It took me 5 waking-up-at-night events, moderate to severe anxiety, 3 sleepless nights in my hotel in Bontoc and Sagada (tourist towns of Mt. Province) and 7 rounds of mild acute panic attacks in the four corners of my cheap hotel room before I was able to convince myself to pursue this dream destination.

Waking up early became so easy for a person like me who turns the morning to a snoring holiday during days-out-of-work where life starts at high noon and not on the usual 7am or 8am finger print disclosure to biometrics. The reason is, the emotion was mixing different elements that I can't contain prompting me to become insomniac.

At 5:00 am, I woke up! That was unbelievable on my part that I was able to do it (to wake up early). It made me think that I can be an early bird during backpacking. 

The main road of #BONTOC

#BONTOC

FAST FACTS: The capital town of Mountain Province, #Bontoc hosts majestic ancestral rice terraces, a prehistoric village, burial caves and the melting pot of culture in the province. / Photo: Palali Rice Terraces @ Alab Oriente, Bontoc under the dawn was devoid of noisy vehicles making me feel I owned the street. I walked along the street on my way to the area where mini-buses bound for Kalinga are parked. It was an unhealthy cardiovascular work out for a sleepless solo backpacker in the person of me. I saw several people who are early birds at the town market wearing bonnets and thick jackets probably ukay-ukay.

Bontoc-Tabuk Road: Sadanga, Mt. Province Segment

I was the first person to enter the bus bound for KALINGA

KALINGA

FAST FACTS: Kalinga is believed to be the home of the last headhunters of the Cordilleras.

Photo: Bugnay Village @ Tinglayan, Kalinga Province. I took the front seat just behind the driver. This will be my first time to enter the land of the last headhunters, for real.

Several minutes after, half of the bus was filled while two white American backpackers occupied the back seats. 

Entering the town of #SADANGA

#SADANGA

FAST FACTS: #Sadanga is located north of the capital town of #Bontoc and south of the Kalinga town of #Tinglayan. It is believed to be the town of the early elites of Mt. Province.

Photo: Bekigan Rice Terraces @ Sadanga, Mt. Province, the last town before Kalinga was a journey of both extremes - extremely beautiful vistas and extremely dangerous route.

The road has to pass through some RICE TERRACES

RICE TERRACES

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Photo: Bugnay Rice Terraces @ Tinglayan, Kalinga. Some rice paddies have been concreted to become a road. Should I wish to snap a photo, it was just not easy to get a good angle.

There are some parts of the route where the road bed is sinking. During this time, some bridges are under construction and vehicles have to pass one at a time with caution.

I remember a narrow part of this mischievous highway wherein our bus has to stop for several minutes to allow another bus to pass even though it was very far yet.

After successfully traversing out of Sadanga, the two white American backpackers at the back shouted under a controlled volume uttering words of amazement while seeing the beautiful view that welcomed us, first-timers, in Kalinga. We're now in Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga!

My blunt brain due to being deprived of sleep was instantly reset to sight-seeing mode after it hibernated for a while seeing this wonderful view that temporarily locked my jaw. The first ever village I have seen in Kalinga is Bugnay. I alighted from the bus and finally stepped to a Kalinga soil for the very first time!

But now, what am I doing here? In fact, I don't know where to go now. All I know is, a legendary tribal tattoo artist is living in the village at the mountains of Buscalan but where is Buscalan? Where shall I go and what are the things that happened to me during my stop-over in Bugnay? I have to say I met tattooed women face to face for the first time! Whoahhh!! I soliloquized, "Is this Kalinga? What an enchanting, somewhat unusual, exotic province where all I can see are festivals to my eyes! Fascinating!" But then again, I have to look for the trail to Buscalan. I hope I can find it and ask someone for help, and for direction. I am alone, and if I have to hike alone, I will. /to be continued...

EN ROUTE: BONTOC-SADANGA-TINGLAYAN SUB-SERIES: 1

Bekigan Rice Terraces: Cultural Heritage in Sadanga, Mt. Province

TEASER:"...not every beautiful beach should be crowded, not every mountain should be hiked and for the case of Bekigan Rice Terraces, not every rice terraces should be flocked by visitors." | 2 | 3

Bugnay Rice Terraces and that Lucky Village in Kalinga

TEASER:"The Kalinga prima facie evidence in terms of beauty should not be a subject for debate because if I were to be the judge, the evidence is too strong to put the case to rest."