After a relaxing breakfast at the Ofis airbnb/restaurant overlooking a serene ocean front view of the turquoise blue sea, I made my way via bus down the main street to the Solomon Islands National Museum, a small complex of five buildings. I read every board then spoke with the souvenir shop staff about life in SI and some of the recent social unrest but was assured things are now calm. I stopped by the tourist center and arranged to rendezvous with another traveler to share a car once it became available later that day, then grabbed food at Central Market and crossed the river to a commercial area that turned out to be a Chinatown where I searched for a backpacker hotel advertised on a flyer and spoke to a British traveler about his extensive travels and how he managed to negotiate his lodging, but he still wanted to pay less. We decided to explore sharing costs and I agreed to return another day to finalize plans. As I returned to the car rendezvous point, I realized the other traveler would not show up, but I found some very affordable, delicious and thoroughly cooked beef and rice meals at Solomon Motors.

Tip:
It’s possible to negotiate pricing with hotel staff because an empty bed makes no revenue, whereas even if one bed in a standard two bed room is filled, they make money. If a place looks empty, ask to pay for just one bed.

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE