Tanah Lot, Bali

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home to the pilgrimage temple Pura Tanah Lot (literally "Tanah Lot temple"), a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.

Tanah Lot means "Land [sic: in the] Sea" in the Balinese language. Located in Tabanan, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Denpasar, the temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century Dang Hyang Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock, for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods. The main deity of the temple is Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, who is the sea god or sea power and these days, Nirartha is also worshipped here.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples was established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. In addition to Balinese mythology, the temple was significantly influenced by Hinduism.

At the base of the rocky island, venomous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. The temple is purportedly protected by a giant snake, which was created from Nirartha's selendang (a type of sash) when he established the island.

In 1980, the temple's rock face was starting to crumble and the area around and inside the temple started to become dangerous. The Japanese government then provided a loan to the Indonesian government of Rp 800 billion (approximately US$130 million) to conserve the historic temple and other significant locations around Bali. As a result, over one third of Tanah Lot's "rock" is actually cleverly disguised artificial rock created during the Japanese-funded and supervised renovation and stabilization program.

Source: Wikipedia

A beautiful temple card card sent by an 

anonymous member from PostcardUnited,

 Received: 22 June 2016

Keep Calm and Let's Meet Up

Thanks to dearest Dini for sending me this awesome Keep Calm

and meetup card ^_^

Sent: 7 May 2016    Received: 26 May 2016  Travelled: 19 days

Maxicard: British Short Hair

The British standard calls for the cat to be of compact build, powerful and well-balanced. A full broad chest, short strong legs, rounded paws and a tail that is thick at the base and tapers slightly to a rounded tip show off a "football player" physique. The British Shorthair has a round head with good width between the ears. The eyes are round and wide-open. One of the most appealing features are the "Brit's" built-in smile caused by the round prominent whisker pads. This smile was never displayed better than in Lewis Carroll's Cheshire cat; originally a tabby British Shorthair. The British Shorthair coat is like no other; short, dense, like deep pile carpet. The coat needs minimal care yet has a luxurious feel.

British Shorthairs are very affectionate, quietly following you from room to room until they can settle contentedly by your side. Gifted with lasting patience and confidence, Brits are especially good with children and other types of pets. A moderately active cat, they are not destructive as a breed, adapting well to any size household. British are very easy going and are affectionate to numerous people in the circle they consider family.

Source: Fanciers

Thanks to Myra for the Maxicard from Indonesia! 

Sent: 6 May 2016   Received: 24 May 2016   Travelled: 18 days

Bogor meetup

Wow another meetup card to my mailbox!

Thanks to Dini for the Bogor Postcrossing meetup card!

Love the colourfulness of the card^_^

Sent: 18 March 2016   Received: 29 April 2016   Travelled: 42 days

Sangiran

Sangiran is an archaeological excavation site in Java in Indonesia. According to a UNESCO report (1995) "Sangiran is recognized by scientists to be one of the most important sites in the world for studying fossil man, ranking alongside Zhoukoudian (China), Willandra Lakes (Australia), Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), and Sterkfontein (South Africa), and more fruitful in finds than any of these."

The area comprises about 56 km² (7 km x 8 km). It is located in Central Java, about 15 kilometers north of Surakarta in the Solo River valley. Administratively, Sangiran area is divided between 2 regencies: Sragen (subdistricts of Gemolong, Kalijambe, and Plupuh) and Karanganyar (subdistrict of Gondangrejo). An important feature of the site is the geology of the area. Originally a dome was created millions of years ago through tectonic uplifts. The dome was then eroded exposing beds within the dome which are rich in archeological records.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Ratna for the swap, so happy to get a card of Sangiran. I visited

this museum 4 years ago!

Sent:18 March 2016   Received: 5 April 2016  Travelled: 18 days

Hanuman

Yay! Thanks so much to Dini for this Zodiac Monkey stamp and postcard

from Indonesia, featuring Hanuman from the Hindu Mythology, if you're wondering

why there's Hanuman in Indonesia, it is because Bali is Hindu island :) 

Sent: 26 February 2016   Received: 15 March 2016   Travelled: 18 days

Bawean Island

Bawean is an island of Indonesia located approximately 150 km north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately 15 km in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by an extinct volcano at its center that rises to 655 m above sea level. Its population as at the 2010 Census is about 70,000 people, but more than 26,000 of them (that is about 70% of the male population) were temporarily living outside, working in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia).As a result, females constituted about 77% of the actual population of the island, which is thus often referred to as the Island of Women (Indonesian: Pulau Putri).
Source : Wikipedia

Thanks to Ucy via PostcardUnited for this lovely People card!

Sent: 7 February 2016   Received: 24 February 2016   Travelled: 17 days

Year of the Monkey: Indonesia

Desgined by Loredanzo 

Thanks to  Krisna for this Monkey swap!

Sent: 9 February 2016    Received: 25 February 2016    Travelled: 16 days

Borobodur Temple

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[

Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year, Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Pratami via Postcard United for this beautiful

sunset view of Borobodur.

Sent: 17 October 2015   Received: 24 November 2015   Travelled: 38 days

Batik Cat

Thanks to Anis who sends me this Batik cat with Batik stamps.

Such a novelty to get a postcard with batik cloth in a cat motif!

A special addition to my postcards made from different materials. 

We used to have greeting cards also with Batik cloth but it has now sadly

been discontinued.

Sent: 27 October 2015   Received: 23 November 2015   Travelled: 27 days

Birthday greetings

Thanks to my crazy friend Dini from Indonesia for this funny card.

Last year she sent me this card.

She came to visit me in KK in September and we did a few birthday wishes

to mutual postcard friends in Germany and Indonesia. Below is one we did

for Barbel :D Very international when you think about it :D 

Thank you Dini for the signatures :D You know I love meetup cards ^_^

Sent: 8 Nov   Received: 17 November 2015   Tavelled: 9 days

ASEAN map card

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions:

Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, and Christmas Island.
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and West Malaysia;


Definitions of "Southeast Asia" vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries (sovereign states and dependent territories) listed below. All of the states except for East Timor are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are considered part of Southeast Asia though they are governed by Australia. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea. In some occasions, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (a disputed region or nation), are considered as part of the Southeast Asia. Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic organisation of ten Southeast Asian countries. It was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, and sociocultural evolution among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to resolve differences peacefully.

ASEAN covers a land area of 4.4 million square kilometres, 3% of the total land area of the Earth. ASEAN territorial waters cover an area about three times larger than its land counterpart. The member countries have a combined population of approximately 625 million people, 8.8% of the world's population. In 2015, the organisation's combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$2.6 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the seventh largest economy in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to TinTin Syam, a friend of Dini's, who sends this

card as a thank you for the meetup card that Dini and I wrote.

Particularly love the Indonesian Postcrossing stamp and 

Zodiac Rabbit.

Sent: 9 October   Received: 30 October 2015   Travelled: 21 days

Karapan Sapi, Madura Island, Indonesia

Karapan sapi is a traditional bull racing festival on the Indonesian island of Madura. Every year from about July through October, local bulls are yoked to wooden skids and raced for 130 meters, similar to a chariot race. There are several of these races throughout the season, and there is a final trophy race held in Pamekasan. The bulls participating in the event are adorned with gold and other decorations, and the event may be accompanied by Gamelan music, food, and wagers on the outcome of the race. A depiction of the festival was featured on the reverse of the 100 rupiah coin for Indonesia from 1991 to 1998. Indonesian stamp in 2009 also depicted the race along with Surabaya–Madura Bridge.
Source: Wikipedia

This card is a little bit misleading with the big Surabaya title, which

is in the island of Java while the sport depicted in the card is from

Madura island. Big thank you to Ayu for this great Traditional Sport

card from Indonesia and the matching Year of the Ox stamps , my

first stamps for this Zodiac year.

Sent: 3 Oct   Received: 27 October 2015   Travelled: 24 days

Bandung meetup

Thanks to Dionisus from Bandung for this super cool meetup postcard!

I love this "Lost in Bandung" signage haha

Sent: 15 August 2015   Received: 2 September 2015   Travelled: 18 days

Lion dance from Singkawang

I love getting Lion Dance cards, I surely don't get enough of them eventhough

we have the Chinese New Year every year. The craftmanship of the lion head

and the skill of the dancers always makes me standby and watch.

Thanks to Connie for this Lion postcard swap from south of Borneo, a long

way across the border from my city.

Sent: 31 July 2015   Received: 13 August 2015   Travelled: 13 days

Indonesian ad card

Thanks to Juan Sebastian for this ad card from an Indonesian restaurant.

The card has dual images so it could not be sent written with stamp.

Lovely backgrounds with featuring the owner in traditional dress.

Sent: 23 July 2015   Received: 7 August 2015   Travelled: 15 days

Candi Muara Takus

Muara Takus (Indonesian: Candi Muara Takus) is a Buddhist temple complex, thought to belong to the Srivijaya empire. It is situated in Kampar Regency in Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Its surviving temples and other archaeological remains are thought to date to the eleventh and twelfth century AD. It is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient temple complexes in Sumatra.

Thanks to AND for this temple complex card from the isle of Sumatra!

Sent: 6 June 2015   Received: 23 June 2015   Received: 17 days

Greetings from Indonesia

Greetings from Indonesia

Thanks to Mianti for this Indonesian version of the popular Postallove series

Sent: 25 May 2015   Received: 10 June 2015   Travelled: 15 days

Starring You cartoon

another Starring You Semarang meetup card but this time with a caricature of

the travelling postcard writer Michael. thanks to the super awesome Dini

for this special postcard :D 

Sent: 23 May 2015   Received: 10 June 2015   Travelled: 18 days

Starring You meetup

A special meetup in Semarang Indonesia to coincide with

Starring You's visit there on 9th May 2015. Thanks to Uniek for this fun card :D

Sent: 11 May 2015   Received: 26 May 2015   Travelled: 15 days