Flag Collecting
 

Just out of curiosity, does anybody else collect flags from countries they've visted? I got the idea many years ago from a college professor I met once on a trip in Europe. Since then I've collected the following flags:

1) Japan (of course!!)
2) Taiwan (Just bought this flag last weeknd!)
3) China
4) Hong Kong (pre-1997)
5) Macau (pre-1999)
6) Vietnam
7) Singapore
8) South Korea
9) France

I'm fairly certain I bought a Thai flag once while visiting a friend and to welcome in the new millennium, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

From family I've received the following flags:

1) Russia (pe-Russian Federation)
2) Cuba
3) Australia
4) Indonesia

I was quite into flags in my college days.... and then in 1989 I made a trip to Czechoslovakia where I visited a shop that sold all kinds of flags - especially socialist countries. So I loaded up on mini-flags for all the Eastern block countries and half of Africa... and I also picked up one absolute monster Czech flag (perhaps 2.5 meters long) with which I decorated my room for the next couple of years. It was ideal for covering up the damage left by previous tenants and it did wonders for damping the "echo" effect in the room.
I think my father tried to fly that flag from a sailboard mast on the garage roof when our Czech friends visited us several years later. But it needed a much, much bigger mast. :D

I bought a Candian flag once in Canada when I was a kid... does that count???

What's the pre 1999 Macau flag look like?

As a kid, I believe I had about fifty-sixty flags of countries. I guess they're still at my parents residence...

I did think about collecting flags from each country that I visited. However, as I do not generally spend too much time in each country, I thought that the time spend there would be best used enjoying it, its people and sights. So my collection looks likely to remain England, Australia and Vietnam for quite some time :(

My parents spend their weekends by the coast (sailing when possible) and have a pretty large collection of flags (which covers most of their usual visitors).

Their plot includes a ship's mast and they fly the flag of anyone they're expecting to stay with them.

They generally fly the Union Jack and the Spanish flag (although they have Scottish & Welsh flags when needed). Like jib71, they found somewhere that was selling loads of different kinds - in a clearance sale after a soccer world cup tournament - and bought the whole set. It means they have the flag of every team that qualified in whichever year it was.

We got them to represent us with pink and blue carp instead of country flags and brought them back from Japan specially.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Oldmacauflag.PNG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Macau

When buying your flag check to see if the flag was actually manufactured in your that country.