My 2018: A Tour around my town: WELCOME TO NORTHERN SAMAR, PHILIPPINES

Hi everyone! This is my entry to @anomadsoul's #My2018 contest. In this post, I'll show you some of the beautiful reasons why it's worth visiting my province!

Please make sure to finish reading/scanning, hope you appreciate the photos!!

I grew up in Catarman, Northern Samar, one of the least famous towns in the Philippines. It's still very rural, quiet, some parts are enchanted as the elders say, it's a place where you would find coconut trees more often than finding change in your purse. LOL.

I might bombard you with photos, but I really wanna show you how amazing this place is! Here we go!

ONE. I grew up beside the sea.

Yes! We can literally walk our way or figuratively make twenty cartwheels to the beach. HAHA. It's that near. When we're feeling lazy, we can ride pedicabs, motorcycles, or tricycles to get there. During high school and college summer vacations, the beach was one of our favorite places to hangout at. Our parents always cautioned us not to go there at night, but we did anyways, we just refrained from dipping to the water since it's dark. :)

TWO. It's far from city stress.
My hometown is the place I always crave to go to whenever I need a reasonably long rest from the corporate world. It's 1-hour away from Manila (the capital of the country) through plane. But if you are adventurous, maybe you'll enjoy the 20-hour travel, inclusive of 2-hour ferry boat ride from the border of Luzon to Visayas. Plus, some areas have limited cellular network... well, more reasons not to work and appreciate each place instead! Haha!

THREE.Ways of transportation can be simple and wild. :)



We ride pedicabs and tricycles to get to near places (see 1st photo). There are some municipalities which offer habal-habal rides which is a very looooong motorcycle, well basically it still has 2 wheels, the seat is just extended HAHA. (See 2nd photo) And for island to island travel, we ride motorboats! It's really part of the province's way of life so we're used to not wearing life jackets. Don't worry, it's completely safe as long as you stay still, keep quiet, and when the waves are quite big, you're free to say a little prayer. LOL just kidding.

FOUR. Everyone's extravagant when it comes to food!
Well, sometimes people are overly extravagant haha but it's already a tradition. During fiestas, residents open their doors to visitors, even when they don't know them! And buffet is served in every house! Even on holidays, people are used to sharing their prepared food to everyone.

And of course, the crispy skin of Lechon (roasted pig, yes, a whole one) in our place shouldn't be missed out!

FIVE. BEAUTIFUL BEACHES EVERYWHERE
This is my favorite thing about my province. There are way too many places which are yet to discover! As for people like me who never gets tired of watching the sea, well brother, this is a perfect place for you.

There are wavy beaches good for skim boarding and sometimes surfing, and there are some which are calm, perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and coral watching!!

I have many more things to share, but since this post is already too long, I will end it with only five factors. Northern Samar is where I find my peace of mind. Life is easy and simple there. I am so blessed to be born and to spend my childhood there. But now that I'm a grown up, I also have to go out of my comfort zone and see what life has to offer in different places.

Thank you so much for reading! And thanks to @anomadsoul and @blocktrades for this contest, it really motivated me to share about my province. :)

All photos are mine.
Please upvote and resteem if you liked the post. ;)
Let me know your comments!