The Åland Islands -- an autonomous and demilitarized region of Finland in the Gulf of Bothnia where the official language is Swedish -- is one of my favorite areas from which I collect stamps. The entity began issuing its own stamps on 1 March 1984 and I had a fairly complete collection of her stamps … Continue reading Christmas Stamps 2022: Åland
October 2022
Sunday Summary #9
Welcome to Sunday Summary, the meme in which I attempt to summarize the week that came before. It has been a very wet week, culminating in most of Phuket Town being underwater as I write this. I spent most of my morning today wading through dirty water and my afternoon putting together and uploading a … Continue reading Sunday Summary #9
The Great Phuket Town Flood of 2022
This is NOT the post I had planned for today, Sunday the 16th of October 2022. In Phuket Town, Sunday evenings are reserved for the popular Walking Street known locally as Lard Yai. I highly doubt that tonight's event will go ahead, however. It has been raining here for weeks. It is the Monsoon Season, … Continue reading The Great Phuket Town Flood of 2022
Stamps on the Tube Ep.1: Ted Talks Stamps
One of the inconsistencies with YouTube is that it doesn't always display the date a particular video was uploaded. So, I cannot tell you when the first episode of Ted Talks Stamps first aired. I can tell you that Ted Tyszka started his YouTube channel in February 2020 and that Episode 1 has been there … Continue reading Stamps on the Tube Ep.1: Ted Talks Stamps
Long Walk to Saphan Hin, Phuket
The 13th of October is a public holiday in Thailand marking the death anniversary of the late His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, Thailand. My previous visit to the Saphan Hin area of Phuket was probably during the preparations for his funeral towards the end of 2017 (yes, we had … Continue reading Long Walk to Saphan Hin, Phuket
Thainess Part 8: Bathroom Basics
When I moved to Thailand some 18 years ago, many of the public toilets -- even those in more touristy areas and shopping malls -- were quite bad. I can vividly remember my first use of a squat toilet when an alternative was not possible. It was on the overnight train between Bangkok and Chiang … Continue reading Thainess Part 8: Bathroom Basics
Sunday Summary #8
Welcome to Sunday Summary, the meme in which I attempt to summarize the week that came before. This was the first week of the month-long term break and I was even lazier than usual. I concentrated on music and little else, as we will see. I have decided that the coming week will see more … Continue reading Sunday Summary #8
Sunday Summary #7
Week of 25 September to 1 October 2022 Welcome to Sunday Summary, the meme in which I attempt to summarize the week that came before. I spent most of last week finishing out the first half of the school year up in Phang Nga, giving a whole lot of paper exams. While most of Thailand … Continue reading Sunday Summary #7
Postcrossing Topical Catalogue 2011-2022
Welcome to my updated catalogue of Postcrossing-themed stamps, issued between 2011 and the present 2022. This covers mainly those stamps officially released by postal administrations around the world. There are also a number of personalized stamps on this topic, some official but most privately created as well as a large variety of pictorial cancellations and … Continue reading Postcrossing Topical Catalogue 2011-2022
New Postcrossing Stamps 2022
Updated 7 September to include the Estonian Postcrossing stamp as announced on the Postcrossing Blog. Within the next month, Estonia, Luxembourg and Germany will each release single stamps marking the Postcrossing project, established in July 2005. I joined in late June 2006 and wrote a little about my early experience on my Postcards to Phuket … Continue reading New Postcrossing Stamps 2022
Mark Joseph Jochim 