How our day went at the National Day of Singapore Reception

Destination: Singapore High Commission

We arrived at the embassy at 10:30, which was located atop a hill. The journey going there was winding and therefore we had to meander using our car to the top. Normally I would've been feeling nauseous since I get motion sick easily, but fortunately this time I didn't feel an ill sensation at all.

We parked our car near to the entrance, and took this as an opportunity to take a few pre-National-Day-of-Singapore photos before heading into the place.

As we stepped inside, the place was scattered with people talking over the top of other voices that wanted to check if they were on the waiting list.

Also, we were greeted with an assortment of kueh lapis (a layered dessert in Singapore), which looked even more irresistible because I was starving.

I mentally reminded myself that I need to contain myself for a little bit longer. The organisers of the event hadn't even spoke a few words yet. 

A beautiful banner rested at the top of the entrance way. What a nice touch.

We walked through another section of the room, which was coloured with loads of red and white. Who ever decorated this place is knows exactly what they're doing, I thought in awe as my eyes were all over the place.

I focused over an enormous thing in front of me. 

A cake with an unhealthy load of frosting is shown in front of me. I don't think I can wait much longer for eating. I might gain a few kilograms from all these food surrounding me. 

The High Commissioner meanwhile, William Tan, is warmly chatting to everyone before the feast began. He greets everyone with hospitable smiles, a trait that's great to have especially in events like this.

Then, before I realised it, he walked up to the centre of the stage, and adjusted his mike in the right position.

Everyone notices him doing so and slowly, the buzzing and energetic conversations are to come to a halt. It morphs into a low hum, then eventually, silence.

"Happy 60th National Day of Singapore everyone!" Mr. Tan announced and everybody bursts into applause. 

Then after that, he runs through the normal things an introduction to an event has: safety protocols, how the event will run and acknowledging the organisers.

There's a huge projector that hangs on the ceiling and it plays the Singapore National Anthem. Automatically, everyone starts chanting the words, eyes are all focused on the big screen.

I try my best to sing it despite my horrible pronunciation of the words.

The projector flickers to the national pledge, and without any cue to start required, everyone joins in to say the pledge.

This feels so nostalgic, it feels exactly the same as last year's one. It's this sort of sense of deja vu.

"...as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation." I finish the pledge.

"Thank you everyone. Now please feel to enjoy yourselves with the appetisers out here, and main course are just over there." Mr. Tan points at an area just behind us.

  

the appetisers

Hold up. The satay (beef and chicken sticks, usually served with peanut sauce) is just the appetisers??

I don't care, I'm gonna grab as many as I can, my mindset is set to desperate starvation and therefore leading to a human vacuum sucking all satay she sees in her path.

I grab a disposable plate and take 4 of each meat available. This uh... I stare at the plate after gathering all food. Should be enough. 

But didn't Mr. Tan say that there was a main course? I wondered a rhetorical question would probably never be answered. But I don't remember seeing the main course set out in a room. Where's Ninang?? I snap my head around in a panic only to find a stampede of people hurrying out to find the "main course", wherever that was. 

Not only Ninang went missing, but so is my memory of where Mr. Tan said the food was.

"Where's Ninang?" I ask Mum, not entirely sure if she knows where she is. "I think we should go to the back. Maybe the main course is there." Mum suggests. Great idea.

The gluttony continues...