The Anthem Philatelist

It was truly an honor to have seen the original pencil sketch of one of Rizal's "passion" and probably his only true love- Leonor Rivera . The avid Rizal collector who bought this sketch paid seven figures for its acquisition. He had a choice between this piece and a sketch of Josephine Bracken , but he chose the "passion" over the wife. Most of Leonor Rivera's (the original Maria Clara) pictures posted on the net are crayon sketches or reproductions. This one is the original pencil sketch.      Leonor Rivera was a native of Dagupan , Pangasinan . She was 13 years old when she and Rizal met in Manila. Apparently, t hey were first cousins, but they later became childhood sweethearts, a love that was mostly nurtured through love letters, as Rizal had to go to Europe for his studies. Being Rizal's sweetheart for eleven years, she played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during his travels. Unfortunately,

I have quite a number of Jose Rizal stamps in my collection, but the 1941 apple-hued 2c Commonwealth Regular is one of a kind. This stamp features the young Rizal as rendered by the New York photographer Elaine Rawlinson . The image on this stamp was copied from a menu card which won a stamp design contest sponsored by the Asociacion Filateleca de Filipinas . The stamp cause quite a stir among keen philatelist who noticed that Rizal's hair was parted on the right instead of the usual left!    This is the only Rizal stamp which portrays his hair as such. This stamp also became the first stamp of a series of postage stamps bearing the inscription "United States of America- Commonwealth of the Philippines". This replaced the the 1935 Commonwealth overprint series and as the last of the pre-war issues. I acquired a few of the stamps bearing this inscription and these include the 1906 Jose Rizal PI-USA stamp - the first Jose Rizal stamp ever issued and the first

The Tianjin Ancient Culture Street dates back 600 years ago. It stands in the key section in upstream Haihe River , which is located in Nankai district of Tianjin. Covering an area of 224,200 sq meters, it used to be one of earliest water transport docklands in Tianjin, one of the busiest cities of commerce and trade in ancient China. As a cultural precinct, Tianjin Ancient Culture Street is well known by the local and overseas tourists alike.    As the result of the Tian Hou Temple expansions, and renovations of the Yu Huang Ge and Haihe Lou building, this street, with its fine landscape and distinctive architectural style, has been a flourishing cultural and tourist area. Standing at the center of Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street, Tianhou Palace, originally buil t in 1326, is one of only three Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) Temples in the world (the other two are Fujian Mazu Temple and Beigang Chaotian Temple on Taiwan Island). Tianhou Palace is now the Folk-custom Museum of Tianjin

The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou , comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides, has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and artificial islands. This area is one of the latest to have earned the title UNESCO World Heritage site.   The West Lake has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries and bears an exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition of improving landscapes to create a series of vistas reflecting an idealized fusion between humans and nature.    Hangzhou is famous for three things: its water, its fertile and picturesque countrysi de, and ancient tradition- all three combined in a perfectly brewed cup of Longjing tea. A visit to the Longjing Tea Plantation makes for a nice side trip from Hangzhou's main attractions.    About 30 minutes by bicycle fr

Supattra Land Orchard is a fruit farm located in Rayong, Thailand. Rayong is a city located on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, in the east coast region. It is the capital of Rayong Province, and covers the Tambon Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of Tambon Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within Mueang Rayong district. As of 2005 the population was 54,641. Its main industries include fishing, chemicals and auto industries. It also grows some fruits and is the main producer of Thailand's fish sauce. After our visit to the picturesque Pattaya, we made a side trip to this beautiful province to see some of its attractions. This fruit lover's paradise is located in the Bankhai district. We were able to visit the Supattra Land Orchard and savor its fruity gustatory delights. The orchard is open to the public and for a minimal fee of 120 Baht, guests can taste any fruit once can see in the vast farm. Some of the fruits here include the durian, rambutan, mango, grape, star fruit, d