THAILAND ~ Bangkok - Wat Phra Kaew ~

...Fantastic "surprise" postcard showing the king of all temples...the most well known landmark, a must see when going to Bangkok...and with wonderful stamps used!! Thanks a lot Reepolkul. :-)

Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (officially known as Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram) is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Located in the historic centre of Bangkok, within the grounds of the Grand Palace.

Central to the temple is the Emerald Buddha, a dark green tiny statue standing (between 60 and 75cm) carved from a single jade stone. No one is allowed near the statue except the Thai King who conducts rituals at the temple throughout the year.

Wat Phra Kaew is the only temple in Thailand that doesn't have any resident monks.

Stamps:
-H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 86th Birthday Anniversary
(Issued 05-12-2013)
-Thai Heritage Conservation Day
(Issued 02-04-2014)
-Thailand 2013 World Stamp Exhibition - Contemporary Arts
(Issued 02-08-2013)

SRI LANKA ~Lankapatuna Temple ~

...Great temple view on a beautiful location...on top of a rock and surrounded by sea...
Many thanks Ravindra!!


With great stamp nr 4 of six new stamps selected with animals living in the Yala National Park (Issued 28-07- 2013) to coincide with the completion of seventy five years of the network of Wild Life Reserves in Sri Lanka. -Hawksbill Turtle-Swamp Crocodile-Elephant-Black-necked Stork-The Wild Boar -The Spotted Deer.

Lanka Putuna Viharaya in Trincomalee is one of the oldest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. It dates back to the time it was brought to Sri Lanka during the reign of king Kithsiri Mewan (303-331) who was the son of king Mahasen.

 The Temple is said to be lieing in the exact location where the Prince Dantha and Princess Hemamala landed in Sri Lanka with the tooth relic of the Buddha hidden inside Hemamala's hair coming from India. (small picture on the right) Buddhist ruins scatter in a area of about 50 acres which belong to the temple.

VIETNAM ~Hanoi-Tower of the Temple of Literature - UNESCO~

...Wonderful view of one of Hanoi's most famous ancient  landmarks... this picture has an air of tranquility about it...Vietnamese women wearing their traditional "Ao Dai" costumes (the national costume of women in the country)...it looks very simple, but so elegant!! Thanks a lot Jo for another beautiful postcard of Vietnam!! 

With a great variety of wonderful stamps!













The Temple of Literature, founded in 1070, was a temple to Confucius. It was also Viet Nam’s first university and functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779, educating the country's nobles, royalty, mandarins and other elite. Those who graduated had their names engrave on the stone stelae that sit on large stone turtles in the temple.

The temple consists of a series of 5 landscaped courtyards. The first two are primarily gardens. The third one has a lotus pond and the Stella. The final courtyard holds the shrine to Confucius.

INDONESIA ~Bali~

Wonderful picturesque temple view in a beautiful setting surrounded by water... One of the most important temples for Hindu and Budhist... Thanks a lot Edwin!!

With great stamps too!
The Ulun Danu temple literally means " the beginning of the lake" was built in 1663 by King Mengwi I Gusti is one of Bali’s most visited and most spiritually important balinese temple. This temple is used for offerings ceremony to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu, due to the importance of Lake Bratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali.

INDIA ~Mahabalipuran-UNESCO~

Wonderful view of the "Shore Temple"...Beautiful architecture and with the blue ocean in the background...I can understand why it is one of the most photographed monuments in India... As one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, it has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Thanks Nagi!!
Stamp showing the 9th Prime Minister, Rajiv Ghandi. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office (at the age of 40).

The Shore Temple (700-728 AD) is so named because it overlooks the Bay of Bengal. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of granite, dating from the 8th century AD. It was built on a promontory sticking out into the Bay of Bengal at Mahabalipuram, a village south of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The village was a busy port during the 7th and 8th century reign of the Pallava dynasty during the reign of Narasimhavarman II.
Shore Temple is a standing testimonial to the regal heritage of India and is one of the oldest structural (versus rock-cut) stone temples of South India.

JAPAN ~Kinkakuji Temple-Kyoto-UNESCO~

Great card from Japan (JP-190331) arrived today...Another wonderful example of the typical architecture of their temples. This ones two top floors are completed covered in gold leaf... And its reflection in the pond is such a beautiful sight... With as extra bonus that it's also a UNESCO site! Thanks Lyo!!

Nice stamp too!

Kinkakuji Temple, which as originally erected in 1397 by dybast Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, is harmonious with is back mountains and gardens.Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. That is one of Kyoto's "must-take-a-look" for foreigners.

INDONESIA ~Java-Temple of Borobudur-UNESCO~

Got this fantastic and impressive view from my friend Benny who is there on holiday!The Borodudur Temple is a UNESCO WHS since 1991.

Borobudur: Pathway to Enlightenment
On the island of Java stands a mountain of a thousand statues...

The temple was buried under volcanic ash and overgrown with vegetation for centuries... It was rediscovered in 1814 thanks to Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Java. The Borobudur temple was fully unearthed in 1835.
With nice stamps too!

Borobudur is a 9thC Mahayara Budhist monument built by Syalendra Dynasty in Magelay, Central Java. It was built to honour the glory of both the Buddha and its founder. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circulair platforms, and is decorated with 2.672 relief panels and 500 Budha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platforms is surrounded by 72 Budha statues seated inside perforated Stupa.

INDONESIA ~Java-Prambanan Temple~

The Prambanan temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

CHINA ~Temple of Heaven-UNESCO~

Immediately when I picked this wonderful and UNESCO card out of my mailbox I noticed all the beautiful landscape around the Temple. I always thought of Beijing as a crowdy, busy city... Thanks to my postcards I....again discovered something new about a place!!!
And lovely stamps too.:)

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is China's largest existing complex of ancient sacrificial buildings over an area of 273 hectares and it is three times the area of the Forbidden City. It was built in 1420 for emperors to worship Heaven. The principle buildings include the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven and Circular Mound Altar.

INDIA ~Kandariya-Mahadev and Jagadambi Temple-Unesco~

Received three great new UNESCO sites of India today. There are 27 sites in total on the list from India... I've got 4 till now, so still 23 to go! :)

INDIA ~Kandariya-Mahadev and Jagadambi Temple-Unesco~
Originally uploaded by gerda_dager

The temples at Khajuraho were built during the Chandella dynasty, which reached its apogee between 950 and 1050. Only about 20 temples remain; they fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions – Hinduism and Jainism. They strike a perfect balance between architecture and sculpture. The Temple of Kandariya is decorated with a profusion of sculptures that are among the greatest masterpieces of Indian art.