THIS Christmas, where will you want to spend it? I say you better spend it in a property that you will ultimately purchase. So again where will you want to spend it? I say go to Spain. Either you choose to be in Costa del Sol or in Ibiza. In Costa del Sol, there are lots of villas here for sale. Or if you want to live in an urbane area, then go to Madrid. Or else go to Paris. Paris has one of the most cramped apartments in the world but the flats there are close to luxury already. They already have wired and wireless Internet connection and cable television connection.

Or you may want to spend your Christmas in the Philippines. Don’t go to Manila. Go to some place exotic such as Cagayan de Oro or Marawi. In Marawi, it is a predominantly Muslim area so there aren’t many Christmas celebrations. In fact, it is the only Islamic city in Southeast Asia. But try to observe the rituals of the locals and you will surely appreciate it. Or you may want to go back two hours away to Cagayan de Oro.

Cagayan de Oro is famous for its white-water rafting. But you may want to stay here for the rest of your life if you’re a young retiree and you may want to check out the local beauties if you’re still a singleton. You may want to get married here and live like a prince at one of the high-end subdivisions such as Alegria Hills. Or you may want to go to the Solomon Islands this Christmas and steer yourself back to the 19th century.

That is not a mockery though. It simply is an admiration of the rural beauty of the Solomon Islands. Life is indeed very simple there. But then again, if you have come to admire the beauty of the place like the American soldiers did when they first occupied the place during World War II, who will stop you from living in such a paradise? There are other places like the Solomon Islands. Think of Fiji or Papua New Guinea. These are relatively very simple places.

Or you may want to spend your life in an entirely different but equally stunning environment – Nepal. Nepal is currently at a deadlock between being a monarchy or being a democracy but who cares about the politics of that country? Simply staying in their place, chewing on great tea leaves. Or you may want to spend Christmas in Australia. Australia is really hot this Christmas not because of the women there but literally because of the climate and the weather.

Australia is scorching at 36 degrees Celsius this Christmas because it’s the middle of summer there. That’s the only place in the world – together with New Zealand and Tonga – which spends Christmas in the heat of the sun. And it is really practiced there. They forego the Christmas Eve celebration for a midday luncheon at noon of December 25. If you want a very peculiar celebration of the season, then go to Australia.