Sealed with a stamp
Thailand Post celebrates Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's birthday and Asean at ThaiPex
Small in size but big in value, the postage stamp gets a makeover today at the “Thai Pex 2015” fair where it evolves into a high-tech product designed through a smartphone app;
Opening today at Thailand Post’s headquarters in Bang Rak, this year’s fair aims to educate visitors about the history and culture of Asean countries courtesy of an Asean stamp cafe and high-tech exhibitions.
Visitors are invited to sip coffee, tea and smoothies at Stamp Cafe while looking into history and admire rare stamp collections from Thailand’s neighbours at the Stamp Theatre, where videos present the interesting stories behind the miniature art.
To mark the 60th birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn this year, ThaiPex’s official stamps showcase the four traditional Thai instruments she plays: the zither, xylophone, treble fiddle and sor ou. The Princess’s colour – purple – is used in the printing.
Download the smartphone app Alive Stamp and scan the stamp to enjoy a two-minute video clip presenting the Princess’s history and her musical talent along with “Lao Damneon Sai”, a tune composed by National artist Sirichaichan Fakjamroon, the Princess’s music teacher.
“Princess Sirindhorn observed me while I was playing the Thai zither at an event in 1985. She then started studying traditional instruments. Every time she learns something new, she records the performance so that she can practise again. As a supporter of traditional Thai music, the Princess also donates instruments to needy students throughout the kingdom,” explains Sirichaichan.
The Princess will launch her stamp collection tomorrow marking the National Communication Day and 132nd anniversary of the Thailand Post.
To mark Asean Community Day on August 8, Thailand Post will launch the Asean Stamp and official postmark, which have been designed by Vietnam.
Two pigeons perching atop a colourful flower shaped from 10 Asean flags, which itself sits on folded hands in the middle of golden rice fields, will be seen on postcards and envelopes of all the member countries later this year.
The flower represents unity, the pigeons symbolise peace and the golden rice implies the prosperity of agriculture in the region. The official postmark shows the Asean logo surrounded by three curved lines signifying economics, politics and culture. The logo has the words “Asean Community” on the top and the issue date reads “First Day of Issue 8/08/2015”.
Both designs reflect the unity of the Asean Community according to the motto “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”.
“The Asean emblem on the postmark is circled by three lines standing for the strengthening of political stability, economic stability as well as social and cultural ties in the Asean community,” Nguyen Hoang Hoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Post, Ministry of Information and Communication, told The Nation earlier this year.
Augmented Reality technology will allow fair-goers with smart phone apps to play games, listen to music and watch videos presented by ThaiPex at the fair.
Visitors can also make their very own stamp at the “iStamp” booth by taking a portrait of themselves standing in front of Asean landmarks.
The fair runs through August 9 and is open daily from 10am to 8pm at the Post Office’s headquarters in Bang Rak.
For more information, call (02) 831 3508 and (02) 831 3598.
