While people talk about recession, the wealthy party...

This is not a story in a foreign country. This is in Malaysia.

I had the opportunity to attend a few events which show that the buying power in Malaysia and all over the world still resides in the 20% of people which was said to hold 80% of the wealth of the world. The events were lavish with wine and cocktails of various type being served generously. Food were in abundance. Money was not an object and no one blink if you act silly or naughty...

The first event was an I event I attended with my wife due to certain privileges that you get when you use a certain type of product. It was the Rolex showcase in Pavilion by one of its vendor in Malaysia. Swiss Watch was feting and making sure the guest would try a bit of looking at, taking photos and trying their hands on the latest range on offer by Rolex.

The boutique store

My wife and I made sure we try on some Rolexes which we couldn't afford while bantering with the salesperson on the value of Rolexes once they are bought and held for a few years. The sale staff told us that the value of Rolex will be the same 20 years ahead as the day you buy it. It doesn't necessarily increase but at least it doesn't depreciate. We found out nowadays there are other watches out there which will increase in value like certain sport brands associated with certain sports personality. Tag Heuer came to my mind then...

The photos posted on makeshift walls were interesting though...

Big cigar you have there...

On Saturday 22.11.08 and Monday, 24.11.08, I had another chance to attend events of a different magnitude held for the owner of most of the luxury product shops in town. It was his youngest son wedding held at JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur on the 22nd and Shangri-la Hotel Kuala Lumpur on the 24th. Both events were a part of a seven days celebration which would peak on the 25th at his house.

On the 22nd, the party was a sort of a final bachelor farewell party by the family where guests were treated to a show by the bride's family and the groom's family. The ballroom had an island bar in the middle, the whole floor was closed for the function in which each seminar room serving different kind of food such as dessert in one and the mains in another, and the party started at 6pm and closed at 6am. Breakfast was served at 3am and I lasted only until 2.30am. Ice cream was Baskin Robbins, chocolate truffles were in abundance and stalls served food from Malay delicacies to Indian briyani to Chinese yong tau foo.

On the 24th, the invitees were more affluent with a proper wedding ceremony where vows were exchanged between the bride and the groom. The guests lined up to congratulate the couple after having their dinner served buffet style with another smaller ballroom served as a place for VVIP to mingle and dined properly. Again, there was an island bar in the middle of the ballroom but this time the dessert buffet line was bigger and was in the middle of the lobby area. This time the reception was at a proper time of 7pm and by 11pm, the guest had dwindled down.

The island bar in one of the hotels

I was told that the other hotels which they had their other receptions were the Ritz-Carlton and the Mandarin Oriental. Each reception cost nearly a cool million or maybe even more. I can only wish to ever achieve such stature to waste my money in such ways. Maybe to a person who sell luxury goods, showing how luxurious one can be is a way for him to market his products and his shops. Who knows...