Picture Galleries of Antarctica and Some Distant Countries

PICTURE GALLERIES OF ANTARCTICA AND SOME DISTANT COUNTRIES

plus QSL CARDS OF THE WORLD

SINCE 20 Dec. 2001

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PREFACE

I created this web site in order to show some of my traveling experiences by way of photographs and traveling tales. So far I have traveled more than eighty countries in the world. Most journeys were made in the first half of the 1990’s, and some trips lasted for several years. During these trips I took thousands of photographs. It is nearly impossible to show all these photographs on this site, but I intend to show some highlights of my travels. It is a daunting task to scan hundreds of printed photos, downsize them and put them on web pages, so please give me plenty of time! I also include some exotic banknotes collected during my travels, and QSL cards of radio stations worldwide collected in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Please note that many of my traveling tales are written in Japanese, my native language. So this web site in English contains mostly photographs.

The Photo of the Month

This is our gorgeous cruise ship, "Pomaire". Well, in fact, she is just an ordinary cargo ship from Valparaiso, Chile. I made a two-week voyage to Antarctica on her for only 440 dollars in 1991. In this photo, she's now unloading aviation fuel for climbing expedition teams on the coast of Antarctic Peninsula, deep inside Antarctic Circle at roughly 69 degrees south. Other photos of this voyage can be found in the photo gallery.

The Banknote of the Month　

<Fifty Pounds of Lebanon>

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Lebanon is one of my most favourite countries. It is a country full of natural beauty and cultural heritage. After the years of civil war, the country is now under rapid process of reconstruction. I sincerely hope that the people of Lebanon will restore peaceful and prosperous multi-racial, multi-religious society. The front side of this 50 pounds note depicts the famous Roman ruin of Baalbeck.

The QSL card of the Month

VOICE OF IRAN

I got this QSL card just months before the Islamic Revolution in January 1979. Before the revolution, the country was in rapid process of Westernization under the oppressive Shah regime. The Voice of Iran, the overseas broadcasting division of Iranian Radio & TV, had extensive international broadcasting services. The revolution reversed all this, and most of international services were abolished.

I visited Iran in 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war. The people were very friendly, and I liked the country very much. I sincerely hope that the country will continue its democratization under the president Hatami, and restore its traditional pride and prosperity.

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