I have always been both somewhat envious and intrigued by what Sabah, Malaysian’s easternmost state, has to offer the travelling visitor.
When India’s Prime Minister Pandit Nehru visited Bali in 1950 to attend celebrations marking the newly established independence of Indonesia, he famously called the island “the morning of the world”. His simple but eloquent description really does encapsulate the uniqueness of this special island.
Bali. It’s a name synonymous with a tropical island paradise, conjuring up images of emerald rice terraces, an exotic, vibrant culture and friendly people. This jewel of the Indonesian Archipelago is also a magnet for scuba divers, drawn by a bevy of attractions ranging from to tiny jewel-like nudibranchs to enormous mola molas. Once you’ve been, you’re hooked!
The small island of Bonaire is part of the island group called the Dutch Caribbean and is located in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea near the coast of Venezuela. Bonaire is formed by volcanic rock about 60 million years ago and later covered with coral stone. These processes created a landscape with hills in the northwest, terraces in the middle and flatland in the south.
Four hundred and fifty kilometres north of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, and half an hour from the historic Portuguese trading town of Inhambane and its airport, Tofo is a laid-back village popular for its endless pristine beaches and, of course, scuba diving.
The warm waters of the Indian Ocean provide sustenance for an abundance of marine life here, but the mantas and the whale sharks are the stars of the show.
One thousand and 192 islands, islets and sand cays string the 26 atolls of the Maldives; from the air they float like emerald necklaces flung upon a cobalt blue sea.
North Cyprus is an ideal location for snorkelling and scuba diving, with its largely unspoilt coastline and year-round warm waters that rarely drop below 17 degrees centigrade. There are also no tides to worry about and you can enjoy one of the longest diving seasons in the world, which lasts from April through to the New Year. The island’s fascinating history spanning several empires also means there is much to explore underwater, including many exciting shipwrecks.
When I was asked to do an 18-month assignment in China in 2008, I thought the last thing I would need would be my diving and underwater photography equipment —but that was before I stumbled on the local diving community in Shanghai, where I was living.
At the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) where astronauts train for ESA’s manned space missions, trainee astronauts undergo a 16-month basic training program, and an integral part of this is to dive. Astronauts need to be underwater to practice spacewalks, also known as Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA). Diver and underwater photographer, Christian Skauge, paid ESA’s Neutral Buoyancy Facility a visit.
The island of Grenada is affectionately known as the Spice Isle for its exotic spices of nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Indeed, as we stepped off the plane, its warm, fragrant breezes welcomed us. Just a few hours earlier we were shivering in the drizzle and cold, wrapped in several layers of clothing dreaming of this exact moment.
