I just found out that one of the postcards in my first batch of Postcrossing cards has arrived safely in Russia.  It only took fifteen days to travel the 6,602 kilometers (4,102 miles) to Nalchik, the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic.  No, I’d never heard of this place before…

The card I sent Victoria features the iconic intersection of Phang Nga and Phuket Roads showing the Standard Chartered Bank (built as Thailand’s first foreign-owned bank in 1910) and the old police station with the clock tower (built to protect the bank).  Interestingly, the clock wasn’t installed for over fifty years as the first one sank on the ship en route from Penang.  I just love the Sino-Portuguese architecture of Phuket’s Old Town.

I was a bit worried as my first five cards were all sent to Russia and I read a few news articles this week telling about how bad the postal service has become there.