“Goooood morning, Philippines!” The time was 3:30 a.m., and the voice of Robin Williams^[1] echoed in my head as I drowsily crawled out of bed to turn off the incessant alarm. The goal for the morning was to hike to the top of Alicia Panoramic Park in time to see the sunrise.

The Maldives is one of those destinations divers always return to. Routes change, seasons change, expectations evolve… but the magnetism remains. For years, I have explored its southern channels and the central atolls, those iconic underwater landscapes that appear in travel and dive magazines and across social media. I honestly thought I already knew the whole story. I was wrong.

An offshore, international financial centre and duty-free shopping destination, surrounded by seas dotted with oil rigs, does not exactly give one the impression that this is where some of the region’s finest and most vibrant coral reefs, as well as excellent wreck diving, can be found. But this is indeed the case, and it just goes to prove the old saying that one should never judge a book by its cover.

Scuba divers visiting the region today follow in the footsteps of some big names. Ambon, on the northern edge of the Banda Sea, has been a favourite hunting ground for ichthyologists since the 18th century, and Alfred Russel Wallace spent a lot of time here during his 1854–1862 exploration of the region, a period during which he developed his ideas on biogeography and natural selection (independently of Charles Darwin) and came up with the notion of the “Wallace Line” that separates Asia from Australasia.

When I first arrived back in 2001, Dauin was one of the Philippines’ best-kept diving secrets, often overlooked in favour of more popular locations such as Puerto Galera or Anilao. Not anymore! In the ensuing decades, it has gained renown as one of the country’s diving hotspots. Personally, however, Dauin is special for two additional reasons. It is the place I decided to pursue underwater photography, and was the subject of my very first diving article (in this very magazine, to boot). 

For the dedicated macro enthusiast, there are a number of locations worldwide that have gained legendary status, and the Philippines certainly has its fair share. Yet one had always eluded me: Romblon. Although I had been aware of it for years, the opportunity to visit had never arisen. My last trip to the Philippines, ten years earlier, was hampered by an international summit that closed Manila’s airport for days, thwarting a planned visit. Now, a decade on, my chance had finally come.

Having visited Southeast Sulawesi in the first half of my trip to Indonesia, my goal now was a small island to the west of the big island of Halmahera in North Maluku: Sali Kecil. A Garuda Indonesia flight took me from Jakarta to Ternate in the middle of the night. Early in the morning, a Wings Air flight linked Ternate to Bacan Island, further south. An overland transfer followed, taking me through the forested, mountainous interior to the east coast.

On my fifth visit to the Philippines, I chose to begin my trip at a dive location that is still relatively unexplored: Anda, at the southeastern tip of the island of Bohol. I departed from Rome, with a stopover in Taipei, one of the most convenient and functional airports in Asia, before landing in Cebu. It was a practical choice, allowing me to avoid the traffic of Manila and gradually enter the archipelago.

Trip of a lifetime, bucket list, dream destination, awestruck, magical, speechless, mind-blowing… There are simply not enough superlatives to adequately describe the spectacular experience I had on this expedition to Antarctica. 

Last fall, my mother and I ventured to Indonesia in search of relaxation, diving and just spending time together. We chose two locations in North Sulawesi: Coral Eye on Bangka Island and Siladen Resort and Spa on Siladen Island, sister resorts that are special in their own ways, but mirror each other in service, luxury and commitment to environmental and social responsibility, plus excellent diving.