About Southeast Asia Diving

Southeast Asia Diving is an independent guide to scuba diving destinations, underwater photography, and dive planning across Southeast Asia, built around firsthand experience rather than generic travel content.

The site focuses on helping divers understand what different destinations actually offer underwater, how conditions vary by season, and how to plan trips that match diving and photography goals.

Background & Experience

I spent seven years living in Kuala Lumpur, where regular access to Southeast Asia’s dive destinations reignited my passion for scuba diving and led naturally into underwater photography.

Frequent diving across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines shifted my focus from checklist diving to understanding conditions, marine life behaviour, and why certain locations work better for specific styles of diving and photography. Over time, this evolved into a particular interest in how Southeast Asia supports both macro and wide-angle underwater photography, often within the same trip.

Although I am no longer based in Kuala Lumpur, the region remains the foundation of my diving and photography experience, and the core focus of this site.

What This Site Covers

Southeast Asia Diving is organised around three core areas:

Dive Destinations

Experience-led guides to Southeast Asia’s major dive regions, with emphasis on conditions, seasonality, and realistic expectations rather than highlight reels.

Underwater Photography

Practical guidance on macro and wide-angle underwater photography, including where each style works best, how to plan trips around photographic goals, and how local conditions influence results.

Gear & Dive Planning

Articles covering preparation for dive travel in Southeast Asia, including equipment considerations, travel logistics, reef-safe practices, and post-dive care.

Editorial Approach

Content on Southeast Asia Diving is based on:

  • Repeated dives at key destinations

  • Direct experience with seasonal variation

  • A photography-first perspective grounded in real conditions

  • An emphasis on context rather than rankings or hype

The aim is to help divers make better-informed decisions, not to sell trips or promote idealised experiences.

Where to Start

Key entry points include:

Southeast Asia remains one of the world’s most diverse and rewarding regions for scuba diving and underwater photography. This site exists to explain why that is, and how divers can experience it more thoughtfully.

Editor & Author

Steve Poole is the editor and creator of Southeast Asia Diving, a site dedicated to experience-led scuba diving guides and underwater photography across Southeast Asia.

Steve is a PADI Master Scuba Diver with 350+ logged dives and a long-standing passion for the region’s reefs, marine life, and photographic potential. He spent seven years living in Kuala Lumpur, where regular access to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines reignited his love for diving and sparked a deep interest in underwater photography.

Although he first qualified as an Open Water Diver in the cold waters of the UK, he stepped away from diving shortly after certification. It wasn’t until moving to Malaysia that he fell in love with the sport all over again — a journey that has continued well beyond Southeast Asia. Since then, Steve has dived widely, including Sipadan, Mabul, Raja Ampat, and Komodo, as well as destinations such as The Bahamas, the Galápagos, the cenotes of Mexico, and even freshwater ice diving in upstate New York — surely the very definition of a diving addict.

While no longer based in Malaysia, the country’s dive sites hold a special place in his heart, and Southeast Asia remains the foundation of his diving and photography experience. His writing focuses on real conditions, repeat visits, and practical insight, helping divers plan trips that align with their interests, experience, and expectations.

Dive Smarter in Southeast Asia

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This newsletter is for divers who want:

  • Honest destination insights (not hype)

  • Real-world photography tips for macro & wide-angle

  • Gear, planning, and seasonal advice that actually matters

  • Thoughtful updates when guides are refreshed or expanded

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