DIVE HAPPY

Chuuk Lagoon (also known as Truk Lagoon) has become a wreck divers' mecca thanks to the Japanese warships that were sunk there at the end of World War II

Action Asia magazine is celebrating its 100th issue this month, and is definitely worth buying if you come on holiday to this part of the world for insights into places you can go trekking, surfing, kayaking, rafting, cycling and, yep, diving all over Asia. While I was hunting around on their website, I found this excellent and lengthy article about Chuuk Lagoon from last year written by Bill Stinnett & Gunther Deichmann. Bill and Gunther give a comprehensive rundown of the history of Chuuk Lagoon and how the Japanese war fleet came to be bombed there by US forces towards the end of World War II, and then follow it with some evocative descriptions of why Chuuk is considered the ultimate wreck diving destination. (See the photo of the submerged Zero fighter for a taste of what lies beneath the water at Chuuk).

For me, Chuuk is a dream dive destination - even living in Bangkok, it is still a very remote and so expensive journey to get out there. And indeed, if you do go out there, then you really should stop off at Yap and Palau too given you've spent so much money on the airfare to get to Micronesia... See TripAdvisor's air fare comparisons to Chuuk for an idea of just how pricey it can be.

I blogged before on how my dad has dived at Truk Lagoon, fulfilling a lifetime ambition - there is talk of him coming back to Truk for his sixtieth birthday, and if he does do that, I really can't do anything else but join him there, can I?