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Jakarta, National Monument at dusk
Just picture the roads blocked with vehicles and, yes, Jakarta can look like this. Unused card of a monument usually shortened to MONAS. Grade: 1
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Central Java, Borobudur
Billed on this unused card as “the largest Buddhist monument in existence.” That’s probably still true. Grade: 1
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West Sumatra, Rafflesia arnoldi (sic)
The correct Latin name is Rafflesia arnoldii and the postcard marks this as another “world’s largest” for Indonesia, the world’s largest flower. What the card does not tell you is that it is a parasitic plant that smells like decaying flesh. (Not something you would bring to a wedding.) Unused card. Grade: 1
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Kelimutu, Flores – “multi-colored” lakes
Unused. Grade: 1
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Gili Trawangan
Unused card of this mini-resort location near Lombok, which as we’ve noted before is near Bali but a lot less spoiled. Grade: 1
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Passer
We assign this unused, sepia card 20-3594 to Indonesia because the publisher (“Uitgave G. Kolff & Co. – Batavia – Weltevreden”) was in what is now Jakarta. “Passer” may refer to the Bahasa Indonesia word “pasar,” meaning “market,” which makes sense when you see the photo. The card is aging but clean, though creased vertically through the left reverse side. Left perforated edge indicates it had been part of a set. Grade: 3
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26th SEA Games 2011 – towers
Official card issued by Pos Indonesia, unused. It is stamped (maximum card style, but on the reverse) with the distinctive postmark (11.11.11-11) and individual serial number 04521. Somehow those towers manage to look like guillotines, but we doubt that was intentional. Or not. Grade: 1
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26th SEA Games 2011 – MONAS
Official card issued by Pos Indonesia, unused. It is stamped (maximum card style, but on the reverse) with the distinctive postmark (11.11.11-11) and individual serial number 04521. Grade: 1
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Bali, Offering’s (sic)
Unused card from 1993. We are not at all certain we would want to receive this in the post from a travelling friend, but as a collector’s item, that’s a bit different. Grade: 1
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Bali, Greetings from Werdhi Budaya
Formally, the Werdhi Budaya Art Centre, on this unused, somewhat aging but otherwise clean card. Grade: 1
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Manado, Warugas Cemetery
Being more specific, “Warugas Cemetery, Airmadidi North Sulawesi”. If you do a search for Warugas, you’ll see different variants. Unused card. Grade: 1
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Bandung, Karang Setra
Unused older card, serrated edges, captioned (on the reverse) in Japanese, French, and Dutch. Grade: 1
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Bali, Taman Ayun Temple
Older, unused card showing “Temple Festival at Taman Ayun Temple, Mengwi”. Grade: 1
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Information
Unused internet card from 2015. Grade: 1
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Jogjakarta, Jangan Pipis
A bit of creative license in this photo … the graphic is familiar and Malioboro is indeed a major street in Jogjakarta, but don’t look too hard for the sign now. You can easily get the idea what it means. Unused older card, aging but clean. Grade: 1
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Surabaya, MONKASEL
An unused card for many categories, reflecting Indonesians’ fondness for calling things and places by acronyms. Any search engine will tell you the odd story of MOnumen KApal SELam. Grade: 1
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Irian Jaya
You should imagine this unused card as having sat, unloved, in a stack in a shop in a remote corner of Irian Jaya for quite awhile, as it’s not in good condition. About the best we can say is “no tears, no extra markings” but undeniably authentic. Grade: 4
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Scenic areas (set of 4)
Our scan shows all or part of the four unused cards in this set, issued officially by Pos Indonesia. Grade: 1
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Bali, Besakih Temple offering ceremony
Unused, older and noticeably aging card with serrated edges. Grade: 3
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Nusa Lembongan, Bali – Whitetip Reef Shark
Unused “local” card from Holy Crab. Our friend K says it’s a great place to visit. Grade: 1
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Lembongan Island, Manta Bay
Unused, “local” card from Holy Crab. This island is just southeast of Bali. Grade: 1
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Nusa Lembongan, Bali – Mola Mola
From Wikipedia, “The ocean sunfish or common mola is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg. The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe.” Mola Mola sounds much more exotic. Unused card from Holy Crab. Grade: 1
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Tana Toraja, Palawa
Unused Rainbow Postcard ES010. Grade: 1
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Tana Toraja, Lemo, Graves
Unused Rainbow Postcard ES009. You might want to compare this card with our other Toraja entries. They can look similar, but they’re not the same. Grade: 1
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Tana Toraja, lovely and fertile highlands
Unused Rainbow Postcard ES012. You might want to compare this card with our other Toraja entries. They can look similar, but they’re not the same. Grade: 1
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Greetings from/Salam dari Indonesia
Mailed in 2020 with three different stamps, two postmarks, one affixed postal barcode sticker, and small blue name “chop”. Busy on both sides! Grade: 2
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Yogyakarta
We’ve actually been there, and know this to be the main road. The card was mailed in 2020 with two different stamps (one just a little bit disconcerting) and postmark, with some orange postal barcoding. Trivia point: you can write the city’s name as Yogyakarta or Jogjakarta, and both will be right. Don’t confuse either one with Jakarta, which had been written as Djakarta but not Yakarta as far as we know. Grade: 1
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Facts about Indonesia
Something for everyone on this fine postcard mailed in 2020 with two large stamps and postmark. Grade: 1
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Batik
Batik designs can be lively or sober; bright or muted; formal or casual. They definitely solve most men’s question of “what should I wear?” when invited to a classy occasion in Indonesia (or Malaysia, or Brunei). There’s a legend on the bottom front of this card, probably unreadable in the scan, but it explains the Parang Batik motif. The card itself was mailed in 2020 with three stamps, two postmarks, and an Indonesian barcode label affixed. Grade: 2
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Wayang Kulit
Four stamps and three postmarks take up nearly all the free space on the back of this card, mailed from Malang in 2020. It’s a very nice card, also mentioning the art form’s UNESCO designation. Grade: 1
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Timun Mas
Indonesian folklore about a girl emerging from a golden cucumber (“timun mas”) and fun to compare with similar fables from other societies. Card mailed in 2020 with two large stamps, postmarks … Grade: 1
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Bogor, Taman Safari Indonesia
We’ve visited this highly interactive zoo and mingled with all sorts of animals we would never meet otherwise. Not so sure how good all this is for the residents, but it was a memorable time. The card was mailed in 2020 with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1
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Prambanan Temple
Mailed in 2020 with two stamps, postmark, and the post office’s barcode sticker. Grade: 1
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Papua, PON XX, Enembe Stadium
This exotic postcard was issued by Pos Indonesia and mailed in 2021 with two stamps, faint postmark, and bilingual airmail sticker. Grade: 1
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Kue Putu / Putu Bambu
The good news about this card is that it’s authentic, was mailed in 2020 with two different stamps, has an indistinct postmark, and is uncommon. The other news is that it was folded in half through the middle (as you see in the scan) and may not be the finest postcard representative for Indonesia. We can attest that the food is tasty, though. Grade: 4
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North Sumatra, Tongging Tanah Karo
A card with serrated edges, mailed from Singapore (not Indonesia!) in 1980, with stamp, postmark, and a thumbtack hole. Grade: 4