Where are the mothers of those rich bachelors? They need to slap some sense into their sons. And their fathers ought to sit them down for a stern lecture.

One of those rich guys who paid $15,000 (S$20,000) for a chance to meet beautiful young women actually whined about how hard it is for them to find "true love". They're an embarrassment to manhood. If you're fishing for true love, you don't bait the hook with a Ferrari and cast it into a pond full of money-hungry piranhas.

In case you missed the news, a dating service called Golden Bachelor arranged for 21 rich bachelors to meet 22 beautiful women at a luxury hotel in Beijing. The women modeled wedding gowns and sang, cooked or danced to demonstrate talent.

These men and women must have a definition of true love very different from us common folk. Down here at street level, among people who ride subways or drive their own cars, true love does not mean sharing limousines, mansions and investments. Asked why she had attended, one woman did mention love, along with "the pursuit of happiness". She at least was honest enough to acknowledge that, for her, this meant the chance to meet a rich guy.

Those men and women who auditioned for the role of rich-man's wife make perfect couples. They share the same shallow values and deserve the kind of relationship based on them. If the result affected only those two people in each couple, their strange mating rituals would be nothing more than a matter of passing amusement for the rest of us.

But it won't stop there.

Imagine what kind of parents such a couple will make. No doubt they'll pass on to their offspring the supreme importance of money and status. They'll teach their children to measure success by the number of their toys, the cost of their schools and the net worth of their friends.

Just what the world needs - an increase in selfish snobs.

Maybe we'll get lucky, and the fruit of these expensively groomed loins will rebel by giving their allowances to beggars and using their expensive education to teach poor children in unheated schools.

In the meantime, for all those other rich bachelors looking for true love, here are a few ideas for where and how to look. They cost much less than a lawyer's fee for drawing up an iron-clad prenuptial agreement.

First, a little preparation will be needed. Get a mediocre haircut, and stop getting manicures. Buy (and wear) clothes from Wal-Mart. Or even better, from Wu-Mart. Park the sports car. Ride a bicycle. Wear a cheap watch and smoke cheap cigarettes.

Once properly attired, here's where to look:

Ride a bus or subway. You'll meet countless women, some of them very beautiful, crammed into these public conveyances. Offer to carry her packages and be sure not to say anything that hints of a big bank balance. Your true love will be pleased just to share a dish of noodles in a plastic booth if she likes you.

Cruise street markets. You can learn a lot about a woman by the way she haggles. Is she a hard bargainer or a soft-hearted pushover? Does she have an eye for quality? If she does, hope she sees it in you.

Once your true love has pledged herself to the unpretentious guy you'll pretend to be, you can resume your regular habits. She'll probably forgive you for the initial charade. And your parents will be much happier with a daughter-in-law who's a true love instead of just a gold digger.