Reception with President Nathan

My first thought when I saw Mr President, "He is so tiny!"

I finally saw my motherland's president in person. A reception organized by the Embassy of Singapore in Beijing gave Singaporeans the chance (probably once-in-a-lifetime) to get so upclose and personal with their president. The turnout was rather overwhelming. The entire Chaoyang Grand Ballroom at Grand Millennium Hotel was filled up with ladies and gentlemen in fine dresses and suits (although some were dressed typically Singaporean, if you know what I meant).

Mr President was, as we saw on TV, amicable and friendly. But he has clearly aged. At an age when he should have already retired and be enjoying his twilight years, we should be thankful that he took a 7-hour tiring flight to come support Team Singapore and graced the reception.

At a big event like this, and especially for newbies like us, we felt rather small and insignificant. But thank god that we saw some familiar faces that we got acquainted at the national day folk dinner that we organized last Sat. And my best friend Stacey was there as well (although she cleanly forgot about it if not I called her). So the evening ended fantastic still - minus the food.

And no, Mr President did not get to shake my hands. But I caught a glimpse of him on my Coolpix camera.