Malaysia VI

Final Malaysia card features a sunrise view from the roof of Penang's Eastern and Oriental Hotel, a famous hotel from the colonial era opened in 1885. It was built by a group of Armenian brothers, the Sarkies, who would later go on to open some of Southeast Asia's most iconic hotels, including Raffles in Singapore and The Strand in Rangoon. The hotel is part of the "Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca" World Heritage site.

Previously featured hydrangea stamp, with a nice hand cancellation this time.

Malaysia V

Next card shows sunrise at the fishing village of Marang on Malaysia's east cost.

I was a bit surprised to see a Malaysian stamp featuring jícama, Pachyrhizus erosus, a common vegetable in Mexico. I learned that Spanish galleons brought the crop from Mexico to the Philippines where it then spread throughout Southeast Asia and is now a familiar ingredient in the region's kitchens. 

Malaysia IV

Second Petronas Towers card features artwork by local designer, Aesos Lai, who draws inspiration from the Towers to create artcards.

A "fresh air" stamp from the same environmental awareness series as the "clean water" stamp.

Malaysia III

A spate of Malaysia postcards from my friend, who is riding the rails through the country. The first and second cards show Kuala Lumpur landmark, the Petronas Towers. Measuring 492m, they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101, but remain the tallest twin buildings ever built, surpassing the World Trade Center. 

First stamp on clean water is from a series to encourage environmental awareness, and second, previously-featured stamp of hydrangeas.

Malaysia II

Postcard showing Orang Asli people of Peninsular Malaysia preparing a meal by baking rice and tapioca in bamboo tubes. Orang Asli is a collective term used to refer to the various tribes of people who are indigenous to Malaysia, and who, unfortunately, often face similar treatment to indigenous peoples else where in the world with high rates of poverty and lower life expectancies.

Stamp depicts the bigleaf hydrangea, a common garden plant whose flower colour varies between pink and purple, depending on the soil pH.

Malaysia

Tioman Island lies off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. The densely forested island is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a popular scuba diving spot. It's also a popular beach resort and its beaches were used in the movie South Pacific as Bali Hai. Apart from its diverse marine life, the inland rainforest is a strictly enforced nature reserve.

Thanks to Kate, who was holidaying there!

The stamp depicts a green-winged pigeon, (Chalcophaps indica), also known as also the common emerald dove. It is a widespread resident breeding bird in tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and northern and eastern Australia. 

And a special congratulations to collector Glenn who just received a card from Equatorial Guinea, surely one of the most difficult countries from which to receive a card. Way to go!