Today is the first of the three-day of the celebration of Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni. As this is a public holiday, tomorrow, my husband and I are planning to go to Kep, a coastal town about 175kms away from the capital Phnom Penh. Kep is our choice of holiday getaway in Cambodia because it is relatively quiet and doesn't attract tourists as much as the other coastal town, Sihanoukville.
So while the husband is down at the garage fixing the radiator leak, I was up in my craft corner rummaging through old stuffs. I actually saw this postcard (below) which was sent by my very good (albeit virtual) friend and fellow tennis fan Ana of the My World of Postcards blog (see link in my blog list at the sidebar). I was horrified to discover the postcard wasn't posted yet knowing Ana sent it to me last year while on summer holiday in Budva, the summer capital of Montenegro. My apologies, Ana, I'm posting it here now.
Sent by AnaPostmarked Budva, Montenegro
Dated 29 June 2009
Budva is a small but fascinating town with about 2,500 years of history and a natural surrounding that literally takes your breath away. It is populated by only about 150,000 inhabitants.
The postcard shows Sveti Stefan I Milocer - a must visit place in Montenegro. It is a town-hotel located on an island connected to the main island by a narrow strip of land that has two red-colored sandy beaches. Originally built by traders and fishermen in the 15th century, it became a town-hotel in 1960s popularized by Montenegrin painters Lubarda and Milunovic. Many famous personalities have been awed by the beauty of Sveti Stefan, among them Sofia Loren, Monica Viti, Willie Brandt, Sylvester Stallone, Claudia Schiffer, and many others. If personalities were attracted to Sveti Stefan, how much more a regular person like me? I can imagine the security around the area is tight and for sure security cameras are everywhere to keep these famous personalities from being mobbed or something.
I never realised that there is a hidden gem somewhere along the Adriatic coast. Sveti Stefan is quaint and beautiful and the castles and old stone houses were very well-preserved! I want to go to visit Sveti Stefan someday.
Since becoming independent in 2006, Montenegro began issuing its own stamp and labeled in euro. The stamps Ana used for this postcard (above) shows is part of the four definitive stamps issued in 2007 featuring four different topics: nature, maps, old printing and fingerprint. Here is the complete set, all four stamps have a value of 1.75 euro:
Click for the photo source.
Hey, I have cards I received in 2008, and still havent seen the light of the day, so you really shouldnt worry at all :))
however, the card doesnt show Sveti Stefan but the old town of Budva....if it was me who had written that, then i must have been drunk
This is how St. Stefan looks like, and in this view they look similar
http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/MK-259
and in the back, the island you can see is called St. Nikola or is more known under its popular name of Havai, due to its sandy white beaches. Unfortunately, few years ago, the island was bought by someone else, so ever since it hasnt been accessible to public
and its few hours until Nadal vs Isner...i dont know if yesterday it was him who played badly or was it Dolgopolov who was too good, but i hope Nadal will improve his performance today...
Oh, my bad! I will put a correction a little later. I'm too tensed to write now that I know Rafa's going to play in less than 2hours.
Goodness, what an amazing piece of the world! Wow, it's breathtaking and looks like a view you would see in an old and day movie. I hope I can receive a postcard this special one day - we certainly don't have anywhere like that where I live.