Here are some self-addressed covers that I sent back home during my three-day stay in Brunei. Brunei stamps are, in my opinion, not all that beautiful, but they have high catalog values because they are quite difficult to come across. Before my visit, I had no more than ten Brunei stamps in my collection.
The main post office building is quite small, and I believe it is just there to accept mail and sell stamps because, from I understood from one of the postal clerks, the mail sorting facility is located somewhere near the airport. Unfortunately, I didn't find any stamp dealer because I lacked the time (and perhaps the initiative since it was so darn hot and humid!) to look for one. Apparently, there is a small philatelist community in Brunei with something like 75 members, including its officers and some other government officials, if my memory serves me right.
The little philatelic corner they have at the left entrance to the building is, like I said, little, but it serves its purpose. It's an air-conditioned facility (thanks heavens!), so it's a cool relief from the outside heat. The philatelic desk still sells stamps and SS's from as far back as the late 70s (!!) at face value, which is a fraction of the current market value! So I spent quite a lot of time and money enjoying myself as I picked out the issues I wanted. Sadly, there were virtually no recent issues. I have not looked into this, but I got the impression that Brunei Post has been churning out only 2 or 3 commemorative issues yearly as of late. I guess it might be because there is little demand for Brunei stamps (?). I mean, there are some that have been sitting there in the post office storage for some thirty odd years now, and even after my purchase, I saw that there are still plenty left!
Well, anyway, enough of the rambling.
Below are four covers: three sent from the General Post Office in Bandar Seri Begawan and one from the Airport Post Office. Two are registered, one from each branch.
Enjoy!
The main post office building is quite small, and I believe it is just there to accept mail and sell stamps because, from I understood from one of the postal clerks, the mail sorting facility is located somewhere near the airport. Unfortunately, I didn't find any stamp dealer because I lacked the time (and perhaps the initiative since it was so darn hot and humid!) to look for one. Apparently, there is a small philatelist community in Brunei with something like 75 members, including its officers and some other government officials, if my memory serves me right.
The little philatelic corner they have at the left entrance to the building is, like I said, little, but it serves its purpose. It's an air-conditioned facility (thanks heavens!), so it's a cool relief from the outside heat. The philatelic desk still sells stamps and SS's from as far back as the late 70s (!!) at face value, which is a fraction of the current market value! So I spent quite a lot of time and money enjoying myself as I picked out the issues I wanted. Sadly, there were virtually no recent issues. I have not looked into this, but I got the impression that Brunei Post has been churning out only 2 or 3 commemorative issues yearly as of late. I guess it might be because there is little demand for Brunei stamps (?). I mean, there are some that have been sitting there in the post office storage for some thirty odd years now, and even after my purchase, I saw that there are still plenty left!
Well, anyway, enough of the rambling.
Below are four covers: three sent from the General Post Office in Bandar Seri Begawan and one from the Airport Post Office. Two are registered, one from each branch.
Enjoy!
Sent from the GPO, but processed at the MPC (Mail Processing Center). I chose the Brunei and Philippine stamps from the set because I was sending the letter from BN to the PH, and I chose the SG stamp because I like the architecture of the building depicted on it.
Sent from the BSB GPO. The lady postal clerk was very patient with me and was even kind enough to write "the Philippines" in the local script, which looks similar to Arabic.
Sent from the GPO, processed at MPC.
Sent from the Airport post office.
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