Singapura - Indonesia

Singapore and Indonesia recently released a joint issue on the tourist attractions of the two countries.

Singapore decided to showcase the Merlion and Sentosa Island while Indonesia chose Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and the Singa Ambara Raja Statue.

The Merlion, the half-lion, half-fish symbol of Singapore, was installed in 1972. Its original location was by the Esplanade Bridge at the mouth of the Singapore River, just 120 meters from their present location. It was moved in 1997 because it could no longer be viewed clearly after the completion of the Esplanade bridge. On 28 Feb of this year, the lion was struck by lightning and broke into pieces. The Merlion you can see at Merlion Park today is sadly not the original.


Sentosa Island, a resort developed by the Singapore government to promote local and international tourism in Singapore, was a British military fortress until 1967, when it was handed over to the Singapore government after independence. It received its current name of "Sentosa," meaning "peace and tranquility" in Malay, in 1972.


Taman Mini Indonesia, which literally means "Beautiful Indonesian Miniature Park," is a 250-acre complex in eastern Jakarta that summarizes Indonesian culture and daily life. The park, opened in 1975, has pavilions that seek to encapsulate the grandeur of Indonesia. We had something similar in Manila called Nayong Pilipino (literally "Philippine Province", and it also opened in the 70s. However, it fell into decline after less and less visitors went and I believe it has shut down operations for a few years now. I wonder if Taman Mini Indonesia Indah will suffer the same fate?


The Singa Ambara Raja Statue was inaugurated in 1971 to signify the historic struggle of the Singaraja people against Dutch colonization. It is the landmark of Singaraja City in northern Bali.

I received the issue from both countries. Unfortunately, though, I did not get the Singapore FDC. Both FDCs from Indonesia were unfortunately damaged by staple wire by a postal worker who decided to "close" the envelope since the sender forgot to seal it.

ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ

Just want to share this cover from the Maldives. It has the entire set of this Concorde issue from I'm not so sure whether or not the Concorde ever paid a visit to the Maldives or to any of those other places, but I am not a Concorde expert, so I wouldn't know.

Pyi-daung-zu Myan-ma Naing-ngan-daw

Here are some registered covers I have been receiving from Myanmar thanks to my friend U Ang Ko! On top of the privilege of receiving covers from this "philatelically dead" country as my friend refers to it, it is great to receive stamps on my favorite themes: independence! These are truly wonderful covers which I cherish in my collection.

This first cover has the complete 3v set for the ratification of the 2008 constitution. The constitutional referendum law was enacted and a referendum commission was set up on 26 February 2008. Reportedly, the law ensures the secret casting of votes and requires a public count of the ballots to prove it is fair.

Among the changes that the referendum seeks to make are:

• a quarter of the parliamentary seats would be reserved for military officers
• the Ministry of Home Affairs would fall exclusively under military control
• anyone married to a non-Burmese would be barred from running for the presidency.

It was reported that the elections for the ratification of the constitution were fixed, with heavy intimidation at poll stations. In some cases, there were already ticks on the ballot and dissidents who refused to accept these ballots were reportedly sent to prison. The constitution enjoyed a landslide victory with 93% "voting" yes. Because of the widespread cheating, on May 6, 2008, the United States Congress passed a condemnation of the Burmese constitution and referendum, by a 413-1 vote.


This next cover has the 2002 FIFA Centennial issue as well as 1 of the stamps on the 2v set from 2002 celebrating the 54th Independence Day.


FIFA is the governing body of international football associations. Interestingly, FIFA has 208 member associations, which is 16 more than the United Nations and three more than the International Olympic Committee, though five fewer than the International Association of Athletics Federations. The stamp also celebrates the victory of the Myanmar team at the first AFF U17 Championship & Fairplay Cup held in Bangkok in 2005.

The other stamps on the lower left is a definitive from a set of 6 issued in 1998/1999. Apparently, the cover used is some sort of official postal stationery as it already has some postage (a virtually worthless 2 Kyat) printed on it.

This last cover seems like it may be an official FDC, but my friend tells me otherwise. It shows has the complete 2v set from 2007 that celebrates the 59th year of Independence from the British. The other stamp is a definitive.


These three covers are apparently FDCs and, according to my friend, there are no official covers or cachets so all FDCs are personal covers.

Singapura

I show you with great joy some great covers from the Lion City!

The first three are FDCs of the the Singapore-Philippine issue on bridges issued to commemorate forty years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Why they chose to show bridges is really beyond me, especially since bridges are not really as special to Philippine culture and history as the stamps may make them seem. In fact, I've never heard of these two bridges before.... But, since it's pointless to cry over spilled milk, let's move on.

The two stamps on Singapore bridges show the Henderson Waves, Alexandra Arch, and Cavenaugh Bridge. Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch, both pedestrian footbridges, were opened in May 2008. Henderson Waves is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore.

Cavenaugh Bridge, which I had the pleasure of crossing during my short, one-night stay in Singapore, was built in 1868 to celebrate 50 years of the establishment of the Straits Settlements and also to connect the commercial side of the Singapore River to its civic side. Before this bridge was built, people often had to pay a quarter of a cent to hop onto a boat ride form one side to the other. Originally meant to be a suspension bridge, this fixed steel structure is the only bridge in Singapore that retains its original form to this very day. Originally, vehicles could pass through, but as traffic increased and vehicles got heavier, a law was passed to convert it into a strictly pedestrian affair. On one end of the Cavenaugh Bridge is the Fullerton Building, which was once the central post office and is now a hotel, and on the other end is the Museum of Asian Civilizations, which houses exhibits on Asian cultures of the past. Sadly, the museum opens at 13h00 on Mondays and I had to catch my 11 am flight! Nevertheless, because it connects the old post office with the Asian Civilizations museum, Cavenaugh Bridge is as of now my favorite bridge in Singapore (not that I've paid much attention to the others! haha)

Now, on to the Philippine Bridges which I don't think are worth putting on stamps (I mean, why not feature the San Juanico bridge instead?). The Bamban Bridge is found on the MacArthur Highway between Mabalacat, Pampanga, and Bamban, Tarlac. Apparently, it is the longest of its kind in the world.

This next cover was sent from the Singapore Philatelic Museum. My visit to the museum was awesome because it was open house when I visited, which means free admission and some activities. To my surprise, the activities were about the Philippines! There was an entire exhibit room upstairs dedicated to Philippine culture, history, and stamps! It was really a coincidence! Downstairs there was a cooking session on Philippine food and I could hear that they were preparing Adobo or something like that. I myself couldn't try the food since there were so many people, which was also a surprise!

The stamps on the cover are 2 from the 4v set issued for the APEC 2009, which concluded the day before. I find it funny that I always seem to visit places when there is a conference of world dignitaries going on. When I went to Beijing in October 2008, the ASEM7 was ongoing, which meant that Tiananmen Square was unfortunately closed off! What a pity it was! Thankfully, nothing in Singapore that I wanted to go to was closed off.

The postmarks on this cover are great because they show the facade of the museum and they match the cachet for the Open House event! The design on the postmark the last time I visited 2 years ago was a post box. What makes the chops even more special is the fact that they were applied by yours truly! :-)

This postcard was also sent from the museum. I asked the agent at the commemorative covers desk to apply the Open House cachet onto the postcard since I had nothing to write myself anyway! The postcard shows the Fullerton Building when it still served as the general post office decades ago.

Polska

Just wanted to share these four beautiful FDCs I received from my friend Andrzej. I was really smiling ear to ear when I received these because the EU is one of my favorite themes and also because I find the design and layout of the stamps really nice. And added bonus are the autonyms printed on the envelope behind the Polish names for these EU capital cities. It's intereseting to note that Warsaw wasn't put on the highest value for this set.

臺灣

Here we have a wonderful surprise that I received a few weeks ago. A surprise because of its vertical orientation as well as its beautiful Chinese writing!

I have always wanted to received a cover with a vertical orientation but that would be impossible if my address was in the Philippines since the Roman alphabet is written horizontally. Chinese characters can be written both vertically and horizontally, and from left to right and right to left (however, if it is written vertically, it is written only right to left; this is the ancient way of writing). One must just figure out the orientation based on what is written. Just like in any language, if a set of words are written in such a way that they make no sense, then of course you know it's just a bunch of gibberish. But, in the case of Chinese, it's just that you are not reading it the right way.

According the Wu Wei Yi, the friend who sent me this cover, the sending of mail in vertical envelopes is still a common practice in Taiwan, maybe because Taiwan wants to preserve the traditional Chinese ways of doing things (?). I also found out that, because of Taiwan's special (a.k.a. confused) diplomatic status, Taiwan's postal service (ChungHwa Post) is not a member of the UPU (since China Post took over the seat for "China") and thus some of its domestic mail practices are not in line with UPU international standards. Perhaps this practice of vertical envelopes is a child of this separation from the UPU.

I was also charmed by the Chinese writing on the cover. I am no expert on Chinese script nor calligraphy, but the penmanship on this cover is very nice in my uninformed opinion, and I appreciate it very much. It seems like the sender gave some extra effort to make the cover look nice, which is something I always appreciate.

The two stamps on the top are obviously definitives of the Taiwanese flag (and flags are one of my favorite themes) and the bottommost stamps is from a 2v set issued in 1985 to celebrate the 120th birth anniversary of Sun Yat Sen, or as he is so fondly called 國父 (guó​fù​; founder of the Republic).

Guyana

Today I post a wonderful cover from far-off Guyana, a small country on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Historically, "Guyana" or "Guiana," which is believed to mean "the land of many waters," referred to a landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River. The area was then divided by European colonial powers into five: Spanish Guiana (now eastern Venezuela), Portuguese Guiana (now northern Brazil), British Guiana (Guyana), Dutch Guiana (Suriname) and the present French overseas department of French Guiana. British Guyana, which is now known simply as "Guyana," gained independence from the Crown on 26 May 1966.

The $60 stamp on the far right celebrates the Apollo 18, the last of the Apollo missions, which was launched on 15 July 1975. This last mission was known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, one of two Apollo Applications Programs projects (the other being the Skylab of 1974-75). The project involved a docking in Earth orbit between a Command Service Module (CSM) and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. The mission lasted from July 15 to July 24, 1975. Although the Soviet Union continued to operate the Soyuz and Salyut space vehicles, NASA's next manned mission would not be until STS-1 on April 12, 1981.

While this event was indeed a milestone for mankind, its connection to Guyana escapes me. In fact, the connection between the themes on quite a few of the Guyanese stamps issued and the history and culture of Guyana as a country escape me as well.

Moving on, to the left of the Apollo stamp is a stamp issued on 2007 to commemorate the Concorde's flights with the Red Arrows, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force. This stamp in particular (one of two designs, the other also showing a Concorde-Red Arrow exhibition in 1985) shows the flight of the British Airways G-BOAG with the Red Arrows as well as the QE2. This happened at the Sunday formation flight at the 1985 Royal international Air Tattoo.

Here is a link to a nice video clip showing one of the Concorde's other exhibitions with the Red arrows, this one is a fly-by at the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. (Warning: the sound may be a bit loud, so turn down your speakers if you feel you should)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzs-3V6mi2c&feature=related

One curious thing about the chops on this cover is that the postmark used at the Rose Hill Town PO to cancel the stamps have a bold line running down its center. Was this done intentionally to apply heavy cancels in an effort to curb postal fraud, or was the stamper damaged and somehow split in half (god knows how or why)? One clue is that the line isn't very smooth, which makes me lean toward my second hypothesis.

Also, notice the "Inward Registered Mail" label attached to the cover in Hong Kong. This one says "Lift" and I am not sure if that is an instruction printed on the label to tell the postal worker that he should lift on that side to get the label or if it is a special postal service term whose meaning I have yet to find out.

One thing I like about registered mail service in Macau is that it often goes through Hong Kong and you get these interesting labels and frankings. On other covers, I sometimes get chops telling me that the cover was received in bad order. A pity that the cover was received in bad order, but had it not been received in that condition, I wouldn't get the chop!

香港

Here is another set of covers from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is just an hour away from Macau and it is very easy to just hop onto a jetfoil and head on over. I wonder why I haven't been so enticed to go more often. Perhaps it's because I don't find the recent issues worth the trip?

One thing I do like about HK Post is the fact that it supports philately by offering special cancellations such as these. This one is from Tsim Sha Tsui, near the Star Ferry terminal.

While most are definitives, there are two stamps worth pointing out on this cover. The first it the $5 stamp to the left of the block of 4. This stamp depicts the Aw Boon Haw Gardens, also known as the Tiger Balm Gardens. Built in 1935, it was opened to the public in the 1950s and was one of Hong Kong's first theme parks. One of the attractions of the garden complex is the 7-storey white pagoda shown in the stamp. Another is the Haw Par Mansion, which houses hundreds of relics from Hong Kong's past.

The second stamp of interest would be the one on the bottom right. It was taken from the souvenir sheet issued in 1998 commemorating the closure of Kai Tak, shown below:

Nicaragua

Two Nicaraguan covers with birds on them:

I'm back

So, if you remember my last post, you're probably thinking: this guy talks the talk but doesn't walk the talk! Well, I too am disappointed in myself. I have been too busy here in Macau and have found the time to update only now. (Well, actually, I should be doing something else, but thought doing this would be much more fun). On top of my tardiness, it seems that my external hard rive onto which I save my scans in malfunctioning! Thus, I really can't follow the program I set for myself in the previous post even if I wanted to!

So, I resort to posting some covers that I have received since arrived in Macau. This first set is actually a lot of covers from the Philippines. Some I sent to myself from different parts of the Philippines while the others I sent from the Philippines to correspondences in other countries. I asked them to return the covers to me, and so here they are:

Posting Lineup

So, I have finally reached the end of a very busy schedule and thus finally have some time to myself, a portion of which I have committed to updating this blog. So, below is a lineup of covers that I plan to post (on this blog) in the near future:

1. Argentina
2. Belgium
3. China
4. Cuba
5. Germany
6. Indonesia
7. Italy
8. Malaysia
9. Pakistan
10. Portugal
11. Singapore
12. Slovakia
13. Taiwan
14. Thailand
15. Turkey
16. USA

I have decided that it would be much better for me to post in batches, meaning I will include covers from the same postal authority in one post. This, I think, would be the most practical and orderly approach. The list above is in no particular order, but I do plan to cross out each entry before I leave for Macau. Coincidentally, the first postal authority I will start with is Hong Kong.

That said, I have quite a lot on my hands, and I hope that I can fulfill this promise that I have made to myself.

Wish me luck and enjoy the posts!
Myron

香港

So this post starts my series of "batched" posts, and I have chosen to start with Hong Kong. A fellow collector, Edward Hong, has been very generous in sending over some very nice covers, which I share with you below.


This first cover has the 4v set on the Judiciary of Hong Kong issued 27 November 08. This set of four stamps was issued "in praise of the just and fair legal system in Hong Kong, and features familiar symbols of [the Hong Kong] Judiciary. Each side of each stamp is equal in length representing equality before the law, and the white background represents a corruption-free society."

The stamps, from left to right, show judges in their uniform (as of 2005 Hong Kong judges wear British-style outfits, including wigs made of horsehair and scarlet-coloured robes), the Court of Final Appeal building in Central Hong Kong (which replaced the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1997), a statue of Lady Justice, and what seems to be the mace of the Hong Kong Judiciary. On each stamp is a version of the word 司法, which roughly translates to "administration of justice."

Intersting to note: the 14 September, 2008, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy survey reported Hong Kong and Singapore have the best judicial systems in Asia, with Indonesia and Vietnam the worst: Hong Kong's judicial system scored 1.45 on the scale (zero representing the best performance and 10 the worst); Singapore with a grade of 1.92, followed by Japan (3.50), South Korea (4.62), Republic of China on Taiwan (4.93), the Philippines (6.10), Malaysia (6.47), India (6.50), Thailand (7.00), People's Republic of China (7.25), Vietnam's (8.10) and Indonesia (8.26).


This next cover is an FDC of the Hong Kong Museums collections 6v set issued 16 May 09 during the 23rd Asian International Stamp Exhibition held in Hong Kong from 14-17 May. It features Chinese calligraphy and painting, presenting six selected exhibits from museums and universities in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Post writes, "With a glimpse of the calligraphic works and paintings of celebrated Chinese artists, we can admire the beauty of culture, thereby realising the importance of heritage and art conservation."

The stamps feature the following works of art:

$1.40	Poem in Running Script WANG Duo (1592 - 1652)
$1.80	Landscape after the Style of Huang Gongwang WANG Yuanqi (1642 - 1715)
$2.40	Calligraphy of WANG Youjun WANG Xizhi (303 - 361)
$2.50	Bird in Moonlight GAO Qifeng (1889 - 1933)
$3	Flower and Butterfly JU Lian (1828 - 1904)
$5	Figures in Pure Line Drawing (detail) GU Huai (Qing dynasty)

The stamp cover below bears one of the stamps in the set, but what makes it special is that the commemorative postmark for the stamp exhibition was used and the date on the postmark is also the first day of issue of the stamp!


Last is my favorite of all these covers, again because it shows and commemorates and airport; this time it is Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKIA).

Construction of the new Hong Kong airport (colloquially termed 赤鱲角機場 or Chek Lap Kok airport since it occupies Chek Lap Kok island) began in 1991 and the airport was opened for civil transport on 6 July 1998, just one week later than the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It was built to replace the old Kai Tak airport, which was located in the densely populated area of Kowloon.

The old Kai Tak airport was built in 1925 on a rather small parcel of land and, as Hong Kong began to develop and air traffic began to increase, it capacity was pushed way over the design limit, resulting in many delays. Moreover, terrible noise pollution harried the residents of the area s the flight paths of the landing aircraft flew over city streets. This is also a reason why flights were not allowed to arrive at night, further limiting the capacity of the airport.

Kai Tak was also notorious for its landing approach, which in the piloting community was known as the "Hong Kong turn." Considering that hills and and mountains surrounded the airport and that buildings as tall a 6 stories high could be found just across the road from the runway and that crosswinds were also often causing trouble, landing in Kai Tak was really a feat that demanded concentration and skill. In fact, landings at Kai Tak were so spectacular that spectators would watch planes land for a thrilling experience.

Here is a video of some of the best of these notorious landings caught on camera:



Here is a link to another interesting set of landings, this time with the crosswinds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCOcyt7BPI

The HKIA is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China and the rest of Asia. It has won seven Skytrax World Airport Awards in just ten years. It operates one of the world's largest passenger terminal buildings and operates twenty-four hours a day. In 2008, Hong Kong International Airport was the second busiest airport in the world in terms of cargo traffic, and was also the 12th busiest airport worldwide in terms of handling passengers.

台灣

Hello there! After a long hiatus in posting, I have here for you today a most wonderful cover from Taiwan, thanks to my friend Wu Wei Yi from Kaohsiung (高雄).

This is, in my amateur opinion, an interesting cover because it has many elements combined, those being: a first day envelope without the actual stamps, an ATM stamp, a special franking for Kaohsiung, and a stamp on one of my favorite themes: postal paraphernalia!

The first day envelope. Curiously, Chunghwa Post allows for the use of blank FDCs to send letters using stamps other than those intended to be used on the FDC. In this case, the stamps for this 2006 Year of the Pig issue were not used and, for reference, they are shown below:

The ATM stamp. The ATM used here was issued for the value of NT$4 (roughly USD 0.12) by machine number 89 (I cannot find any information as to where Machine 89 is located). It shows the Tung flower, the flower of the Paulownia tree. Festivals are held to celebrate the flower, the latest being the 2009 Hakka Tung Blossom festival held in Taiwan earlier this year.


The Paulownia tree is native to much of China (where it is known as 泡桐, or paotong) and southern continental Asia and is also cultivated in Japan and Korea. It is popular in its native China for reforestation, roadside planting and as an ornamental tree. The wood is also important in China, Korea, and Japan for making the soundboards of stringed musical instruments such as the guqin, pipa, koto, and kayagum. Interesting to note is that it was named in honour of Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Scientific info on the plant available here.

The special postmark from Kaoshiung shows Kaohsiung harbor, or 高雄港. The first two characters spell out Kaohsiung in Chinese. Notice that the last Chinese character 港 (gang) is the second character for the Chinese spelling of Hong Kong (香港); this is because 港 means "harbor/port" in Chinese.


And, finally, to my favorite component: the stamp!
The stamp comes from a 4v set issued on 1996 to celebrate what I have come to understand as 100 years of philatelic service in Taiwan (郵政一百週年紀念). The particular stamp on the cover shows instruments and documents used when sending out mail, such as the scale and what seems to be receipts (there seems to be a small drawing of an EMS receipt in front of the green scale). How I wish I could have received the entire set! Maybe my friend Wu Wei Yi can send me an entire set? Or perhaps the FDC for this issue? :-)

Below is a scan of a beautiful cover sent on the first day of issue, along with other special postmarks. The special postmark at the bottom center shows the Philatelic Museum, if I am not mistaken. I plan to visit the Taiwan postal museum when I find the time.....

我非常感您你，吴韋毅！

Singapore Today Part 2

Thanks to my friend Edmund Ong, I was finally able to complete my set of the Singapore Today issue, which was released on 09 Aug 2008 to celebrate National Day.

In this issue, to commemorate Singapore's National Day 2008, photos from 5 Cultural Medallion recipients : Mr David Tay, Mr Tan Lip Seng, Mr Chua Soon Bin, Mr Foo Tee Jun and Mr Teo Bee Yen were specially reproduced. All the stamps depict pictures from these 5 photographers capturing various scenes of Singapore.

The Cultural Medallion was introduced in 1979 to recognize those who have achieved in their field of art. The first Cultural Medallion for photography as given in 1982 to David Tray.

The second envelope, sent to me a few months back, is from Florence Low.

Eesti (Estonia)

Here is a cover from one of the lesser-known countries in Europe, Estonia.
Although this is not the first cover I have received from the country that shares a border with Latvia to the South, Russia to the East, the Gulf of Finland to the North, and the Baltic Sea to the West.

As you can see, the cover is very dirty and messy. I have included a scan of the back of the envelope so that you can trace the path that it travelled when it arrived in the Philippines. Mind that it was forwarded twice since it was addressed to the place where I stayed some time ago.

However, the stories behind the stamps are quite the opposite, as they reveal a picturesque 18th century estate and an admirable statesman who worked towards putting his country on the map.

Let's first begin with the uncancelled stamp on the left, which was issued in 1999. It features Olustvere Mansion in the northern part of Vijandi county in central Estonia.

Taken from the Olustvere mansion website:

Olustvere manorial estate complex with its numerous buildings and park with many species is situated in the heart of Olustvere.

The manor was founded in the second half on the 16th century. At the end of the 18th century the manor came into the possession of the Fersens - an ancient noble family from Norhtern Germany. The manor stayed in their possession until its expropriation by the Republic of Estonia in 1918.

Olustvere is one of the best preserved manorial estate ensembles in Estonia.

Entering the manor park from between the stone walls, the noble heimat-style manor house is first to catch the eye. With its bright colours it fits well into the greenery of the surrounding park. The old manor house, estate manager`s house, granary, drying hose of massive stones, distillery, stables and cattle-sheds and several other houses have also preserved.

The blue stamp on the right was issued in honor of Lennart Meri, a statesman, filmmaker, and second president of the Republic of Estonia.

Born in Tallinn, the capital, he left Estonia at a very young age and went on to study at nine different schools in four different languages. Besides Estonian, which is closely realted to Finnish, Meri spoke five other language: Russian, French, German, English, and Finnish. He had a deep interest in the Finno-Ugric languages, which he encountered during his stay at a concentration camp in Siberia during the Second World War. His interest in the matter would live on to his later years.

He graduated with a degree in Hisdtor from the University of Tartu, but he was unable to pursue a career as an historian since Soviet politics kept him from doing so. Instead, he opted to delve into the arts and wrote books and films, which were warmly received and critically acclaimed.

In the 70s, he was able to convince the USSR to grant him permission to cross the Soviet borders known as the Iron Curtain. He used these opportunities to go to Finland and express the plight of the Estonian nation under Soviet rule, which included phosphorite mining, which would have left a third of the country uninhabitable.

He took part in the "Singing Revolution" led by Estonian intellectuals to urge people against Soviet rule. In 1990, Meri was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and thus envdeavored to establish ties with the West and thereby increase kowledge on the existence of the country throughout the world.

In 1992, he was installed as the second president of the republic, a position which he held until 2001.

He died in 2005 of a brain tumor. President Rüütel said, "In his nine years as head of state, Meri both restored the presidency and built up the Republic of Estonia in the widest sense." Finnish President Tarja Halonen stated, "The Finnish nation lost in Lennart Meri a close and sincere friend and the world, a great statesman who was one of the leading architects of the post-Cold War world." Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga said, "the world has lost a great Estonian, a great statesman and a true European."

Lennart Meri was chosen the European of the Year in 1998 by French newspaper La Vie.

Việt Nam - France Joint Issue

For my first post of the month, I'd like to share the other half of my 21 March post on the VN-FR joint issue showing Halong Bay and the Strait of Bonifacio.



Many thanks to Eric Contesse from Lyon for this wonderful cover, which adds the missing half of this joint issue to my collection.

Nice postmark

Just felt like sharing this nice postmark - at least nice in my opinion. I like the way the traditional hand cancel is juxtaposed with the modern, computerized cancellation. And, on top of that, it's not very common to receive mail from Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

LONG TIME NO UPDATE!

Hello again!

Wow! It has been weeks since my last update. Been so busy lately, but, then again, that always seems to be the case. I'm 3 months behind in posting covers! Which means I have a lot of catching up to do. And, mind you, I'll have to be up to date by mid-July as I will be leaving for Macau by then....

Well, anyway, for my comeback post, here are some covers from Malaysia.

This issue, released 20.02.09 celebrates the golden jubilee of Institute of Engineers Malaysia and showcases engineering feats that have helped foster national development. The three setenant pairs, from left to right, top first, have the themes (1) Telecommunication and Power, (2) Roads, Bridges, and Dams, and (3) Transportation and Ports, and show the development of infrastructure through the juxtaposition of pictures from past and present.

More info here.

This second cover shows the 3v set entitled the FEI 5 Star KL Grand Prix 2007, which was issued 13 Dec 2007.

First conceptualized in 1998 to bring the very first top international equestrian event to Asia, the FEI 5 Star KL Grand Prix made its debut as an annual event in 2003 at Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The only five-star international show jumping event in the Asia-Pacific region, the KL Grand Prix has carved an important milestone in the history of world equestrian sports. 5 Star is the highest possible rating for an equestrian event.

The KL Grand Prix brings together each year the world's top-ranked riders including Olympic gold medalists, World Cup Champions and World Champions and their prized horses to Kuala Lumpur where they vie for the coveted title and one of the world's richest purses.

There are perhaps as many as 160 breeds and types of horses throughout the world today, each with different abilities, characteristics and temperament. The horses depicted in the three stamps here are Warmbloods, which have gained enormous popularity in the past years as sport horses.

More info here.

Above is an FDC for the issue. On a personal note, this FDC brings back some memories as it is one of the first FDC's that I have ever received posted to my address.

Next up is an FDC for the 9 Apr 09 issue showing the four heritage sites in Malaysia included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely

1. the historic towns of Georgetown and Melaka (collectively known as the Historic Cities of the Sraits of Malacc; listed in 2008),
2. Taman Negara Gunung Mulu near Miri, Sarawak (which encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting; listed in 2000), and
3. Taman Negara Kinabalu (established as a national park in 1964 and Malaysia's first UNESCO world heritage site; listed in 2000).

The issue also includes a souvenir sheet, shown below:

In fact, I will be visiting the historic city of Georgetown in November of this year. I must admit that this issue was one of the factors that convinced me to go. In fact, I have plans of going to all four sites as they look very beautiful. If this was a marketing strategy of the Malaysian Tourism Board, I must say that it worked pretty well on me!

Last we have an FDC for the 1 Dec 08 issue on the Malaysian cartoon series called "The Kampong Boy."

The younger generation of Malaysian youth will know Lat as the creator of the animation series, Kampung Boy that is shown on Astro Network. The 26-episode animation series from the cartoon book Kampung Boy that was published in 1979 is very popular ever since it was shown in 1998. This animation series is also shown on television in Canada and Germany, and has won the Best Animation Award at the Annecy Animation Festival, France, in 1999.

On the other hand, the older generation knows Lat from the 1960s, when he became the cartoonist for Berita Minggu newspaper. Since 1974 until today, Lat has been drawing his cartoons for the New Straits Times Newspaper.

The Kampung Boy, a cartoon book published in the 1970s, is based on the life of it's creator, Malaysia's renowned cartoonist Dato' Mohd Nor Khalid also famously known as Lat. It tells the life story of a child born and raised in a typical Malaysian village in the 1950s and 1960s, according to the traditional Malay life, living in harmony with nature. The cartoon portray the lighter side of family life, school, and home-made games in a rural environment.