This morning, I had breakfast with 2 sets of family friends at the Hilton Hotel to share news of our engagement. One family was so polite and insisted that I did not have to treat them to breakfast as they realise Im a student at the moment.  After much persuasion, they agreed to have breakfast with us and even then at breakfast, they ordered as little as possible so they wouldnt seem overbearing. They are so posh and have just the best manners and social skills. The other family with two young children immediately accepted the offer with “OK” and ordered to their heart’s content. 

I didnt realise I had reason to worry until I saw the bill - about £115 for ‘breakfast’. They charged £24 for a full english breakfast which usually costs £4 anywhere else in London. They immediately serve you orange juice which is £4 a pop and croissants were £8.50.  One of the families had a 7 year old son who insisted on having the English Breakfast, some apple juice, hot chocolate, the children’s breakfast and cereal. His father explained that his son was very excited because they never take him out. The only silver lining was that the little boy actually finished most of the food

It was so nice to see both sets of family and they actually gave me good ideas about the wedding reception. As Im buddhist, one of them suggested I could have a monk officiate the ceremony. The father of the 7 year old said I should ‘have a little picnic in a park to celebrate with my friends.’ I thought he was joking but realised he was really serious.

On reflection, I wonder if people that have experienced the finer things in life  are those that actually appreciate them and those who haven’t cannot because they havent been in the position where they paid for the items themselves. I always thought it was the other way around, that those who experience something they never really had before would be so much more appreciative and grateful.  

One of my friends lived in the middle east and so I enquired if they had ever bought jewelry in Dubai. She said she had, and even remarked that she started collecting her jewelry when she went to Dubai. She said the jewelry is of a very high quality and cheap because of the competition. There is a whole shopping mall that is full of gold called the Gold Souk (dont know if I spelt that right)

My best friend messaged me last night to say that she highly recommends Dubai. She says “Firstly, jewellers there are FAR more reliable than jewellers in india or pakistan. Secondly, its known for its jewelry- youll get such a wide range of shops, which deal with such a wide range of customers, that you’ll be spoilt for choice and sizes. My mom always buys jewellery if she goes to dubai. Its tax free, good quality, genuine, and reliable.PLUS its in the transit route so you could always stop there on your way to india.” She also added that she might be able to come along on holiday in Dubai at the same time we are there. 

She then added that I could should keep in mind that there are somethings you couldnt bargain. For example, in the making of jewellery, the cost is broken down to the cost of stones, cost of gold based on weight, and designing costs. The cost of stone depends on its size, clarity and cut- it will be roughly standard across the board. The cost of gold/platinum will be non negotiable. It is based on international prices and hence the designing costs are the only costs I would be able to  negotiate on. So a tip would be to ask them to break up the cost and that they would probably not cut it more than 7%

That is enough to make me buy a ticket to Dubai - the confirmation I received that Dubai jewelry is of high quality and the opportunity to holiday with my friend and future bridesmaid.

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