Travel & Leisure

Friday June 6, 2008

Going to the highest bidder

Auction season is back with a twist as it's 15 bachelors up for grabs this time.

By RICHARD LIM
startwo@thestar.com.my

MY FIRST brush with a bachelor auction was during my college days when one of my friends was put up for sale.

A real smooth-talker with looks to match, I thought that he would be an instant hit but everything changed the moment he went on stage.

Overawed by the occasion, he got cold feet and instead of fetching a hefty sum, he ended up as the guy with the second lowest selling price.

It took him a few weeks to regain his confidence and after seeing how he emotionally imploded on stage, I swore that I would never be involved in such an auction.

Well, I will never say "never" again as my line of work has led me to cross paths with the Breast Cancer Fund-Raising Charity Bachelor Auction 2008, jointly organised by the Soroptimist International Club of Petaling Jaya (SIPJ) and UK Women's Alumni Network (UKWAN).

Come July 20, 15 eligible bachelors aged between 22 and 43 will be auctioned to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association (BCWA). Attractive and of excellent character, the bachelors all have successful careers.

Evidenced by the presence of an 8TV newscaster, an architect, a banker and an award-winning chef in the bachelor line-up, the auction has all the promise of a grand event, building on the success of last year's inaugural edition.

Oh, this journalist from The Star will be there, too and boy, am I shaking in my boots.

When asked to participate, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Wow ... I've been asked to participate in a bachelor auction." However, reality seeped in and I found myself asking, "But what if nobody wants to buy me?"

Now, standing on stage while ladies bid for you (or not) can be a very humbling experience and for a shy person like me, the thought of what will happen on stage alone is unnerving.

Will I shuffle my feet and grin nervously or will it be another case of brain freeze? What if my performance during the auction fails to impress?

Conducted by a professional auctioneer from the auction house Christie's, the bachelor auction will follow the bidding protocol of a traditional auction or a Dutch auction – where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price that is lowered until a bidder is willing to accept the price.

In order to qualify for the event, the bachelors had to complete a day of community service. Some of us visited orphans at Rumah Charis while the others chilled out with them by iceskating at Sunway Pyramid.

The original plan was for the bachelors to teach the children how to ice skate but ironically, none of the bachelors had ice-skated before and they were taught by the children instead.

"We were supposed to teach them but we can't skate to save our lives," admitted bachelor Richard Augustine, 33, an editor.

"It turned out to be the children taking us skating and they sure had fun calling me an old man."

It was the same at Rumah Charis when the bachelors were asked to play basketball with the children.

"Swarmed, we were bullied off the court and lost heavily. The last time I played basketball was six years ago and while I'm shocked we lost badly, it was nice to hang out with the children," said fellow bachelor Devindran Sheth Harshad Rai, 29, an oil and gas drilling engineer.

A special photo shoot was also organised and the bachelors had their pictures taken at Le Meridian and Sheraton Subang.

Never comfortable being made-up, I squirmed when it was my turn but the make-up artists from Bobbi Brown did such a good job that I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I was over the moon and the situation felt surreal.

The make-up really helped and my first photo shoot turned out to be a memorable one.

It was also the first time for many of the others and while some had their own comical moments, we were proud to be part of a noteworthy cause.

I'll be honest and admit that I was really nervous about my participation. However, as the days went by, I found myself balancing great fear with extraordinary hope. It is for a good cause, after all, and that is all that matters. And the plus point is that I won't be alone as 14 other bachelors will keep me company.

The Breast Cancer Fund-raising Charity Bachelor Auction 2008 will be held on July 20 from 2.30 to 5.30pm at The Westin Kuala Lumpur. The event is for women only, tickets are priced at RM120 and RM180. Walk-in tickets on the date itself costs RM180, subject to availability. A high tea buffet will be served.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts are the auction's official partners and RUSS Consulting handled the publicity and awareness-raising campaign. The bachelors were decked for the photo shoot in Dude & The Duchess apparel.

Ticket sales start from June 7 and group bookings are also available.

To book your seat or for more information, contact Sharon Saw (012-489 4891) or Kim Fong (012-398 8998) between 10am and 7pm daily.