Bukavu - Finally a Postcard from Democratic Republic of Congo

After having lived in Democratic Republic of Congo for almost 7 months, finally I am so glad to have found my first postcard from Democratic Republic of Congo …… Yahoooooo!!!!

The postcard shows multi-views of Bukavu City with a photo of fishermen in Lake Kivu in the center. By the way, this entire area covering DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania is known as the Greater Lakes Region. Lake Kivu is one of the smallest lakes in the region with a surface area of about 28,000 km² (almost the size of Belgium, complete country = 30,278 km²).

I am in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the last 7 months and tried hard to find some postcards. I am in Bukavu, a city in the eastern province South Kivu and about 1500 miles away from the capital city, Kinshasa. Even the large shops do not have any postcards of the country. I am working on a project to collect UNESCO site postcards but I am yet to find a single post card of any of the 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in DR Congo.

Luckily or unluckily, I found these two postcards while roaming in the city at a small stationery shop but the shopkeeper was not willing to depart from them for a small amount. He asked $10 for each postcard, however after a bit (a lot) of bargain I managed to get each postcard for $5 only. I definitely wanted to buy more for swapping but could only purchase one copy of each postcard.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is undoubtedly one of the hardest countries in Postcrossing World to get a postcard from. After being torn by years of violence, a history filled with genocides, mass murders, Armed  Groups and extremely corrupt regimes, DRC remains at the bottom in the list of countries in almost every aspect. DR Congo is blessed with gigantic mineral reserves including gold, copper, uranium, cobalt, coltan, oil, gas and virtually every element present on the periodic table. However this blessing from God Almighty has become a curse for the country and its people. Armed Groups are always fighting with each other for the control of the mines filled with gold, copper and other precious metals. In order to control the people, they use a number of brutal tactics including mass killings, kidnapping, looting and above all rape. DR Congo is known as the “Rape Capital of the World” as the Armed Groups carry out mass rapes to strike fear among the populace.
In order to control the situation, United Nations had to deploy a mission in the country, commonly known by its acronym, MONUSCO. MONUSCO is the largest United Nations Mission in any country of the World with more than 20,000 observers and military personnel deployed. UN managed to control the crimes to a large extent but the country is still marred with numerous challenges.
You must be wondering why it is so hard to find the postcards of DR Congo. UN terms DR Congo among the least developed Nations of the World and it is among the bottom 10 countries of the World in terms of poverty, stability and almost every social indicator. With a life expectancy of around 48 years, people are not much inclined towards hobbies. Instead they are working hard for their daily food.

Do you Want to Get a Postcard from DR Congo?  Because of the huge price, I may not be able to swap these with Postcrosser friends but I can get them for you, if anyone is willing to pay (Remember, I am not a dealer, just a collector :-) ). Postcards will be sent from another country (Probably Pakistan, my home country) inside an envelope or written and stamped (as per your wish), as DR Congo does not have a functional postal system, anywhere other than Kinshasa. You will only pay for the price of postcard + postage cost, without any commission. If you are interested, please leave me a note below in comments section along with your email address.

The 2nd postcard from Democratic Republic of Congo can be seen here.

Taiwan: Taipei 101 - 5th Largest Building in the World

Ni Hao!
This beautiful postcard shows the Capital City of Taiwan, Taipei. It is located in Northern Taiwan.
The tower building shown on the postcard is "Taipei 101".

The back of the card said that Taipei 101 is the 2nd largest building in the World, but a little research through Google Guru told that currently (in July 2014) Taipei 101 is the 5th tallest building on the planet after Burj Khalifa, Shanghai Tower, Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel and One World Trade Center. Height of the Taipei 101 is 1667 feet.
Taipei 101 comprises 101 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. The building was architecturally created as a symbol of the evolution of technology and Asian tradition. Its post-modernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and gives them modern treatments. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of stores, restaurants and clubs.

2 x Beautiful stamps are attached at the back of the postcard by Neho. One of the stamp shows a mushroom named Amanita Rubrovolvata, while the second shows a stag.
Thank you Neho for such a beautiful postcard.
BTW it was an official Postcrossing Postcard.

Origami Planes and White Marble Horse from France

I received this postcard from France and have absolutely no clue about the place.

The postcard was sent by Didier Roux from France.

Two pretty amazing stamps were used on the postcard.

• The top one is a machine stamp showing 3 different paper planes made by Origami. It is an airmail stamp from France (circa 2002). In France, stamp machines (machine which delivers computer stamps) deliver a small bill (size of a stamp) with a origami plane.
• The second stamp shows a beautiful white horse. It is one of the Horses 12v s-a in Booklet. There are two writings on the stamp. After a little research, they are as: "Lettre Verte" meaning "Green Letter" and the second writing says, "Le Boulonnais" meaning "The Boulonnais", which is a breed of horse, also known as "White Marble Horse", and just by the first look at the horse, it is definitely a white marble horse.

Does anyone reading this knows which place is shown on the postcard???

Yakovlev Yak-3 Aircraft from Russian Federation

The amazing postcard from Russian Federation shows a flying Yakovlev Yak-3 Aircraft used by Soviet Air Force in World War II.

Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian language: Яковлев Як-3) was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. Due to it's robustness and easiness to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike. It was one of the smallest and lightest major combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war, and its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance. It proved a formidable dog-fighter. Many pilots considered it a superior aircraft to the P-51D Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire. After the war ended, it flew with the Yugoslav and Polish Air Forces.

Top speed: 655 km/h

Length: 8.50 m

Wingspan: 9.19 m

First flight: 1943

Introduced: 1944

Retired: 1945

The postcard was sent by Victoria from Siberian city Tyumen as an official Postcrossing postcard bearing the ID: RU-1064906 (BTW, she has uploaded a similar but different postcard on the Official Site ;-) )
Four stamps have been used on the postcard along with a puppy sticker for my kids.

• The stamp on the top-right features another beautiful aircraft - Petlyakov Pe-2. It was a Soviet dive bomber aircraft used during World War II. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter. The stamp is a part of Aviation 4v set issued in 2011.
• The two stamps at the bottom show a polar bear and it's baby & a horse with it's offspring. These two stamps are part of a beautiful 5 stamp set Wild Life 5v, issued in 2006.
• The stamp on the top-left side shows a wild rabbit and it was issued as a part of a set of 15 definitive animal stamps in 2008.

Thanks a lot Victoria for a lovely postcard and such amazing stamps!

Happy Woman's Day POSTCARD LOTTERY

Happy Woman's Day POSTCARD LOTTERY!
On this big day, this lottery is exclusive for ladies (Sorry folks   - When is Happy Men's Day celebrated by the way?)
The 3 postcards will be sent to 3 different winners (Written and Stamped)
Write a number in sequence 1,2,3,4 and so on NUMBERS ARE TURNING OUT TO BE SLIGHTLY CONFUSING, SO JUST answer how in your opinion, Women's Day should be celebrated? AND I WILL NUMBER THE POSTS MYSELF !
For a valid entry, you have to give your answer in the COMMENT section below this post on the Blog ONLY.
Winner will be chosen  by random.org tomorrow (9.3.2014) at 12:00 GMT.
Have a blessed life!

 Postcard # 1

 Postcard # 2

 Postcard # 3

Snow White from Russia with lovely animals stamps

Snow White has always been one of my favourite Disney Princesses. Receiving this official Postcrossing postcard really made my day brighter and shinier.

I received this lovely postcard from Natalia in Russia.

The postcard also featured an official Disney Logo at the back side.

Two different stamps were used to post the card, which were a part of a series of 15 stamps issued as a Definitive Series in 2008. You can see the complete series of these definitive animal stamps from Russia here.

Netherlands: Smoking Air Show Postcard with an Environment Friendly Stamp

Another lovely official Postcrossing postcard is coming your way today!

This colourful postcard showing the view of an Airplane Show was sent to me by josephine in 2012. Somehow I love flying aircrafts and this one is pretty amazing.

The stamp used on the postcard was issued in 2011 by Nederland Postal services as a part of Environment Series. The phrase written on the stamp, inside a green tree seems to say "denk groen voor een groene wereld" or something like that. Google Search suggests that it is a Dutch phrase for "Think Green for a Green World". 

I hope a native Dutch reader could improve our exploration.

I wonder what good are these flying/ Smoking aircrafts doing to make the World greener. The stamps and the postcard seem to be an interesting combination. 

What do you say?

Slovenia: Beautiful Castle in Ljubljana

Hi Pals!

It is always lovely to receive an official postcrossing postcard from a unique country like Slovenia. This lovely postcard was sent to me by Leonardo from the official Postcrossing website. 

He wrote, 

"I live in a very small and very beautiful country. There's only Two Millions living in Slovenia and we like to think that quality is more important than quantity. Card is showing the old core of our capital, with 900 years old castle in the center."

It was really interesting to read Leonardo's thoughts, however I wondered what my Chinese friends would think about the phrase "Quality is more important than quantity!"
Well! It was just a random thought that brought a smile. :)

The castle in Ljubljana is really a beautiful one and so are the red-roofed buildings near it.

The stamps shows a fruit and a leaf and says "Zizola - Ziziphus Jujuba" which is a fruit called as "Red Date". The photo is probably taken by the photographer named "Irena Gubanc". 

Please correct me if I am wrong!

Have a nice day!

Pakistan Painting Postcard - Girls Sitting Together

Hi Pals!
Here's just another painting postcard from Pakistan to share with you.

I really like the smile on the face of the girl in pink dress. With the backdrop of Malala Yousafzai fame, this postcard becomes a real special one.
Just in case you do not know Malala Yousafzai's story, here's a re-cap.
Malala Yousafzai was a small girl living in Swat Valley which was under occupation of Taliban terrorists some years ago. While Talibans opposed girls' education, Malala raised her voice as a 9-year old and started writing her online diary at BBC Urdu Website, by the nick name of Gul Makai.

Malala Yousafzai

After a long and strenuous fight, Pakistan Army cleared Swat Valley from terrorist elements and life came back to normal. Malala Yousafzai became a national symbol of girl education and Pakistan's then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani re-named Pakistan Peace Award as Malala Peace Award.
In Oct 2012, some Taliban miscreants stopped Malala's school van and fired at them from point blank ranges. Malala suffered a head injury along with some of her friends too. She remained under-treatment in Pakistan and then in England.
Lately Malala Yousafzai was invited by United Nations to address the Youth General Assembly on the eve of her 16th birthday. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Ex-British PM Gordon Brown were also there to wish her a happy birthday.
Malala Yousafzai has definitely become a symbol of struggle against the oppressors and a source of inspiration for everyone around the globe.
Although the above postcard does not have any direct link with Malala's story but still these cute girls and their smiles make me think of them as small Malalas.
May God bless them with endless smiles and very happy lives. Amen!

P is for Pakistan Postcards

As a matter of fact, most of you must be knowing that this blog is dedicated to my postcards collection and taking part in ABC Wednesday is really fun especially when I came across the latest post, it was evident that today's post is dedicated to Postcards of my beloved PAKISTAN.
In this post, I shall share 3 of my favorite postcards with you, so that you can enjoy a glimpse of my beautiful Pakistan. To know more about these places, you can either click on the photo or visit the link at the bottom of the post.

K-2 is Pakistan's Highest Mountain and the World's 2nd Highest Mountain after the majestic Mount Everest. Standing tall at 8,611 meters, K-2 is a mighty mountain which is much more difficult to climb than its elder brother, Mount Everest.
As per Wikipedia: "K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of ascent and the second-highest fatality rate among the eight thousanders. For every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. It is more hazardous to reach K2 from the Chinese side; thus, it is mostly climbed from the Pakistani side. Unlike Annapurna, the mountain with the highest fatality-to-summit rate, K2 has never been climbed in winter."

Lahore Fort - One of Pakistan's marvellous pieces of architecture and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger.
You can read more at one of my previous posts here: Lahore Fort or at Wikipedia here: Lahore Fort at Wikipedia

Takht Bhai (or Takht Bahi) is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE. The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
You can read more about these fascinating ruins at Ruins of Buddhist Monastery at Takht-e-Bahi, Swat Valley  in another post at my UNESCO blog.
Having said that its your turn to share your opinion in the comments section below. I would love to hear your thoughts about this post!!!

Slovenian Map Postcard - Slovenia at a Glance

A beautiful postcard from Slovenia depicting the Slovenian Country Map along with different multi-views of buildings and landscapes from the beautiful European country.

This marvellous postcard was sent inside an envelope by Karmen.
This postcard is uploaded specifically for Postcard Friendship Friday!!

Phi Phi Islands, Thailand - A Paradise in South-East Asia

Phi Phi Island is undoubtedly Thailand's island-superstar. It's been in the movies. It's the topic of conversation for travellers all over Thailand.
For some, it's the only reason to touchdown in Phuket. Even with all the hype, it doesn't disappoint. Phi Phi's beauty is a large chunk of the allure. The islands, when approached by boat, rise from the sea like a fortress. Sheer cliffs tower overhead, then give way to beach-fronted jungle. It's love at first sight. The second part of the why-we-love-this-place story is attitude: few places on the planet are this laid-back. Of the two islands, one is completely free of human inhabitants (Phi Phi Leh), and the other is without roads (Phi Phi Don). There's no schedule, no hustle-and-bustle, no reason to be in a hurry.

Near Phi Phi, one beach stands above the rest: Phi Phi Ley. The island was the backdrop for Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach" and is one of the most beautiful and majestic places you will ever lay your eyes on.   Much of the movie was filmed in Maya Bay, a main location for Phi Phi daytrips and longtail hires from nearby Phi Phi Don Village. Also, the main ferry from Phuket passes this spot from afar to give you a short glimpse.
James Bond Island is also not far away from Phi Phi Island which is famous for filming of the James Bond movie - The Man with the Golden Gun.
This magnificent postcard was brought to me by my dear colleague and younger brother Wasif from his trip to Thailand. Thanks a lot dude :)
Please feel free to leave your comments below!

A Winter Postcard from St. Petersburg in Russia

Recently I received a beautiful postcard from Russia showing a winter scene and a Parland Railing of the "The Church of the Resurrection of the Christ"

St. Petersburg is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Russia and you can read my detailed post at my UNESCO Postcards Blog here.
Two beautiful stamps showing a castle and a boat have been used by the sender - Katya.

Katya has also written "Happy Postcrossing" in a lovely way, accompanied by a Smiley.

 Thanks a lot Katya for this amazingly beautiful postcard and Happy Postcrossing.
If you have any question/ observation/ suggestion, please leave a comment below.