Google Earth

Google Earth must have updated some of their satellite pictures recently. Last October, I took a photo of a blue-roofed house on Ko Yao Yai off the coast of Phuket. Each time I looked at the island in Google Earth, I could not see any details within the low resolution pictures. However, with higher resolution pictures this time, I was able to find several places where I took photos.


Google Earth view (7°58'55.90"N, 98°34'12.53"E)


Photo of house with blue roof near the center of image above

I didn't realize that Phuket was ~8°N latitude. No wonder it was so hot. If you look in Google Earth, you'd realize that the island is in the middle of nowhere; it took us about an hour by boat to reach the island. During the boat ride, in the middle of the ocean/bay, I had full signal strength on my Treo and even received a couple of emails. Of course, I get dropped all the time driving on the freeway in SoCal.


Google Earth view of a beach on the south end of the island


Photo of the beach houses taken from the end of the pier. The water was warm and very clear.


A zoomed-out Google Earth view of the area. Ko Yao Yai is off the east coast of Phuket.