Hob Nobbing

My aunt, a well established Malaysian politician, invited me out to her political party's annual CNY open house today. How could I pass up an opportunity to rub elbows with the Malaysian King, Queen, Prime Minister and social elite?

So the morning started with a light breakfast of roti canai, a twenty minute train ride down to the Ampang Park station and a two block walk to the MCA party HQ. A small crowd of tourists and photographers had already gathered to watch the chaos unfold while the lion dance team busied themselves with preparations to greet the first set of limos.

Luckily for me, my aunt's limo showed up right before the rush of onlookers. They managed to pick me out of the crowd and pull me aside to hang out with the VIPs. I admit, I felt a little under dressed because I had packed to go backpacking, not to meet Malaysia's top brass. The most formal clothes I had were an old collared shirt, a pair of khakis and a pair of Vans. I also should note that I hadn't shaved in weeks. Needless to say, I was a little unprepared to be on the receiving end of the paparazzi. One can only hope they caught my good side.

I'll be sure to check the newspapers for pictures in the next few days.

We were ushered into the main atrium to be seated. I was originally set to sit at this table:

...but a last minute decision placed me at the VIP equivalent of the kids table. It's essentially the table for the VIPs who aren't as IP as the other ones. Nevertheless, I had a nice chat with the Austrian, Kenyan, Australian and Nepalese high commissioners over a couple of drinks. The Nepalese and the Austrian high comms were the most friendly of the lot.

We were then whisked away to a couple more functions elsewhere, but by this point, I was in an absolute state of confusion. I decided to find a table, load up on some fancy taxpayer funded food and enjoyed the ride until it was all over.

Random pics from today:

My new favourite breakfast spot:

Where I had an audience:

They rolled out the red carpet for us:

Bodyguards kept me from taking any good pictures of the royalty:

But I did sneak one of the King's sweet ride: