Uganda: A Beautiful Self-posted Cover from Exotic Uganda

After a long absence from my blog, here's one of my favorite covers - An exotic cover from the exotic African country Uganda.

I self-posted this envelope for myself during my recent visit to Africa that comprises of travels to a few poor yet very beautiful countries. The manifest included Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The envelope is postmarked 20 Oct 2014 from the General Post Office in the capital city Kampala. I used different stamps available in the post office from different years.

• The right most stamp is part of the series of flowering plants showing Callandra Haematocephala. 
• The second stamp from the right shows a school building with children playing. The inscription on the cover says "Education for All in the New Millennium".
• The smaller stamp in the middle shows an elegant Nile Crocodile. The stamp costs 500 Ugandan Shillings (UGX).
• The two stamps on the left is a part of 10 stamps issued on 30th Anniversary of PAPU (Pan African Postal Union Day). The set was issued in 2010. All stamps feature Gorillas in the wild.

How do you like this amazing cover? Share your feelings in the comment box below.

A Box Full of On-Paper Stamps - A Dream-Come-True for a Philatelist

Today was a dream-come-true day for me as I received a huge box of stamps that I bought about 15 months ago. For the first time I laid my hands on these stamps and they are amazing.

I am sure that it is strange to hear about this story of receiving stamps 15 months after buying them but I assure you that the seller did a magnificent job of sending the stamps on the same day that I sent the money and the stamps were delivered to the address that I mentioned.

The box is almost 20" x 20" x 8" and its all full of on-paper stamps from Australia. The box contains almost 9 kgs of on-paper stamps.

The first look inside the box of stamps was simply amazing. I bought these stamps in kiloware from Glen Stephens Web Store and am highly thankful to Glen for sending me such a nice bunch of Australian stamps. These include commemoratives as well as definitives.
Below are some of the photos of the stamps that I could find at the very top:-

 The box of stamps is full of stamps featuring dogs, birds, fishes, cats, cars and above all Nicole Kidman ;)

 All sorts of varieties of lovely stamps and I am very happy to receive them,

I am sure that these will be enough to keep me busy for a life time.
I am still wondering how to sort them out and what to do with them?
If you have any suggestions, please share in Comments Section below the post.

Shandur Polo Festival, Pakistan 2006

Shandur Polo Festival is arranged in July every year and a traditional Polo Match is played between the teams of Gilgit and Chitral at the highest Polo Ground of the World in Shandur. Shandur is located at a height of 3,700 m (12,650 ft) above mean sea level at the border of Gilgit and Chitral Districts.

Shandur Polo Event is a traditional event dating back to old colonial times. In 1930s, then British Political Agent in the area Major Evelyn Cobb was extremely fond of playing Polo and he initiated playing Polo in the moonlight of Shandur. The first Polo Tournament at Shandur took place in 1936.
Since then, Shandur Polo Festival is held almost every year and guests are invited from all over the globe to witness the event.
To celebrate the event, a camping village is set up at Shandur and various activities like folk music and dancing are held. Shandur Polo Festival is held in the 2nd week of July every year and offers activities like trout fishing, trekking, mountaineering, horse riding and folk music performances.
In 2006, Pakistan Post issued a Rs 5 Commemorative Stamp to celebrate the event.
You can see some beautiful Pictures of Shandur Polo Festival here.

#20: Macedonia; Real-Posted Cover with Angry Fish – Not Willing To See Each Other’s Face Even :(

WOW!!! Fish also have human-like expressions. For instance just see these two fish on the cover posted from Macedonia. They look as angry as two humans who have sworn not to see each other’s face after a quarrel. Isn’t it so??? :)

This beautiful cover was waiting for a long time to be posted on the blog. I received it in 2007. Its a really beautiful cover from Skopje, Macedonia.

The two fish stamps on the cover are part of a set of 4 fish stamps issued by Macedonia Post in 2007. It sure is a magnificent set of Fish Stamps from Macedonia.

Pakistan: The Most Beautiful Place in the World

I recently got a chance to visit the beautiful Kaghan Valley once again. It was as beautiful as ever. Here I would like to share some nice pictures of the visit and I am sure that you will like these photos.

The first one is a beautiful landscape where the sky is covered with low clouds. Small glaciers can also be seen coming down from the mountains. Water is as clear as ever.

Nature at its best: Enjoy this beautiful snap which is a perfect example of co-existence between animals like horses, sheep, etc. A huge glacier in the background has added color to the greenery on the ground.

Horses roaming around in the vast lands near Barawai in Kaghan/ Naran Valley.

Wait for more because the Best Pictures are yet to come.

Cover #15: Breeds of Dogs of India: FDC

A very beautiful FDC from India with a set of 4 gorgeous dog stamps. Stamps  featuring 4 different breeds of dogs include following:-

• Himalayan Sheep Dog (Left-most stamp)
• Rampur Hound (2nd stamp from left)
• Mudhol Hound (3rd stamp from left)
• Rajapalayam (Right-most stamp)

The 4 dog breeds from India are also featured on the left side of the First Day Cover while the postmark features only three of them. Which one is missing is hard to tell..... At least for me... :)

The series of stamps on Indian Breeds of Dogs was released at the 5th National Dog Show of the Kenel Club of India in Chennai on 9 January 2005. The postmarks on the cover are from the capital - New Delhi.

Indeed a magnificent cover! Isn't it? What do you say???

Help Needed!!! United Nations Stamps

Can someone tell me when this set of 4 stamps from United Nations was issued? Can I see them & other similar stamps on any online catalogue? What is their estimated cost? Please help!!!!

Cover # 8: France FDC, Isard 1971

Another cool FDC from France. The French stamp featured on the cover was issued on 24 April 1971. The stamp was issued as an effort for Nature Protection. The stamp and the FDC feature a beautiful animal called "Isard", somewhat like belonging to a deer family. Lovely addition in my collection.