Pea visits Cuckoo's Nest, an eco-lodge in Siaton (about an hour from Dumaguete) in Negros Oriental, built and run by married British couple Nikki and Jamie. The episode is a tour-and-interview hybrid showing how two self-described "beach bums" stumbled into the Philippines while traveling Asia, fell in love with the spot, and turned it into a nine-unit bamboo resort with a well-regarded restaurant — all without formal construction materials or prior bamboo knowledge.
How Nikki and Jamie ended up in the Philippines
- They were traveling around Asia and kept coming back to the Philippines, visiting different dive spots
- Jamie found the Siaton location and decided to settle
- They've been at Cuckoo's Nest for about 23 years; married nearly 30 years total
- The name comes from the nursery rhyme ("One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest"), not the movie — plus there are actual cuckoos (coucals) in the area
The eco-lodge concept and construction
- They didn't set out to start a business — they were "beach bums" who built cottages to support their lifestyle
- The term "eco-lodge" hadn't been coined when they started, but that's exactly what they were building
- Everything is bamboo and nipa palm — not a single nail used in the entire resort
- Structures are tied together using fishing line, because it's a fishing community and that's what locals know
- Jamie had background as a furniture maker/designer, worked in construction and rigging — he partnered with a skilled local head of construction
- He knew nothing about bamboo when they arrived but leveraged his construction experience
- All materials sourced from the immediate area; every employee lives within one kilometer of the resort
Starting from almost nothing
- They arrived in October and opened December 1st — roughly two months
- Started with two small bamboo huts, a "Mandy" (bucket bath), and no flush toilet
- Had a guest stay the very first night they opened
- Land is leased on the standard 25+25 year foreign lease arrangement — they can't own land as foreigners and chose leasing over forming a corporation because it's simpler
The resort today — 9 units including "The Crow's Nest"
- Nine total units: seven freestanding bungalows/cottages and two rooms
- Pea tours the Crow's Nest, built as a "COVID project" when Jamie had workers with nothing to do
- It's high up (120 steps to the top) with a panoramic ocean view Pea calls "a million-dollar view"
- Features a hammock, bamboo bathroom, and a view you can enjoy "while doing your business"
- Price: 3,200 pesos (~$54) per night
- Pea appreciates the practical detail of having plenty of electrical plugs — something many Philippine accommodations lack
The restaurant
- Run by Nikki, with a "quite good reputation" for food
- Handmade furniture matching the bamboo aesthetic
- Nestled on the water's edge
- They bake their own bread, make pizza dough in-house
- Menu includes fish and chips, chicken madras, Indian food, Thai food, and Filipino food
- Best sellers: fish and chips, followed by chicken madras
- They limit weekend numbers deliberately to preserve the peace-and-quiet atmosphere
Advice for foreigners thinking of starting a business in the Philippines
- Both Nikki and Jamie say "Go for it"
- Key advice: don't throw everything into it — start small and let things build
- Leasing is the simplest option for foreigners who can't own land
- Permits were not that difficult to get initially, though bureaucracy has increased over time
- The couple attributes their 23-year longevity to being "pretty laid-back" and going with the flow, unlike frustrated foreigners who leave after 3–5 years
- "It only takes a short visit to Britain to remind ourselves why we don't live there"
- Pea notes you need a certain personality type to fit into Filipino culture — "if you're the A-type, always go go go, you're going to be pulling your hair out"
Pea's personal impressions
- Clearly charmed by the place; repeatedly calls it a paradise and a "hidden paradise"
- Takes a long walk on the beach after eating their fish and chips
- Says she has "a feeling I'll be back to this place"
- Recommends it to viewers visiting the Dumaguete area
