The Anthem Philatelist

Mr. Han had a dream: to offer his fellow Koreans a taste of what inspired his love for France. This dream became the  Petite France project: an hour’s drive from Seoul, an urban area home to some 25 million residents, Mr. Han found a quiet location on the shore of Lake Gapyeong. Here he built something between a town and a museum: each house reflects French culture. Visitors can take a few days’ break here, staying in French-style houses furnished in the French manner with furniture imported directly from France. The distinctive architecture of Petite France has even proved a magnet for the film crew of Beethoven Virus, a hugely popular TV series in Korea. Here, the Little Prince is the guest of honour. Mr. Han takes a keen interest in French literature and enjoys the works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in particular  The Little Prince. His favourite passage? The meeting with the fox, of course! In a country where over 350 different editi...

Nami Island is an oasis for culture and leisure in peaceful harmony with humanity and nature. After a five-minute ferry ride, guests meet a forest of verdant trees holding up the sky and open grassy areas where ostriches, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, ducks and peacocks warmly welcome visitors in the midst of wild flowers.    On Nami Island, artists from all over the world show-off their talents and share the sense of peace of mind the island creates. The island is the site of Nami Island International Children's Book Festival (NAMBOOK) and other cultural events take place every weekend, making Nami one of the main cultural and artistic tourist attractions in Korea. In 2006, the island declared its cultural independence and was reborn as Naminara Republic.    They have their own national flag, anthem, currency, passport and phone cards, stamps, orthography and even a certification of citizenship. Nami is home to several galleries and is the site of ...

Formerly a British colony, this west African nation adopted its national anthem, "High We Exalt Thee, Realm Of The Free", upon independence in 1961. The composer of the music, John Joseph Akar , was the first post independence Director of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) as well as the founder of the Sierra Leone national Dance Troupe, and the lyricist Clifford Nelson Fyle , was a professor at Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone. John Joseph Akar (1927–1975) was a Sierra Leone-an of Lebanese descent entertainer, writer, and diplomat. He served as Sierra Leone-an Ambassador to the United States. Today, he is probably best known for composing the music of the Sierra Leone's National Anthem. Akar was born in the small town of Rotifunk, Moyamba District in the Southern P rovince of Sierra Leone, to an ethnic Sherbro mother and to a Lebanese father. Akar attended the E.U.B. primary school in Rotifunk, and proceeded to Albert Academy secondary school in Freetown. ...

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...