The Philippine Chapter of Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) recommends the following dive sites as a must for an intrepid underwater explorer:

1) Palawan

Coron Bay, Palawan (Photo by David Spencer)

It does not take a lot of imagination to think of Palawan as the prime dive destination in the country because its beauty on the surface flaunts the Eden below. To be sure, there are several choice dive spots in Palawan, but you will never go wrong if you venture into the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park first. Cited as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this underwater constellation of heavenly bodies has also been listed by CNN as one of the world’s top 10 dive sites. Coron not only has achingly beautiful lagoons, it also has an unbelievable diversity that speaks of the preservation efforts of Palawan’s local government and its people. There is a WWII sunken ship in Coron that is easy to explore for beginners. El Nido tantalizes with exotic coral diving, an apt introduction to the ecological state of health of surrounding waters.

2) Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro (Photo by ASCOM Prefeitura de Votuporanga)

Puerto Galera off the coast of Mindoro (a province adjacent to Palawan) brims with 40 dive sites for divers of all skill levels. The most famous of them all is The Canyons. Snappers, emperors, eagle rays, barracudas, turtles, tuna and occasional sharks are among the denizens of Puerto Galera’s deep.

3) Boracay

Boracay White Beach (Photo by Deortiz)

Not to be outdone by others on the beach list, Boracay promises underwater adventures in the same way it promises fun in the sand. Angol Point just off the coast of Station 3 is a beginner’s dive spot. For the initiated diver, Yapak waters are more challenging and abound with equally rewarding sightings of white-tip and grey reef sharks, tuna, manta rays and eagle rays. The coral canopy is vibrant and populated with corals of all colors and stripes (quite literally).

4) Apo Island

Apo Island (Photo by SarahDepper)

This island off the coast of Dauin has long been in the diving circuit because of its marine wealth and its people’s conservation efforts. Coral gardens are no less breathtaking, and the opportunity for muck diving arises in the waters of Dumaguete, 30 minutes away by boat. (A recent update states, however, that Apo Island’s coral gardens have been affected – well, actually, decimated – by Typhoon Sendong and are presently under rehabilitation.) Those who have frequented Dumaguete waters also know that there are discoveries that wait in the muck. The ecosystem is entirely different and abounds with baskets of sponges, blazing nudibranchs, and colorful crinoids.

5) Malapascua, Cebu

Malapascua, Cebu (Photo by Matt Kieffer)

Cebu is also on the best Philippine beach list, and it is equally flamboyant underwater as it is on the shore. Hammerhead sharks have been spotted to patrol the waters from December to February, but Monad Shoal abounds with creatures of all imaginable kinds year round. Diving is also friendlier, because the less intrepid can just skim the surface at 5 meters and get generously rewarded with astounding sights.

6) Subic Bay

Subic Bay (Photo by allan piamonte)

More famously known as the United States’ Naval base in the Pacific until the Philippine Senate voted against it, Subic Bay not only beckons with marine denizens but also with interesting finds. Sharks, dolphins, turtles and barracudas flit in and out of Subic waters along with WW II wrecks.

7) Cauayan-Sipalay-Hinobaan Circuit, Negros Occidental

Sulu Sea (Photo by Jayvee Fernandez)

The adventure starts at Danjugan Island just off the coast of Cauayan, a town that precedes Sipalay in Southern Negros. Danjugan is a marine reserve and a living laboratory for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) marine biologists. Additionally, the island’s relative isolation from the mainland has helped maintain the health of marine life. From here further down south, it only gets better. Coral gardens abound in shallower waters until Nabulao Bay in Hinobaan, the last town of Negros Occidental, where another island known in the map as Pitogo but known by the locals as “pulo” (isle), hosts natural growth mangrove forests and a very expensive tropical resort. This tri-town circuit directly faces Sulu Sea, so gigantic bivalve mollusks, 150-pound yellowfin tunas and bottlenose dolphins are typical sightings.

Technically a snorkeling, instead of diving, destination, Donsol in Sorsogon rewards the marine adventurer with almost year-round sightings of the whale sharks locally known as the “butanding.” Before whale shark overdose sets in, however, divers can explore Manta Bowl and Ticao Island of nearby Masbate, where marine wildlife is said to be unbelievably diverse and colorful.

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Angkor Wat remains Cambodia’s major tourist draw

Take for instance Fodor’s 7 Affordable Destinations for 2013. There certainly are plenty of places in Southeast Asia where a dollar goes a long, long way, and Cambodia is one of them. Throw in ancient archaelogical wonders like Angkor Wat and you have got a winner.

Then you have Conde Nast saying in its Destinations to Watch in 2013 that Maldives is out, Philippines is in! Those in the loop already know this, but given the massive campaign of the Department of Tourism that “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”, the country is indeed poised to invade the global beach scene.

Just 7 of the 7,107 islands (Photo by The Wandering Angel)

And Lonely Planet has a word to say: Palawan. Also named one of the Hot 20 Destinations of 2012 by National Geographic, Palawan is indeed revving up for the influx of tourists that has been arriving and and are yet to come. Despite the fact that it can get elbow-to-elbow when visiting the now world-famous Puerto Princesa Underground River, Palawan still has plenty to offer. There’s El Nido, Coron, San Vicente, Port Barton (Sabang), and Balabac Island. And if you dare to explore the 7,000 others, the list could as well be endless.

In its Best Trips for 2013, National Geographic names Myanmar, along with world-favorite Indonesia, in the top 20. Indonesia, of course, needs no introduction, but it is worth mentioning that Raja Ampat, off the coast of West Papua, is the oceanic sister of the Amazon. Philippines has it too (Tubbataha Reefs) and so does Malaysia (Sipadan).

But Burma has a different appeal.

A serene Myanmar countryside trapped in time

Largely ignored by mainstream travelers for the longest time, the country once named Burma took the spotlight once again when its homegrown champion of democracy, the house-arrested Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, earned a seat in the parliament. Today, because of its reclusion from outside influences, places outside Yangon and Mandalay seem frozen in time. Get ready for pagoda fatigue as you stroll along the banks of Ayeyarwady River.

Travel and Leisure still maintains that Philippines is more than just a side trip. You must have already heard countless times about Boracay, but what about the highlands of Nepal? Not technically Southeast Asian, Nepal is one of the favorite circuits of pedal pushers and summit seekers. Time to get to know it more this year.

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This time, however, it’s not just the usual staple of bikinis and beach bums, because “newcomers” have started arriving and are making waves (literally) in the Philippine seas.

Whales and Pagudpud Are The Hottest Pair

Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte is one of the country’s fairest white sand beaches, but it’s going to be more than just that in the years to come, if sightings of the giant denizens of the deep are any indication. Whales seem to be getting cozy in its shores as well and their presence bodes well for the tourism of the Ilocos (Norte and Sur) province which for the most part has largely depended on beach bums, Catholic pilgrims and history enthusiasts. A new breed of eco-travelers will soon troop to Pagudpud shores en masse, what with the whales finding it hard to leave, too.

Mermaids Sighted in Boracay

Some costumes you can’t really wear on water. They are practically ceremonial with zero functionality. Now, everyone who has ever fantasized of becoming Ariel and her cohorts can be one! Banana boats and Zorbs, make way for temporarily delusional amphibious creatures.

Iron Man in Subic Bay

If Iron Man’s thrusters were powered by sea water, they would be called hydrojets, and he would be hydrojet surfing instead of flying pronto to Afghanistan or some other war-torn corner of the Middle East. The newest sensation to ever hit Subic Bay is this adrenaline-pumping water sport that’s fast climbing on the “to-do list” of adventure seekers.

A Newly Discovered Underground River and Cave Complex in Laguna

Apparently, Puerto Princesa is not the only one with a cave so complex that it leaves travelers open-mouthed. This newly discovered cave system in Cavinti is already attracting respectable crowd who claim it is not that far off from Puerto Princesa Underground River.

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Welcome to Paradise

Filipinos are divided as to whether Boracay is hot or not. Some feel that it is already a well-worn path, and lacks the natural rawness that is characteristic of Palawan. That argument has merits, considering that Boracay has this city vibe in an island setting. Some, who are newcomers to the place, still feel that magic when their feet land on Boracay’s white shores for the first time, or see the perfect sunset set the horizon ablaze while they have cocktails in hand.

No matter how divided the opinion on Boracay, it is one place in the Philippines that a traveler should drop anchor if only because of its White Beach. Plus, it’s the summer mecca of the Philippines. No beach pilgrim should miss Boracay, or they are going to go on with their lives with a heavy heart.

White Beach, Boracay

Named the number 1 island destination in 2012 by travelandleisure.com, Boracay stands up to scrutiny.

This is not, however, the first time that the island has received such a distinction. In 1990, the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook published by the Fourth Estate of London, selected Boracay as the best in the world after over 200 beaches were visited by three researchers for the project. Their definition of best was something like this: Boracay has everything that a beach lover could possibly ask for.

Boracay, a dog-bone shaped island off the northwestern tip of Aklan in Western Visayas, was the aboriginal domain of the Aetas until tourism and development came in stages in the 1980s and slowly shouldered them into near assimilation. Back then, the island’s most frequent visitors were people from the neighboring mainland of Panay. Getting from the mainland to the island entailed waiving an entire branch of palm frond so the boatman can spot the passenger. Beachfront cottages were mostly “nipa huts” (airy cottages made of coconut shingles and bamboo), and electricity was a privilege.

Today, Boracay is a full-blown, highly mature beach destination that can stand toe to toe with the best of the world.

In fact, if cruise ship stewards of Caribbean vessels were to be believed, Boracay’s sands are finer, whiter and more fitting for a tropical paradise than those of the famed Antilles islands. (Why do we hear Boracay sand ‘stealers’ if that were not true?)

Boracay’s crown jewel, and one that in itself is a natural marvel, is its 4-kilometer stretch of white sand beach aptly named White Beach. Most of the action happens here, especially during the months of November through May when the monsoon blows from the island’s eastern backside. With White Beach protected from the vagaries of northeasterly winds (“amihan”), the beach is blindingly white, the turquoise waters are sparkling clear, and the skies are achingly tropical blue. These natural qualities make Boracay an apt postcard for what a summer mecca should be. (Of course, Palawan is another Eden on earth, but that would be another story.)

White Beach is divided into three sections: Stations 1, 2 and 3. The northern portion of the beach is Station 1, the midsection is Station 2, and the south tail is Station 3. Of the three, Station 2 is the busiest because it is where a concentration of accommodation, good eats, retail therapy and thumping nightlife are found.

Station 1 at night, White Beach

Station 1 is the retreat of choice of discriminating travelers. The finest sand is here, and so are plush hotels. The atmosphere here smells with vacationing in luxury. The atmosphere is laidback, even when the beach starts to fill up as the sun goes down.

Station 3 can easily be described as a backpacker’s haven. Beachfront budget accommodations abound. Even in regular season, a backpacker on the hunt for ocean view room is likely to find one in Station 3. Those seeking solace are also likely to find peace and quiet on this end of White Beach without being that far from action.

Bulabog, on Boracay’s eastern backside, is more for the adrenaline-seeking kitesurfers and wakeboarders when “amihan” is at its fiercest. The white sand here is coarser, and the pelagic zone is carpeted with seaweeds that would have made sea cows at home. Bulabog waters are protected by an offshore coral reef, about 500 meters away from the tide line.

Boracay’s reggae vibe can be felt in pockets in Station 2, but it is palpable here on Bulabog’s south end. There is plenty of room for “development” on this side of the island, but it can get downright surreal at dusk when the prevailing winds switch and pummel White Beach instead.

Yapak, a baranggay (smallest political unit in the Philippines) on Boracay’s northern tip, was intentionally left in its natural state – at least some of it – as a reminder of how the island once was before the glittering promise and rewards of tourism came in and nearly wiped out the Aetas. (They are still here, trying to assimilate in a tourist-driven economy.)

Puka Beach in Yapak is worthy of mentioning because the entire beach is heaped with puka shells. Coconut trees growing in untamed directions line the beach and provide the requisite backdrop for a tropical postcard. The waves here though are rougher, and swimming could be dangerous when the ‘habagat’ (opposite of ‘amihan’) starts blowing. This is more of a divers’ site – there are plenty around Boracay – when the winds are calmer and the waters are clearer.

Summer in Boracay is a magical experience, both for the partygoer and the solo backpacker. It is one place in the country to rekindle romance, or to bring the family to have fun. It is a perfect place to unwind, or to chase away your sorrows with a smorgasbord of delights. Whatever your desires, Boracay is bound to satisfy it, and then some.

The pollsters were right: Boracay is the best island destination in the world. It has everything that a beach lover could possibly ask for.

Photos by -Gep- and hongchou

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