Indonesia, Bali. Every surfer's favorite island, Bali, is suffering from years of uncontrolled investment and development with construction, trash, sewage and traffic all at record levels. Still, surfers from around the world flood in to enjoy the island's waves with many of them setting up residence illegally on an easily-renewed tourist visa. But when spots like Padang-Padang are firing, Bali's many problems and concerns take a backseat to sheer Indian Ocean perfection. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. North of Sumatra and far from mainland India are the Andaman and Nicobar Islands--a former British penal colony and home to some of the world's last uncontacted tribal groups. It is possible for foreigners to go there either by private yacht from Phuket in Thailand or by plane and then the public ferry to the main surf area on Little Andaman Island. Many waves and a growing number of visiting surfers. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, North Sumatra Province, Kepulauan Batu. Known to surfers as the Telo Islands after the main island of Telo, this area straddles the Equator and can produce high quality and uncrowded surf. Access is mainly by boat, but a growing number of deluxe land-based resorts are using the fly-in and fly-out option for more water time in some of Indonesia's best tropical surf. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, North Maluku, Halmahera. The island of Halmahera is the largest island in North Maluku Province and holds many waves similar to this one. Travel is challenging and with the lack of roads, most locations are accessible only by boat. Petrol (gasoline) is expensive and scarce in this remote area, but the construction of several new airports and at least one high-end surfing resort will ensure a greater flow of surf travelers in the future. The waves are definitely there. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Malaysia, Pahang, Cherating. A small town on the east coast of Malaysia, Cherating has long been a holiday area and more recently has become the center of surfing on the Malay Peninsula. A series of left points are the main attraction which get swell from the South China Sea from November to March. A number of good local Malaysian surfers have a thriving business in Cherating--getting great waves all season and spreading the stoke with surf shops, accommodation and surf lessons for visitors from Malaysia and Singapore. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Taiwan, Pingtung County, west coast. During typhoon season, if a storm passes below Taiwan, the west coast of the island can come alive after months of inactivity. Japan-style gravel sandbars are ready and waiting and an offshore northeast wind produces scenes like this - long, hollow lefts. The only problem is the police, who have the authority to remove people from the water if a typhoon is a certain distance from Taiwan. Hence the need for secret spots like this one. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, West Nusa Tenggara, Lombok. The Gili Islands of Lombok sit off the coast and well back in the Lombok Strait, one of the world's deepest and most dangerous ocean straits between Bali and Lombok islands. The powerful tidal currents in this strait separate the flora and fauna of Australia and Asia: no tigers ever made it across the strait going east and no kangaroos ever made it going west. Sometimes, if the swell is big enough and the tide is incoming, magical waves appear where for months there were none, lasting a few hours and disappearing again on the outgoing tide. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, West Papua Province. Indonesia shares the south Pacific island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian half receives swell during the northeast monsoon from November to March. Despite being near one of the major towns in the province, this powerful wave had never seen surfers until our surfEXPLORE group arrived earlier this year. There are many more waves in the area. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
The Philippines, Eastern Samar Province. Bordered by the 10,000-meter deep Philippine Trench, the islands of the east coast of the Philippines are essentially peaks of large mountains poking above the surface of the Pacific Ocean. All this ocean depth means groundswells arrive on the east coast of Philippines with raw power and energy with no degradation from a non-existent continental shelf. A typhoon groundswell can make for big, hollow waves in selected locations with no one surfing. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, West Sumatra Province, Mentawai Islands. Thanks to vast amounts of exposure in videos, magazines and social media, the Mentawai Islands are easily the world's best tropical surfing destination. Things have changed since the islands were first surfed in the early 1980's, but not by that much. Although the struggle for control of access between the boat charters and the land-based resorts is sure to intensify, much remains the same: No mobile phone signal in most of the area, no airport for flights from Sumatra, virtually no tidal variation, relentless swell from the high latitudes of the Indian Ocean, and many moments of absolute surfing perfection. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
China, Hainan Island. Eagerly promoted as the Hawaii of China, the island province of Hainan is as far south as one can go in the People's Republic and has long been a favorite of Russian and Chinese tourists. The discovery of consistent swell and good waves during the northeast monsoon has changed the promotion dynamic and the government has gone in deep for surf promotion with several major events held on the island in the past three years. With few local surfers and no crowd pressure, there are many areas of the island that remain unexplored. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
The Philippines, Mindanao, Davao Oriental Province. While Mindanao has a reputation for lawlessness, violence and mayhem extraordinary even by Philippine standards, many areas are quite peaceful and welcoming to foreign visitors. Not far from the capital of Davao City, a new highway on this Pacific coastline, which was finally completed after more than 20 years, has opened up a treasure trove of reef waves just waiting for a solid typhoon swell. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Myanmar, Rakhine, Cheduba Island. Cheduba is a large island in Rakhine state on the Bay of Bengal coastline of Myanmar. With several good beachbreaks and an offshore island-point, the island is well-exposed to southwest groundswell from the Indian Ocean. Cheduba has a very distinct monsoon climate of a dry season from October to April with no rain at all and a soggy wet season from May to September. There's only one problem with making a surftrip to Cheduba--the island is officially off-limits to foreigners. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is the center for surfing in southern Sri Lanka and has been for decades. Accommodation, restaurants, miles of sandy beach, it's all here. It can get crowded with local surfers ruling the peak, so motivated surf travelers can go further south for much lighter crowds and good, soft reef waves near Weligama and Mirissa. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Maldives, Thaa Atoll. Far from the relative bustle of the capital of Malé are the idyllic southern atolls of Maldives--rings of ancient coral reef in the calm waters of the Indian Ocean. Several providers are now basing live-aboard charter boats in this area and the new airport makes connections to Malé easier. With south and southwest facing reef passes, the waves in this area are usually larger and more powerful than North Malé atoll and definitely less crowded. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, North Maluku Province, Morotai. Far out in the distant Pacific Ocean is the mist-shrouded island of Morotai--so isolated and undisturbed, a Japanese Imperial Army holdout soldier was discovered still fighting in the jungle in late 1974, 30 years after the end of World War II. Morotai is well exposed to consistent swell from the northeast monsoon from November to March and with improved air connections, the north coast is seeing a growing number of surfers with several surf losmen now open for business. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Japan, Kyushu, Miyazaki. The high-quality waves in Japan during the western Pacific typhoon season are legendary with numerous reefs and rivermouth sandbars delivering world-class quality under the right conditions. With high costs and almost impenetrable local culture, few surfers consider Japan for a surf trip without a Japanese-speaking escort. That is certainly true for the rural area around Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu with numerous quality reef and beachbreak waves on offer but very few non-Japanese surfers. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Taiwan, Pingtung County, east coast. Typhoon season in Taiwan can be a hit or miss affair, literally. When a big storm is tracking north from the Philippines, the surf can be fantastic - big and offshore. But if the storm tracks into Taiwan, it is a different story with days of heavy rain, strong winds, and unsurfable storm surf. The coral reef waves around Kenting National Park can get particularly good, like this right point near a nuclear power plant. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
India, Daman and Diu, Diu Island. Diu Island was a Portuguese possession for more than 400 years, controlling the spice trade with mainland Gujarat until 1961. The island has an incredible legacy of architecture and European culture in India with a thriving domestic holiday business although foreign visitors are very rare. For surfers, Diu is open to pre-monsoon windswell from the Arabian Sea and long-period groundswell from the Indian Ocean with no one surfing the beachbreaks and limestone reefs like this one. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
India, Andra Pradesh. The east coast of India on the Bay of Bengal is not known for surfing, but the area around Vizag is uniquely blessed in several ways - a decent road along the coast, consistent swell and several quality point breaks in close proximity. The wave at Lawson's Bay is in front of a large, low-caste fishing village and the locals turned out in droves to watch as no one had ever surfed at this point before. Few have ridden it or the other waves in the area since as surfing has reportedly been banned after several drownings. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Myanmar, Mergui Archipelago. A chain of more than 800 islands in the Bay of Bengal north of Phuket, the Mergui Islands have been shrouded in mystery for decades. Home to some of the last of the tribal Moken Sea Gypsy peoples, the islands have only recently been opened to international visitors--primarily divers keen to see some of Asia's most pristine reefs. Where powerful groundswells can make their way through the gaps in the offshore Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the shoreline of Myanmar, there is unridden surf like this right point. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
South Korea, Jeju Island. Jeju is a huge, extinct volcano off the south coast of the Korean peninsula that, during the western Pacific typhoon season, can get very solid swell. Being in the right place at the right time is always tricky, but from a base in the tourism center of Jungmon, the many rock reefs that line the south coast of the island have some great setups. If the swell is over ten feet, head for the corners of the island where the wrap can produce smaller, high quality waves. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Vietnam, Vung Tau Province. Vietnam, on the South China Sea, has a long coastline with many quality setups and two distinct seasons for waves. The northeast monsoon produces chunky windswell from November to March and typhoon season can be outstanding with powerful groundswell and offshore winds. Many US servicemen surfed at China Beach near Da Nang during the American period until 1975, but Vietnam sees few traveling surfers today and most spots are empty. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
Indonesia, North Sumatra Province, Kepulauan Batu. If it is surf you seek, keep looking. Asia has it all, enough for several lifetimes of extraordinary waves and adventure. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE
