San Ku is a rather secretive and somehow mysterious archaeological site on the peak of Doi Suthep mountain. Excavations indicate that it is dating from 700 years ago.
The inscription on the sign at the place reads:"Before restoration, San Ku was an ancient earth mound densely covered by trees. When earth and soil were removed, remains of chedi and wihan bases appeared. Exploration of the pit in the middle of the chedi base revealed many important historical artifacts. It was estimated that San Ku dates from 13th century A.D."
For the European visitor San Ku may bear a slight resemblance to a Celtic hill cemetery.

To get to San Ku follow the road up Doi Suthep mountain, pass Wat Doi Suthep, pass the Bhubing Royal Palace and follow the road for about another 3km up to the mountain peak. The site is about 70 m away from the road in the forest.

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Benjakitty Park is a small, but very nicely designed park adjoining an artificial lake, Lake Rajada.

It is located right in the center of Bangkok at the north boundary of Klong Toey district and only a few minutes away from the well known tourist area of Sukhumvit Rd.

Benjakitty Park can be conveniently reached by taking the Subway to Sukhumvit Station or Queen Sirikit Convention Center Station or by taking the skytrain to Asoke Station.

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Lad Koh Viewpoint, also known as “Zenith viewpoint” is located right at the Koh Samui ring road leaving Chaweng southbound in the direction of Lamai.

Nicely rebuilt 2 years ago and very conveniently located, this place offers a splendid view over the whole Chaweng bay area.

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Lad Koh Viewpoint

Hilltop viewpoint nearby Thong Thakhian beach

Thong Thakhian beach is at the small peninsula located between Chaweng and Lamai. If you dare to go for a more advanced Samui experience, go or drive your vehicle up the hills that are towering over the ring road. You might find a viewpoint offering a breathtaking 270 degree panoramic view!

What to see:

• in South West direction: Lamai and farther away, the main land


• in South East direction: Cape Thong Lak


• in East direction: plain ocean front


• in North East direction: the far end of Chaweng bay


• in North direction: Bophut and Koh Phangan

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There are both grey as well as pink dolphins frequently to be seen along the shoreline of Khanom district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province. April to October is a good time for dolphin watching.

They are though not easily to be spotted or photographed. Also their regular appearance is rather settled than spectacular. The famous “somersault flip” is more likely an exceptional pattern of motion than a regular one.
What you usually see is the dolphins dorsal fins as well as some playful rolling motions in the water.

Good spots for dolphin watching in Khanom district are:

• Khanom bay area – east coast.
  Once you have spotted a school of dolphins passing by at a particular time of the day it’s a safe bet that they may return the next day at the very same time again;


• Laem Prathap up to Don Sak Pier – north coast.
  You may hire a longtail boat at Laem Prathap to go dolphin watching.

• they have hair (though you might have a hard time finding it);


• they bear live young and suckle them;


• they are warm-blooded and


• they breathe air with lungs.

• “Estimating population size and distribution of
  Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins at Khanom” (download pdf document, 76 KB) as part of the
• “Khanom Marine Biodiversity Project”.

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I met Mr. Tony Prochazka of Olbersdorf, Germany, for the first time in July 2008. His minibus mobile home, bearing a German license plate, had been parking for several days at Korkhao Beach, Khanom, South Thailand.
Local people were worried that the elderly gentleman might have lost his way, a worry to be disproved quickly.

Tony has been travelling around the planet with his vehicle about 7 years now. A tiny fraction of his itinary that he explained to me included Europe, USA, the Middle East, Russia, Tibet, China, Thailand.

After some days Tony went off heading south for Malaysia.


While walking along the beach of Khanom in May this year I spotted his car again, parking close to the waterfront.
Tony had just returned from the Malaysian Peninsula, visiting Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. He intended a few days of stopover in Khanom again before heading for Phuket.

The last time we met the mileage of Tony’s 22 year old Mercedes campervan -which is in fine condition- was 447.899 km. He told me though, that some time back the car’s odometer had been dysfunctional and not counting up for 6 months [...].


Last month, in May, Mr. Tony Prochazka celebrated his 85th birthday.

Have a good journey, Tony.

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Using a Jetski in Khanom bay area is a niche activity since the Jetski vehicles are considered to frighten off and drive away the famous pink (and grey) dolphins.

Nevertheless there are a few Jetskis availabe, e.g. at Korkhao beach or at Alongkot resort.
The hirer is encouraged to stay close to the shore in order to stay away from the dolphin migration paths.

Be aware that contemporary jetskis may have abundant engine and propulsion power and can be VERY fast.

Photography note:
these pictures illustrate the image quality that can be achieved with a budget, non-adjustable instant camera selling together with a simple waterproof casing as a bundle. These camera’s are usually available at Thailands’s major tourist locations.

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Mercury ดาวพุธ, the planet closest to the sun, is a planet difficult to spot because

• it is small in size
• it is visible only slightly above horizon level
• it is visible only for a short period of time in the early morning or early evening hours as its greatest angular separation from the Sun is only 28.3°.

Today, Saturday 13th of June 2009 (2552 B.E.), viewed from South Thailand there was a good visibility of Mercury between 4.55 a.m. and 5.25 a.m.

At the same time as Mercury there were also 3 more planets to be seen at the morning sky:

• Mars, ดาวอังคาร
• Venus ดาวศุกร์ and
• Jupiter ดาวพฤหัสบดี (Jupiter being positioned at the zenith does not appear on these pictures).

Of course soon thereafter this morning has also seen a GLORIOUS Siam sunrise.

Mercury rising June 13, 5.05 a.m.

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Mercury rising June 13, 5.05 a.m. (swf movie, 1.2 MB)

Mercury at 5.15 a.m.

Khanom bay sunrise 13th June 2009 (Quicktime video, 9 MB)

Thai language version

Known amongst foreign visitors mainly as being the main ferry port to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, the district capital of Don Sak is well worth visiting in itself. From the temple on top of the “Suwanpradhit” hill there is a magnificient view over the bay area of Don Sak.

At the mouth of the Don Sak canal there is an excellent local restaurant serving various types of fresh seafood.

The town center is located about 4 km away from the ferry port.

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In the vicinity of the southern shore of Koh Samui island there is an archipelago of 5 small, largely uninhabited islands.

The largest one of these is Koh Taen, with a small village and a resident population of about 18 people.
The other islands are -from west to east- Koh Wang Nai, Koh Wang Nok, Koh Tan, Koh Matsum and Koh Rab.

A longtail boat trip from Samui’s Thong Khrut bay to a snorkeling site at Koh Tan takes no longer than 20 minutes or to a snorkeling site at Koh Matsum about 35 minutes. Koh Rab features snorkeling sites too, a longtail boat trip to there takes about 60-80 minutes.

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Snorkeling at Koh Taen (Quicktime video, 13 MB, 2 min)

Snorkeling at Koh Matsum (Quicktime video, 7 MB, 1 min)