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.