If you had wings, where would you go?

For hundreds of years, man has attempted to fly. Even mythology is filled with this desire to soar the skies like the gods and the birds. But what if we didn’t need to get on an airplane or a hot-air balloon to be in the clouds? Where would we go?

JESSA ZARAGOZA, singer: Chicken or turkey? Seriously, if I had wings, I’d love to fly around the globe, bring my daughter Jayda with me for a glimpse of the world’s best scenic spots, like the pyramids of Egypt, the Grand Canyon, the Amazon rainforests, the African jungles, Mt. Everest and so much more.

STEPHANIE ZUBIRI, food entrepreneur/writer: I’ll go wherever the wind takes me. Wings would give me complete freedom and I’d fly around, stop when and where I wanted, and take off when I felt I like it. See the whole world at my own pace.

GENEVA CRUZ, singer: If I had wings, I’d go to Heaven! Of course, I’m talking about my son Heaven, who’s in Seattle right now with KC and his family. I miss him so much ever since I came back here to finish my album. God, please send me those wings!

RAYMUND ISAAC, photographer: If I had wings I would go where people need me, be their personal guardian angel, and try to fulfill my fantasy as a superhero.

MIKE JACOB, associate director for Equity Trading, UBS: I’d fly to South America or the Mediterranean. I’ll take the opportunity to visit places I’ve never been to.

ARIEL A. LOZADA, fashion and events director: So many places to go, really, as the world is so big yet so small at the same time because you know it’s reachable. When the dictates of the mind and heart’s desire take place, it can happen.    If I have to take this question in its simplest nature though, a journey to the skies is the most ideal place to explore. Ride the air and glide with a free mind. Knowing its vastness and limitless nature would be truly exciting. 

KAI NAKANISHI LIM, homemaker: I would make the most out of this gift and fly to a place where no aircraft can take me. I would fly to the heavens. To the farthest point where I could look down and marvel at the beauty that God has created. There are many places I’d like to visit and some that I would love to go back to but there is never enough time. Going to the farthest point in the sky or outer space, wherever that may be, would be the ultimate destination. This celestial experience would be even better if I could bring my family with me.

JEREMY TREVIS, regional head of Legal, Compliance and Assurance Philippines, Australia and Brunei, Standard Chartered Bank: I would go back to the Altiplano mountain range in the Bolivian Andes, South America. It is one of the most remote places in the world and is a punishing environment, yet it is also a beautiful and peaceful place. To soar among the imposing snow-capped peaks like the native condor bird would be amazing. I was lucky enough to visit there in 2003 with two friends, Ian and John. We went there on a charity trek where we traced the ancient highway built by the little-known Tiwanaku civilization across 5,000-meter-high mountain passes and then down into the Amazon basin. We were accompanied by a guide, two porters, a cook and 15 llamas. It was a tremendous adventure. Being somewhere that beautiful and remote helps you put in context your trivial day-to-day worries and allows you to truly appreciate the awesomeness of God’s natural creation. The trek was unbelievably demanding and we wouldn’t have got through it without intense preparation, acclimatization and a strong faith. It is also a place tinged with great sadness for me as one of my companions, Ian, was tragically killed in a skiing accident two years later, leaving behind a lovely wife and young son. Ian was a great friend and someone who lived his short life to the full. He is a constant source of inspiration to me and it was a privilege to know him and share in such an amazing experience. I will forever associate those mountains with him.