This Southeast Asian Country Is On the Brink of a Transformation—and It Has 7,600 Islands With Pristine Beaches, Lush Rainforest, and a Rich History

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The Philippines is stepping boldly into the future.

A hanging daybed with views of the Philippine Sea at Nay Palad Hideaway, on the island of Siargao.
Credit: Frédéric Lagrange
A hanging daybed with views of the Philippine Sea at Nay Palad Hideaway, on the island of Siargao. Credit: Frédéric Lagrange

Top marks for transparency to whoever named the streets on the Philippine island of Siargao. Tourism Road, the main drag in General Luna, the commercial hub, perfectly describes a place some have dubbed the next Bali. Sunburned Westerners clog the thoroughfare, their rented mopeds spewing gray clouds of exhaust. Displays of surfboard-shaped magnets and racks of tie-dyed T-shirts spill from the storefronts. Cocktail bars and tattoo parlors tout cheap specials and easy access to regret.