Request

To my cover-exchanging friends, please try as much as possible to
(1) WRITE THE ADDRESSES USING YOUR OWN HANDWRITING
as these give a more personal touch to the cover
(2) PLEASE DO NOT USE TAPE OR STICKERS ON THE REVERSE;
the Philippine postal service damages the cover with scribbling that highly devalues the aesthetic value of the cover, which is what I am after
(3) PLEASE TRY TO USE COMPLETE SETS
or at least same themes when sending covers, but it is okay if this is not possible or if this would be expensive, and
(4) PLEASE USE SMALL ENVELOPES,
not too small, but maybe around 4"x6" or something like that; big envelopes are not very attractive unless they have many stamps.
Thank you!

26.6.08

Indonesia



Shown here is another cover from Indonesia. On it is affixed two of the three stamps in the Year of the Rat set as well as a stamp commemmorating 50 years of Garuda Indonesia, the national flag carrier.

A little more about Garuda Indonesia:
The Garuda (Sanksrit: गरुड, Pāli: Garuḷa) is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In Indian Vedic tradition, Garuda is the carrier of the Hindu god Vishnu.

Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of Independence against the Dutch in the late 40's. During the revolution, the airline supported Indonesian interests, such as carrying Indonesian leaders for diplomatic missions.

The airline currently flies to a number of destinations in SE and East Asia, the Middle East, and Australia, and previously flew to several destinations in Europe. However, as of June 2008, Garuda, along with all Indonesian airlines, is banned from flying to the] EU. It is wholly owned by the Indonesian government.
I was very pleased when I saw the Garuda stamp because Aviation is one of my favorite themes and the symbolism of the Garuda never fails to awe me. I also really appreciated the very beautiful envelope since it is official Pos Indonesia stationery.

The cover was sent from Jakarta, the capital, on 18 Mar 2008.

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