I consider traveling my basic necessity. And because I travel as a way of life and not to unwind, I opt to forgo certain luxuries that are sure to drain my spending money. Hence, my penchant for hunting down the cheapest accommodations but without compromising safety and cleanliness. If it’s below US$5, safe, clean and quiet during the night, then I’m sold.
Fortunately, there are still a few places in Siquijor that tick all those boxes. Thanks to a tip from a blog, I was able to snag a room for myself for US$3 a day.
But there’s a caveat: The lodge only accepts walk-in guests and may altogether refuse at certain times of the week and month. They also prefer solo travelers than groups to maintain peace and quiet for their other guests who have to wake up really early in the morning to make business rounds. And they are right by the side of the road.
Best Value Place for Transients
Buhisan Lodge in the municipality of Siquijor is known to all locals as the place where traveling salesmen stay for a few nights while they complete delivery of consumer goods in the province. As such, you might find you will be discouraged from checking in at Buhisan Lodge when you inquire about it from locals you run into. You can skip them and go straight to the lodge and inquire for yourself. The savings to be had is significant, especially if you travel alone and paying for that extra space in standard hotels could be spent on something more worthwhile.
Traveling salesmen stay for a few days starting Monday until Friday, and they get busy around the middle and the end of the month. Still, if you are not very particular with amenities and privacy, it’s worth checking at the time of your arrival if there are rooms available before moving on to other options.
Buhisan Lodge is right by the side of the road that leads to the municipality of San Juan. It’s a short walking distance to their open air market and town hall, and just a stone’s throw from the Siquijor port. The 50-year-old structure is within the “poblacion” (populated area) of Siquijor, so it can get quite busy during daylight hours. But as public transport is rather infrequent in this town (as in the rest of the province), “busy” is overstated.
The room rate is P125 a day. Rooms are good for one guest and toilet and bath are shared. You can request for laundry services, or you can wash your own clothes and pay P25 for use of water. The owners of the lodge also operate a small grocery store, so everyday items you may have forgotten to bring with you can be purchased right there.
A Short Hike From Everything
Access to food and Internet connection is not a problem. The lodge is a mere 2 minutes away on foot from their open-air market where street food and local produce abound. The market is also where the public transport converge to pick up passengers, so getting to anywhere in the island from here would not be a problem. The municipality of San Juan which is the beach central of the island is only P15 away via tricycle.
The lodge is also 5 minutes on foot from the ferry port and from St. Francis of Assisi Church should you be inclined to check ferry schedules in person or attend a Catholic service.
Ideal Accommodation For Backpackers
Despite Buhisan Lodge’s intended market to be traveling salesmen and not backpackers, it is an ideal place to crash in for a few nights while you complete your island tour a day at a time. I did not have any problem with personal safety (I was the only female lodger at the time) and security of my valuables, nor did I have any problem getting sufficient sleep despite an odd motorcycle or two in wee hours.
I also managed to use the otherwise common toilet and bath whenever the need arose, and I had privacy and quality alone time even though the rest of the world just seemed to be outside my window.
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Photos by Cherry Vic Patalita
