A Pocket Guide for Diving in Southeast Asia

There was a time when every American diver automatically headed to the Caribbean, but more recently the lure of the burgeoning marine life, the colorful corals and the inexpensive cost of living of Southeast Asia is drawing more divers to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

But where to go? Researching the files of Undercurrent will tell you just about all you need to know, but consider Sarah Ann Wormald's Diving in Southeast Asia as a fine supplement all in one volume. After two decades diving and eight years exploring the Indonesian archipelago, she offers the honest appraisal of someone who's been there, and although some of the descriptions are necessarily brief in her pocket-sized volume, nearly all the dive sites you might want to visit are covered.

The Philippines alone has more coastline than many larger countries, thanks to the sheer number of islands. The Indonesian archipelago stretches nearly 3000 miles from west to east (although this book starts at Indonesia's East Kalimantan). The Burma Banks in Myanmar/Thailand are as far west as this book covers and West Papua as far east.

Diving in Southeast Asia provides a useful starting point for planning a trip. It provides maps spotting the locations of sites and brief tabulated summaries for quick reference. Every page is adorned with a colorful picture generally taken underwater. From marine life suitable for super-macro cameras to WWII wrecks draped in corals, from whale sharks to pigmy seahorses, it's all covered.

This book also provides a comprehensive section that deals with practicalities such as ways of getting there, where to stay, what to eat and who to dive with. The list of contributors to the text is a veritable Who's Who of experts on Asian diving.

There are many similarly named books. Diving in Southeast Asia is 288 pages available in soft cover and will soon be available in Kindle format.

Listed at $19.95, order through Undercurrent by clicking here and you'll get Amazon's best price -- and we'll get a small commission that we'll donate to further the health of coral reefs.