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!

Oma, Norway

Here is something EXTREMELY beautiful!

and so soothing...as the card says, "the island of calm".....and who could oppose to that?
This small beauty with just several houses is the island of Oma situated in the Norwegian Hardangerfjorden, which is the third largest fjord in the world and the second largest in Norway (Sognefjorden is the largest...)
This is like an ideal place to live...as long as I have a boat for transport from and to the island...so far away from the every day stress and chaos...so much fresh air...and I would be able to grow my own fruits and vegetables....ok, depending how much this soil and weather conditions would  be supportive but something must be able to be harvested here.

as the cancellation says, a card I had received in 2009. the large stamp was issued in 2008 representing the New Opera House in Oslo...wow! To me it appeared more like an observatory in the Antarctic region!
The small stamp is a definitive but I cant tell from which year exactly it would be.

thanks a million to Sissel for this beauty of a card!

The First Postcrossing Meeting in Belgrade

well, ok...you should all know by now about the first postcrossing meeting that was held in Belgrade on 29 October 2011...if you dont know about it, you should probably blame your postman :)

It came too spontaneously, but turned out great...the only remark would be the lack of time :)
And one of the most special things about this meeting was the special postcard design we had, done by Renato. A really unique card, representing all the participants (by their usernames) and all that nicely arranged according to the country they were coming from! Can you spot me? :P
Personally I addressed way too many cards...and I have no idea how many we signed in total, but it was a LOT LOT LOT!!! Well, after all, it was the first meeting :)
Unfortunately, I didnt manage to send as many cards as I had originally planned...the time simply didnt allow it, and funny but after the postcard shopping, I ended up writing out ALL of the cards, even though I planned to bring back some home...so do the math :)
If you hadnt gotten a card from this meeting and you are sure your postman is the most reliable guy on Earth, then let us know for next time :)

and somehow this post was perfect to present this fantastic map card of Yugoslavia...it was sent to me by Renato as well, a few months before the meeting. Here all the former republics of Yugoslavia can be seen with their respective flags...and this is somewhat what our meeting was about...postcrossers from different parts of  former Yugoslavia...unfortunately, Montenegro, BiH and Slovenia were missing, but we wholeheartedly hope that on the next meeting, at least one representative from each republic would be present. Ill do my best to fill in the Macedonian spot :)

Renato used a really nice definitive from a set of 8 issued in 2007 with this one representing Kopaonik.

A big hug to all my PC meeting friends, and of course, to the ones who couldnt make it this time :)

Route 66

wow, been so long since Ive posted a Route 66 card here! (actually ive realized that ive been overlooking some particular countries too even though i have a good number of postcards from there, so I should be working on those too..)

Anyways, this is definitely the most fantastic Route 66 Ive received! It is actually like a real metal licence plate!! Fantastic!! And it arrived undamaged and in perfect condition!
The huge thank you for this goes to dear Goran. Once he surprised me with a Route 66 magnet and now this great card/licence plate!
What I especially love about this one is how the US states through which this Route ran are represented on the both sides, with the US flag in between. And I cant forget the old-timers too...perfectly fitting in the image :)
Hvala ti puno puno puno Gorane!!


well, unless you've forgotten, since it's been a long long while, Route 66 cards are accompanied with a Depeche Mode song....this time it is one of the songs from Exciter which I constantly used to skip until I heard the live version of it on the One Night In Paris DVD...it became one of my all time favourites ever since and i got totally hooked on it...the genius called Martin L. Gore strikes once again...

...indeed =/

The Old KhamisMosque, Bahrain

4th December....the date of my last post....uhmm...could have sworn, I made an update just yesterday :)
Well, without further ado, let's see what do we have for today...and I cant help it but start with something I received recently...a new w/s country...:D :D :D

when someone from Bahrain asks you for a swap, you certainly can't say no, right? I mean, it would be silly to refuse such a proposal :P  So here it is, my first card from the Kingdom of Bahrain!! Yippie!!! :D

And it is a really great card, since the Khamis mosque is believed to have been the first mosque in Bahrain, built during the era of the Umayyad caliph Umar II, some say around 692 AD; some mention the 11th century as the time when its foundation has been established. The mosque has two identical minarets in the front and is also considered as one of the oldest relics of Islam in the region.

there are two stamps on the card...the right one is from a set of 16 stamps issued in 2002 portraying the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The other stamp is said to be a charity stamp...Im not really sure what falls under 'charity' here...if someone's familiar with these Bahrain stamps, please tell me a bit more about them

Calgary, Canada

Here is something pulled out from the 2009 box...2010 is not so bad, but 2011 is as big as both of them, yet, has not enough room for all the cards, so there is a pile that needs to be stored separately...that is an indicator that ive been pretty lousy with updates here since I had allowed such thing to happen...should I make a New Year resolution about it? :)

the card was sent by Glenn  who wanted to share with me this Tower in Calgary. A pretty impressive structure I must say...completed in 1968, it rises nearly 191 metres in the air.
My first thought regard such buildings is always related to the view from above....and this one must be offering a great view over the city and further beyond (just make sure you are not caught up there during an earthquake :))
Personally, would love to have a cup of coffee up there, and a slice of cheesecake (hopefully they have them on the menu)
Did you know that here you also have the highest 360° observation deck in the world??? Cool, no?

Glenn used a whole set of stamps here issued in 2009 featuring the Canadian Recording Artists. What can I do, I only know of Bryan Adams *blush*

thank you Glenn! Though you might have forgotten you had ever sent me this one :)

Texas, USA

so, if you have started feeling like a couch potato during these cold winter days, here is something to get you moving....just make sure you have good running skills :p

Bryon sent me this great card....which is like a refreshment to my overall collection...I cant say I have a lot of cowboy cards in my collection or cards related to people/animals in general when it comes to the USA.

The back of the card says: Cowboys roping Texas longhorn cattle. Uhmm, seems like they haven't heard of animal welfare :) Though I highly doubt there is any sort of inspection or control out here in the field....pardon my professional damage here, please, but I cant help it :)

On the side note...I have never been able to get into the Western movies....but I liked this Lucky Luke cartoon...

and Im pretty sure you've watched Tom the Cowboy Texan :)

Great stamps from Bryon as usual...this time, we have two ship stamps from a set of 4 Forever stamps issued this year honouring the US Merchant Marine, while the other 22c stamp is from a set of, erm, 50 fauna stamps issued in 1987. The stamp represents the Monarch Butterfly and is perhaps best known of all the North American butterflies.

thank you very much again Bryon!! :)))

Malokarpatská vínna cesta, Slovakia

A card Janek sent me from his trip to Bratislava....

which got me to realize that I have no card from Bratislava in my collection...uhmm, so I am working on changing that....hopefully it will work out :)

This cute map card here says to be showing the Wine Route of the Small Carpathians....so a really nice card for all the wine lovers out there....you know who you are ;)
This route has been established to promote the small and medium size wineries from Bratislava to Trnava, which actually covers the southwestern wine region of the country.

Twice a year, in November and May, all winemakers along the route open their cellar doors to members of the public, who can learn more about the craft and sample the best wines from the previous season. (The May event gets its name from St. Urban, the patron of vineyard workers, whose feast day is May 25.) There are around 80 wineries participating in the wine route.

That is a lot of wine on the overall :) I am no wine expert but I like wine festivals....the last one I attended to some months ago was really fun...but of course, not only coz of the wine, but also coz of the fantastic company I had :)

Janek used the 2009 Europa stamp regarding astronomy.

thanks a lot Janek!

And wishing you all a great week ahead! Hopefully will see you again in a few days :)

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

so, it's been a rather silent week...just felt on the down side in general....actually the entire of November was rather low...so I hope December will bring me something nicer on the overall...i wasnt that busy as usual, but somehow time flew away....and when i think of the fact that another year has almost gone by, i simply shudder at it....

My first Puerto Vallarta card was posted like over two years ago. This one here I received several months ago by Erin who spent some time here.
The card shows a sculpture called "The lovers". Having in regard the country it is coming from, I find this pretty ironic and sad at the same time....
this is one of the several sculptures that  decorate the 'malecón', which is a word used in Spanish-speaking countries for a stone-built embankment or esplanade along a waterfront.

there are three stamps on the card actually, but until i realized i had scanned it all wrong, it was too late and im honestly rather lazy to be doing it all over again :) anyways the third stamp is at the bottom and is the same as the reddish one. Both are definitives issued in 2010.

Cumbres & Toltec Railroad, USA

A really great card coming from New Mexico!

as the back of the card says: Built in 1880 and little changed since, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is the fine example of steam era mountain railroading in North America. Its equipment, structures and vast landscape exist today as if frozen in the first half of the 20th century.

It is considered as a precious artifact of the American West. According to the card, it definitely offers a great scenery to be seen during the ride....plus the 'steam locomotive' adds a lot to the charm of it :)

of course :)

Formula 1

sooo....it's been a while since I had posted a card related to Formula 1....but time to change that.

FI- 1212021

Mainly, it is coz i havent been following it for a long while so I couldnt really post something about it when i didnt really know what was going on....lost the interest since Raikkonen left (the races were already boring, yet i had someone to cheer for, so I watched it).
But...just this past week, it was announced that Ice-man had signed a contract with Lotus Renault GP and is coming back to F1 the following season!!! Yippie!! Yippie yippie yay yay!! Must be one of the greatest news ive heard in a long long while!! I can hardly wait!! I dont care in which team he is and if the season is not as fun as it should be...I really missed the F1 adrenaline and now i have the reason to get my dosage...I miss the waking up at 5 am to watch the Australian Grand Prix...cheering and biting my nails.
I know there have been quite some changes in the F1 so it's gonna take me a while to get a hold of it all, but im in no hurry :)

btw, i cant tell the exact driver this card represents, however, it came in handy :)

and speaking of good sports' news....Spain won the Davis Cup today...after a nail-biting match between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro. I really like Del Boy, so i felt sorry for him in the end, but Rafa is Rafa and after a crappy season, this was like the perfect closure :P  Yay yay yay!!

Lighthouses, New Zealand

As for my closure today, I picked some NZ lighthouses...beautiful as always!

the first one shows the Waipapa Point - the lighthouse is located at the southern end of the Catlins region and marks the scene of New Zealand's worst civilian shipwreck. On 29 April 1881, 131 people were drowned when the passenger steamer Tararua was wrecked on a reef off the point. Tararua was on one of its regular trips between Otago and Melbourne, via Bluff.

The first lit was in 1884 and the lighthouse was automated and demanned in 1974. It is 13 metres high.

the backside is rather gorgeous and happy with the stamps and the stickers. The two big colourful stamps are from a fantastic sheet  of 25 stamps issued in 2010, called Slice of heaven. The small stamps at the left side come from a set of 6 definitives issued in 2009, while the 10c one, at the bottom right is from a set of  7 definitives issued in 2007.

the second card here shows three different lighthouses so i wont go into details about each one, just name them....and if one day i receive a single view of any of these, id be happy to share their stories :)

From left to right you have: Cape Campbell, Akaroa Harbour and Taiaroa Head. Im pretty confused about the middle one, coz it looks the same as the Waipapa Point one, though the surroundings may be different, but still...I keep wondering if this might be the same lighthouse actually, and if there is some mistake in the explanations or these are indeed two different lighthouses and Akaroa Harbour has nothing to do with Waipapa.....

the cute stamp was issued this year in a set of 4 "year of the rabbit" stamps.

Have a fab week ahead everyone! :)

Kebabs, Bosnia and Herzegovina

You know I love doing thematic updates from time to time, esp. if I have a number of cards on a particular subject...and im not sure why i picked food this time, but I do have a soft spot for delicious foodstuffs, even though I try to stay on the healthy eating side

first comes a dish im absolutely familiar with since it is very popular here....Kebabs with onion and this flat type of bread called 'lepinja'. Not really the healthiest of meals but absolutely delicious! Of course, if you get the right kebabs...not all of them are good. First of all, depending on the country....the ones on the card are just like the ones we have here....but for example, Ive tried kebabs in Bulgaria...and sorry, but it had nothing to do with the deliciousness of ours. And even in Skopje for example, not all places make good kebabs....the most famous place, which is simply the first association to kebabs and is even like a trade mark, is the place called Destan...the kebabs there just have this particular taste, unlike other kebab-restaurants...there are a few in the city, but the most charming and authentic is the one in the Old Bazaar....ever since ive been little, this has been the best place to eat kebabs...the usual order is a "Ten with onions" though of course, you can order less or more, as many as you like..

Since I havent tried the Bosnian kebabs, though im pretty sure they are as good as ours (after all, we have a lot of contact points, since our country has been widely influenced by the Ottoman cuisine...), ill post a few pics of the Destan's restaurant in the Old Bazaar...and if you ever come here, this is a MUST!! Im serious, a MUST!!!

The place is small and far from fancy, but it is cozy and the atmosphere goes perfectly with this type of food

and a glimpse over the plate.....makes me hungry at an instant!

courtesy of the photo: http://volanskopje.blogspot.com/

Sabina is the one who surprised me with this card, and she had made an EXCELLENT choice! The stamp she used is from 1999, commemorating the 105 years of the meteorological observatory on the Bjelašnica mountain.

Pikakala, Finland

next we have a Finnish delicacy

this is called Pikakala and is considered as a typical fish dish that includes salmon medallions garnished with dill and served with mushroom stew and potatoes.

definitely looks delicious to me, plus it is a light meal, and probably easily prepared.

there is a recipe on the backside about a trout file...but it is in Finnish unfortunately, so I am not able to share it with you...

there are two stamps on the card....the left one is from a set of 4 of those oddly shaped imperforated stamps, this one representing water, while the other one was issued this year in a set of 5 'mailboxes' stamp. Really lovely!! This is a 2nd class stamp. Here, we have no such division of 1st and 2nd class stamps....

Irish Breakfast, Ireland

Here comes something, which if you are in Ireland, is something you will supposedly get for breakfast......hmmmm???

im having my doubts about this one....for lunch or dinner maybe....but breakfast??? you really eat this for breakfast?? Odd, in the least hand! Oysters are such a tough food, even if not eaten for breakfast you may feel sick at the stomach....and in combination with dark beer (the stout), i really wonder how your day is gonna be :P

The back of the card says (something that has absolutely nothing to do with the front): The unique beauty of Ireland's landscape and its rich historic, literary and artistic associations have long made it a favourite resort for tourists. Encompassing a wealth of natural beauty within its modest dimensions, Ireland boasts a landscape which is as much diverse as it is gratifying. The scenic grandeur is set off by Ireland's position. Standing in the path of both the prevailing westerly winds of the Atlantic and the warming currents of the Gulf Stream, Ireland enjoys an equable climate which gives the country its unique fresh appearance.


Speaking of breakfasts, here is a link with a variety of those throughout the world...some are awesome, some id never eat...and some...I just dont know how people can consider as breakfast??

Breakfasts from around the world

The Irish breakfast presented here is rather different, so nowadays you can just trust no one :)

My tops: Spain, Hawaii, Portugal, Italy, Wales, France, Russia, Pakistan. Btw, Pakistan says to be using Ghee...which I would recommend as a butter substitute in your cooking.

The stamp is from a set of 8 animals' automat labels issued in 2010, with this one showing a Sea slug

Belgium Specialty, Belgium

well, my first association to Belgium when it comes to food is chocolate....but here we have some real food to show :)

this is what the Belgians call a national meal: beer, french fries and mussels. Uhmmm..ok, not really my type...first, coz i dont like beer...second, im not so fond of mussels...and third, I actually prefer baked or boiled potatoes to the french fries....just too much oil in it and not really nutritional values. (Sometimes I think im annoying people regarding food and what's healthy and whats not and all the labels' checking of products...). Just yesterday, I put back this cat-food on the shelf coz it simply contained too many food colourings...some considered really hazardous...

however, garlic and onion... I love adding them to my meals, esp garlic in raw form....one of the best antiseptics you could get and help your immunity during the cold winter days.

The stamp is from a set of 3 issued this year, showing the House of Erasmus. A really nice one!

Dim Sum, Hong Kong

as for my last delicacy today, I picked a Hong Kong card...with a bunch of different foodstuffs....some look sooo yummy, even though I have no idea what they are.

the Dim Sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is sometimes served in some restaurants, where fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes would be pushed around on steam carts by servers who go around the restaurant offering the dishes to customers and marking orders on a card on each customer's table.

I like that tradition of the Chinese cuisine, eating small portions of food....at the Chinese restaurants here, you are given nothing but a small portion...I guess they've adjusted it to the Macedonian standards :)

the traditional dim sum includes various types of steamed buns and rice noodle rolls which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods.

well, i think this card is really convenient if you are in China or Hong Kong....just take it with you to the restaurant, and even if you dont know a single word of Chinese, you just point to the meal you'd love to have and voila! :)

the stamp is from the set of 16 definitives issued in 2006 representing birds...this cutie is the Red-whiskered Bulbul. The card was sent from Licia, whom I havent heard from for a long while...in case she reads this, thanks so much again for the great card, and I hope she is doing ok! So....hungry anyone? :)

Belize

well, here comes another small update, on a foggy Wednesday evening....we've been having fog for days now and doesnt look nice at all...

so, "torn" between work and writing the delayed postcards, ill squeeze in some postcards here too...as I say, my keyboard is aching to write about them :)
and the first comes as an amazing surprise from my dear Sissel, who ticks off another of my missing countries with this lovely MAP card from Belize!! Dont wanna brag, but she actually sent me a few more Belize cards..:D

this one here is such a perfect addition to my map card collection!!  The back of the card says, Belize: 8,866 square miles packed with adventure!

And it is just soo green! It is said that over 60% of Belize's land surface is covered by forest while some 20% of the country's land is covered by cultivated land (agriculture) and human settlements. Its biodiversity – both marine and terrestrial – is rich, with abundant flora and fauna and the country a leader where it comes to protecting its biodiversity and natural resources.

*thumbs up* for Belize....if only more countries had followed this principe.....

and now, look at the lovely stamps here!! the top left one is a definitive issued in 2009 (it also appears in the set of 12 definitives issued in 2005) from which the other two stamps come from.

thanks so much again Sissel!! What would i do without you!

Taklamakan Desert, China

my next card is a great official I received from China....

CN-410694

The card shows camels in the Taklamakan Desert, which is situated in the northwest of China, in the XinJian region.

The vastness of deserts has always amazed me....as well as the fear of 'would i be able to find my way if i ever get lost in one'. It is a public secret that i am terrible in orienteering myself..even with a map and buildings around which serve as key points..you know that saying "Why men don't listen and women can't read maps?"...well it is perfectly applicable to me, so if you let me lead you somewhere which is not my hometown, make sure, you're gonna get lost...so it's up to you to take the risk :)

now, looking at this map and the journey on it, reminds me of something i watched not so long ago, about a group of Chinese students going to school and the road they take in order to get there....you don't need to understand Chinese in order to understand the video....and after you watch it, maybe next time you complain your way to school/work is difficult, think about the kids here....and if you had ever actually had to endure something even close to this to get to where you had set off....and lest not forget, it is children we are talking about here

there are four great stamps on the card...ok, the right one is already preprinted, matching the postcard. as for the other three..the one next to it was issued in 1993 in a set of two camels' stamps. The birds are definitives from a set of 3 issued in 2002, while the last stamp was issued in 1998 and is a joint issue with Switzerland

White Pass & Yukon Route, USA

next come two awesome train cards from my beloved Alaska! Both show the White Pass and the Yukon Route, so im posting both.

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway boards passengers in Skagway near their cruise ship. This narrow gauge railroad built in 1898-1900 during the Klondike Gold Rush is one of Alaska's premier attractions.

The beautiful Sawtooh Mountain Range provides a perfect backdrop for this train.

the view is just amazing....and gets me "another train ride i must go to" on my list...there are getting just too many :)

the first card has two stamps, one with the Indianapolis, commemorating the 100 years of racing, was issued this year, while the cute dolphin stamp is from 2009.

the second card bears 3 copies of the Owney, the Postal dog stamp, issued this year, plus bearing a First Day of Issue cancellation!!

thanks so much to A.W for these lovely cards!!