USA: Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, USA.

For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it.

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 March 50 RR [uconn]
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Germany: Market Church St. Nicolai

Market Church St. Nicolai is located in Hamelin, Germany. It is the second oldest church in Hamelin.

Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of about 56,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marktkirche_(Hameln)
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [cateye]
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Turkey: Karaağaç railway station

Karaağaç railway station or before 1971 Edirne station was the name of the former railway station in Edirne. Currently, it houses Trakya University's Faculty of Fine Arts. Opened in 1998, the Treaty of Lausanne Monument and Museum are located next to the former railway station.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaa%C4%9Fa%C3%A7_railway_station
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [purusha]
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USA: Tiger (San Diego Zoo)

Some interesting facts about tigers:

1) The tiger is the biggest species of the cat family.

2) A group of tigers is known as an "ambush" or "streak"

3) Tiger cubs leave their mother when they are around 2 years of age.

4) There are more tigers held privately as pets than there are in the wild.

Source: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/tiger.html
Postcrossing ID: US-5177012
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Sweden: Greetings from... Sweden

Another Greetings from... card added to my collection :)

Some fun facts about Sweden for you
Enjoy :)

1) Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave - and of those, 60 days are reserved for the father. In 2012, dads used 24% of the total parental leave.

2) An average of 1,836,000 meatballs are eaten daily in all of IKEA's 313 stores worldwide. IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943 by Ingvar Kampard.

3) The Swedish three-point seatbelt is claimed to have save 1 million lives. It was launched by Volvo in 1959 and is found in 1 billion vehicles worldwide.

4) The pacemaker, ultrasound, safety math, astronomical lens, marine propeller, refrigerator, and computer mouse are all famous items that were invented in Sweden or by Swedes who weren't living in Sweden.

5) Sweden has won 625.5 Olympic medals in total. 475.5 are from the Summer Olympics (one gold is shared with Denmark), and 150 are from the Winter Olympics.

Source: https://www.factretriever.com/sweden-facts
Postcrossing ID: SE-146123
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United Kingdom: McKee Clock

The McKee Clock is a clock tower in the town of Bangor, Northern Ireland. Situated at the foot of High Street in the marina's sunken gardens in an area known as the "McKee Clock Arena", the clock is named for its benefactor William McKee.

On the base of the clock, a black granite slab is engraved with the inscription "8 July 1915". This stone records the appreciation of the Bangor Urban District Council for the generous gift of this clock to his native town by James McKee.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKee_Clock
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [whiskersonkittens]
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Hong Kong: My Pet and I [寵物與我] (FDC)

My Pet and I - Official First Day Cover 2013-03-28 [Hongkong Post]

While city dwellers have to deal with the hustle and bustle of city life and pets with adorable look and ability to feel and return love can easily develop a close bond with their masters, keeping pets can help people improve mental health and physical health, soothe their emotions and relieve stress of day-to-day living.

This set of six stamps features six pet animals poplar with children: dog ($1.4), cat ($1.8), tortoise ($2.4), guinea pig ($2.5), rabbit ($3) and hamster ($5). In soft and delightful colors that create a warm and tender atmosphere, the stamps highlight the animals in all their loveliness and liveliness. Snapshots of children playing with their pets in the background are silhouetted. Since pets featured are basically in white, children can add their favorite colors to and design cloths for the pet character in the stamp, making it a unique collection.

Source: Back of Envelop
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Malaysia: Greetings from... Malaysia

Some interesting facts about Malaysia:

1) In terms of government system, Malaysia's national administration is largely structured along British lines - a constitutional monarchy, with power largely invested in parliament.

2) Few places can be described as "a country to two halves" quite a Malaysia. It does beaches and metropolitan gleam on the Malay Peninsula (also known as West Malaysia) - which is home to the capital Kuala Lumpur. It also offers rainforest and the call of the wild on Borneo - which it shares with Indonesia and Brunei.

3) Malaysia is home to some 31 million people, but only half this head-count is Malay. There are Chinese and Indian swirls to this melting pot, as well as indigenous tribal groups, particularly on Borneo.

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/malaysia/articles/sixteen-fascinating-facts-about-malaysia/
My trip to Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia in January 2018
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Malaysia: Chinese New Year Greetings

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [walkaround99]
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India: Shillong

Shillong is a hill station in the northeastern part of India and the capital of Meghalaya, which means "The Abode of Clouds" and is one of the smallest states in India. It is said that the rolling hills around the town reminded the European settlers of Scotland. Hence, they would also refer to it as the "Scotland of the East".

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillong
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [theArgon]
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Australia: Koala

Koala is an arboreal herbivorous native to Australia. Its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in color than their counterparts down south.

This very cute koala maxicard came in the beautiful envelop below. I cannot thank Cindy enough for both the maxicard and the First Day Cover of Year of the Dog 2018.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [quickbrownfoxph]
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Finland: Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It is the second-largest urban area and third most populous individual municipality in Finland, after cities of Helsinki and Espoo.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampere
Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [Kahvisieppo]
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Japan: Nagoya Television Pylon

Nagoya Television Pylon was established in 1954 by the joint efforts of government and private organizations. It was the first tower for electric wave in Japan, and a well-known symbol of Nagoya.

Postcrossing Forum - 2018 February 50 RR [fuyukaki]
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Philippines: Greetings from... Philippines

Officially the Republic of the Philippines, the Philippines is a archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It consists of about 7641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical division from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The capital city of the Philippines is Manila, and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines
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Malaysia: Guide Dog (Golden Retriever)

The guide dogs are trained to help the blind or visually impaired to avoid obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, many are color blind and unable to interpret road signs. The guardians need to direct the dog based on skills and past experiences. The dog owners need to know how to go from one place to another ad dogs will help them reach the destinations safely.

Direct Swap [walkaround99]
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Malaysia: Detection Dog (Border Collie)

Detection dogs are selected because of the sharpness of its sense of smell to help the work of tracking. It is used in various works such as detecting hidden substances, fire investigation, disaster recovery and others. It is widely used by the police as well as fire and rescue teams. These dogs are able to help in fire investigations by detecting the cause of fire by the substances or chemicals at the site of the fire or arson.

Direct Swap [walkaround99]
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United Kingdom: King Charles Spaniel'

Dogs ('King Charles Spaniel' by George Stubbs)
Reproduce from a stamp designed by Carroll, Dempsey & Thirkell Limited and issued by the Royal Mail on 8 January 1991.

Direct Swap [cyberpunk]
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Japan: New Year Greetings

Postcrossing Forum - As Many Stamps tag [reoreo]
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Japan: Giraffe

Sender said this is a giraffe in the Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido. :D

Postcrossing Forum - 10 Countries RR Group 28 [AsahiUmi]
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Japan: Lunar New Year's Greetings

Postcrossing Forum - 3+ Stamps tag [whoisshe?]
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