There Are Certain Things Money Can't Buy

Jeremiah is finally back after a long hiatus. The past three months have quite draining and with so many things to look forward to in Singapore, he decided to commence the mock Odyssey exercise early. And so he found himself in Dubai International Airport last Friday. As per the time-honoured traditions, our dear Jeremiah went to the bar with the legendary bad service at the Airport to get a draught beer. Expectedly, it took about 25 minutes for him to get served, even though he was sitting at the bar, right in front of 2 bartenders, who seemed to have mastered the art of avoiding eye contact. Frequent travellers transiting in Dubai would, of course, be aware of the bad service at that particular bar. But sitting next to Jeremiah then was this American dude, who probably repeated what he did back home to get the bartenders' attention; he plonked a 10 dirham note on the bar counter. And guess what, he was promptly ignored too. As the Mastercard ad always goes, there are certain things in life that money can't buy. Ironically, however, if you pay by Mastercard instead of cash, settling your check will take you about 10 minutes more due to the slow service.