TravelLeisureSoutheastAsia-April2018

Into the Wild

32 APRIL 2018 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM

/ travel diary /

Embarking on a journey through remote corners
of the Philippines, biologist Mike Dilger and BBC
World News presenter Rico Hizon get closer to
nature while filming a new travel series.

FOR FILIPINO NEWS presenter Rico Hizon, the rich
culture and natural landscape of his homeland are
a constant surprise. Venturing deeper than he ever
had before, Hizon joined BBC Earth wildlife expert
Mike Dilger on a 3,000-kilometer trip from
Palawan Island to the jungles of Luzon for their
upcoming documentary series, Philippines: Island
Treasures. For Hizon, it was the cuisine that
amazed him most: “Generally, adobo has the same
basic ingredients. But on this journey, I learned
that each region, each island, sometimes even each
town, may have their own style of cooking it. They
tailor their recipe to what ingredients they have
locally or seasonally.” For Dilger, the trip was a
biologist’s dream, and releasing a captive-raised
endangered Philippine Crocodile into the wild was
a thrill. “Standing ankle-deep in the water, I
loosened the grip of the crocodile in my hands,
only to watch it momentarily float on the surface,
before a quick swish of its tail saw it disappear
from view.” Here, Dilger and Hizon share some
highlights from their trip. —ELOISE BASUKI

You can watch Rico and Mike in Philippines: Island
Treasures on BBC World News on April 7 & 14.
The series will be repeated later in 2018.

SNORKELING

THE CORAL

TRIANGLE

AND CORON

The coral reefs

around Coron are

simply world-class.

Situated in the

fabled “Coral

Triangle,” stretching

from the Philippines

in the north to

Indonesia further

west and the

Solomon Islands in

the east, the

diversity of marine

life here is off the

Richter scale.

Dipping into the

bath-warm water to

scope out the sea

life feels just like

dropping into the

world’s largest

fish tank.

— MIKE DILGER

A BEER AT THE

PAL AWEÑO

BREWERY

I’m really proud

of Ayah Javier,

Palaweño

Brewery’s founder

and brewmaster, 

and her business

partner Malu

Lauengco. They

manage the first

all-women beer

business in the

Philippines. Their

brewery uses local

ingredients from

spices to coconuts

and mangoes to

give their beers a

unique taste. The

varieties range from

the hoppy Ayahay

IPA to the Honey

Kölsch, a “tribal

beer” made with

Palawan honey. 

— RICO HIZON >> ALL IMAGES COURTESY BBC WORLD NEWS