PC#134 New Zealand, Year of the Monkey 2016 card,

Sent: 13/1/2016

Arrived:

Thank you so much, Marice!

Cover#165 Czech; Commemorative Handstamps: Number#63/2015 : Aniversary Postal Museum,

Sent: 18/12/2015

Arrived: 4/1/2016

Thanks, Trung!

Cover#164 Indonesia, Turtles FDC,

Thank you Shinta for this beautiful FDC. Just curious, the date on Panda tampon shows 2010. Wow.

PC#133 Hongkong, Year of the Monkey card,

These monkeys mother and son/daughter are cute. Love this card with the stamp and speacial postmark so much.

Sent: 16/1/2016

Arrived: 26/1/2016

Many thanks, Phoebe Wai!

Cover#163 Czech, An amazing Kazakhstan,

This letter sent on my birthday, 11 Jan, gives me a big gift. Many amazing Kazakhstan stamps is inside on many topics: Lunar new year (Goat year and Horse year, my year), EUROPA stamps... It made my day.

Sent: 11/1/2016

Arrived: 25/1/2016

PC#132 UK, UNESCO site: Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd with Monkey Year stamp,

Sent: 3/1/2016

Arrived: 23/1/2016

Thank you ichabodhides!

Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

UNESCO site

Date of Inscription: 1986

The castles of Beaumaris and Harlech (largely the work of the greatest military engineer of the time, James of St George) and the fortified complexes of Caernarfon and Conwy are located in the former principality of Gwynedd, in north Wales. These extremely well-preserved monuments are examples of the colonization and defence works carried out throughout the reign of Edward I (1272–1307) and the military architecture of the time.

The four castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and the attendant fortified towns at Conwy and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales, are the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe, as demonstrated through their completeness, pristine state, evidence for organized domestic space, and extraordinary repertory of their medieval architectural form.

The castles as a stylistically coherent group are a supreme example of medieval military architecture designed and directed by James of St George (c. 1230-1309), King Edward I of England’s chief architect, and the greatest military architect of the age.

The extensive and detailed contemporary technical, social, and economic documentation of the castles, and the survival of adjacent fortified towns at Caernarfon and Conwy, makes them one of the major references of medieval history.

The castles of Beaumaris and Harlech are unique artistic achievements for the way they combine characteristic 13th century double-wall structures with a central plan, and for the beauty of their proportions and masonry.

PC#131 Singapore, Year of the Monkey card,

Sent: 12/1/2016

Arrived: 23/1/2016

Thank you, TaiYang!

Cover#162 Czech, World War I, number#2

New items added to my centenary WWI collection. This is the second MS from Czech post to celebrate this event.

Sent: 17/12/2015

Arrived: 20/1/2016

Thanks, Trung!

PC#130 Indonesia, UNESCO site: Prambanan Temple Compounds,

Sent: 1/1/2016

Arrived: 19/1/2016

Thank Shinta!

Prambanan Temple Compounds

UNESCO site

Date of Inscription: 1991

Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Brief synthesis

Prambanan Temple Compounds consist of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple and Lumbung Temple. Prambanan Temple itself is a complex consisting of 240 temples. All the mentioned temples form the Prambanan Archaeological Park and were built during the heyday of Sailendra’s powerful dynasty in Java in the 8th century AD. These compounds are located on the border between the two provinces of Yogyakarta and Central Java on Java Island.

While Loro Jonggrang, dating from the 9th century, is a brilliant example of Hindu religious bas-reliefs, Sewu, with its four pairs of Dwarapala giant statues, is Indonesia’s largest Buddhist complex including the temples of Lumbung, Bubrah and Asu (Gana temple). The Hindu temples are decorated with reliefs illustrating the Indonesian version of the Ramayana epic which are masterpieces of stone carvings. These are surrounded by hundreds of shrines that have been arranged in three parts showing high levels of stone building technology and architecture from the 8th century AD in Java. With over 500 temples, Prambanan Temple Compounds represents not only an architectural and cultural treasure, but also a standing proof of past religious peaceful cohabitation.

Czech, Cover#161

Sent: 29/12/2015

Arrived: 19/1/2016

Cover#160 Czech, Definitive stamps cover,

This stampset was released in early 1990s. One of very first set of Czech Post.

Sent: 6/1/2016

Arrived: 19/1/2016

Some interesting stamps,

Here are some interesting stamps I got recently.

Charlie Chaplin is one of my favorite comic actors. When I was a very young boy, on TV, it used to have not much interesting shows, only every Sunday, there were Charlie show at 8 AM and Doraemon then Lucky Luke at 10AM if I remember well. They were really fancy to me at that time.

This stamp is released in 2014 to celebrate 125th Anniversary of the Birth of Charlie Chaplin, 1889-2014.

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.[1] His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. As his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19 he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. Chaplin was scouted for the film industry, and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. Chaplin directed his own films from an early stage, and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the best known figures in the world.

In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue. Chaplin became increasingly political, and his next film, The Great Dictator (1940), satirised Adolf Hitler. The 1940s were a decade marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, while his involvement in a paternity suit and marriages to much younger women caused scandal. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the United States and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).

Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. In 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work, Chaplin received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century". He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on industry lists of the greatest films of all time.

Source: wiki

PC#129 Philippines, Year of the Monkey card,

This very cute shaped card arrived today. A mokey is eating banana. This shaped card really made my day with Monkey year stamp and FDC postmark on the back side.

Thank you so much Mitchs!

Cover#159 Czech, Postmark for new year event,

Every years, Praha 1 post office has a special postmark for the new year event. And this one is for this time,

Sent: 29/12/2015

Arrived: 9/1/2016

Thanks. Trung!

PC#127 #128 Czech, Christmas mails,

Something arrived with wishes for Christmas. :)

Thanks, Trung!

PC#126 Taiwan, Year of the Monkey MC,

This MC have a look very cute. The monkey is so kool.

Thanks Chii!

Cover#158 Czech, Commemorative Handstamps: Number#62/2015 : Praha 1 (Bear)

I must say this postmark is so so cute. Love it.

Sent: 12/12/2015

Arrived: 2/1/2016

Thanks so much, Trung!

Cover# 157 Mail from Le Père Noel,

I got mail from Santa Claus. Well, I like ít.

Every years, an abundant Child send their mails to Santa Claus for their gift wishes. Address written on the letter makes the facteur embrassing. 

Santa Claus

Claus street

North Pole

The facteur dont know how to do with those letters. A return letter is not fair to those good child. As a solution, they have some real address, of course not the home of Santa Claus, and children can send their letter to that address. By that way, they will get a special letter of Santa in return. 

And here what I got:

 Sent: 

Arrived: 2/1/2016

Merci beaucoup Le Père Noel  pour ta très sympas lettre. Je sais que tes lutins et toi tout étaient très occupés ses jours-là à préparer bien les cadeaux pour les enfants, surtout les sages enfants. Et moi, j'ai rien recu ce jour là, le Noel. J'ai acheté un très bon bouquin  comme un cadeau pour moi le Noel et c'est tout, comme d'habitude. Bon, c'était très cool. De toutes facons, j'ai recu quelque chose, par moi même, et  j'en était content, heureux aussi.