POSTCARD N.221 - INDONESIA

Postcard sent on the 14th January; received on the 15th April 2026

Postcard image: Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta

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Better late than never, it is said, and in what concerns mail, I could not be more in favour. 

The path of  the restless wanderer, my friend The Phantom, led him through South East Asia, it seems, at some point in the beginning of the year, and three months later I get proof of this in the form of a nice postcard from Jakarta, Indonesia. As always Danke sehr, Alex. Truly appreciated!

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country by population, and it is also the fourth most populous country in the world,  so large mosques must be quite common in the country to accommodate the religious needs of the population.

One such Mosque is the Istiqlal Mosque, located in Jakarta, the country's capital, which is the largest Islamic temple in all south east Asia and the 9th largest mosque in the world.

Its name "Istiqlal" signifies "Independence" in Arabic for it was built in celebration of Indonesia's independence. The temple opened in 1978 and can accommodate no less than 200,000 worshipers

Alex used three stamps from a set of 6 x 3000 Rupiah se-tenant stamps + 1x10,000 Rupiah single stamp, issued on  05NOV2018, dedicated to Flora and Fauna of Indonesia.

left to right , the stamps are illustrated with photographs of:

- Knobbed hornbill (Rhyticeros cassidix), a species of hornbill native to Indonesia, dwelling in evergreen forests up to an altitude of 1800 metres, in the islands of  Sulawesi, Buton, Lembeh, Togian and Muna. 

- Ursine tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus), a long-tailed, furry, bear-like mammal found only in tropical forests on the island of New Guinea (Indonesia).

- Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra), a critically endangered species endemic to the north tropical regions of the island of Sulawesi.

Postmark from Central Jakarta  (Jakarta Pusat).

COVER N. 648 - INDONESIA

Postmark: Malang 25.09.25  

Posted on the 25th September;  Received in October 2025

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At long last I'm finally able to drag my leg up a flight of stairs so that I can go to the room where I keep the desktop computer I use, which is the same as saying that I am now able once again to update my blog.

Ever since the stupid accident that has kept me grounded, mail has been piling up, and I have quite a few letters and postcards to post here. In order to gain time and go through the lot as fast as I can, I will limit comments to a minimum, but I'm sure it will take some time to get back on track.

I apologise to all the friends who have sent me circuits which I have been not yet forwarded. I am still not able to go out in the street all by myself, so I still have not sent all the circuits I have received, although a few are already on their way, thanks to my dear wife's agreeing to do a "technical stop" on our way back from a physiotherapy session. 

I still have 4 or 5 to dispatch, what I'll do as soon as possible.

On the negative side of things I have noticed that CTT, the Portuguese postal operator is no longer issuing stamps denominated in Euros and has now turned to using only letter codes. This is a philatelic disgrace because I can no longer combine stamps of different issues to send other collectors as I many times do.

Stamp issues here usually have 4 stamps (Domestic 20g; Domestic next day 20g;  Europe 20g; International 20g). Most times a single stamp souvenir sheet (20 g domestic registered mail tariff) is also issued, solely as a way of making the issue more expensive for the collector, since  from an usability point of view, at least with the frequency it is used, this is totally unnecessary.... 

The corolary of this is that unfortunately I will probably  have to start using but one stamp on my letters from now on, so I ask for my fellow collector's  comprehension, but there's simply nothing I can do...

So, back to today's cover, with my many thanks to Irene:

Ratu Boko Palace is an archaeological site located in the island of Java, Indonesia.  

The legend on the edge of the two x 2500 Rupiah stamp issue dated of 20MAR2013 dedicated to this important Indonesian landmark, which Irene used on this nice cover,  reads " Ratu Boko Palace: The lost masterpiece palace complex from the 8th century, the only Hindu and Buddhist mixed architecture archaeological site.

Postmark from Malang. East Java.

COVER N. 330 - INDONESIA

Postmark: Malang 29.08.2023

Posted on the 29th August; received on the 9th October 2023

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Indonesia. Quite a distant country from where I stand and it does show in the amount of time the very nice cover Irene sent me took to get to my letterbox. Thanks a lot, Irene!

When deciding what themes to concentrate our attention on, hard choices have always to be made. I am a "things that fly" fan and so I always try to not let myself get carried away by images of ships, cars, buses, bikes and so on,  but  just from looking at the beautiful stamps on Irene's cover, it is hard not to think about starting a collection of train themed stamps.... but then again, I think this happens with any beautiful stamp than I happen to settle my eyes on, irrespective of the theme it covers...😀

- The two se-tenant 3000 Rupiah stamps were issued by Indonesia Post on 28SEP2018. 

The stamp on the left is illustrated with an image of the Light Rail Transit train which began to operate in Indonesia in 2018, in Palembang, South Sumatra.

The stamp on the right is illustrated with the image of a Rail Clinic train. Quoting direct from a dispatch of Antara, the Indonesian news Agency, dated of the 5th March 2020: "State railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) began operating the so-called "Rail Clinic" on Thursday as part of the precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) at stations and other railway facilities."

There were two trains assigned to this purpose, operating on Java's southern and Northern lines, providing health services and counselling to the population, within the framework of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

- The single stamp souvenir sheet with a face value of 2500 Rupiah was issued on 10AUG1998. On the same date a set of ten 300 Rupiah stamps with images of several locomotives and carriages was also issued by the Indonesian Postal Services.

The illustration on the stamp depicts the first Locomotive to operate in Indonesia, NIS-1, NIS standing for Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorwegmaatschappij (Netherlands-Indies Railway Company). 

- To complete postage, Irene used a 500 Rupiah stamp issued on 06MAR2023, illustrated with the image of a Dutch era letterbox.

COVER N.137 - INDONESIA.

Postmark: Malangselatan 02.02.2022
Posted on the 2nd February; received on the 8th July 2022
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There was a time when hearing about Indonesia would almost always spark in the minds of  the Portuguese  a feeling of discomfort, of mute despair, even though both our  countries stand almost opposite to each other on the circumference of the globe.

and what for...

Today East Timor free from the colonial grasp of both Portugal and Indonesia is slowly  making its way through the grand concert of nations and Indonesia and Portugal are strengthening the bonds of a relation that is 500 hundred years old and that has left its imprint in the form of some words in the Bahasa Indonesia language and also in Indonesian music as I learned the other day on watching a documentary on the Portuguese origins of the Kroncong a direct descendant of the Cavaquinho, just like the Hawayn Ukelele.

Conflicts can be solved. they always are because no conflict can last forever. Humanity, who is well aware of this simple fact (all it takes is opening any history book....) has failed immensely over the years.. and is still failing....

To err is human; persisting in the same error, is not; it is exactly the opposite, and yet, like donkeys, some keep on putting bombs ahead of words ...

 

What a great pleasure it was  to receive a cover from Indonesia! Thank you Irene, I truly appreciated it.

 Stamps, Lef to right:

3,000 Rupiah stamp part of a se-tenant three stamp set dedicated to the fauna of Indonesia, issued on 05NOV2019. The stamp is illustrated with a image of a Stiphodon annieae, a freshwater goby that is endemic to Halmahera, Indonesia, and many fish tanks around the globe, I presume :-).

Souvenir sheet with two 2,500 Rupiah stamps highlighting fauna and flora species endemic to Indonesia, issued on 30NOV2006, on the occasion of the Bandung 06 National Philatelic Exhibition.

The beautiful images on the stamps call on our attention to the Javan Leopard,  Panthera pardus melas, a species that is listed as endangered in the IUCN red list and the Gandaria (Boueha macrophylla) a species of mango endemic to Indonesia and Burma.

The Postmark indicates  Malang in the Island of Java,  as the place of expedition of this nice cover.