Patibayan sa Buscalan! [at ang mga di matawarang batok mula sa Mambabatok]

HOW TO GET THERE: (a lot of possible routes but I will only mention the few practical / economical / possible-to-find-love routes. hehe)

Baguio Route:

• BUS - Victory, Genesis, Viron, Dagupan. 5-6 hours travel time. P500-900.00 (depends on the bus line and type of class). Bus leaves every hour.
• From Baguio, go to Dangwa Terminal (taxi! taxi fare in Baguio is very affordable)
• Ride GL Lizardo Trans or D' Rising Sun bound for Bontoc. 5.5-6.5 hours. P220.00. Departs at 8am, 10am, and 2:30pm.
• In Bontoc, ride a jeepney bound for Tabuk. 1-2hrs travel time. P100.00. I can't remember if they have a proper terminal so just ask around. Use your charm. Most trips to Tabuk are until 2pm only.
• Get off at Bugnay Junction.
• Hike for 2 hours to Buscalan Village.

Tabuk City, Kalinga Route:

• BUS - Victory Liner (Kamias, Cubao Terminal) going to Tabuk City. 12 hours travel time. P640.00. Last trip is 7:30pm 
• From Tabuk City, take a jeepney or a bus heading to Bontoc (bus and jeepney terminal is just near the St. Williams Chapel and near Victory Liner Terminal). 2-3 hours. P220.00. Departs at 8am and 10am. 
• Get-off at Bugnay Junction.
• Hike another 2 hours to Buscalan Village.
• (But our local friend suggested that we get off at Brgy. Bugnay because she has uncles with motorbikes aka habal-habal that could get us to the nearest drop-off going to Buscalan. 30mins habal-habal. P75.00. 1hour hike going to Buscalan Village)
• WE DID THIS ROUTE. 

TIP : Leave Manila at 7PM so you'll be in Tabuk by 7am. Saktong tulog lang entire trip then breakfast pagbaba sa bus. There's a yummy pansitan right where the bus stops. In front of St. Williams Chapel. It's not hard to miss. Kulitin/remind the conductor to drop you there. :)

OPTIONS FOR ACCOMMODATION:

Charlie Pan-oy - Awesome guide. Awesome house. Awesome host. P250.00/night/person. +63998-188-8697. With CR and water! :) Guide fee: We paid P1,500.00 for 3 persons including board and lounging (3D2N), sundo from Tabuk City or your drop-off from Manila. Tagabibit ng bagssss during the hike. Unlimited coffee, grass (hihi), and occasional gin bilog. 

Francis Pa-in - +63915-769-0843

Whang-od's - P250.00/night/person. With CR and water! :) And para chummy-chummy kayo. :p

THE-HEY-STOP-BEING-AN-IRRITATING-TOURIST-AND-KNOW-HOW-TO-LIVE-LIKE-A-LOCAL TIPS:

• It's not hard to look for a place to spend the night. Almost every house in the village is open for guests. Just don't expect for a hotel type accommodation. Immerse. Eat like a local. Sleep like a local.
• Bring canned goods or any food that you can offer to your hosts. They'll do all the cooking or you can help them too and share to them your awesome "urban" dish. haha. They mainly serve veggies fresh from their farms. :)
• Most houses have electricity. Yayy. No worries for dead batt gadgets.
• Butttttt mobile services here are limited. There is a Smart mobile signal at the top of the mountain.
• Bring lowtech cellphone. It detects signals better than smartphones. Trust me.
• Hey! When someone offers food, take it! It's a sign that they can trust you.
• Matches are the currencies here. So when you meet someone on the trail, give them matches. When you take their pictures, give them matches. When you happen to chit-chat with them, give them matches. When someone offers you food or drink or anything, give them matches. Malay mo along the way, may magka-spark. hahaha. Seriously, matches. (We only had lighters when we went up so instead of giving them matches, I distributed my 1x1 picture with my signature. Artista mga bai! Joke lang. hahahha)
• Bring candies and any loot bags for kids. They're gonna enjoy it.
• Over-the-counter medicines are needed here. For cough, colds, flu, antibiotics. Nearest hospital is about 4hrs away from the village. Pack some and label them (e.g. meds for brokenhearted, take 3 times a day after crying...ganyan. hahhaha)
• Farming is the main source of livelihood here. So if it's not too much to ask, bring shovel or wheelbarrow or piko on your way up please.
• If you are staying for more than a day, take time to help them in the terraces. Or play with the kids.
• In their culture, more tattoos = more beautiful. Alam na this.
• Whang-od (read as Fang-od) loves dog meat. And during our stay, our hosts served us dog meat, pampainit sa malamig na gabi. lels. She is 80ish or 90ish. No one exactly knows. Even her.

TOP LOADING FTW! Do not sleep. Hold on tight to your belongings and lock your legs and feet in preparation for sudden turn of events. Hahaha

Wild Pigs here are pets. They literally are running wild in streets.

"Excited" faces of my ka-lakwatsas! hahahah
 I didn't lakwatsa alone this time. I tagged along with mea good doctor friend and my lakwatserang sisteret too.

Yep. There are trails only about 12inches width. Tapos bangiiiiiin na. Ingat madalas ka pa naman ma-fall.  IYKWIM. hahah

After 1hr hike, finaleeeeeh!

Kuya Charlie's dainty  awesome house. 

Unli COFFEEEEEEEE!

Whang-od (read as Fang-od) animatedly sharing to us her love story...and sex snippets. haha

The legend!

Whang-od seldom smiles in front of the camera. So apply your paparazzi skills when taking good shots of her.

Knives maker. Lolo meticulously  weaves native designs on the cover of the knives.

Sticky rice with peanutssss after a hard day's work. Photo Credit: Eric John. 

ARE YOU GETTING A TATTOO? YES? Here are some tips:

• I would like to remind you that the mambabatoks [tattooists] are using the traditional method of tattooing. Citrus thorns as needles stuck on a wood. And the ink? They use the black soot found underneath your cooking pans. And the mambabatok will make pukpok the wood with citrus thorn onto your skin. NO KIDDING. Yes, no sterilizing. No cleaning of skin with rubbing alcohol before the session. But I guess...just a guess, the thorn is being replaced naman per person.  But so far no reports of serious illness or infection caused by the traditional method.
• Bring your own pack of wet wipes. 
• Do not drink alcoholic beverage before the session. Alcohol in body = fast blood flow = bloody tattoo session. Relakkkss. Same thing goes if you are nervous at mabilis ang tibok ng puso na para bang andyan si crush.
• Whangod has books where you can choose your designs labeled with their meanings. 
• Tattoo price range depends on the design and size. Price starts at P300. One liner tatt is P500. Tatt around an arm or leg is around P1000. Tatt here is affordable. Way way cheaper compared if you get it done in machine tatt shops.  You can get full arm tatt for P1500-2500. Reminder: Do not ask for the price before the tatt session. The mambabatok will tell you the price after. 
• MASAKIT? PAINFUL? YES. And it will swell like hell.

Grace is Whangod's granddaughter and successor.  And girl, she knows her art very well.

I am so lucky to travel with a doctor in the making. Girl scout. She brought with her, her tools of trade.

One of the best parts of lakwatsa is meeting new friends for keeps.  Kuya Charlie is the guy at the leftmost.

So girls and boys, I will definitely be back in this place very soon. And if you intend to donate some farming supplies to the tribe, do not hesitate to reach me. And also, anyone of you there knows how to setup a medical mission? Yes in the mountains. It is an adventure packed medical mission. So I am looking for people who are in the medical field who are willing to do the adventure with me and do their thaaaang in the mountains. Hehe. Who's in?

PS. Some of these cool and awesome photos were shot by my sister, Kate. Nindot kaayo no? :))  

Live life!

PLANNING FOR LAKWATSA ON 2015

 left and right airline promo fares! you have places in mind but you don't know when to book that much awaited lakwatsa?
chill lang, i'm sharing my personal lakwatsa date plans for 2015. *you're welcome*

PLAN YER TRIPS! Salamat sa daming public holidays sa Pinas! haha.
Long weekend sched + proper leave applications lang katapat yan!
possible lakwatsa dates for entire year:

Feb 19-22 (chanizz new year sa feb19 thursday + ileave na ang feb20 na friday)
Feb 25-March 1 (edsa day sa feb25 wednesday + ileave na ang feb26-27 thurs and friday)
April 2-5 (holy week)
April 9-12 (araw ng kagitingan sa april9 thursday + ileave na ang april10 na friday)
May 1-3 (laborday sa may1 friday)
June 12-14 (independence day sa june12 friday)
Aug 21-23 (ninoy day sa august21 friday)
Aug 29-31 (heroes day sa august31 monday)
Oct 31-Nov 2 (long weekend, nov2 is monday)
Nov28-Nov30 (long weekend, nov30 bonifacio is monday)
Dec24-27 (special nonworking sa dec24 thursday, dec25 friday)
                 pwede mo na rin i-leave ang dec28-29 na monday and tuesday para after new year ka na magpakita! hehe
Dec30-Jan3,2016 - (rizal day + special non-working days in lieu sa new year)

so basically 4-6 vacation leaves lang magagamit mo for lakwatsa sa 2015. ang remaining sa 15 vacation leaves mo per year ay pwede mo pang gamitin pang date-date at pang biga-biga. hahahahha. see? proper planning lang yan gerls and boys.


HAPPY BOOKING! :)
san lakwatsa mo sa 2015? pahitch. :p

Sagad na sagad sa SAGADA!

DAY 1
HOW TO GET THERE:
Manila-Bontoc = Bus: Cable Tour. Terminal- Back of Fatima University, E-Road QC. 12hrs. Tapos 30-45mins jeepney ride nalang sana to Sagada. (Update: Cancelled til now due to GV Florida Transport incident)

or

Manila-Baguio = Victory Liner (maraming bus lines actually, may Dagupan Bus, Philippine Rabbit, Dangwa Transit, Genesis Bus, but i prefer Victory Liner. Cubao or Pasay Terminal. Bus leaves every 1hr. 5-6 hours. Php460. Travel at 11pm or 12am para 5am or 6am nasa Baguio ka na. Saktong breakfast.
Baguio-Sagada = Cab to Dangwa Bus Station. Taxi Php40-50. Lizardo Transit or GL Liner. First trip 6:30am. Last Trip 1pm. Php220. 6-7 hours. Reminder: No aircon bus. Bus will stop mismo in front of Sagada Municipal Hall.

12:00pm = Arrive at Sagada. Go to friend's house. "Check in". Luckily for me, an Igorot family adopted me. Wehooo! Oy, don't forget to register in Sagada's Tourism Office. Guides will be there din making ligaw to you to get him/her as your guide. Make pa-cute na rin and choose the gwapo/gwapa guide...este the one who'll give the cheapest fee. Hehe

OPTIONS FOR ACCOMMODATION:
= Residential Lodge (sikat to sa mga backpackers) Php250/night with common toilet. Php300/night own toilet. Tita Mary Daoas +639196728744
= George Guesthouse Php300/night. Teodora +639185480405 or Irenius +639206070994
= Canaway Lodge Php250/night. +639182915063

12-1pm = Lunch.
1pm-5pm = Libot-libot. Free entrance sa lahat. Rock climbing sa Echo-valley. Cemetery and Calvary Hill. Hanging coffins.  Underground river
6pm = Help family prep for dinner.
7pm = Dinner. Yehes. Pinikpikan! Php200-300 for a whole chicken.


DAY 2
7am = Breakfast

8am = Trek to Bomod-ok Falls (Php600/group to 1-10people), Php600 van rental-mej malayo from Sagada main, Php10/person tourism/envi fee
9-10am = Ligoooo. Tampisaaaaaw.
10-11am  = Trek back
12noon = Lunch
1-5pm = Cave connection (Lumiang Cave burial to Sumaguing Cave). Spelunking. (Php400/person min. of 2 person/guide). Sumaguing Cave only (Php500/group of 4 or Php150/person).
5pm = Kain snacks sa Yogurt House or Lemon Pie at Lemon Pie House (150/box, 20/slice)
6pm = Prep for camping and dinner at Kiltepan Peak
6:30pm = Akyat to kiltepan
7pm = Luto dinner. Set-up camp/tents. Tent Rental Php50 sa may tour sa Sagada Municipal Hall.
9PM = BONFIRE. Try dapay, or drinking beer and bugnay (rice wine) under the stars around a bonfire.

DAY 3
5am = Kiltepan Sunrise. Sea of clouds. Umiyak sa ganda ng world. Magreminisce. Magmuni-muni.
7am = Baba. Back to house. Breakfast
8am = Help bungkal lupa, help gawa rice terraces, help tanim palay at buto ng gulay
12noon = Lunch
1pm = Lakad to Besao (pottery). Php300 to Php1500 depending on the item
2pm = tampisaw sa Lake Danum
4pm = Sagada Weaving House. Php150 to Php400 for a bag
6pm = CHILLL
7pm = Buffet of French Chef Aklay. Fresh and organic. Saturday night buffet in Log Cabin. 350/person. Starts at 6pm. Can only accommodate 30people and needs 10 confirmed guests to push through. So better call for reservation. 09205273885

DAY 4
6AM = Bangon. Help sibak ng kahoy.
7am = Breakfast
8am = Sagada to Baguio. 5am first trip. 1pm last trip. Bus leaves every 1 hour. Php220
2pm = Baguio
2-4pm = Chill sa Baguio
4pm = Baguio to Manila (Victory liner. Php460)
9pm = Manila

Magkunwareng may photoshoot ka. Haha

"Rock climbing". Lels

 Rock climbing sa Echo Valley. Isigaw na lahat nang hinaing, tuwa, sakit, at keleg.
Isigaw ang " I LOVE YOU <insert name of crush> " at umasang "I love you too" ang echo. hahaha

ECHO VALLEY -The name of the place was taken literally from the bouncing of sounds unto the walls of the Sagada Limestone Valley. But the oldies from the place call it "Paytokan" (jump place :) ) It is the Home to some of Sagada's Hanging Coffins. Its so unique that some tourists flock to Sagada just to have a glimps of that culture and leave the place right away. The place is a sacred area, give it respect. (www.saggas.net)

Push pa more, teh!

Laag

Cemetery and Calvary Hill - One kembot away from Echo Valley. Fire festival is being held here every 1st of November. Instead of lighting candles, they set-up bonfires.

Hanging coffins. Reserved for elders. Ask locals why they have these. Come on, don't be shy. 

Yehesss! Dinner. Pinikpikan. Because, the cheken is being beaten slowly and gently til it dies.
Yes morbid. Pero pramis, masarap.

Kung ayaw mo gumastos papuntang Bomod-ok Falls, go to Bokong falls aka small falls. bokong falls is one of the nearest sights for a tour; it would take you around 30 minutes to walk and 7 minutes to travel with vehicle from the municipal hall. The sight may sure not be as scenic as it can be but, for the sake of walking and nothing to do anyway, you can take a side trip to this falls. Actually, it’s not the waterfalls that interesting here, it’s the 12 feet deep pool. (www.saggas.net)

Abot inner core na kaba. Cliff jumping yow.

HOOOOOYESSSSSS! YEYS!
TOLD MYSELF THAT I'D DO IT ONCE BUT ENDED UP JUMPING FOR ANOTHER 10 ROUNDS! 

SPELUNKING - CAVE CONNECTION (LUMIANG - SUMAGUING)
-Entry at the Burial or Lumiang Cave and Exit at Sumaging Cave.
-This is rather more adventurous than Sumaging cave, if you think you’re a good spelunker, this one is for you!
-The whole duration of the activity would take at least four (4) hours.
There are lots of small passages you have to undertake, crawl if you must and follow your guides advice. From there on, there are at least three rope assisted descents and one climb. During rainy season you are to swim 8 meters in order to cross a trail.

Fossils

Pregnant's apeping

Exit - Sumaguing Cave (fresh na fresh pa din. hahaha)

HISNAK TAHAYM!

egg pie na masarap. or lemon pie ata to. hahaha

cozy. at may Wi-Fi! sosyal

KILTEPAN PEAK. East Side of Sagada, there is a place called KILTEPAN, where you could view a very cool and amazing view of the mountain ranges of the cordilleras and a spectacular terraces. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE (www.saggas.net)

Camping!

From this moment on, I fell in love more with Sagada. Scroll down and find out why...

pumunta kang mag-isa

tapos di mo inasahang uuwi kang may kasama. yikeee #truestory

The freezing cold is worth it. Freezing cold daw pero naka-pekpek nyorts. Hahaha

Trekked down and started getting on business.

Yes, the beauty of living with an Igorot family is that you get to experience being one.

The family who adopted me, owns a parcel.

Emo-morning.

One of the locals na te?

Pasimpleng selfie. Nyehehe

Staple food. 

Yep, we cooked using this. I mean 'they' cooked using this. 

Thank you Ina. I met Erin's grandmother when she was 90ish yo already. Privileged to hug you. 

ang pamilya na kumupkop saken ng halos 2 linggo.
maraming salamat Tinacba Family. 
ang dami kong natutunan sa buhay. sobraaa

THANK YOU TINACBA FAMILY! Erin is a good friend of mine in UP-Diliman. !

Sa next kembot ulit Sagada!

PS. Salamat Erin, Kapatid ni Erin, Precy, Iban (Ivan), Mama ni Erin, Papa ni Erin sa mga litrato, sa lahat ng tawa, at sa lahat ng pasensya sa pag-eemo ko. hahahha. ailabyu.

Live life!