The Anthem Philatelist

This envelope is the only known cover used in Singapore bearing all four 1854 values on Indian stamps used in the Straits Settlements. This cover bears two 1/2 anna blue (Die 1), 1-anna Red (Die II), two 2-anna green and a cut-to-shape 4-anna blue and red (1st printing). All stamps are tied by a diamond-of-dots cancellation.

This is my third visit to the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The museum featured 5 current exhibits in addition to their permanent exhibit. Elephant Stampede- which traces the evolution of these giant creatures from mammoth to elephants, their shrinking habitats and the factors which led to their destruction.    It also highlighted the symbolism of elephants in Asian culture and religion- like how some kings reincarnated into elephants and the Hindu God Ganesh which had an half elephant body. T he exhibit ended on how we humans can help the elephants in their quest for survival. I enjoyed the interactive session, differentiating elephants from Africa and Asia. African elephants are bigger, have 5 toes and larger ears shaped like Africa while their Asian counterparts are smaller, have 4 toes and ears shaped like India.      I was able to see "Baby Emily", an elephant made of postage stamp designed by lo cal sculptor and artist Mr. Sun Yu-Li. This was in c...

A spectacular area stretching over more than 26,000 ha in China's Hunan Province, the site is dominated by more than 3,000 narrow sandstone pillars and peaks, many over 200 m high. Between the peaks lie ravines and gorges with streams, pools and waterfalls, some 40 caves, and two large natural bridges. In addition to the striking beauty of the landscape, the region is also noted for the fact that it is home to a number of endangered plant and animal species. The site lies in the Wulingyuan District of the city of Dayong and covers the entire dra inage basin of the Suoxi Brook, which winds for 69 km through the site. The most notable feature, dominating about two-thirds of the site, are more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks. Between the peaks are numerous ravines and gorges, many containing attractive streams, pools and waterfalls. The site also contains a number of karst features, notably some 40 caves which are concentrated on the banks of the Suoxiyu River and the...

Before we visited the Yasaka shrine, we passed by a a very old district in Kyoto- the Gion District. Our young guide told us that the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" was filmed here. Originally developed in the Middle Ages, the district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. The geisha in the Gion district do not refer to themselves as geisha; instead, Gion geisha use the local term geiko. While the term geisha means "artist" or "person of the arts", the more direct term geiko means essentially "a child of the arts" or "a woman of art". This neighborhood in Kyoto has two hanamachi (geiko communities): Gion Kōb u and Gion Higashi. Despite the considerable decline in the number of geisha in Gion in the last one hundred years, it is still famous for the preservation of forms of traditional archite...

Built in A.D. 794 on the model of the capitals of ancient China, Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan from its foundation until the middle of the 19th century. As the center of Japanese culture for more than 1,000 years, Kyoto illustrates the development of Japanese wooden architecture, particularly religious architecture, and the art of Japanese gardens, which has influenced landscape gardening the world over. Kyoto was the main center for the evolution of religi ous and secular architecture and of garden design between the 8th and 17th centuries, and as such it played a decisive role in the creation of Japanese cultural traditions which, in the case of gardens in particular, had a profound effect on the rest of the world from the 19th century onwards.    Buddhism had already been introduced from China and Chinese culture was having a profound influence on Japan when the capital was moved from Heijo-ko (Nara), after 10 years at Nagaoka, to Kyoto, under the name of Heian-ko...

Keelung City (also Jilong or Chilung) is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan and is currently administered as a provincial municipality within Republic of China. It borders New Taipei with which it forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with Taipei itself. Its frequent rain and maritime role earned it the monicker Rainy Port. It is Taiwan's second largest seaport after Kaohsiung. Keelung City has several attractions, one of which is the Zhongzheng (Jhongjheng) Park. The park is situated on the side of Dashawan Mount ain, which is at the east of Keelung City. There is a white statue of Goddess of Mercy in the park. This 25-meter high statue has become one of the characteristics of Keelung. The park overlooks Keelung City and the harbor. There are three levels in the park. On the first level is a historic canon fort. On the second level is a Buddhist library, Martyrs' Shrine and Zhuputan Temple. The temple attracts many worshipers on J...

Before the Ha n Chinese immigration began in the mid-1600s, Taiwan was inhabited by people belonging to the Austronesian race, the members of which lived in a vast area extending from Madagascar in the west to Hawaii and Easter Island in the east, and from New Zealand in the south to Taiwan in the north. Taiwan's aborigines are believed to have come from the Malay archipelago in different waves about 6,000 years ago at the earliest and less than 1,000 years ago at the latest. Since their languages are very different--more varied than those of the Philippines--some scholars suggest that Taiwan is the original homeland of all Austronesians. Archeological findings indicate that Taiwan had been inhabited by other people before the current aborigines came. However, little is known about them, particularly when and why they disappeared. When the Han Chinese came to Taiwan, they divided, for convenience, the aborigines into P ingpu (plains) people and Kaoshan...