A Pilgrimage To Get Tattooed By The Famous Whang-od in March of 2017

#philippines #tattoo This was an epic journey to get tattooed by one of the most famous tattoo artists in the world. I had found out about Whang-of while living in Cebu Philippines and knew I had to meet her as well as see the true mountainous area of Luzon. I had lost many pictures, but these are most of what is left from this amazing journey. My friend and I boarded an extremely early flight from Cebu to Manila Philippines. Once there, we got on a bus for one of the most terrifying rides of my life. Although the mountains were beautiful and I was seeing a very different part of this culture, lots of vodka was administered as a sort of relaxant. At the time, this was one of the most dangerous roads in the world, and the drivers were very daring. Once we had some rest in a small village hotel, we boarded a jeepney for the next part of the journey. After this, we had to ride motorbikes up the hillside, followed by a 30-45 minute intense hike. We had made it…. However, our guide informed us that the famous Whang-od was not feeling well and would not be doing anymore tattoos that day. At the same time, the famous Whang-od popped around the corner and decided she was going to do more that day. After the tattoo and size test (if you know, you know) she had taken an interest in me and we actually went and had a side conversation (translated by our amazing guide) about how this had started. I know very little of the true past of this area, but the story was one for the ages. (Good and the bad) While leaving, someone offered a few of us a ride back to an area where we could catch the bus home. On this part of the journey, the guy messed up on a turn and one wheel of the van was actually hanging over the cliff for a moment. With the gas slammed, we didn’t go down what would have surely been our last extreme ride. After this, we had four flat tires and many people driving back and fourth for new tires and parts up until almost midnight. Although we just wanted to have a beer and sleep, walking around in the pitch black darkness of the mountains was something special. This trip will always be set in my head/heart as one of the most special times in my life.