For a northerner like myself, it’s hard to find the Christmas feeling in a tropical climate like the one here in the Philippines. They put up loads of lights, play Christmas songs everywhere, we had a plastic pine tree on the lawn at Barefoot resort, and I went diving with three Germans wearing Santa hats (one of them was even named Klaus!). Still, it’s not quite the same without the heaps of snow, the constant darkness and cold, the never-ending cold sniffles and frozen feet. Boy, do I miss it.

No, jokes aside I definitively prefer the tropical version of the holiday. It’s not bad spending Christmas eve submerged in 28 degree water. Or to be able to ride my bike to town in shorts and flip-flops at a time of the year I would otherwise be loosing my footing on a snow-covered Stockholm street, cursing the tube for once again not being able to handle the Swedish climate.

I did get to drink some mulled wine though, and danced to Bee Gee’s Staying Alive at the Quo Vadis staff Christmas party (it was a big hit!), so all in all it’s been a great Christmas.