Cover from Macau

Cover sent from Macau, China, on 20 October 2009 and received 9 days later. The 5 pataca stamp was issued with a lesser value companion on 1 May 2009 and commemorates the 120th anniversary of the International Labour Day (May Day), with two figures at work:-) Print-run 200,000. Thank you, Siew Lan!

Postcard from Thailand no. 2

A truly exotic (at least for me) postcard received yesterday from Bangkok. It shows a twilight view of the local Chinatown, very impressive!

The stamps are the complete series of World Enviroment Day stamps issued on 5 June 2008, urging people to take care of the Earth (print-run 1 million each). Of interest is also the postmark with the year 52, i.e. 2552, since the Buddhist calendar started with the birth of Buddha 543 earlier that the Christian one.
Thank you, Apichati!

Cover from Belarus no. 3

Cover sent from Minsk, Belarus, on 21 October 2009. The envelope is in fact a piece of postal stationery issued by Belpost in 2009 with a pre-printed stamp of "A" rate (currently 260 rubles), for sending light letters within Belarus. The 600 ruble stamp showing turtle Emys orbicularis was issued on 12 March 2003 in a series called "Reptiles of Belarus", the 30 ruble definitive is petunia from the 12th set of Belarusian definitives (27/5/2008). Interestingly, the total postage amounts to 890 rubles, which is 0.21 euro or 5.65 Czech crowns, i.e. 3 times cheaper than sending a letter of the same size the other way.
Thank you, Raman!

Cover from Peru no. 2

A crazy idea came true... sand and small seashells sent from the Pacific coast in Lima, Peru, to be placed in our garden... packed in this lovely, sort of old-fashioned envelope with a view of Machu Picchu. The duplicate stamp of 8.50 nuevos soles was issued on 29 December 2006 and commemorates the 75th anniversary of the first philatelic exposition of Peru featuring a triangular stamp from 1931 commemorating it at that time. Unfortunately not cancelled, but the other postmarks confirm it having passed through the Czech customs in Prague. Postage amounting to 17 Peruvian Nuevos Soles, which is almost 4 euros. Thank you, Alyssa!

Postcard from Malaysia

In fact just an addendum to the previous post. A fresh card received on Friday from Penang, Malaysia, showing a larger image of the Malacca stamp. The commentary on the card tells that the red house (Stadhuys) was built in 1650 as the official residence of Dutch governors and their oficers, and nowadays houses the Historical and Etnography Museum. Thank you SL Liew!

Cover from Malaysia no. 3

Still riding the latest UNESCO wave, I'd like to show here this beautiful cover from Malaysia, sent on 9 April 2009 (oh, I notice there are so many lovely covers which I haven't covered yet after so many months:o) The two se-tenant stamps show the major sights of Malacca and Georgetown (Penang), Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca (inscribed in the UNESCO list in 2008), places mingling the Malaysian heritage with the Dutch, Portuguese and British influences. The stamps were issued in April 2009 and are complemented by two other se-tenants, showing the Mulu National Park and Kinabalu Park. Thank you, Kow Siew Lan!

Cover from Egypt

A cover received yesterday from Egypt. The two stamps on top with the common tab are dedicated to the latest (2005) Egyptian UNESCO World Heritage site Wadi El-Hitan (Valley of Whales) in the Western Desert of Egypt, containing fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. The stamps were issued in 2008... and I, er, don't know anything more about them; the same goes for the other large stamp from 2009 with the bespectacled man, unfortunately I cannot read Arabic and the site of the Egyptian Post is not of much use with the current stamps. The rest of the postage is made up by two definitives of 10 and 30 piastres drawing on the Egyptian rich cultural heritage. Thank you Farah for this beauty!

Cover from Russia no. 8

Another beauty from Alex, in Astrakhan, Russia! A cover sent on 6 May 2009 with a huge miniature sheet commemorating (along with four other stamps shown above) the 150th anniversary of the New Hermitage, one of the five buildings of the Hermitage complex in Saint Petersburg, opened in 1852 as the first public museum in Russia. The stamp features a picture by Luigi Premazzi "The New Hermitage" from 1861. The rest of the sheet is embossed (chandeliers, tables and chairs) and looks impressive. Issued on 15 February 2002 in 150,000 copies.

The other two stamps are part of a series dedicated to the 60th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) and show documentary photos from those days (issued on 5 April 2005). I commented upon other two stamps from this series in an earlier post. The rest of the postage of 22.5 rubles is made up by three 0.50 ruble wolf definitives on the back of the cover. Thank you, Alex!

New Czech stamps - October 2009

A set of four new engraved stamps with reasonable values issued on 14 October 2009. The first stamp commemorates the 175th anniversary of the first production of the Czech National Anthem "Where Is My Home?" in 1834 (by composer František Škroup and playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl). The stamp features the symbols of the Czech statehood: the Czech lion and a lime twig.

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In a series dedicated to historic stoves there are two new stamps covering the Empire period (approx. 1810, from Castle Litomyšl - Czech UNESCO World Heritage site), and the more sober Biedermeier period (approx. 1835, from Castle Vyškov).

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The 18 Kč stamp (overseas rate up to 20 grams for postcards and letters) is dedicated to Barbora Markéta Eliášová (1874 - 1957), first Czech woman traveller to go around the world, with a huge interest in Japan. In the stamp she is depicted with the Fujiyama and in kimono.

Postcard from Prague, Czech Republic

When in Prague last week, after some three years, I sent myself this postcard showing the frozen and snowy Charles Bridge (as if I knew that there would be unexpected October blizzards overnight leaving much of the country and the still green tres and fields under snow). The main post-office is now (9-31 October 2009) using a special postmark commemorating the 10th anniversary of the reconstruction of its building in Jindrisska Street, so I posted this greeting there, using two current flower definitives and a 6.50 Kč stamp from 2004 (26 May) showing the pagan god of Radegast, patron of the Beskydy mountain range in the eastern part of Moravia. The statue of the god stands on Mount Radhost and was made in 1929 by sculptor Albin Polasek. Besides Radegast, the stamp bears the logo of the European Stamp Exhibition which was held in 2005 in Brno.