All David's Recent Cards

BLOG # 1578   -   Day 288 of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

                                                              GLORY TO UKRAINE  

The astute readers among you may have noticed that I have discontinued the reference to the Day of the Pandemic. I ended it at Day 1000 as I believe this pandemic is always going to be with us in some form or another. It was always my intent to end at 1000, so I did. I don't think we will ever get to zero cases in the world, so the shock value of what number day it is loses it effect.

With that out of the way, it's on to postcards. Today all cards are from Southeast Asia and all are from David and his recent trip to that area. It was on this trip that he completed travel to all 193 countries , the last was Laos. Quite an achievement and certainly one to be proud of. 

I'll start with 3 cards from Cambodia. This first one shows the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Built in 1920 , it is Cambodia's leading historical and archaeological museum. Inside is the world's finest collection of Khmer sculpture. 

 David used a stamp from last year. It is from a set of 5 Flowers - in this case a White Gardenia.

This second Cambodia card shows one of the many faces of the Bayou Temple, located in Siem Reap. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century.

The stamp on this card is the 2021 Chinese New Year issue - Year of the Ox.

The final Cambodia card is a beautiful wooden postcard. I have a few of these cards now and they are great. This one shows Siem Reap / Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is the second largest city of Cambodia and home to the famous Angkor Wat temples. Angkor is the largest religious monument in the world. Of course it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list of sites. 

This time the stamp was issued in 2018. It is 1 in a Birds set of 5.

 

Now we move along to Viet Nam for four cards,  The first is from Hue and shows the Royal Palace. Hue was the battleground for the Battle of Hue which was the one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Viet Nam war. The Royal Palace in Hue is the inner sanctum of the Imperial Citadelo. The palace was built in 18o5.

David use definitives from 2019 on this card. 

Next is a map card of the country and it was sent from Hanoi, up north. 

Some interesting stops going north to Hanoi include Hoi An, Da Nang, China Beach and Ha Long Bay. 

The stamps -- a couple of definitives from 2016 and 1 of 3 from 2021 showing UNESCO Geoparks in Vietnam.

Now we're at Ha Long Bay, certainly one of the beautiful spots on this Earth. Words don't do it justice. You have to see it to believe it and I'm glad I have.  Hạ Long Bay, in northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests.

Here are the stamps that David chose for this one . The 3 on top are from a set of 4 issued in 2022 showing Traditional Cuisine of Viet Nam. The lower stamp, from 2021, is 1 of 3 highlighting UNESCO Geoparks in Viet Nam. 

Here is the last Viet Nam card. It shows the beautiful covered bridge in Hoi An's  Ancient Town. Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals.  and its iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda. 

David's stamp this time is from this year. It is 1 of 3 showing Waterfalls in Viet Nam. 

Laos , the last country of this group of cards. This card shows Pha That Luang, a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre of the city of Vientiane, Laos. Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century AD, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions as recently as the 1930s due to foreign invasions of the area. The current structure opened in 1566. 

The stamp on this one shows a nice modern train, the Laos-China train. It is 1 of 4 stamps in a really nice Minisheet, issued in 2021. 

 

Here's the last card for this time. It shows a scene in Luang Prabang, a city in north central Laos, known for its many Buddhist temples.  Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms, as shown on the card.

Now here's the final stamps for this update. These great stamps were issued in 2019 , in a minisheet. They show Victory Gate Monument in Vientiane. It was built between 1957 and 1968 and is dedicated to those who fought for independence from France. 

 Well that's the end for this time. A much longer update than my usual , I hope you stayed till the end.  

Thanks for all these cards and stamps go to David , World Traveller Extraordinaire .