Saturday, July 14, 2012

A 'Lost' Zebra in Kenya

Zebra is one of my favourite animals. It is everything from being cute, innocent and cuddly to being an amazing sight in the wild.
This beautiful postcard shows a 'lost' zebra in the wilderness of Kenya. Kenya probably has the largest population of zebras in the world.
Amazing Fact: Like human finger-prints, no two zebras have the same pattern of  stripes on their skin and these stripes can be used as their biometric identification too.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Liberia: Bat Snoozing in Sapo National Park, Sinoe County

Another beautiful postcard from Liberia showing a tired bat snoozing in Sapo National Park (As mentioned on the back of the postcard). It is an official postcard issued by Liberia Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications (Also mentioned at the back).
Sapo National Park is a national park in Sinoe County, Liberia. It is the country's largest protected area of rain-forest and its only national park, and contains the second-largest area of primary tropical rain-forest in West Africa after Taï National Park in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire. Agriculture, construction, fishing, hunting, human settlement, and logging are prohibited in the park.
Sapo National Park is located in the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem, a biodiversity hotspot that has "the highest mammal species diversity of any region in the world", according to Conservation International.
The postcard was brought for me by one of my sweet brothers Adeel, during his stay in Liberia, as a part of UN Peace Keeping Mission.
What do you think about this lovely postcard?

China : Laoshan Velodrome, Beijing Olympics 2008

This Olympics Stadium Postcard shows Laoshan Velodrome, which is one of the venues for Beijing Olympics 2008. It is one of the 10 official postcards issued on the occasion by State Postal Bureau in 2007. Another postcard showing Basketball Gymnasium can be seen here.
The Laoshan Velodrome hosted track cycling events during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. It has a capacity of 6,000 spectators. A 250-meter oval shaped track is prepared for cycling events. The total area covered by the Velodrome is 33,320 square metres.
The Laoshan Velodrome is being used for international and national cycling competitions and training after the Olympic Games. The velodrome was designed by Schuermann Architects, designers of the ADT Event Center in Carson, CA and the UCI Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland.
The following prepaid stamp was printed on the postcard.
 
Any thoughts on the Postcard or the Laoshan Velodrome design are welcome!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Fighting Elephants - Beauty of Kenya

Here is a beautiful postcard from Kenya showing the rich and exotic wild life of the country.
The postcard shows two African Elephants fighting like humans ;)
I have posted a couple of other postcards from Kenya with elephants in past that you can see here and here.
"Beauty of Kenya" postcard is definitely very eye-catching but I wonder why they are fighting. Are they fighting for something big like a piece of land or may be something smaller like a bag of peanuts? Or may be they are doing "Trunk Wrestling"!
What do you think???

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Beijing Olympics 2008 - Basketball Gymnasium

The next in line is an Official Olympics Postcard, issued at the eve of Beijing Olympics 2008, by the State Postal Bureau of  the People's Republic of China. The postcard depicts the grandeur building of Basketball Gymnasium.

The gymnasium covers a total area of 168,000 sq m and is about 7 floors high - with 3 floors underground and 4 above the ground. It has a total capacity of about 18,000 spectators.
One of the best features of the Gymnasium is its Energy Efficiency and it was one of the seven Green Venues for  Beijing Olympics. It has a funnel-shaped LCD Display System which is the first set of comprehensive displays in China that is able to meet the demands of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not only are the standards met for basketball games, the LED system is also capable of being used for theatrical performances, real-time broadcasts and background imagery.
Furthermore, all audience seats are upholstered for comfort and convenience. On the second floor, there are 45 luxury boxes, with 29 large ones and 16 small ones.
By adopting a rainwater recycling system, easy-to-clean glass and other technologies, the designers fully implemented the idea of "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, and People's Olympics" into the construction of Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.
The postcards were sold with a printed stamp of 80 Yuan (If I am not wrong!).
Another postcard of the same set showing Laoshan Velodrome can be seen too!
Thanks Edward for such a magnificent postcard to grace my collection.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Golden Sand Beach from China - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Here is a Magnificent Postcard from China depicting one of the views of Huanglong: Scenic and Historic Interest Area. The view depicted on the postcard is of Golden Sand Beach.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site from China, and is popular for its colorful views. You can read more at my UNESCO Postcards Blog here.