The day finally came, it was Thursday, November 14th. We were supposed to take the 7 pm trip bound for Tabuk, but something came up so instead we took the 9:10pm trip of Victory Liner to Tabuk. The ticket price is 569php plus 5 pesos insurance so the total price is 574 php/way/pax. It'll be a 12-hour bus ride so before taking the bus we had something to eat. Since it's my friend's first time in the Philippines, I let him try halo-halo, one of the "must try" food in the Philippines, While I had noodles.
It was 8:55 when we went back to Victory Liner, Kamias Terminal. We took our seats and started chatting. At exactly 9:10 the bus left the terminal, we talked about an hour or two about our previous trips,life and anything else we could talk about, then I decided to doze off while my friend started watching movies on his laptop. After some hours more we had a stop-over at Bulacan, the bus is too cold so most passengers took some time to grab something to warm themselves and to go to the restroom.
After that, the next few stops, I was asleep and i don't really know how many total stop over we had. When we reached Isabela, we had another stop over and I asked the driver to please adjust the aircon temperature since we're starting to turn as human ice! He just smiled and said, "I already adjusted that ma'am". It was almost 9 am when we reached Tabuk. There were less people in the bus coz some of them got off in other terminal and other places along the way. We got off the bus, got our things and asked where we could take the bus to Tinglayan, the place where we are about to meet our guide. The bus driver told us to ask the tricycle drivers then the tricycle driver said, "okay ma'am i'll bring you to the jeep terminal." We took the tricycle and paid 10 pesos each, but was disappointed about the distance the tricycle run. It was not even a block away, we can still clearly see the bus where it had stop. Feeling like we were fooled by the driver, we just let it go.
The reason why I enjoyed the trip on a top load jeepney..
Sitting on the top of the jeepney was not close to comfortable yet i enjoyed it so much. We waited in that spot, not really a terminal, but there's a tree there and some other men waiting for the Jeepney bound for Tinglayan. My friend went to the restroom inside a nearby store while i stayed outside talking to one of the men waiting. I asked him the schedule of the jeepney and he answered in a friendly manner. Other men waiting seemed to not understand Tagalog so it seemed like they were ignoring me. almost 20 minutes later, jeepney came, the man told me we have to top load since the jeepney is already full.
I've expected this to happen actually that's why i even brought a foam all the way from Manila, but that time I was quite hesitant because even the top of the jeepney seemed full of sacks of rice, live pig and piglets, but the man told me it's okay because no other jeepney will come. Adventure! - I thought to myself, so me and my friend climbed up on the top of the jeepney and find a somehow "comfortable" seat.
Luckily there were sacks of rice as it makes the ride better. It was not my first time to be on the top load, but top loading for about 3 hours was not very usual to me. I started removing my jacket but then again i realized it'll be very hot in our position. So i put on some sunscreen first, put my leg warmers up and put back my jacket on.
I love every spot we get to see while travelling our way to Tinglayan. Other passengers were very friendly trying to explain each view that we passed by. The whole ride would make you feel amazed and anxious.
So, in the middle of our long trip, we get to talk about "Nganga" or Betel Nut. I've noticed that most of the top loader passengers were chewing this red colored, chewing gum like thing called 'nganga'.
The guy behind me then told me that during the early times, there was a sort of rivalry between different tribes and this nganga was one reason why they stopped fighting each other, because there was a time they saw some tribesmen chewing this and they offered it to the other tribe and boom!
start of friendship.
Sounds funny though but everyone on the jeepney approved and agreed on this story while sharing their own nganga. The whole set costs 5-10 pesos.
The whole trip had 2 stop over. The first one was after an hour, other passengers bought some bread, fish and live chickens in addition to live pig and piglets on top of the jeepney. then the next one is where we had a chance to go to the comfort room and rest for at least a minute or two. Then when we were about to hop in again the jeepney it started to drizzle that turns into rain.
The men on the jeepney put out a tent to keep us from getting wet, after a few minutes the sun is up again. so we removed our cover. At around 1pm we finally arrived at Tinglayan. The fare is surprisingly just 100 pesos. We had our lunch- native chicken. I ordered Tinolang manok (Chicken stew with green papaya) and my friend ordered Adobo (Chicken with soy sauce and vinegar)
Then After our lunch, we top load again in another jeepney that is going to Buscalan. It took about 30 minutes then we had to get off the jeepney since they are having road clearing and construction. They were also affected by the previous super typhoon that just hit the Philippines.
We had to walk and take the road by foot that was being fixed by the people. I wanted to take a photo of it but I'm too scared to fall off the cliff. :p
We walked for about 30~40 minutes, well I didn't really check the time since our tour guide Kuya Francis said it'll be a long walk. (2 hours?)
We keep on walking until a military owner type jeep passed by and offered us some ride. Kuya Francis said we've saved an hour worth of trek since the road is really rough, and uneven.
Kuya Francis said the military was going to the opening ceremony of their Build-A-School project. This school is for the children living in that area and I salute them for doing such a noble act to educate the young ones.
And so, we get off at the point where the school is located, there are a lot of people waiting outside, both adults and children. From there, we started to walk again going up to the Butbut tribe. And it's starting to get dark. But that doesn't stop me from taking photos. The view is just surreal.
Kuya Francis said, in that area, we're supposed to see the sleeping beauty, but it's too cloudy and foggy that day so we didn't get a chance to see her.
We keep on walking on a flat rough surface that is either a cliff of a mountain or a man-made bridge that would made every step very thrilling.
We had a short stop because I was already catching my breath as we were climbing up to the tribe. Kuya Francis get our water bottles and filled it up in nearby small waterfalls. The water was really cold and refreshing literally quenching our thirst. While resting for a few seconds there were these little kids who came up to us asking for candies. I just have one pack and I gave it all to them. As soon as they received it, one by one they were out of sight.
Then when we're almost near our destination, there was this waiting shed where the kids were waiting.
Finally, we have reached Butbut tribe. It was chilly up there and the water was ice-cold. Kuya Francis talked to Apo Fang Od about tattoo since my friend Albert would like to have one. He was scheduled the next morning since it's already late and it's almost getting dark.
We stayed in Aboc Palicas' house, she's the daughter of Fang-Od. Her daughter Grace is doing tattoo as well these days following the footsteps of her grandmother. Ate Aboc lives with her husband Antonio, together with their 3 children, Grace is the eldest. They offered us some coffee when we arrived, i said i don't drink coffee but they said this coffee is something that I should try. And I didn't regret it! It's one of the best brewed coffee that I've tried. then we were told that someone from their neighborhood was celebrating her birthday. So they prepared a native pig to cook and have a festive dinner later that night.
Then, later that night, there was a big celebration for everyone to enjoy. Men were playing a traditional instrument - Gong, while the ladies will start to dance at the right beat. We were invited to join, and we thought this kind of event seldom happens, so.. we shouldn't miss it!
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| Gentlemen Playing the Gong |
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| Ladies dancing their tribe dance :) |
And then.... it's eating time!!!!! That was my first time to eat a native pork.
Their rice was good, not like the commercialized we can buy from the market, the pork was really tender, cook to perfection i must say. It was cooked in a very minimal ingredients but it's full of flavor and the best thing about it was... the food were shared by the whole tribe. I felt like we were part of their community because they were really hospitable and accommodating.
The next day, it was explained to my friend that Apo Fang Od and Grace are good in doing tribal tattoo and sad to say not the design that he prefers. Though they could try to do it but it'll take some time, and we have to leave Tinglayan before lunch to catch up the bus going to Bontoc. My friend decided not to have the tattoo. The whole experience was still amazing! We looked around the tribe, greeted almost everyone Good Morning, and their timid smile was very warm to see.
I asked Grace then to show me the materials they were using in doing the traditional tattoo and she was happy to show them all to me.
We gave some matches, candles and medicine to Ate Aboc and Apo Fang Od, pencils and some toys for the kids and some accessories and nail polish to Grace. We took a chance to take photos with the people around especially to Apo Fang -Od, The last tribal tattoo artist of Buscalan (Mababatok).
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| Albert with Apo Fang-Od and Grace |
Meeting Apo Fang-Od was really something to be proud of. I thought I could only watch her in TV or read about her in newspapers or magazines. Or be amazed by her artwork at National Museum, but after getting a chance to meet her, wow!!!
**FACT: (Kalinga derived from the Ibanag & Gaddang which means 'HEADHUNTERS'.)
The feeling was just surreal. I was starstruck I might say. Apo Fang-Od despite the fact that cannot speak English nor Tagalog was very accommodating and friendly. She's the oldest tattoo artist in Buscalan, Tinglayan Kalinga. I touched her tattoos, these were symbol of beauty for women and headhunting success for men during her time.
I'm so glad to witnessed one of our rich culture! I tried talking to her in Tagalog though she doesn't understand me, she just smile. I handed her a Flatops, (local chocolate) and she got so delighted just like a kid, which was so cute to see. ;)
Around 9 am, we finally said goodbye to the whole tribe since we need to trek down to Tinglayan and catch the only bus to Bontoc.
It took us about 1 1/2 to two hours to go down the town of Tinglayan where we waited for the bus. We waited almost an hour, then the bus finally came, we paid 100 pesos each for the fare going to Bontoc.
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| the bus (Tinglayan to Bontoc v.v) |
You can reach kuya Francis Pa-in
through his number - +639 15 769 0843.
There are times when he can't reply or answer your call right away because it's either the signal up north is quite weak or he is up in Butbut tribe guiding other tourists where there is no signal at all. Please be patient :) He will reply as soon as he can. He is very friendly and seems famous among other tourists who went there. He can communicate in English and tells you a lot of stories about the tribe and the some interesting facts about the tribe and the village itself. Don't hesitate to get in touch with him when you need to go to Apo Fang-Od. We paid him 1,500 for the guiding service he did for us during our whole stay in Buscalan.
Suggested Itinerary:
Day 0:
- Take the night Bus at Victory Liner Kamias Terminal
Day 1:
- Arrival in Tabuk
- Take a jeepney/bus bound to Tinglayan
- Lunch at Tinglayan
- Take another jeepney to get to Bugnay (if no Jeepney, you'll have to walk from here)
- Trek to Bugnay to Apo Fang-Od's house
- Arrival in Butbut's tribe
- Try their coffee
- Dinner and Homestay at one of the houses in the tribe
Day 2:
- Breakfast at the tribe
- look around the small community
- start of tattoo session**
- Trek down to Tinglayan
- Take the Bus off to Bontoc
- Lunch at Bontoc
** This itinerary is very short. Good for an overnight trip, but if you're planning to have a tattoo with Apo Fang-Od, I suggest to stay another night in the community because the time might not be enough.
Please take note that the Bus bound for Bontoc is just once a day, so you need to be at Tinglayan at least before lunch.
Contact person:
FRANCIS Pa-In - +639 15 769 0843.
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| with our very friendly tour guide - FRANCIS PA-IN |
***All in all, it was an amazing experience getting there, tiring yet very rewarding, that could have been my first ever serious trek and to be honest, I got really tired after the trek but it was all worth it. I am so glad I did it. ;) I hope you guys will go and experience it for yourself too.
