know this tune (im not very movie-wise since I rarely watch TV honestly, but Bali Hai reminded me of another song, i thought is worth sharing:





i think that the song does indeed create an atmosphere of being on a beautiful tropical island...and i have a great respect for Charlotte and her voice, too bad i hadnt found a reason to share her with you before...

According to legend, Tioman Island is the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess. Whilst flying from China to visit her prince in Singapore this beautiful maiden stopped to seek solace in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea.Enraptured by the charms of the place, she decided to discontinue her journey. By taking the form of an island, she pledged to offer shelter and comfort to passing travelers.

Hmm, i wonder if her prince wasnt killed from worries while waiting for her :)
Btw, while we are at the educating point...Lyan, i need your help with some stuff...my blog diagnosis ended up with 697 urls restricted by robots...i have no idea why...i used to have a few but they always decreased and increased and never went over 40 or so...sooooo, i was wondering if i could get some insight on this coz its annoying me, esp. since i have no idea where did the problem arise all of a sudden and its getting worse every day...rapidly =|

I like the unusual stamp format. Its from a 2008 issue, belonging to the Cultural Instruments and Artefacts, Series II.  This one here represents a Coconut Grater or "Kukur Kelapa" (I suppose thats how you call it in Malaysian....)
The coconut grater was once a very important tool in every Malay household as coconut milk is an essential ingredient in Malay cooking. Although its usage by the city folk have reduced due to the preference of electric tools, this tool is still much in use in the outskirts.
Some myths about "kukur" is that it is either male or female. Women are not allowed to use male "kukur" especially during major feasts.
Lyan...thank you!!!!! :)

Maria Cristina Falls, Philippines

Well, not so far from Malaysia, are the Philippines and lets see whats happening there...

I got this card in the Different Countries RR, showing the Maria Cristina Falls on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. They are sometimes called the twin falls as the flow is separated by a rock at the brink of the waterfall. Apart from their beauty, the falls are also the primary source of electric power for the city's industries, being harnessed by the Agus VI Hydroelectric Plant.
Do you know that at the time of writing this, Postcrossing has 100 013 members??? I wonder who became the 100, 000...before i went to work it had 99, 9something...and i wondered when the 100, 000 will happen, and while i wasnt looking, it did...so, CONGRATS! and a THANK YOU for making this whole project possible...im actually proud and happy to be a part of it :)

the two stamps belong to a set of definitives from 2007, issued December 10th, called simply Philippine Birds. All these are from a value of 7p.There are other sets issued with a number of other values, on the same theme.
The stamp on the left features the Pied Imperial Pigeon, while the other one, the Spotted Imperial Pigeon.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Yup...here it is!   101!   No no no, not 101 Dalmatians....its the 101st country! :)
I know some of you voted for Uruguay and you were really close actually, and i DID expect Uruguay to arrive, but Uzbekistan just forestalled it and arrived first...i hope you dont feel as in all those lottery/bingo games where it always takes *just a tiny tiny little* to have won the grand prize, but that tiny little, always seems to be missing....

Well, i must say that i LOVE my Uruguay card...not coz its  from a new country, but first, the card is just beautiful, second, it has a flag picture on it, and third....it comes from Montevideo and has the name written on the front of the card!!! I think you may know that i have a soft spot for places' names, and that some of them just sound really appealing to me for whatever reason...well, Montevideo is just one of them...it feels as such a strange and interesting and just lovely name...
In this lovely night view, you can see the Independence Square...here is whats written at the back of the card:
It emerged as a result of the demolition of the Fortress Walls. Carlos Zucchini started building it in 1837 and it was redesigned by Bernardo Ponchini in 1860.
The monument of our national hero, José Artigas, is situated in the middle of the square.

Do you know what they say about Uruguay?
Uruguay used to be South America's best-kept secret, with a handful of Argentines, Brazilians, Chileans and non–South Americans in the know popping in to enjoy the pristine beaches, the atmospheric cities, the huge steaks and the happening nightlife. Then the peso crashed, the place became a whole lot more affordable and people got curious. They came, loved it and went back home to tell their friends. Who came, loved it and went back home to tell their friends.

I love this self-adhesive, unusual stamp...well, stamps which differ from the 'regular' rectangular shape, are unusual to me. The stamp was issued in December 2008, belonging to a series of stamps representing flowers and shows the Flower of the CEIBO (National Flower).
Now, i dont know if this kind of a large rectangular cancellation is typical for this part of the world...i have it on my cards from Costa Rica and Nicaragua too...well, i find it interesting...i find loads of things interesting, esp. the ones that differ from the traditional things, or at least the ones that *I* am used to...

Arizona, USA

I got this card as a total surprise from my dear Carol...and its a great card indeed!

The card is called "Rock Art"....An exquisitely designed petroglyph panel in the backcountry of Petrified Forest National Park eloquently speaks to the artistry of its carver. The five-toed mammal with long tail has the attributes of a mountain lion but its curved horns resemble those of a desert bighorn sheep. And the lizard figures appear to merge into human forms. Hybridized creatures occasionally appear in rock art of the Ancestral Pueblo People.
Carol thought i might decipher what the artist(s) had said since i am practiced (uhm) in the field of translation..
Well, after consulting my text-books and dictionaries, whats carved in there, says: Get better soon dear Carol, and let those around you be well soon as well!

;)

And i have to thank Carol for always using lots and also, different stamps...and doesnt use the standard 94c stamp everyone is complaining about since they see it more than often :)
And i must say a big thank you to the US postal service for actually NOT destroying one bit of this card and for leaving it intact...i dont know about you, but most of my US cards arrive with paper torn from the back, or missing....

Kyiv, Ukraine

I have received some great mail today (and in a huge amount) so i really feel that i owe you an update...again :) Problem is, the reciprocity of cards i receive totally outnumbers the ones i upload here, so im just getting more and more behind with it all....and i had got my 101st country as well...but i wont tell you yet which one is it coz i simply havent been able to scan anything...and i dont wanna leave it until tonight or tomorrow or etc...so i guess you just have to stay tuned and patient until the next update to see it ;)

This magnificent card came as a lovely surprise from dear Ksenia. These Ukrainian cathedrals just have something special in them..i dont know if its coz of their colours but they certainly dont resemble a typical cathedral...this one is more like a castle that had come from a Disney Fairytale...i just cant decide if it belongs to Snow White, Cinderella,  Mulan or the Sleeping Beauty...though from the entire tranquil atmosphere around it, i would go for the Sleeping Beauty :)
This is the St. Sofia Cathedral, dating back from the XI century, and it is a UNESCO whs as well!! And no, i still havent updated my UNESCO list...i will, i promise.
The St. Sofia cathedral is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the UNESCO whs list. The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinopole.
I havent come across the "Kievan Rus'" term before, and i was surprised to find out that it was a medieval state which existed from approximately 880 to the middle of the 12th century and was founded by the Scandinavian traders called Rus. Rus' polity is considered an early predecessor of three modern East Slavic nations, Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians. 
Is this another history lesson i hadnt paid attention to? 

From what i could gather, the stamp belongs to a set of 7 definitives, issued in 2007, featuring art and antique objects...i still need to get used to this 'definitives' word...

And Ksenia...dzięki! :)))))))

South Africa

Yeaaah!! A map card again! A lovely one! Thanks to Gisela!
Wow, its soo blueish that it gives me a real thrill!

Apart from South Africa you can as well catch a glimpse of Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and something else for which i need high-diopter binoculars coz i recognize letters properly.
I used to think that Johannesburg is its capital, but actually its only the largest city...while the capital is Pretoria (an executive one), then you have Bloemfontein (as a judicial capital) and Cape Town (as a legislative capital).
I guess due to the position of Lesotho and Swaziland it would be impossible to have a South Africa map card only...but then again, i cant count this card as both Swaziland and Lesotho, even though i would love to...coz i actually want a real card from there, not something 'mentioned' somewhere else...

before you get all the question marks around your head, the stamp is actually upside down...sorry if your neck hurts from bending...i just would need some help with finding info about this stamp....my effort was unsuccessful...so anyone, philately wise, any help would be appreciated...and right now the only person i can think of who is especially interested in aircraft, is Glenn...so Glenn, if you are reading this, please, help! :)

Jade Maiden Peak, China

This is an official card from China...beautiful one!

CN-49425

the Wuyi Mountain area is often called the "number one scenic wonder in Southeast China." An ancient legend says that in prehistoric period, there was an eight hundred-year-old man named Peng Zu who came to live in Chong'an, where the people suffered because of serious flooding. Peng Zu had two sons, Wu and Yi, who offered to dredge the waterways and finally conquered the floods. To commemorate the Peng brothers, the mountain was named Wuyi Mountain, and a palace was built in their memory.
Jade maiden Peak (Yun\feng), which is a scenic attraction of Wuyi Mountain. With its smooth rock cliffs and luxuriant vegetation, it looks like a slender maiden. There is a beautiful story connected with the Jade Maiden Peak. It is said that the Jade Maiden in Heaven admired the beauty of Earth and decided to live on Wuyi Mountain. Her love, the Great King, also came down and joined her there. But their whereabouts were found out and reported to the Jade Emperor by the Iron Slab Demon, who was then ordered to spy on them. The Jade Maiden and the Great King loved each other so much that they decided never to return to Heaven. With his magic powers, the Iron Slab Demon turned them into stone mountains. The demon himself also became a mountain because of his evil doings.

the card has a self-printed matching stamp! so neat!

Moscow, Russia

When i did the update about the republics from ex- Yugoslavia, i told you that i had another one on my mind, and here it comes to day...its about the former USSR republics.

Now, i dont have cards from exactly all of them (and if i had, actually that would have been a several-pages-update which would have somehow lost its sense plus it would  have been way too time consuming) and unlike the former Yugoslavia, here i cant really put my personal experiences or views and all, coz ive never lived in any of these republics, so i think i ll basically stick to the postcards-facts...and maybe something else at random...but either way, i hope youll like it :)

I think ive always been amazed by the vastness of Russia...and i sometimes find it hard to comprehend that it actually stretches out over two continents and that it borders both Finland and China...it feels really amazing.
I would like to travel by the Trans-Siberian railway one day...
And this card may be not of a railway, but i surely love it! I have a soft spot for the postcards of the Moscow metro stations...i dont know why, but there is something absolutely lovely in them. Ive already posted 3 cards like this, so this is my 4th Moscow metro station...and hopefully one is on its way too ;)

Taganskaya is a station on the Koltsevaya line of the Moscow Metro. Opened on 1 January 1950 it was part of the first segment of the fourth stage of the system. The station is named after the Taganka square which is a major junction of the Sadovoje Koltso.
The station is a standard pylon-trivault layout that was built with the post-war flamboyance in mind, the overall design is based on the Traditional Russian motives  in decorations.
The central feature of the station are 48 Maiolica panels located on each face of the pylon. These contain apart from floral elements, profile bas-reliefs of various World War II Red Army and Navy servicemen each dedicated to a group such as pilots, tankists, sailors etc.

Now apart from having a great card, the card itself even has stamps related to it, i.e metro stamps...i find this really neat, and beautiful...having a postcard with matching stamp (s)  

thanks a lot to Tatiana P. for sending me this one :)

Saaremaa, Estonia

Here is where Janek again comes to stage....this time with this amazing amazing postcard of a lighthouse...more over, its from my wish list...do you know that special feeling when you go to your wishlist album and under the postcard you write 'received'?! Well, its a feeling one of a kind :)

This is the Kiipsaare lighthouse of Harilaid. 

In a reverse to most stories about global warming and erosion damaging our lighthouses, an inactive lighthouse in Estonia, the Kiipsaare Lighthouse on the island of Saaremaa, has actually straightened up due to erosion. The tower, constructed in 1933, began to list to one side (due to erosion) around 1991. A comparison of photos taken in 1981 and 1990 shows that the coastline had eroded at a rate of three meters (about 10 feet) per year. As the water edged closer to the lighthouse, the waves slammed the tower, and sucked the sand from underneath the base. A story in the Batic Times says the return to the straight and narrow was first noticed by a keeper at a nearby nature preservation center on January 25 of this year.

Well, if it has the same destiny as the leaning tower in Pisa, then its not gonna fall down any time soon. It will be a pity if that happens...but if it does, i will be glad to have this memory of it :)

And last, but not least, please take a look at the awesome stamps...again a matching stamp with a lighthouse!! Lovely, just lovely!!

Janek, thank you for everything!

Christmas Stamps

And here is an extra post for all you who love and collect stamps... i know that many of you who drop by here are into stamps, so here is a small treat for you...my Christmas gift to you ;)

just enjoy it...i dont think any comment is necessary coz the stamps themselves are pretty self-explanatory....if there is a stamp which is not Christmas related it means that it couldnt have been left out, in order to scan the Christmas ones.....any additional Christmas stamps received upon Christmas cards will be added here....too bad Macedonia didnt issue some nice ones this year...there was one, but it was intended for mail inside the country, and either way, as usual, the post offices didnt really offer them...otherwise, i would have put one on the mail i had sent...

 

Hope you like them :) 

Regular postings will be back from tomorrow on so stay tuned :)

Aurora Borealis, Finland

This has got to be the longest card ive ever seen in my life...not just received, but seen!!! Pity you cant see the actual size here, but in length its exactly 29.5 cm....so, if you want, you can check how much that is actually...and how long this card is...and I simply LOVE IT!! Not just coz its so unique due to its length, but its showing the Aurora Borealis as well....and you know how much I love that phenomenon!!

 

I have my greatest thank you's to Anja for choosing this card...I dont know if she chose it coz of its length, in order to make the stamps fit...or it was just at random...whichever it was...this card is perfect, and I love it!!

My initial request were actually the stamps...not the card...ever since the Finnish post office issued the Kimi Raikkonen edition, i went for a hunt...and as I told you yesterday, today i feature the stamps...you have no idea how great they look on a postcard...and Anja was so kind to actually send me both of the stamps as a sheet in whole...not just the Raikkonen one....cant say more, except AWESOME!!

And thank you so much Anja for helping me with this...and im sorry for being so annoying with all this Kimi request :D :D :D

 

I feel so content about this....and Raikkonen is gonna start second at tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix...ok,,,the chances for the title are gone..but still, he should fight to win races...if the title is lost, doesnt mean he should give up on winning the races, right?