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A hefty dose of adventure
turned a beach jungle into an idyllic retirement haven and
relaxation home for expats. The place, unheard of before,
now boasts of 100 foreign residents in the area. Bobon in
northern Samar has become the vacation residence of expats
of at least 28 nationalities from across the globe, some of
them have become homeowners.
Now the island houses 19 expat retirement homes built with
the respective owners’ specifications since Chris F. Bech, a
Norwegian businessman, discovered it a few years ago. But
that’s going ahead of the story.
How do you capture the essence of an island resort? The
Norwegian businessman has transformed the stretch of an
island to a village, infusing it with the best view of the
Pacific Ocean and an atmosphere that is clean, quiet and
safe. The island offers a magnificent view of two volcanoes—Bulusan
Volcano and the Mayon Volcano on a clear day.
Bech’s vision is understated. Captured by its charm, Bech
fell in love with the place as soon as he settled there,
encouraging other expats to share the best island he had
found. Setting up an island village for the expat retirees,
Bech’s dream began to take shape as expats put up their
homes within the village. Bech said the other great thing is
that you can swim nearly everyday with an unobstructed view
of the ocean.
Bech, who was then involved in furniture business, came to
the Philippines to attend a furniture exhibition. Upon an
invitation from a friend, they passed by Samar. The
invitation opened doors to the discovery of Paradise Village
which has become his home since. He began buying a land from
a former local official and put up his home. Soon after, he
acquired other pieces of land and developed them for
residences which he then put up for sale through the
Internet.
“I just love the continuous sea breeze. Nobody needs air
conditioning here,” Bech enthused.
The vision soon came into being where expats see ordinary
places in extraordinary ways. For most of these expats,
bored with a world reduced to chain hotels and increasingly
identical towns, the island paradise just a few kilometers
from Northern Samar’s capital is just perfect.
For the past couple of years, foreigners have come to Bobon
to check out the place. The development of an international
resort/residential community near Bobon is undoubtedly a
major reason for the high number of visitors from Europe and
America.
Paradise Village
Sounding like a cliché, the village is aptly named as
Paradise Village with various styles of homes and/or
cottages within the village.
“Once I came here, I bought a property from the former
mayor. Then I lived here with my wife,” Bech said.
“I was here alone for two years. If somebody wants to share
with my company, I decided to put it and advertise in the
website,” Bech told What’s On & Expat.
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