A postcard from exotic Bali!

This is my second swap with wonderful Anis from Indonesia. The postcard depicts traditional rice harvest on Bali, an island and province in Indonesia. Rice is Indonesian staple food.
The stamps are dedicated to the year of horse.
Thanks a lot, Anis!

A postcard from beautiful Myanmar!

Myanmar is a country in Asia. The capital is Nay Pyi Taw. The population is about 53,414,374. Official language is Burmese. Myanmar, also known as Burma, was long considered a pariah state, isolated from the rest of the world with an appalling human rights record. Myanmar is gradually emerging from its international isolation; China is its main ally. Burman dominance over Karen, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Rohingya, Chin, Kachin and other minorities has been the source of considerable ethnic tension and has fuelled intermittent protests and separatist rebellions. Myanmar has highly fertile soil and important offshore oil and gas deposits. Nevertheless, the economy is one of the least developed in the world, and is suffering the effects of decades of stagnation, mismanagement, and isolation.

Temples and pagodas found throughout Myanmar were built during the 12th and 13th centuries under the Pagan Empire as Theravada Buddhism spread throughout the country. The country has yet to be completely overwhelmed by Western fashion – everywhere you'll meet men wearing skirt-like longyi, women smothered in thanakha (traditional make-up) and betel-chewing grannies with mouths full of blood-red juice.

The national anthem is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Ynt9HVMQM

The postcard depicts the Mandalay Palace, which is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. Throughout the British colonial era, the palace was seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol sovereignty and identity. Much of the palace compound was destroyed during World War II by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.

Thanks a lot, CharlesLing-ChihWong!

Wonderful scenery from Mongolia!

A wonderful young lady Viola from Hong Kong, who is having her internship as a teacher in Mongolia, sent me a postcard from there!

Mongolia is a country in Asia. The capital is Ulan Bator. The population is about 3,086,918. Official language is Mongolian.

Once the heartland of an empire stretching to Europe under Genghis Khan, Mongolia is a landlocked country dominated by sparsely populated steppe and semi-desert. Mongolia has an extreme climate. Drought and unusually cold and snowy winters have decimated livestock, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of families. A land full of vast emptiness, nearly twice the size of Eastern Europe, it is the least populous country in the world.

There are few countries in the world with such a stark difference between the rural and urban populations. Mongolia's nomadic culture is famous – you can sleep in a herder's ger (traditional felt yurt), help round up the sheep, ride horses and simply 'get back to nature'. Mongolia’s nomads are herdsmen, surviving by farming livestock such as camels, cattle and horses, and moving around to exploit the best conditions for doing so at different times of year. However, 45% of the Mongolian population live in the busy capital, Ulaanbaatar, where life is a lot more up-to-date and you will find ample museums, shops, restaurants, bars and clubs.

The anthem is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs66Jb378wc

Thank you so much for the colorful postcard, Viola!