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I write about places visited here in the UAE and abroad. I talk about Japan much but I have yet to share one place I once called ‘home’, the place where spent my childhood. It’s my first home – Cagayan de Oro City in the Philippines. It’s an hour and a half plane ride south of Manila, the gateway to Mindanao Island. Because of the inherent traditional traits of hospitality and camaraderie of the locals (proud to be one of them!), the city is fondly called “The City of Golden Friendship”.

Ah, that alone sends a fuzzy feeling of nostalgia.

What a shame I’ve not visited in five years+ already. I grew up here and have many fond memories of the city. It isn’t a sleepy town as most people (who have not been there at all) think. I’ve been asked ridiculous questions such as, “Do you even have a post office over there?”

Though the name Cagayan de Oro is now associated with the daring wild river rafting, there is much, much more to it.

Photo from Cebu Smile Magazine, the official in-flight magazine of Cebu Pacific.

Now the city is bustling with action: so many new malls, residential buildings, increasing population, new housing developments, crazy number of jeepneys popping here and there and dizzying traffic. My father says it’s not the city I’ve known before and warned me I might feel ‘foreign’ if I visit now. That just pumps up my curiosity. I hope to see my first home again. Soon.

The Philippines’ largest carrier, Cebu Pacific offers six flights daily from Manila to Cagayan de Oro.

For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www.cebupacificair.com. Also check out the Cebu Pacific Facebook page for special offers and promotions.

This is a sponsored post for Cebu Pacific. All opinions are my own.