Peeing in Style.....

I was just at The Gardens Midvalley the other day.. urgently looking for a toilet. I followed the signboards and rush forward as I saw the washroom in sight..

But I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw the sign before me.. There in displayed prominently in green.

RM5 per entrance.

WTF?! Directly in front of the entrance, there's an escalator, that goes one level up and directly above this washroom is another one.. near identical.. free of charge.

"Who is going to pay RM5 just to use the loo when there is one for free just 20 seconds away?" I asked myself...But then I remembered where I was.. It THE GARDENS, supposedly one of the premier shopping places around KL ala Star Hill Gallery, everythings couture, everythings exclusive... where if you need to see the price tag, you probably can't afford it. Now it seems us regular folk shouldn't be peeing in the same vicinity with the rich and famous.

So who would pay RM5 to use the toilet? Maybe its for the rich.. wanting to make a statement. Like saying to the rest of the world that they can afford to pee in style while th rest of us would have to just the regular way. But for some reason, I felt that the ain't the whole story. Rich people get rich by being careful with their money. They became who they are because they were prudent with the money they spent. And you don't get rich paying RM5 for taking a leak. So, the truly rich people, would have just gone upstairs.

So again, who wou;d apy RM5 to use the toilet? People who want to show that they have the money of course. Rich people aren't preoccupied with showing off their wealth. Their too busy hiding it from the tax department. :P Who wants to show that they have money? People who have enough to splurge... but not enough to call themselves rich of course! And there you have your answer. The upper middle class. People who earn 5 figure salaries a month who can't quite buy a Porche with cash up front... but can afford to blow RM2000 on a handbag and yes, RM5 on using the loo... Its all about making a statement for the upper middle class folk. Its always about being seen with this or that.

The middle class contributes a lot ot a countries consumer spending actually. The larger the middle class, the more there is consumer spending, because for some reason or another... middle class folk feel the constant need to buy things, especially luxury items. The minute they have some extra cash, the spend it on some luxury item as a 'treat' to themselves.. a taste of heaven as it were... it can be a nice meal at a fancy restaurant.. it could be an LV bag.. or a some other designer goods. The point is.. it becomes more like a hollow display of non existent wealth. You spend all your money on things that are supposed to signify wealth and prosperity.. and in doing so, you actually end up spending your wealth. Kind of ironic if you ask me.

So unless the seats are gold plated, there's wifi connection in there and there's a beautiful lady welcoming me at the entrance, I don't think I'll be visiting it anytime soon. I want to be rich, not middle class! :P

Cheers