Overheard

by Sreisaat on Monday, January 30, 2012 · 0 Comments

Tomorrow will be the 31st of the month and the next day we will be into the second month of the year. How time flies. And you know what, while I was queuing at the Post Office for postage stamps, I overheard two lady barangs (foreigners) standing at the claims counter for international parcels and talking about Valentine's and celebrating it here in Cambodia.

There was a discernible excitement in their voices and, from what I've heard, one is expecting a set of lingerie bodystockings she bought online. She, the owner, was very animated with a hint of naughtiness in describing the items she chose for herself. They were both giggling like teenagers. I smiled at what I heard; they probably mistook everyone at the Post Office as locals so they weren't so privy about their thoughts. Hahaha. I know it is not ethical to  eavesdrop on someone else's conversation but I couldn't help it. The two were talking, in English, in a room full of people who they thought were non-English speakers. Be careful, ladies.

Postcard Friendship 062: Traditional Qatari clothing

by Sreisaat on Friday, January 27, 2012 · 4 Comments


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I am so embarrassed that it took me a very long time to post this postcard from Doha (Qatar) to this blog. This is just one of the only two postcards I have from this country. This was sent to me by a fellow Filipino who is based there about a year ago.

Members of the Qatar Folklore Group performing at the Qatar National Theatre.

In the oil-rich country of Qatar in the middle-east, men and women are completely covered from head to toe.

The men, as shown above, are wearing the traditional clothing: thobe, a long white shirt over loose pants; ghutra, a loose headdress in white or red and white held in place by a black rope-like coil called ogaal. This traditional clothing is worn with much pride - in workplaces, and in schools where it is required. According to the online site QatarVisitor.com, the thobe, with its loose concealing folds, enables men to follow Mohammed's injunction to be modest and to conceal the Awrah, the area between his navel and his knee.
Expat-residents and visiting foreigners are expected to dress in a manner sensitive to the Islamic culture.


Australian Open begins tomorrow!

by Sreisaat on Sunday, January 15, 2012 · 0 Comments

At last!
All the action, drama, thrill, excitement, etc. will begin tomorrow at Melbourne Park.

I won't be there but I'll be watching with my dear friend Ana (My World of Postcards) ... on cable TV and chatting via Facebook!!! WOo-hoo, I can't wait, amiga.

And thousands of miles away...  look who's training intensely?
 

Photo Credit: PAUL CROCK/AFP/Getty Images 2012
Via Rafaholics Facebook Photo Album

That's our boy, Rafael Nadal. He ranked #2 in the world and seeded #2 in this year's tournament. See the rest of the list of seeded players here. And Here is the men's single's draw.


Good luck. Vamos, Rafa!



Sunday Stamps 048: Food and beer on Czech Republic stamps

by Sreisaat · 6 Comments

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Food, glorious food from the Czech Republic!


Czech Republic's EUROPA stamp classified under the Food and Cooking category. Issued by the Czech Post in 2005.

Meat (poultry, pork, beef) is the main staple of the traditional Czech cuisine and it comes with a variety of side dishes, usually the knedliky, and goes perfectly well with a mug of beer, as shown above. A knedliky is made from wheat or potato flour, boiled in water as a roll and then sliced and served hot. Below is a photo of the food illustrated on the stamp:


I found the this photo online, almost exact copy of the stamp, save for the missing beer.
Beer is universally regarded as the Czech national drink, further proven by the fact that the nation consumes the most litres of beer per capita in the world. Such brands as Budweiser Budvar or Pilsner Urquell are renowned around the globe, yet the Czech Republic brews a total of over 470 types of beer! - Text and Photo Source

Postcard Friendship Friday 061: The elephant of Mebon Temple

by Sreisaat on Friday, January 13, 2012 · 0 Comments

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My entry for this week is a postcard of Cambodia. I sent this to a 6 year old boy who lives in Russia. I checked out his profile at Postcrossing and found out that he loves animals. I sort of panicked because there aren't many postcards available in Phnom Penh that shows animals.

Luckily for me, my friend who sells postcards online, has a set that has an animal in it. And this was it:

A statue of an elephant in Siem Reap's Mebon Temple.
In my message to the boy, I described to him where the temple this statue is located and how important it was at that time. I also told him that I was hoping he'd like the postcard and the elephant even though it is already several thousands of years old and made of stone.

Yesterday, I received a message from Postcrossing that the postcard finally arrived. It was registered promptly and there was a note from the boy (via his mum) saying he loved the postcard to bits. Never mind if the elephant didn't move or that it was made of stone. The important thing is that the boy was happy about it :)

Postcard Perfect 041: Saguaro, the giants of Arizona desert

by Sreisaat · 1 Comment

Postcard Perfect New

Who wants to go with me ... ?

Okay, boys and girls, grab your Telescopes and pray for a clear, night-sky because I will take you on a wild sightseeing and stargazing adventures... right here, at the Saguaro National Park in the US state of Arizona.

The brown earth and the field of giant saguaros. The spiral mark on the rock is also interesting.

This was sent several months ago, and my, look at the view. A far-cry from the green rice-fields of the Cambodian countryside that I am so used to. In Arizona, the desert is arid and barren, with only weeds and these thousands of ginormous cacti, known as the giant Saguaro, dotting the landscape as far as the eyes can see. Now imagine these cacti silhouetted at sunset? Fantastic, no! I'd definitely head to the nearest place where there are telescopes for sale (and binoculars) to fully enjoy the desert experience.

There are so many exciting things to do and see in Saguaro National park -- with numerous hiking trails, beautiful campgrounds and amazing birds and wildlife and fantastic night-sky perfect for stargazing - see, this is where a Telescope comes in handy. I also read from the unofficial site that the park is also popular to tourists who come to see desert wildflowers and the cacti in bloom. Now, how great is that.

Showing off!

by Sreisaat on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 · 4 Comments

Please excuse me and indulge me for a moment.
Here is one of the Korean rubber stamp sets that I ordered. The stamp blocks are sooo cute - sooo Korean. I think when it comes to cuteness overload, the Japanese and Korean are on the top of the list.

{Kawaii} {Cute} I am such a sucker for everything kawaii. Are you?
I think I should transfer this post (and the previous one) to my crafts blog where I blog from time to time :D The posts there are intermittent, a result when inspiration sets in or I have this itch to start a new project spurred by something I'd seen somewhere.

Let the stamping begin!

by Sreisaat · 0 Comments

The year 2012 is now well underway - can you believe it?
My brothers have arrived from their three-week holiday and they brought some stuff for me. I'm so excited!

I have so many new things that I'd like to do this year. Like my friend Pinaywifespeaks, I am sort of diversifying my interests this year... aside from two new projects, I've taken up... stamping and scrapbooking! A bit of a late-bloomer, yes I am. It's just that I want to be busier this year. Besides, I've always  been crafty but didn't have the proper shops here in Phnom Penh to get my materials from. So when my husband mentioned he is ordering online a couple of signature stamps, the bulb inside my head suddenly lit up!

I never had stamped before and I thought this is the right time to begin. So, while the husband was busy browsing at the online shop, I was also on the other end of the house with my laptop and ooh-ing and aah-ing at the stamp gallery and decided on getting myself a set of custom stamps that will help kick-start my stamping hobby.

So today, just less than ten days since we placed our oders, the package arrived - hurray! And my, I was so giddy! Can you blame me? This set of stamps is just so tiny... so cute! It's only for experiment so I'll see what stuff I can make out of this. If I'm already good at it and developed my own style, I'll move on to getting the proper things, the materiaIs, you know. I am excited about stamping. It's something I can do on my free time {apart from blogging, of course} and it's not an expensive hobby, too. I might even earn money from this, who knows.

Sourcing the materials, I found out,  is not that difficult - you can get them by  just tapping your keyboard. Thank heavens for online shops! Also, one can get a variety of discount stamps from online shops, as well as other scrapbooking materials. If you are a fan of paper products then stamping and scrapbooking might also be for you!

Sunday Stamps 047: Fijian stick insect

by Sreisaat on Sunday, January 8, 2012 · 7 Comments

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Happy new year! This is my first post this year for Viridian's Sunday Stamps. We don't actually have a theme for this week so, here goes:



The above stamp is one of the four that were issued in 2006 and it features cotylosoma dipneusticum, or the rare Fijian stick insect.These pair of stamps were affixed to the gorgeous, gorgeous postcard from Fiji - the first in my collection - and was sent to me by my dear friend Dylan. Salamat guid, mang.

I must say that it doesn't look approachable enough so it's best left alone, lol. Here's more info about the Fjian stick insect:
The Fijian stick insect is a very rare insect that can grow up to 10 cm in length. True to its name, the Fijian stick insect indeed does indeed resemble a piece of stick. It is brown in colour, has a flattened body with expanded margins, and is covered with fearsome looking spines and fringes of hair. The Fijian stick insect, like any other insect is six legged, has three main sections: the head, thorax and abdomen, but has no wings. They belong to the order Phasmatodea. - Source

Postcard Perfect 040: Finland's snow lanterns

by Sreisaat on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 · 5 Comments

Postcard Perfect New

From the winter wonderland of Finland comes this snow lantern: 

Sent by Paavaliina
ID No.: FI_680448

Paavaliina loves snow and, as is the tradition in her native Kemijarvi, in the northernmost part of Finland (and the whole country),  they make snow lanterns. Winter-nights in Finland are filled with fairy-like lights from the snow lanterns.

I haven't been to Finland {yet} but I already have this mental picture of this beautiful country, especially during winter.  Everything is covered in snow and there is not much sunshine because the sun does not go up for many, many hours during this time of the year. I can imagine that night times are very dark with flickering lights provided by translucent piles of snowballs, such as above. Imagine thousands of tiny, flickering lights on a cold, snowy, dark winter night? It must be a magical sight!

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