Dr. Benchawan Wiwatanapataphee

Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Exchange to Curtin University, Australia

I, Dr. Benchawan Wiwatanapataphee, am now working as Associate Professor at Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

In 2005 I had been offered the Australian Cheung Kong Award to do research in Australia with Prof. Yong Hong Wu at Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA from April to October 2005. I stayed in an apartment of a high building at Victoria Park offering me a city view of Perth. Transportation in Perth is excellent. It was very convenient for me to take a bus everywhere that I wanted to go allowing me to arrive at the University quite early morning. I had very good time doing research seriously during the weekday and also had a great time to relax and enjoy my life during weekend during my 6 months in Australia.

On a Saturday I might enjoy my life at St. Georges Terrace which is the main shopping area at Hay Street and Murray Street Malls, or went to Kings Park. I sometimes spent my weekend enjoying a picnic or took a leisurely walk at Kings Park because there are wonderfully cultivated gardens, natural bushland, recreational areas and so many species of native plants together with many bird species. At Kings Park I could see great views of Perth and Swan River.

Sometimes I would go to Fremantle from Perth on the train, or take a cruise from Barrack Street Jetty on Oceanic Cruises. Many people are at Fremantle Market because there are many kinds of products, plenty of food and fruit. Fremantle has a great atmosphere market which supplies almost everything you could need. There are also many interesting places such as the Fremantle History Museum, the WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle Town Hall, the Georgian Old Customs House, Old Fremantle Prison and the Round House (Fremantle’s original prison).

In August 2005 I and other Thai students went to Albany to see wild flowers. Albany is at the southern part of Western Australia with fantastic views over the town. There are a number of historic buildings around Albany, including the magnificent Victorian buildings along Stirling Terrace. On the way we stopped many times to take pictures with the wild flowers. We also visited the interesting Albany Residence Museum. We then went to the north of the town to visit the Albany Botanic Gardens and Dog Rock which is a rock in the shape of a dogs head which is surprising. There are a number of good beaches and pretty coastline around Albany, however, we didn’t try to swim there because it was so cold at that time. We also went to the Torndirrup National Park to see Blowholes, and the wonderful Gap and Natural Bridge. On the way back to Perth, we visited Esperance, also called Bay of Isles, which is situated 200km south of Norseman at the end of the Nullarbor Plain. At that time, although it was so cold, there were still some tourists doing fishing and diving. In the town there is the interesting Museum Village, a gallery and craft shop.

I have memorized many good things about Australia: friendship from Australian people, a lot of beautiful birds and flowers, beautiful beaches and many interesting places.

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Associate Professors Yong Hong Wu for especially noteworthy. He was generous not only in sharing research knowledge and skills but also in ensuring that I was well looked after during my time in Perth. I am also very grateful and would like to thank the Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Training for the financial support during 6 months in Australia.

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