Hobnobbing with the High Class

Meeting high class people is not that hard in lots of countries because only they can afford to fly, stay at the hotels you stay at and eat at restaurants you eat at. So, when flying around, say, India, the people that are on the airplane or in the same hotel with you are often industrialists, journalists, TV personalities and other such distinguished characters. If you go to an Italian restaurant in Bombay, you may witness a Bollywood deal between a movie producer and a young actress. When flying from Los Angeles to Manila, the person in the seat next to you will sometimes be a US based correspondent of a major Manila newspaper.
I once checked the list of the people who were staying at the $26-a-night hotel that I was staying at in Cebu and they were from TV studios, some were executives and CEOs of big local companies, beauty queens and once, there was even a mayor of town with a military escort.
Last time I was flying to Kenya, the guys next to me were bank managers of a major Ugandan bank.
In Thailand, people who go to MacDonald’s to eat dress for the occasion as if they were at some solemn event and they look down their noses at you because, to you, MacDonald’s is fast food for average folks and you are not dressed like you are attending a cocktail party at the Prime Minister’s palace.