U-KISS – ‘Neverland’ Album Review: I’m going to stop laughing at these guys

I never thought I would be writing about this group. I mean, U-KISS/유키스! The boy band whose first two hits were catchy, but extremely repetitive hook songs like “Man Man Ha Ni” and “Bingeul Bingeul“. They followed it up with “Shut Up,” which featured one of the lamest dance choreography I’ve seen in K-pop. U-KISS, a band that’s has been poked fun at so many times for being “gay“. That U-KISS!

But you know what, I’m reviewing their music, not the members. And the music in their new album “Neverland” (their second full album)… well, call me impressed!

U-Kiss Neverland album review members kpop boyband — Don't know who is who... but I really don't care

U-KISS has seen line-up changes around three times since inception, with the most recent one being in February this year when members Alexander and Kibum were ~~kicked out~~replaced by AJ and Hoon. NH Media, U-KISS’s corporate overlords, didn’t waste anytime in pushing the new line-up in front of fans with the release of “0330” a month later. The ‘updated’ U-KISS seemed to showcase a different direction the boys would be heading. No more formulaic, repetitive monotone songs with lazy choreography, or so it seems.

U-Kiss Neverland new album covers K-pop boyband — So does the new album 'NEVERLAND' keep the new direction on the right path?

In January, when NH Media announced that U-KISS were going to prepare for an American debut, I scoffed at the thought. No way was a Korean boy band, least of all U-KISS, going to succeed with their style and their kind of music!

But listening to the songs on ‘Neverland,’ you know NH Media were serious about their US ambitions (though I hope they have come to their senses now). Many of the songs don’t sound like your average K-pop record. Here’s a track-by-track review:

01. “Intro” – 0:58 of nothing special

02. “Neverland” – The title track and main single:

If there’s a finer example of how one incorporates pure dance music and boy band pop, “Neverland” is it! It’s a fantastic single with great choreography, even though it is a bit heavy on the auto tune. (I’m not going to comment on the fashion or the wiping-fingers-down-face act, because it’s getting stale). Surely they must be some DJ out there already working on a remix of this song for the clubs!

The true test of how good this song is for U-KISS is when they perform it live. The video may not be anything special but I couldn’t help but hit replay as soon as the MV ended. It’s definitely one of my top K-pop songs of the year! – 5/5

03. “Baby Don’t Cry” – Upbeat, synthesized chorus driven pop bliss! Makes me wonder if this was produced by a foreign producer. Edit: Produced by Ryan Jhun, who produced most of the album. – 4/5

04. “Someday” – Listening to this, I couldn’t help but assume this is a kind of song one would find on a Westlife album! 🙂 Produced by Denzil Remedios, I wonder if this was one of the songs considered for U-KISS’s English debut. – 4/5

05. “Take Me Away” – The first ballad on the album and again, not the usual K-pop fare. Just when you think the instruments would keep piling on from the second verse onwards, they don’t. Instead, it’s just the boys and their vocals that carry this song all through the end. A very good track, and I hope they get a chance to sing it live on the music shows. – 4/5

06. “On The Floor” – With a track title like that, it’s fairly obvious what to expect. This one is from the K-pop electronic dance pop music factory. Not bad, but nothing noteworthy. If you listen to K-pop regularly, you have heard this kind of music before. – 3/5

07. “A Friend’s Love” (친구의 사랑) – Officially in familiar K-pop territory now. The first ‘standard’ ballad on the album, but still a very a listenable track. KissMe*s are surely going to sing along to this chorus! – 3.5/5

08. “April Story” (4월 이야기) – When the song first starts, I wondered if they dropped another artist’s song in here by mistake! But no, the woman voice belongs to Brave Girls’ Eun Young and this ballad is a duet with Shin Soohyun. Standard OST fare, but a well sung track none the less. – 3.5/5

09. “Obsession” – Half the song’s lyrics are “You are my obsession…” and “Love equals obsession, obsession equals love” 😀 Erm, no thanks. I don’t think I’ll be listening to this song often. – 2/5

10. “Top That” – This song has traces of Timbaland’s “Carry Out” (featuring Justin Timberlake), so, one of those “inspired” tracks. – 2.5/5

11. “Tell Me Y” – While MBLAQ sang “Give it to my Yyyyy….” (which made little sense), U-KISS presents a brighter, piano-tinged, rap-filled track. Simple and one of the better album fillers. – 3/5

12. “We’ll Meet Again/다시 만나요” (U-KISS with Paran) – The first two & half minutes of the track are the boys of U-KISS and their labelmates (another boy band, but one that unfortunately never saw much success) Paran chattering and having fun. But as the laughter gives way, the final song on the album is an epic ballad, and a good one at that. A fitting end to the album. – 3.5/5

13. “Someday” (Instrumental)

—-

Until last year, U-KISS and B2ST to me were in the same lower tier of K-pop boybands. Silly, lyrically bland songs with lame choreography, and always inferior compared to the likes of SHINee, BIG BANG and DBSK. Yes, I know the latter are from two of the most famous entertainment companies, but SM and YG didn’t get to where they are today if they hadn’t gotten their formula right. They knew where to invest their money to produce the best, in every regard — from appearance to the music, they know quality!

That is not to say the smaller entertainment companies haven’t stepped up their game. B2ST matured in 2011 and won me over with “Fiction“. And now, U-KISS has made me take them seriously as well. NH Media seems to have figured out the ‘right formula’ with this album and given the boys the best they have released to date.

‘Neverland’ is easily one of the best K-pop studio albums an idol group has put out in 2011. Far better than the last album I reviewed — and that came from SM Entertainment. U-KISS’s ‘Neverland’ is an album that manages to draw the listener in from the start and you won’t find yourself skipping past many of the songs. A testament to how well paced the album is with good songs.

So in conclusion, hats off to U-KISS (with its current line-up)! You guys (along with B2ST) have move up several notches in the Korean boy band world and can proudly claim to be one of the best the Hallyu wave has to offer today. I won’t call myself a KissMe because being an adult male, that would be, erm, ~~gay~~awkward — but consider this: I will buy ‘Neverland’ legally and (if I ever get the chance) I would be excited to see you guys perform live in concert!

My final rating: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

*KissMe is the official fan club of U-KISS

Edit: Just saw this posted on U-KISS’s official website:

U-Kiss Neverland website description — LOL! What, they couldn't just ask Eli or Kevin to come up with a less cringe-worthy description?

Philippines 2011: Leaving Sagada for Baguio, and arriving in Angeles city

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Aug 31, 2011
/
Philippines, Travel

Date: 20th April 2011

I got up at 5:30am, and had to freshen up using water from the hot shower as the tap water was freezing cold!

Sagada village road early morning — I checked out of George's Guesthouse (by leaving the key on the table because there was nobody at the reception) and walked out

Yoghurt house Sagada Philippines — Where I had dinner from yesterday

Sagada village early morning buses — A few inter-city buses were parked at the village center

Alfredo's Inn, Sagada Guesthouse, Gandu Yan Inn — Alfredo's Inn (L), Sagada Guesthouse (2nd from right), Gandu Yan Inn (R) -- plenty of accommodation near the bus station (Panorama shot comprised of 4 photos)

Inside Sagada first bus to Baguio early morning — I boarded the first bus to Baguio leaving at 7am (ticket cost ₱200/$5/€3.5)

Sagada to Baguio misty morning forest trees — The bus left on time. Since I was still sleepy, I decided to keep shooting using my phone as I was in no mood to take my DSLR out.

Sagada village man sitting early morning — Good morning to you too

Sagada to Baguio misty hill — Very misty at this time

Sagada to Bagiuo bus journey view — This was the last photo I took before I fell asleep

But I ended up waking up just half-an-hour later when I briefly opened my eyes. I just had to take my camera out now and take a few shots of the terrain I was passing through.

Rice terrace hills Ifugao Luzon Philippines — I didn't dare open the window as it was freezing cold outside, so I shot all these behind the not-so-clean glass

Ifugao rocky river luzon Philippines — Mostly rocky rivers in these parts

Sabangan town bridge Ifugao Philippines — We arrived at some town/village

Welcome to Sambangan Ifugao Philippines — Where we were

Sabangan rice terraces Ifugao province Philippines — There was more beauty to behold

Sagada to Baguio hills highway Ifugao — We kept going higher and higher

Sagada to Baguio Halsema Highway lettuce farms — Lettuce farms

Sagada to Baguio Gawis Ay Hawkers on highway stop — From a market we stopped at

Sagada to Baguio inside the bus — A lot of the passengers were villagers or farmers getting down at various markets to sell their produce

Mountain province rain clouds Philippines — The stretches of sunshine didn't last too long

Mountain province morning star stop Philippines — We stopped here for a few minutes for a snack/toilet break

Lagoon near Baguio hills — The dark clouds gave way to sunlight

Road works mountain province Philippines — There weren't many bad stretches on this highway, for the most part, it was a lovely journey!

Baguio city shanty homes Philippines — And after nearly six hours, we were in Baguio

I arrived at Baguio just past 1pm. Where the bus stopped was at some lot inside a shopping complex. Didn’t look like a main bus station or anything, so I asked around how I could get to Angeles City. The locals told me I would have to go to another bus depot near SM Supermall and catch a bus from there. So, in a taxi I went.

Riding through Baguio, you could see why Baguio is a predominantly a ‘university town’. Students from all across the North come to Baguio for higher education as it’s the only developed city in this hilly region of North Philippines.

I never had any plans of staying in Baguio because I didn’t find any of the attractions worthy of spending a night here. A short 5 minute ride later (which cost less than ₱100), I was at the bus terminal very near to SM Supermall — the only major mall in the city.

I asked for buses going to Angeles City and was instructed to board any of the buses going to Dau. I bought my ticket (₱290/$6/€4.7) from one of the private bus companies that operates the route and dumped my backpack on my seat. I had a few minutes before the bus departed so I quickly stepped out and went to the nearby Jollibee to pick up some lunch (Jollibee is there wherever you need it!)

Bus terminal Baguio city Philippines — The bus terminal was very busy as this being a hugely student populated town (and Holy Week), many of the buses to the various neighbouring provinces were running full

The bus left at 2pm and I had my lunch watching a very charitable man give away gifts and cash to Filipinos on TV. As the TV signal strength weakened, they put on the usual pirated copies of low-budget action films (first, an unheard of horror movie starring a really fat Val Kilmer).

I didn’t take many photographs on this leg of the journey — mostly because there wasn’t a whole lot of scenery worth capturing. It rained a little bit and the bus moved slowly because from here on, we were going downhill and it was quite misty outside.

After a few hours, it got really cold inside the bus as the air-conditioning was truly working. I had to wear my jacket and use my camera bag for additional warmth.

Villasis town hall Philippines — Taken at 4:51pm. We mostly travelled through impoverished towns and small villages.

You know it’s an impoverished part of the country when you see the locals rejoicing with banners when one of their residents become a lawyer. Saw a few of those.

Familyradio.com rapture judgement day billboard ad carmen Philippines — Hey guess what nut jobs, the world didn't end after all!

Soon after one B-grade movie ended, they put on another. This time a Tagalog dub of a Thai action movie starring a popular Thai actress whom I cannot name at all because I only remember seeing the ‘making of’ this film on a show on NHK. Sigh.

I kept wondering how much longer I had to sit in this bus. By sunset, the bus had stopped in the city of Tarlac — and it stayed there for some time. And by now, there weren’t many passengers in the bus. I stepped down to ask if this was where I need to get down but the driver who was taking a break said “no”. I went back in and waited for the bus to move again.

And move on it did. We were on McArthur Highway by nightfall and I again wondered just how much longer I had to go to get to Angeles City.

Around 7:30pm, we finally reached a very busy Dau bus terminal. From there, I got into a trike and asked him to take me to my hotel. The journey took another 10 minutes (he charged ₱110) but I finally got to Red Tulip Hotel. I chose this hotel because I didn’t want a place on Fields Avenue, near all the nightclubs that go late into the night, and Red Tulip Hotel looked like it was a safe distance away. But that was as per the map on their website. In reality, it was a little too far from the main jeepney hub. But more on that later.

Red Tulip hotel single room Angeles City Philippines — I was just glad to see a room so I could dump my bags and stretch my legs!

I had spent more than 12 hours today just sitting in buses. I was tired, so I quickly stepped out to have dinner at 9pm and then went to sleep immediately after getting back. For the first time this week, I didn’t have to wake up early tomorrow!

Day 5 – 21st April 2011

I don’t know how many hours I slept, but I slept well. Lord knows I needed the rest after the last three days! I switched on the television and watched the news reports of how crowded EDSA was yesterday night, with everyone rushing to get out of Manila. In some ways, I guess it was a good idea to arrive a bit early.

By the time I got out of bed, freshened up and made my way down for ~~breakfast~~brunch, it was noon.

Red Tulip hotel restaurant Angeles City Philippines — Looking at the menu, the tulips made sense... the hotel owner was Dutch

I ate lazily, chatted with the waitresses who asked me where I was from and where all I had been to in Philippines so far. Then I went online for a bit after brunch and only at around 2pm did I finally decide to step out of the hotel! I wanted to take it easy for once.

Red Tulip hotel Angeles City Philippines — The entrance

Angeles City sandy road Philippines — It was a sandy road from The Red Tulip Hotel to the San Angelo street (where the Hotel 24 sign is)

Angeles City perimeter road Albacio restaurant Philippines — The walk from San Angelos St. to the main Fields Avenue road was around a 1 minute long

ABC Hotel Angeles City Philippines — Angeles Beach Club hotel, one of the more posher hotels in Angeles City

Balibago jeepney terminal Angeles city — This was the jeepney terminal...

Hotel Tiger Angeles City Philppines — And I initially looked at hotels on this road, San Narciso street. Hotel Tiger looked atrocious both inside and outside...

PJ Inn hotel Angeles City Philippines — ... so PJ Inn was the one I had selected. But they were late to reply back with my room enquiry and by the time they did, they were full. So I had to book at Red Tulip Hotel for 3 nights (they gave it to me for ₱800/$18/€13 per night)

San Narciso street jeepney Angeles City Philippines — The jeepney terminal was up this road, a 2 minute walk from here. I figured, after I was done with the festivities of Good Friday in San Fernando, I could easily catch a ride from here back to Manila.

Angeles City perimeter road traffic Philippines — I walked back to the main road

Angeles City Istanbul doner kebab house Philippines — I had dinner from this Turkish restaurant yesterday night, good shawarmas!

Angeles city Balibago terminal Philippines — I decided to hop over to SM Clark mall to pass some time

Angeles city road to Clark afternoon Philippines — This road leads to the Clark Freeport zone and Clark airport

Angeles City Clark freeport zone Philippines — My friend Aimee told me AOL once had an office in the Freeport zone

Angeles City Clark road closed Philippines — The plan was to first check out SM Clark and then head to the Freeport zone for all the duty free shops

Angeles City SM Clark mall Philippines — But as I walked towards the mall...

SM Clark mall Angeles City panorama — Closed! (Panorama shot comprised of 5 shots)

A security guard came up to me as I took the above photograph, and he told me the mall was closed today and tomorrow, being Good Friday. I asked him how far the Clark Duty Free was from here and he said around 8kms and he told me there’s a high possibility that would be closed today as well.

I sighed and walked towards the jeepney drivers nearby and asked them if the Clark Duty Free was open today but they confirmed it saying it was a holiday today.

Angeles City Balibago jeepney terminal Philippines — Oh well

Angeles City jeepney terminal Philippines — So I walked to the jeepney terminal to find out where to board the jeepneys going to San Fernando and the timings

Angeles City Dau pickup-point to go to San Fernando — This guy told me to come to this pick-up point tomorrow morning to go to San Fernando. Yes, he was quite joyful to be in the photograph.

Angeles City perimeter road Philippines — Decided to check out Fields Avenue

Angeles City walking street girls Philippines — I was stopped by another one of those "Hey foreign guy with DSLR, take photo of us!". Guess which was the girl who requested it.

Angeles City walking street Philippines — This was Walking Street (don't know why they call it such but still allow vehicles in!)

Angeles City closed shops afternoon Philippines — Here too, the scene wasn't any different -- just about everything was closed!

But I wondered if it was just because it was in the afternoon.

As I reviewed my shots, I noticed they were all quite dark and that I couldn’t change my shutter speed now. It was stuck at 1/1250! Grrh, I hate it when things like this happen, and that too just before a big event like tomorrow’s crucifixion ceremony! I had no choice but to continue shooting with it.

Angeles City locksmith near public park — I went to that locksmith who was fortunately open. He tightened one of my tripod legs with an Allen key as I had misplaced mine. He wouldn't accept the ₱10 I was ready to pay him either 🙂

Blue Nile Double A poker club walking street Angeles City — I walked back on to Walking Street. Only a few places were open and had the usual sight of geriatrics drinking away with their Filipina companions

Angeles City Cambodia nightclub Philippines — Pretty cool entrance

I walked back to my side of town and felt the urge to have some ice cream.

Iglesia ni christo church Angeles City Philippines — Iglesia ni Cristo church

Bought my ice cream from a convenience store at a Petron station on this side of Perimeter road, which houses a few more nightclubs, and little else.

Once back in my room, I fiddled with my camera for nearly an hour, switching it on and off, taking the battery out multiple times. Fed up, I went online to find a solution. Saw a few threads on such issues and then felt like an idiot after reading the ‘solution’. I had accidentally pressed the ‘Lock’ button near the dial which stuck the shutter speed at the last setting.

-_-

Anyway. After ‘fixing’ my problem, I sat in the room and worked on a few photos to upload and stepped out only for dinner. I went back to the Turkish restaurant as I miss Middle Eastern food and I wanted to make the most of the authentic food available as much as possible. (The restaurant was run by Turks)

At night, there were a lot more people out and about, but it still didn’t look like this is the most action Angeles City usually sees. So yeah, if you are coming to Angeles City purely for the nightlife, Holy Week isn’t the best time for that 🙂 Some of the nightclubs were still closed.

Back in the room, I packed my camera bags, kept all my batteries for charging, cleaned my lenses, set my alarm, and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be the big day, and I couldn’t wait for it to begin!

Previous posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Banaue town; heading to Sagada via Bontoc

Philippines 2011: Day 2 – Banaue rice terraces; trekking to Batad village

Philippines 2011: Day 1 — Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Fort Bonifacio

Philippines 2011: Flying over South China Sea for the first time

Other posts in this series:

Philippines 2011: Day 6 – Good Friday in San Fernando, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites

Philippines 2011: Day 7 – Leaving Angeles City for Manila, Mall of Asia

Philippines 2011: Day 8 – Manila tour: Rizal Park, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, China Town

Philippines 2011: Day 9 – Cebu: Fort San Pedro, Basilica of Santo Niño, Taoist Temple

Philippines 2011: Day 10 – Bohol tour: Chocolate Hills, Loboc river cruise, Tarsiers, churches

Philippines 2011: Day 11 – Arriving in Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 12 – Puerto Princesa Underground River tour, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Day 13 – Puerto Princesa to El Nido by bus

Philippines 2011: Day 14 – El Nido island hopping tour A and sunset at Las Cabanas beach, Palawan

Philippines 2011: Back to Manila, shopping, and my final thoughts about the country (Last post)

Philippines 2011: Day 3 – Sagada’s Lumiang burial cave, Sumaguing cave, Hanging Coffins of Echo valley

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Aug 27, 2011
/
Philippines, Travel

Date: 19th April 2011

The whole of today morning was spent in a jeepney – first from Banaue to Bontoc, and then again from Bontoc to Sagada. After checking-in to George’s Guesthouse, I went downstairs for lunch.

Sagada chicken curry rice San Mig beer lunch — The George's Guesthouse restaurant had Filipino curry and it was the first time I saw curry in a menu here. I had to try it! It was quite spicy, mostly because of the pepper. Not bad.

I sat at the table and had a slow lunch (even though I couldn’t honestly afford to). My plan was to try and see if I could finish seeing Sagada’s famous caves and hanging coffins by end of day. Both attractions were among the “must see” sights for me on this Philippines trip.

Today was a Tuesday and I had to be in Angeles City at the most by Thursday, because on Friday, I needed to be in San Fernando town for the Good Friday activities. Trouble is, I was really worried about the Holy Week national holidays and all the talk of everything shutting down as Good Friday neared. So I wondered if I could finish seeing everything by today evening and then leave for Angeles City tomorrow itself, just to be safe.

Sagada village downhill road kids on kart — At 2:30pm, I decided not to waste anymore time and decided to begin my tour

Sagada kids playing on kart — The perks of living in a hilly village

Sagada Guides Aassociation office philippines — I went to the guides' office because I read that you are not allowed inside the caves without a guide!

Inside the office, I speak to the guides and I tell them what all I want to see first. They told me the caves are doable but I may not be able to see the hanging coffins by sunset — nor the church (which wasn’t high up on my list of things-to-see anyway). I told them I needed to be in Angeles City by Thursday and the guides informed me I first would have to go to Baguio city and catch another bus from there to Angeles City. It was going to take an entire day, and if I had to see the church or the hanging coffins, I would have to do it before the last bus to Baguio leaves in the afternoon.

I thought to myself about the journey to Angeles City and realized I would be cutting it a little too thin if I left Sagada in the afternoon (and I may have to spend the night in Baguio if I miss the last bus from there to Angeles City!)

So I decided not to waste any more time ‘thinking,’ hired a guide and told them I’ll try to see everything I wanted to see today itself. The other guides were pessimistic, but I was quite adamant.

Sagada curve road — The guide and I walked down the road towards the caves

Limestone rocks hill Sagada Philippines — Jason, my guide, pointed to these limestone rocks and asked me if I could spot the hanging coffins

Sagada hanging coffins limestone rocks — There they were. (By the way, these are not the main hanging coffins site)

Sagada village concrete road — I was impressed by how clean and neat Sagada village was

Way to Sumaging Lumiang caves Sagada Philippines — After 10 minutes of walking, Jason asked me to wait here while he went inside the store to get his lamp

Sagada trail to Lumiang cave trees — Jason led me up the path to Lumiang burial cave

Sagada way to Lumiang cave guide — It was a short walk

Going down to Lumiang cave Sagada — We slowly climbed down

Lumiang cave ancient burial coffins Sagada — Lumiang burial cave

Lumiang cave guide tour Sagada Philippines — ...and this is what it's famous for

Lumiang burial cave wooden old coffins Sagada — Hundreds of coffins which have been placed here for more than 300 years, the last one being in 1986

Lumiang burial cave pine coffins Sagada Philippines — The coffins are made of pine wood and have stood the test of time quite well

Lumiang caves Sagada panorama — (Panorama comprised of 8 shots)

For more on the Lumiang burial cave, check out this video.

Steps up Lumiang cave guide Sagada — We climbed back up

Trek to Lumiang caves Sagada — Walked back out to the main road

Sagada village coffins near Lumiang — Jason pointed out to me coffins buried below here as well (bottom right)

I sat a few minutes for a breather. As it turned out, my body hadn’t fully recovered from its abused state from yesterday.

Road to Sumaguing cave Sagada Philippines — But I couldn't afford to sit around for too long, as I was the one who told the guide I wanted to see as much as possible by sunset

Sagada rice terraces hills Philippines — It only looked like the views were going to get better on this tour

Sagada trek road to Sumaguing cave — Walking these neatly paved roads, all I could think of was: "Wow, a village here has such nice roads where as many Indian cities don't even have them!"

Sagada rice terraces trees — Looked beautiful even through these trees

Sagada rice terrace farm Philippines — Wow

Sagada rice terrace farm green fields Philippines — Even their rice terraces are prim and proper

Sagada rice terrace Panorama — Panorama comprised of 8 shots

Another 10 minute walk later, we reached the entrance to Sumaguing cave.

Steps down to Sumaguing cave children — Down we went again

Sumaguing cave entrance panorama — This was the big one (Panorama comprised of 3 shots)

Stepping down into Sumaguing cave Sagada — First step: Take a lot of steps down

Preparing to enter Sumaguing cave with guide Sagada — Second step: Wait for guide to light the lantern

Sumaguing cave guide lighting gas lamp — Waiting

Sumaguing cave guide lighting kerosine lamp — Okay, I guess we're ready

Going inside Sumaguing cave guide with light — Final step: Descend into the darkness

Inside sumaguing cave rocks guide holding light — I used the lantern as the point for the camera's auto-focus to lock on to

Inside Sumaguing cave guiding light — Jason told me from here on, it's best that I walk barefoot -- and be prepared to get all dirty

Inside Sumaguing cave guide holding lantern light — Visitors are advised to walk barefoot because the grip is better

Inside sumaguing cave bat shit covered rocks — As for the getting dirty bit, the rocks at first are all covered in bat droppings (a.k.a bat shit)

Inside sumaguing cave slippery limestone Stalactite rock — The bat shit-covered rocks eventually give way to the smooth limestone rocks

Inside Sumaguing cave going down — We kept descending further

Inside Sumaguing cave slippery limestone rock — The rock surface is super-smooth... and wet, with water dripping from above

Inside Sumaguing cave dinosaur foot rock water — Jason would stop at places to show me unique formations inside the cave. Guess what this looks like?

Inside Sumaguing cave dinosaur foot imprint — And it's highly unlikely that a T-Rex dinosaur took a stroll through these caves

Inside Sumaguing cave darkness tourists — We still had more darkness to cover

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks flash photograph — One of the few photographs taken using flash. Most of the photographs I took using the tripod and on long exposures -- and some even hand-held. (Most were shot at f4-4.5 and exposure ranging from 1/10 to 1 second)

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks guide smoking — Jason helped carry my tripod so my hands were free to climb down (the camera was on the neck strap)

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks water pool — Be prepared to get wet too

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks shadows — It was quite chilly inside and you could see vapour every time you breath out or speak. Even the rocks were cold and walking on them felt really soothing.

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock pond — I got this blur-free shot after six attempts

Inside Sumaguing cave clear mineral water — Even the chilly waters felt therapeutic, don't know if it was the minerals or not

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock formations Mithun — This is for those asking why there isn't one single photo of me in these posts

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks with flash and without — Here's an example showing you how the caves look with flash and without. See how the characteristics of the cave differs?

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock formations panorama — A formation that resembles molar teeth (Panorama comprised of 4 shots)

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rocks guides lights — Yes, there was more going down to do

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock other tourists — There were few other tourists/visitors inside the caves as well, mostly Filipinos

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock Sagada tourists — The guides all knew each other

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock Sagada Philippines — Another shot which took up to five attempts to get right

Inside Sumaguing cave visitors swimming water pool — You reach all the way down when you get to this pool of water, in which you can swim if you wish. Given how cold the water was (and given the lighting conditions), I chose not to.

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone rock water panorama — It was time to head back (Panorama comprised of 2 shots)

Inside Sumaguing cave limestone sharp tooth stalactite rocks pointed — One of the most photographed rocks from inside Sumaguing cave

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rocks foggy air — The moisture in the air when you breath out inside this chilly environment. Amazing thing is, despite the chill factor, you don't shiver one bit!

Inside sumaguing cave guide sitting limestone rock — Jason, my guide, isn't much of a 'smile' person

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock jacuzzi — There was water inside this, making it a jacuzzi of sorts (minus the bubbles)

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock filipinos — The obligatory "Hey foreign guy with DSLR, take photo of us" shot

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock gap — Tried a shot without flash on long exposure before this, but all I got were the people in the back

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock Mithun climbing up — That's the only way to go back up

Inside sumaguing cave limestone family kids — It must be a challenge to visit this cave with family

Inside sumaguing cave limestone visitors heading back — Jason suggested we wait for other groups to go first

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock people going back out — It was our turn now

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock shape — I can't remember what this rock shape resembled but Jason did say it looked like something (a hippo?)

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock guides lanterns — The stars align

Inside sumaguing cave limestone rock guides Sagada — Oh look, Jason is smiling

Sumaguing cave darkness Sagada Philippines — Back up to bat shit territory

Sumaguing cave bats Sagada Philippines — I know using flash would be wrong (and Jason reminded me not to do so) so I tried my best to try and capture the bat clusters using long exposure. I wasn't in a position where I could set up the tripod well.

Sumaguing bat cave Sagada Philippines — Another attempt to capture the bats (ignore the large shadow, that's me). The bats weren't flying about inside. Maybe they were camera shy.

Walking out of Sumaguing cave opening — And then there was light...

Steps leading up Sumaguing cave Sagada — We had spent nearly 2 hours doing the Sumaguing cave part of the tour

Steps out of Sumaguing cave Sagada Philippines — But the reason why it takes that much time is because you have to tread very carefully! This is why they insist you hire a guide, because they know the caves and the trail to follow.

Steps up from Sumaguing cave Sagada — I had never been inside a cave like this before so this was quite an amazing experience!

Sagada Cave Man Inn Philippines — This is an Inn just outside the caves (thus the clever name)

Sagada rice terrace surrounding hills — Shot this at 5pm

Sagada trekking trail evening sun Philippines — Sagada is a truly beautiful place to visit

Sagada trees Philippines — These trees are everywhere here in Sagada (Are they a type of pine trees?)

Sagada trek road trees evening — I can highly recommend Sagada as a pleasant trekking destination

Sagada rice terraces green trees — Had to stop and get one final look of the rice terraces as we walked past it again

Sagada rice terrace farms evening sky Philippines — Really beautiful

Sagada Blackberry lane Philippines — Pff, so outdated

Sagada evening grey skies Philippines — As we walked back to town, I asked Jason if there was anyway we could go to Echo valley and see the hanging coffins today itself as I didn't feel like staying back another day just to see them -- and I REALLY wanted to see them!

Sagada concrete road house Philippines — Jason, took a pause and said: "Sure". I told him I wouldn't mind walking a bit faster, and then he told me there was a shortcut we could take.

Sagada shortcut to Echo valley — So I followed my guide, through small alleyways and past village houses

Sagada church forest Philippines — This is the famous church. You normally come here through another path from the village center.

Path to Echo valley Sagada Philippines — We were near

Steps to Church cemetery Sagada — Sigh, I officially hate climbing now

Sagada church cemetery burial ground Philippines — This is Sagada's main cemetery, where they bury people nowadays

Sagada echo valley Philippines — After 15 minutes of 'speed walking,' we were in Echo Valley

Echo valley earned its name for obvious reasons. You could see visitors shouting to hear their echoes in return. Though, I’m not sure the dead who were laid to rest here really wanted to hear “I love Justin Bieber” and the equally famous “Justin Bieber sucks”. I’m not kidding, Filipino kids were having a blast shouting it out.

See, even the dead aren’t spared from the Bieber.

Sagada Echo valley hanging coffins limestone rocks — Jason pointed to the coffins... and if you can't spot them...

(takes out the 70-200mm zoom lens…)

Sagada hanging coffins Echo valley zoomed in — There!

Sagada hanging coffins echo valley — The lens was at 200mm

Sagada limestone rocks hills coffins — There were a few older coffins a bit further away

Even after witnessing the hanging coffins from up here, I still felt ‘incomplete’. I knew I would feel like this unless I went all the way to the coffins and took photos from up close, because that’s how I saw them online. And I wanted that.

I asked Jason if we could get a lot closer. He sighed and asked me if I was willing to climb down (he knew I was a bit tired). I told him that I had come this far already, no point in coming back tomorrow just to go up close to the coffins.

And down we went, to get a closer look at the coffins. Took just 5 minutes.

Sagada hanging coffins echo valley Philippines from down — Eerie as it may sound, I felt much better coming down here

Echo valley hanging coffins closeup Sagada — Even though this is originally a centuries-old Chinese tradition, it isn't practiced anymore. Despite that, the brown coffin was the most recent addition as the person insisted on being laid to rest here, along with her ancestors.

Sagada hanging coffins tradition Echo valley Philippines — The rest are decades old, some even centuries old

Sagada hanging coffins cliffside echo valley Philippines — Because it was getting dark, I set the camera on the tripod and shot these at f4, 1/2 second exposure to absorb as much light as possible

Shaky cam falling down photograph — And this is what happened when the camera nearly fell to the ground after I clicked

Sagada hanging coffins hillside Echo valley Philippines — If you are tall enough, you could touch the lowest hanging coffin (but that would just be disrespectful)

Sagada hanging coffins Echo valley Philippines — It was nearing 6:30pm, so we had to head back before it got too dark

Sagada hanging coffins Echo valley night shot flash — Took this using flash so that you get an idea of just how dark it really was

The climb back up was tough for me, simply because there were no proper steps. I found myself panting for breath, but in some ways, I now felt ‘complete’. I had accomplished everything I wanted to see in Sagada.

We walked back, a bit slower this time…

Sagada village homes at night dark — ... and this is how dark it got by the time we were out of the woods

When we got back to the main road, Jason said he would be heading straight home from there. So I paid him the ₱700 ($16/€11) guide fee, plus a ₱100 tip, and thanked him — for putting up with me and my ~~demands~~request to see everything I wanted by the end of daylight.

Sagada wooden house at night lap post — Took this photo from where we got down to the main road

Sagada Goerge's Guesthouse at night — This is George's Guesthouse... at 7pm

Back in the room, I rested my feet briefly, took a hot shower to cleanse myself of all the bat shit, and then stepped out again for dinner, because Sagada (like Banaue) has a 9pm curfew.

I had read a lot of good recommendations for a place called the Yoghurt House, so I went there for dinner just as it was winding down for the night.

Yoghurt house apple ham sandwich Sagada Philippines — I had the apple ham sandwich...

Yoghurt house banana yogurt Sagada Philippines — ... and the banana yoghurt with granola topping. It was alright. Cost a total of ₱180 ($4/€3).

On the way back, stepped into a souvenir store, bought a neat-looking ‘I Survived Sagada’ t-shirt (₱180) and some biscuits to have tomorrow morning as I was going to be waking up really early to catch the first bus to Baguio city.

Back at George’s Guesthouse, even though the doors were shut, men were drinking and having a jolly time proving that despite the 9pm curfew, the night doesn’t end early for the locals. I copied over today’s photos from the camera to my laptop and made the most of the wi-fi to make bookings for the coming days.

Today was yet another stupendous and memorable day for me. Like yesterday, despite how tired I was trying to see as much as possible, I felt glad at end having accomplished everything I came to experience. Sure, Sagada has some famous waterfalls too, but the trek to the waterfalls was surely not possible today and I had no regrets about missing it either. The main attractions on my Sagada checklist were Sumaguing cave and the Hanging Coffins of Echo valley. And I couldn’t be more pleased with the photographs I took of both the places.

Sagada makes for a perfect weekend getaway for Manila’s residents but even as a foreign tourist, I would still recommend one make the effort to come all the way here.

I was tired, sure, but with nothing else to do in Sagada’s chilly nights, I cuddled up and went to sleep satisfied. Only dreaming this trip would keep getting better.

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