ARMCHAIR TRAVEL VERSUS TOURISM

In this year of Covid, cultural trips to Paris, Vienna, Prague are no longer permitted. Sunshine in Corfu or the Algarve is not possible. Exotic tours to Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat are but a dream. Those journeys of discovery, awakening of the mind, days of wonder, they all entailed hardships of journeys, boredom of airport waiting lounges, upset tummies, unexpected expenses.
Philately offers the same pleasures of the mind at home. A well developed stamp collection can offer those journeys of adventure and offer the extra dimension of living history, all from home. Every day of the week if tempted. Or to dip a toe into the uncharted waters of the Danube (D.D.S.G. steamer stamps), the Nile (Egyptian Tobacco revenues), the Amazon (the private "free state" of Counani).....
On return from a touristic trip, you bring back some memories, some photos. A stamp collection is more tangible : growing albums that stay with you, always accessible, an investment.
Stamps are like a miniature and affordable TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space, as Dr Who fans will know). They are bigger on the inside than the outside, of course. A great vehicle to explore a wider world than the one we inhabit today.