Maori Doll

New Zealand Maori Doll Magnet.

Sweet little Maori Dolls are popular items of Kiwiana and make wonderful New Zealand souvenirs. This little girl wears a hei tiki, a cloak and a headband with Maori designs. The hei-tiki worn around the neck is made of greenstone which is considered a treasure.

Magnet collectible bought by my younger daughter on her flight to New Zealand.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas promotes itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World. It is famous for the number of casino resorts and associated entertainment. Gamblings and entertainment are not the only tourist attractions, one can also see New York, Paris, Venice and Egypt on the same day. There are replicas of the Statue of Liberty, The Eifel Tower, The Great Sphinx of Vegas, The Eifel Tower, etc. A magnet collectible bought on my visit to Vegas in May 2009. I spent less than US$50.- in the casinos.

The London Eye

The London Eye, originally called The Millennium Wheel, was created to celebrate the dawn of the year 2000. Why a Ferris wheel? The turning of the wheel was meant to represent the turning of the century.

The London Eye is a giant 135-metre (443 ft) tall Ferris wheel located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth in England, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kindom. It has 32 capsules and carries around 10,000 visitors every day. Each rotation takes about 30 minutes and you can see up to 40 kilometers away in all directions from each capsule.

Since 1 January 2005, the Eye has been the focal point of London's New Year celebrations.

Aboriginal man with a Didgeridoo

Australian Aborigines are those people regarded as indigenous to the Australian continent and they have been specifically identified as a group of people who share, in common, biological ancestry back to the original occupants of Australia.

This Aborinal man is holding a didgeridoo in his left hand. The didgeridoo, known as Yidaki or thambaljig in aborignal languages, is a musical instrument that comes from the North Eastern parts of Australia. It is oftenly made from a hollow eucalyptus log, with no side holes. It is believed that every yidaki has a spirit inside. A spirit will wake up when someone rightly breathes into the dij.

Yidakis have been played by Aboriginal men for at least 2000 years and have been part of social and ritual gatherings in aboriginal society for hundreds of years. Didgeridoos are ‘men’s business’ and so have not been traditionally played by women. However, some aboriginal societies are no longer so strict about this now.


A magnet bought by my younger daughter.

The Saviour's (Spasskaya) Tower

The Gothic-spired Spasskaya (Savior's) Tower is considered the most beautiful tower of the Kremlin. It was built in 1491 under the supervision of the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solario. The Tower stands on the north-eastern side of the citadel, bordering Red Square.

The gate of the Spasskaya Tower has been the official entrance to the Kremlin for centuries. Until the 17th century the tower was known as the Frolovskaya, due to its location not far from the St. Frol church and monastery. In 1658 an Icon of the Saviour was mounted above the gate facing Red Square, and the tower's name was changed to Spasskaya by decree of the Tsar.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the Spasskaya Tower was used for ceremonial processions made by the Tsar and the Patriarch and for greeting important Moscow foreign visitors.

The tower is crowned by an illuminated ruby-red star, which replaced the double-headed Russian eagle in 1937, raising the tower's height to 71 metres.
One of the collectibles from Moscow bought by my eldest daughter.

London Symbols

Here's another magnet from my colleague, Duangrat.

All three symbols of London, England in one magnet:-
The Big Ben; Red Double Decker Bus; Black Cab.

Anyone, anywhere in the world, will immediately think of London if they see an image of any of these iconic symbols.

Akha

Following my post on Karen, this magnet represents The Akha who also known to the Thai as the Gaw or the E-gaw (names that the Akha do not like). They are located primarily with Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces. The Akha are closely related with the Hani of Yunnan province, China.

The Akha speak a language in the Lolo/Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman language group. They have no traditional written language.

Kangaroos

Like Platypus, Kangaroos are endemic to Australia. The kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia. Its emblem is used on the Australian coat of arms, on some of its currency as well as by some of Australia's best known organisations, including Qantas.

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr (an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland) phrase for "I don't understand you."

There's a legend that when exploring the area, Lieutenant Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks found the animals. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature.

This magnet collectible from my daughter's flight to Australia always reminds me of my 3 daughters and myself.

Karen

Northern Thailand is home to interesting and colourful minority groups called hill tribes.

Most of the hill tribes have moved into the region during the past 100 years and have largely preserved their traditional ways, making them a fascinating cultural study.

There are seven broad hill tribe groupings: Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha and Mien. Each has its own customs, language, dress and spiritual beliefs

Karen is the largest of the minority groups. There are three main sub-groups within the Karen, White Karen or Sgaw, Black Karen or Pgo and Red Karen or Kayah.

The Karen wear woven v-neck tunics of various natural colours and turbans. Unmarried women wear distinctive long white v-neck tunics.

This is one of the four Northern Thailand Hill Tribes magnet collectibles bought during my visit to Chiengmai in 2009.

Alcatraz Island Prison

On 22 May 2010, I posted about a cable car in San Francisco. This is another magnet collectibles I also bought from the same souvenir shop at Pier 39 San Francisco during my 7 days trip to LA-Las Vegus-San Francisco in May 2009.

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California. Often referred to as The Rock. Alcatraz was used as a federal maximum-security prison from 1934 until 1963, when it was closed due to high costs and security issues. Over the years it was home to Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelley, and Robert "The Birdman" Stroud.

Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.

This magnet represents a prisoner trying to escape 'The Rock" which during its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners had ever successfully escaped.

Buckingham Palace

The Buckingham House was a large townhouse built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It was subsequently acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte. The House was known as “The Queen’s House”. During the 19th century it was enlarged, forming three wings around a central courtyard.

Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality.

My daughter, Foil got it from her trip to visit her friend in England. The Magnet shows the principal façade, the East Front; originally constructed by Edward Blore and completed in 1850, it was redesigned in 1913 by Sir Aston Webb.

Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_palace

The Big Apple

Why do they call New York City the "Big Apple"?


In early 1920s, a reporter named his racing column "Around The Big Apple" after the term used by New Orleans stableman to refer to New York City's racetracks. And then, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, New York City's Jazz musicians began to refer New York City as the "Big Apple." In 1971, to increase tourism, the Big Apple has been adopted an official recognised reference to New York City with the hope that the red apples would serve as a bright and cheery image of New York City. Since then, New York City has officially been The Big Apple.

This is one of my magnet collectibles. The red big apple embraces the city of New York. Even though there's no longer the original WTC in New York, this magnet still shows how once the Twin Towers became seen as a New York icon, in the same league as the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and the Statue of Liberty.

Got it from my eldest daughter on her flight to New York in 2004-2005.

Cable Car - the Icon of San Francisco City

The Inventor of the cable car, Andrew Hallidie, a Scot mining engineer moved to U.S. in 1852. His father filed the first patent in Great Britain for the manufacture of wire- rope. As an engineer, he found use of this technology in California’s Gold Country, in designing and building a suspension bridge across Sacramento’ American River and to pull heavy ore cars out of the underground mines on tracks.

After witnessing a horrible accident on a typically damp summer day in 1869, he got an idea to use the technology to become full blown-cable car railway system to deal with San Francisco’s fearsome hills.

On August 2, 1873 Andrew Hallidie tested the first cable car system near the top of Nob Hill at Clay and Jones Streets. Cable cars remained the primary mode of transportation until April 18, 1906 earthquake, when most of system was damanged. A municipal railway replaced most lines afterward. Today, they're the only vehicles of their kind still in operation and they are designated National Landmarks.

San Francisco was the first city to have cable cars.
I got this magnet from Souvenir Shop at Pier 39 San Francisco during my 7 days trip to LA-Las Vegus-San Francisco in May 2009. It was a fun and tired trip. I enjoyed San Francisco Scenary, the cable car, Lombard Street and the Golden Gate. Such a memorable trip.

Learn More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_cable_car_system