Category: History

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Monday/ earthquake stamp from Japan 🇯🇵

I am expanding my collection of stamps from Japan, and have bought some older ones on Ebay recently.

I love the graphic design of this one.
Check out its interesting history in the caption below.

Japan, 1923 ‘Earthquake Stamps’
Issued Oct. 25, 1923
Imperforate | Offset lithography | Granite paper with colored fibers, parallel lines watermark | No gum
183 A51 4 sen Gray-green | Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms and dragonflies around the  Imperial Chrysanthemum Seal (the 16-petal flower at the top center)
Text on the stamp:
日本郵便  Nippon Yūbin (Japan Postal Service)
四錢  Yon Sen (or Shi Sen) 4 Sen, equal to 1/100th of a Yen
[Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 4A, Google AI]

Historical Background
These stamps were created following the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923, which devastated Tokyo and Yokohama. The disaster destroyed the government’s Printing Bureau, along with its stamp-making equipment and stored inventory. To maintain postal services during reconstruction, the government commissioned a private corporation to produce these emergency definitives.
Unlike standard stamps of the time, these were issued imperforate (no holes) and without gum (adhesive) on the back due to the emergency conditions. They were used until April 30, 1925, after the Printing Bureau was restored.

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Thursday/ the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz 🛑

Reporting by Josh Holder, Adina Renner and Blacki Migliozzi for the New York Times:

On Monday, the United States imposed its own naval blockade, intent on ending Iran’s dominance of the waterway and cutting off its oil income by blocking all traffic to and from its ports.

More than 12 American military vessels were stationed in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, beyond the strait, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.
And the military is likely monitoring the region from a distance, using radar, patrol aircraft and drones, said Jennifer Parker, a former naval officer now at the University of Western Australia’s Defense and Security Institute.

Since the U.S. blockade took effect, no ships linked to Iran have been spotted leaving the region, according to the vessel‑tracking company Kpler.

Headlines, images and captions below are from the New York Times:

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Saturday/ no deal 😵

U.S. And Iran Fail to Agree on Peace Deal After 21 Hours of Talks, Vance Says

Vice President JD Vance said the Iranian delegation had not accepted American terms for ending the war after a marathon, face-to-face session in Pakistan.

    – Headline and reporting from the New York Times
A report from Farnaz Fassihi on the New York Times live blog.
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On Easter Sunday

I was very relieved late last night, to learn that the US airman whose fighter jet had been shot down* had been rescued out of Iran.
*We subsequently learned he is an Air Force colonel, actually.

But then Sunday morning came, and here is what Greg Jaffe, Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes reports for the New York Times:

The moment of celebration seemed to pass quickly for Mr. Trump, who on Easter Sunday morning returned to the reality of an unpopular war for which he seemed to have no clear exit strategy. The airman was safe, but the Strait of Hormuz was still in Iranian control, imperiling as much as 20 percent of the world’s oil supply and the global economy.

Mr. Trump had tried bullying America’s allies in Europe and Asia to come to his aid, but his entreaties were ignored.

So he threatened Iran’s leaders in an angry and profane social media message.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.

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Monday/ a month at war 💣

The four weeks of war with Iran have now turned into a month.
So now we have started to count the war time with Iran in months.

Catastrophic miscalculation when it comes to Iran goes back all the way to the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution*, argues Scott Anderson in his book published a few months ago.

*The 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution was a populist uprising that toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s absolute monarchy, ending 2,500 years of imperial rule and establishing an Islamic Republic.

This book by veteran war journalist Scott Anderson came out in August 2025 (so after the June 2025 bombing by the U.S. of Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan).

Scott Anderson’s take of the current situation, during an interview with him on CNN today, were more or less as follows:
“(Members of) The Revolutionary Guard are not going to negotiate.
They have nowhere to go.
They are hated by the people.
Their backs are to the wall.
I feel there is a huge element of wishful thinking in this (by the Trump Administration):
‘Maybe if we talk to moderate people, maybe that empowers them somehow.’
I am not even convinced that they’re taking to many people at all.
Five days ago Trump was saying we’re very close to a deal, and then the Iranian foreign minister said ‘We’re not talking to the Americans at all.’
Time is on the Iranians’ side.
Who has to cut a deal here quickly?
I think it’s Trump.
He’s seeing his favorability ratings go down by the day.
That’s going to increase, the longer the oil crunch happens, and as inflation spreads through the whole economy. They can wait this out.
Trump is the guy who needs a settlement soon.”

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Saturday/ another protest 🪧

It was time for another ‘No Kings’ protest today.

Here in Seattle, we gathered at Cal Anderson Park at noon.
There were a few speeches, and then the crowd made its way along Pine Street,  past the Seattle Convention Center and on to Seattle Center.

My two amigos and I made it to the Convention Center, from where we surveyed the long parade of protesters and their signs that kept on coming.

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Thursday/ Day 20 💥

From the New York Times, with reporting by Tony Romm, Isabel Kershner, David E. Sanger, Javier C. Hernández and Johnatan Reiss:

Oil prices surged to $119 a barrel on Thursday, an increase of nearly 10 percent, before settling at $108.65.
Ground troops: During a meeting with the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in the Oval Office on Thursday, Mr. Trump was asked about using ground troops in Iran. He said: “I’m not putting troops anywhere. If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Missile attacks: Strikes on Wednesday and Thursday hit the Ras Laffan energy hub in Qatar, reducing the country’s natural gas export capacity by 17 percent and causing an estimated loss of $20 billion in annual revenue, according to Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, the country’s energy minister and head of QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company. He said damage from missiles would take three to five years to repair and would affect supply to markets in Europe and Asia.
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said that the country reserved the right “to take military actions if deemed necessary” to protect itself from Iranian attacks.
Death tolls: Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said last week that at least 1,348 civilians had been killed since the start of the war. On Wednesday, a Washington-based human rights group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported that at least 1,369 civilians had been killed. The number of Lebanese killed rose to more than 1,000, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Thursday. At least 14 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials have said. The American death toll stood at 13.

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Wednesday/ a postcard from Palestine 🌴

I spend a lot of time scrolling through the listings of stamps and postcards online.
Here is a postcard with a photo from Tel Aviv, Israel (circa 1942) that I find very interesting.

King George Street (named after King George V) is an iconic road in central Tel Aviv.
In 1942, Tel Aviv was part of Mandatory Palestine, a territory administered by the British under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1948. During this period, Tel Aviv was a rapidly growing Jewish city adjacent to Jaffa. The entire region was known as Palestine, not as the state of Israel, until 1948.
King George Steet—a July 2022 image from Google Streetview.
There are still Palestinians living in Tel Aviv, specifically in the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, with most residing in Jaffa (Yaffo). Palestinians make up 4 to 5% of the city’s population. These are largely Palestinian citizens of Israel (or Arab-Israelis) who remained after 1948, rather than residents from the occupied West Bank or Gaza.
Palestinian citizens of Israel possess legal rights such as voting and holding office, but do not have the same, equal rights as Jewish citizens in practice or law. While holding citizenship, they face systemic inequalities, discrimination in housing, land access, and education, and are governed by laws privileging Jewish citizens, such as the controversial 2018 Nation-State Law. Palestinian citizens of Israel (Arab citizens of Israel) hold Israeli passports, which allow them to travel internationally and access the same rights as other Israeli citizens. Their rights are distinct from Palestinians in East Jerusalem, who are generally permanent residents without Israeli citizenship or passports.
The stamp on the postcard was first issued in 1927, and still in use in 1942. It depicts Rachel’s Tomb— a site revered as the burial place of the Biblical matriarch Rachel. The site is also referred to as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque. The tomb is held in esteem by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It is located at the northern entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, next to the Rachel’s Tomb checkpoint.
This stamp’s denomination is 10 mil, 10/1000ths of a Palestine pound (£P) which was pegged 1:1 to the British pound at the time. So one penny’s worth of postage was good for sending the postcard down to South Africa.
The number 39 is a unique identifier for the individual censor from the Royal Air Force or the specific censorship unit that examined and approved the message.

The sender was a Harold McMaster, on active duty in the British Army.
(The British Army controlled Palestine in 1942 as part of the British Mandate, which lasted from 1920 to 1948.)
It certainly seems that Mrs. McMaster that resided in Vereeniging, South Africa, was his mom, or at least a close family member.
At the time there were lots of South Africans of British descent, and of Jewish descent, residing in South Africa (and there still are, to this day).

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Tuesday/ a joint issue of stamps 📮

I bought this set of stamps in Singapore.
It is a 2024 joint issue of stamps from ten ASEAN* countries. (Different stamps for each country but issued on the same day).

*Not, not Asian— ASEAN: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
It is a regional intergovernmental organization established on August 8, 1967, to promote economic growth, social progress, cultural development, and regional peace. It comprises 11 member countries—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.

The theme for the joint issue is not super-exciting: general post office buildings.
Some of the stamps have cool security features, though.
And I was reminded where in the world the Brunei is.

Here’s tiny Brunei (pop. 462,000), on the island of Borneo. It is a fabulously rich country,  wealthy from oil and gas.
From Google: Brunei is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. It’s known for its beaches and biodiverse rainforest, much of it protected within reserves. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is home to the opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital’s massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan.
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Shining a UV light on the stamp from Brunei reveals the logo from Brunei Postal Services on the stamp.
The paper used for the stamp from Indonesia has fibers in that lights up under UV light.
The image of the Grand Postal Building in Bangkok is embossed on the stamp ..
.. and the paper also has fibers in that lights up under UV light.
The stamp from Malaysia has a watermark that shows up only under UV light.
The SPM lettering is an abbreviation for Security Printer of Malaysia. The SPM watermark has been applied a long time on stamps from Malaysia, and is found on stamps as early as 1986.
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Tuesday/ added a page 📄

German stamp album publisher Leuchtturm generally did a great job with their preprinted stamp album for South Africa.
They followed a minimalist, clean layout without the year of issue only, and no descriptions for what the stamps commemorate.

On some pages like the first two below, for example, several versions of the same stamp exist, but there is place for only one. (The stamps were issued on on different types of paper, or with different watermarks, for example.) 

So I added a page into my album with the sets that had stamps with multiple versions. 

P.S. That monument on the green 4c stamp is in my hometown of Vereeniging. Its inscription says ‘Wounded but invincible’. Sculptor Coert Steynberg is shown working on it (it was unveiled in 1961). 

The monument commemorates the Treaty of Vereeniging, a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. 

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If one looks closely at the stamps with the mail coach, or the transmission tower, or the green ones with the monument, one can see that the colors are different. That is because the stamps were printed on different types of paper.
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Tuesday/ National Flag Day 🇲🇽

It just happened to be Día de la Bandera— National Flag Day— today here in Mexico.

While catching the sunset at the Olas Altas beach by Centro de Mazatlán, we spotted the giant Mexican flag on the flagpole way down along the promenade (the far left in the second picture)—a rare treat since it’s only up a few days each year.

We reached it in the nick of time, just as the flag was being lowered and taken away.

P.S. Built in the early 1920s (often cited as 1919–1920) by Californian Louis Bradbury, Hotel Belmar is Mazatlán’s original oceanfront hotel, representing the city’s golden age. Located on the Olas Altas boardwalk, it was a 1940s/50s hot spot for Hollywood stars like John Wayne and Lucille Ball, known for its elegant, historic, and slightly bohemian atmosphere.

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Friday/ the Trump tariffs are unconstitutional 🤑

Happy Friday.

Breaking News: The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled today in a 6-3 decision that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from nearly every U.S. trading partner are unconstitutional.

Last April, in 2025, Trump had claimed that a 1970s emergency statute* (which does not mention the word “tariffs”) allowed him to unilaterally impose the duties without congressional approval.

*The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.
It authorizes the President to regulate international commerce, including limiting or taxing imports, upon declaring a national emergency in response to an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad.

The SCOTUS justices for the majority noted that no other US president had invoked the statute to impose any tariffs — let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope. Tariffs are a tax and the President of the United States must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.

The U.S. Treasury has collected about $240 billion in tariff revenue since April 2, 2025. Consumers paid about 90% of that.

Trump is, um— shall we just say, mightily upset—  over this ruling, and immediately ordered a new 10 percent tax on all imports to the USA.
For justification, he is using the 1974 Trade Act and a provision called Section 122.
(No president before him had invoked that provision, either.)
Section 122 was designed to address short-term emergencies, not long-term trade policies. 
It can only be put in place for 150 days.

In 2025, Trade Deficit in Goods Reached Record High
Data released Thursday by the Census Bureau showed the overall US trade deficit with the world narrowed, the result of an expanding trade surplus in services. The trade deficit in goods was the highest on record.

Ben Casselman and Ana Swanson write for the NY Times:
The total trade deficit, including trade in both goods and services, shrank slightly last year, as growth in exports narrowly outpaced growth in imports. But that was entirely the result of an expanding trade surplus in services. The trade deficit in physical goods, which has been Mr. Trump’s focus as he has sought to use tariffs to restore the U.S. manufacturing sector, actually grew in 2025.
The trade deficit grew sharply at the end of the year, rising 32.6 percent in December as imports rose and exports fell.
[Graphic by Keith Collins]

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Tuesday/ Lunar New Year 🐎

Happy Lunar New Year— the Year of the Horse.
I bought this coin recently while I was in Singapore from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), as a souvenir.
It is not silver, but a nickel-plated proof-like zinc coin.

Majulah Singapura (on the back of the coin) is a Malay phrase meaning ‘Onward Singapore’ or ‘Forward Singapore’.

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Monday/ Presidents’ Day 🪙

Happy Presidents’ Day.

This ensemble of US presidents on postage stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service is from my modest collection of US stamps.

President George Washington appeared on one of the very first U.S. postage stamps issued in 1847 (a 10-cent stamp). He subsequently appeared on over 300 different U.S. postage stamps— more than any other individual in U.S. postal history, and more often than all other U.S. presidents combined.

U.S. presidents on stamps.
(The U.S. Postal Service has not issued a stamp yet of President Obama— nor of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. A key USPS policy rule is that a person must be deceased before their likeness can appear on a stamp, similar to the rule that is in place for coins and banknotes at the US Mint.)
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Friday/ stamps, mailed from India 🇮🇳

Happy Friday The Thirteenth.
The postage stamps I had bought from an Ebay seller in Mumbai, India, made it into the mailbox on my porch this morning.

Here are some of my favorite ones.

Sixth series of South African Railway parcel stamps
Issued 1929 | Perf. 14 | Size 18×22½ mm | Afrikaans or English inscriptions | Background 14 vertically aligned rows of text | No watermark
PS 6.2 | 2d Pale mauve | Afrikaans text
Overprinted PMB (code for Pietermaritzburg, Natal railway station)
Postmarked Sept. 6, 1932
[Source: Railway Stamps of South Africa, 1985, by H.S. Hagen and S.P.Naylor]
German inflation stamps from circa 1923, primarily from the Weimar Republic era.
These represent a period of hyperinflation where postage costs skyrocketed from 20 marks to 50 billion marks in less than a year.
(Confession: I don’t have a collection of stamps from Germany, but I love the elaborate numeral designs on these, and added them into my purchase).

Brittania, QE II
Issued by Royal Mail, Great Britain, Mar. 2, 1993 | Perf. 14 | Design B. Craddock | Lithography | Printer: House of Questa | Silver die-stamped w. Braille symbol for “10” embossed | Paper contains fluorescent colored fibers which, together with the ink on the shield, react under ultraviolet light
1658 1088| £10 Greenish grey, rosine, yellow, new blue, reddish violet, vermilion, violet, bright green and silver
[Source: Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue Part 1, British Commonwealth 1997, Vol.1]

Britannia is the ancient Roman name for Great Britain and the national personification of the United Kingdom, often depicted as a helmeted woman with a trident and shield. Originating from the 1st century BC, it became a enduring symbol of British strength, power, and identity. It frequently appears on coins, on stamps and on artwork.
– Google AI

Royal Mail Postage Labels, issued 1984-85
These imperforate labels, printed in red on phosphorized paper with grey-green background design, were first issued on 1 May 1984 as an experiment by the Post Office. Special microprocessor controlled machines were installed at post offices in Cambridge, London, Shirley, (Southampton) and Windsor to provide an after-hours sales service to the public.
The machines printed and dispensed the labels according to the coins inserted and the buttons operated by the customer.
Values were initially available in ½p steps to 16p.
In addition, the labels were sold at philatelic counters in two packs containing either 3 values (3½, 12½ or 16р) or 32 values (½p to 16p).
From 28 Aug. 1984 the machines were adjusted to provide values up to 17p.
After 31 Dec. 1984 labels ending in ½p values were withdrawn.
On 30 Apr. 1985, the machines were withdrawn from service.
P.S. I asked Google AI why these stamp labels were discontinued. The answer: Automated stamp label machines generally failed to achieve widespread success due to high operational costs, inconsistent print quality, and frequent technical failures.
[Source: Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue Part 1, British Commonwealth 1997, Vol.1]

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Saturday/ stamps for the Olympics 🎿

It is a time-honored tradition for countries and postal agencies over the world to issue postage stamps to commemorate the Olympic Games.

The Unites States Postal Service has not issued stamps for the 2026 Games, though.
Here is host country Italy’s stamps.
Very abstract— compared to say, the issue from Japan for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

From olympics.com:
Sapporo 1972 was significant for both Japanese and Asian winter sport.
As the first Winter Games held in Asia, they inspired people across the continent to watch, and take up, snow and ice disciplines.
The success of the Japanese ski jumpers– known as the Hinomaru Squadron– created national heroes and showed that Asian winter sports athletes could compete with the best from Europe and North America.

The 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games XXV, Milano Cortina, Italy
Issued by Poste Italiane, Jan. 21, 2026
Miniature sheet of 2 stamps | Perf. 11 Die Cut | Engraving by I.P.Z.S. S.p.A. – Roma | Self-adhesive | No watermark
4877 FLV | €3.35 Multi-colored shades of green, yellow-green | Milano Cortina 2026 “Futura” emblem
4878 FLW | €3.35 Multi-colored shades of dark blue, purple, violet | Milano Cortina 2026 “Futura” emblem
[Sources: stampworld.com, Google AI Overview]
The 1972 Winter Olympic Games XI, Sapporo, Japan
Issued by Japan Post, Feb. 3, 1972
Miniature sheet of 3 stamps | Perf. 13¼ | Photolithography | No watermark
1103 A730 | 20 yen Ultramarine & multi-colored |Downhill Skiing
1104 A730 | 20 yen Ultramarine & multi-colored |Bobsledding
1105 A730 | 50 yen Ultramarine & multi-colored |Figure skating, pairs and Makomanai Indoor Skating Rink (now known as the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena)
[Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A, stampworld.com]

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Monday/ all that we have lost

“There is such a sadness for all we have lost, the rage and disgust that propels us forward, unimaginable before, held together by our trust in our democracy, now shattered by video proof, we do live in a police state. Maybe not in your neighborhood, yet, but history teaches that they will arrive.

It was the cameras in Viet Nam that relentlessly showed Americans what was being perpetrated in their name, that turned sentiment against the war. It was the videos in the murder of George Floyd that amassed protest against racism. And it is the videos of Gestapo tactics, used indiscriminately against all of us, exposing villainous lies, that will be that pivot point to what we knew was coming.

We the people do not consent.”

– NY Times reader DL, commenting on a report called ‘Watching America Unravel in Minneapolis’ by Charles Homans.
Homans is from Minnesota, and a political correspondent for The Times. He spent 10 days in and around Minneapolis observing clashes between federal agents and city residents and interviewing immigrants, activists and the mayor.

Charles Homens starts with this summary in his report for the New York Times:
‘Donald Trump’s most profound break with American democracy, evident in his words and actions alike, is his view that the state’s relationship with its citizens is defined not by ideals or rules but rather by expressions of power, at the personal direction of the president. That has been clear enough for years, but I had not truly seen what it looked like in person until I arrived in Minneapolis, my hometown, to witness what Trump’s Department of Homeland Security called Operation Metro Surge.’
[Photo by Philip Montgomery for NYT]
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Saturday/ Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳

The Diamond Princess arrived at the deep-water port of Phú Mỹ at 8 am on Saturday morning.

It’s almost a 2-hour drive from Phú Mỹ to the sprawling city of Ho Chi Minh.  Our tour bus ran alongside and across the rivers of the Mekong Delta*, and the route included a segment of National Route 1 with toll plazas. It is the beginning of the rice planting season. Rice is a staple food in Viet Nam.

*Home to the endangered Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas), known for reaching nearly 10 feet and over 600 pounds.

As we approached the city, we saw tall apartment buildings (what we would call condominiums in the States). These go for a fortune in Vietnamese Dong— 5 billion, about US$200,000— and are strictly for rich people. The supertall skyscraper in the pictures is that of the 81-story Landmark 81 tower (completed 2018).

Our first stop in Saigon* was at an art studio and gallery with Vietnamese lacquer art, or Sơn Mài.  *The central part of Ho Chi Minh City still goes by the name of Saigon.

The next stop was at Ho Chi Minh City History Museum with its lovely water lily pond and displays of the forces that occupied the territory of what is known as Viet Nam today.

I asked Google AI Overview for a summary:
Vietnam’s history is marked by occupation and resistance, starting with over a millennium of Chinese rule (c. 111 BCE–938 CE), followed by internal dynasties and expansion south. French colonization from the 1880s led to French Indochina, briefly interrupted by Japanese occupation during WWII, sparking the Viet Minh independence movement. After WWII, France tried to reclaim control, leading to the First Indochina War (1946-1954), ending with French defeat and Vietnam’s division, ultimately leading to the Vietnam War (US involvement) and communist unification in 1975.

Next was the Saigon Central Post Office with a portrait of Ho Chi Minh inside. (Ho Chi Minh was the man that led a long and ultimately successful campaign to make Vietnam independent. He was president of North Vietnam from 1945 to 1969.)

Look for my picture of the Pittman Apartments building from which people were airlifted from during the Fall of Saigon in April 1975 (famously captured in Hubert van Es’s iconic photo). It’s painted yellow and light brown and has several antennas attached to it.

We made a quick stop at a Buddhist Temple, and then went to the swank Windsor Plaza Hotel for lunch. I loved the dragon on my little can of Bia Saigon Special beer.

The next stop was at the Independence Palace (also called Reunification Palace) , a building that played a central role in the Viet Nam war. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ. Construction started in 1962 and it was completed by 1966.  It was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

The final stop for the day was at Ben Thanh market.
It has some 1,500 booths inside and it was crowded, so I went outside and took a few pictures instead.

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Friday/ Nha Trang, Viet Nam 🇻🇳

The Diamond Princess arrived at the pier in Cam Ranh at 7 am this morning.

My coach bus excursion to Nha Trang was a whirlwind tour consisting of a visit to Po Nagar Temple, a short cruise on Cai River, and visits to an ancient house built from ebony wood, a mat weaving shop and an arts & crafts market.