Estonia

Postcard from Tallinn, the capital of Estonia showing St Nicholas Church in the foreground and the Dome Church behind, in the World Heritage-listed old town centre. The Dome Church is the Lutheran cathedral for Tallinn and was originally established in the thirteenth century, making it the oldest church in Estonia. St Nicholas Church was also originally built in the thirteenth century, and was partially destroyed in Soviet Bombing of Tallinn during World War II. It was later restored and now houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia.

Stamp on the left was issued in 1999 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Europe. Stamp on the right is from a 1995 set of two featuring local geese. Pictured here is the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis, a midsize goose from the Arctic and North Atlantic. Interestingly, the word "barnacle" derives from the bird and was only later applied to the crustacean barnacles.

Iceland

Postcard of Reykjavík's famous Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Hallgrímur). It is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth-tallest building in the country. The church was commissioned in 1937 and took 38 years to build, with construction beginning in 1945 and ending in 1986. Its design is meant to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape. Takk fyrir to my Mum who was on holiday in Iceland.

Stamp from a 2014 set of two featuring Icelandic landscapes. Pictured here is the Kvíárjökull glacier in eastern Iceland.

Namibia

Postcard of Etosha National Park, one of the oldest protected places in Namibia, established in 1907. The park is 22,270 square kilometres and is centred around the Etosha Pan, a large endorheic salt pan in the Kalahari Basin. It is home to hundreds of species, including several threatened and endangered species such as the black rhinoceros.

Many thanks to friend Casimiro, who was in Namibia for work.

Stamp from 2010 depicts a black-bellied bustard, an common African ground-dwelling bird that lives in grassland areas.

Namibian air mail label.

Laos

Postcard from the Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage site showing Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City). The temple was built in 1559 and is one of the most important in Laos. It was traditionally the site where Laotian kings were crowned. Many thanks and khawp jai to friend Dani who visited Laos.

Stamp on the left is from a 2005 set of three commemorating Laos' 50th anniversary of  its accession to the United Nations. Stamp on the right is from a 2007 set of three featuring the Boun That Luang festival, a three-day religious festival help at Pha That Luang, the country's most important temple.

Angola II

There didn't seem to be any information given about this card, but I eventually noticed in tiny print in the vertical centre line on the back "Morro, Huíla". "Huíla" is a province in southern Angola and "morro" means "hill" in Portuguese. I don't know if that means they only have one hill of note in Huíla and don't need a more precise name for it, but muito obrigado nonetheless to Ricardo for helping scratch this hard egg to crack off the list.

Stamp from a 1994 set of four featuring traditional ceramics, in this case an earthenware water jug.

Japan II

Postcard of Tokyo's Haneda Airport with Mount Fuji in the background. Tokyo has two airports; Haneda, Tokyo's original airport a short train-ride from the city centre, and Narita, built two hours away in the middle of nowhere when Haneda became too crowded after the growth of air travel in the 1970s. When I lived in Japan, Haneda was the domestic airport and Narita the international one; not a terribly convenient situation if you needed to transfer from one to the other. A new runway and terminal building were added to Haneda in 2010 and international services returned. I flew home to Singapore through Haneda last Christmas and preferred it immensely to somewhat dreary and utilitarian Narita airport. I look forward to using it again in the future.

Stamp from 1997 definitive series, still going strong! The series features Japanese fauna, and pictured here is the Japanese tit, Parus minor, a common songbird found throughout Japan and East Asia.

Kuwait

Postcard of "Donkey cart with enjoyment of the Children". Surely, one of the fugliest postcards in my collection. Out of all of the things one could photograph in Kuwait, a sickly donkey pulling a mobile child-prison past a death trap-slash-funfair can't possibly be very high on the list. Even just some sand dunes or a traffic intersection would be better.

I am nevertheless very grateful to my friend Jennifer who sent this to me while on a long layover in Kuwait Airport. Shukran!

Stamp from 2003 commemorating the 42nd anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. 

Ecuador

Postcard from the city of Cotacachi in northern Ecuador. Cotacachi has one of the highest concentrations of indigenous people in the country. Every year in June local people celebrate Inti Raymi, the traditional Inca New Year's festival honouring the sun god Inti.

Thanks and gracias to my Mum for sending this card while on holiday in South America.

Two stamps, both issued in 2010. Stamp on the left is from a set of four on Ecuadorian diversity. It features the "Monument to the Middle of the World" straddling the Equator. Postcard on the right commemorates 50 years of CitiBank in Ecuador.

China II

Another China postcard from the archives, this time showing the Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) in the Forbidden City in Beijing, part of the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hall was the site of public ceremonies such as enthronements and weddings. It is the largest wooden building in China and was originally built in 1406, although rebuilt following fires several times thereafter.

Stamp on the left is from a 1994 set of six featuring famous scenic places in China. Pictured here is Goddess Peak (神女峰), which is where the goddess Yao Ji is believed to be immortalized in stone, watching over the Yangtze River below. Stamp on the right is from the 1989 definitive series featuring folk architecture. Pictured here are traditional houses from Jiangsu Province in eastern China.

Bangladesh

Postcard showing a woman from the Mande minority who live in the hills and forests of eastern Bangladesh. The Mande, or Goro, people speak a Sino-Tibetan language. Many thanks to friends Jennifer and Preetom for sending this to me during their holiday in Bangladesh together! ধন্যবাদ ! 

Stamp on the left, issued in 2003, features an orangefin labeo, Labeo calbasu, a member of the carp family common to freshwater rivers and lakes in South and Southeast Asia. Stamps on the right are from 2004 to commemorate the Bangladeshi Olympic Committee.