MY EIGHT-YEAR-OLD was very excited when she heard we were going to watch the closing ceremony of the SEA Games on Tuesday, because she missed the opening ceremony.

After work, I had to rush home to pick her up and take public transport to the Singapore Sports Hub.

When we arrived, there was already a horde of people trying to make their way in.

We tried to make our way to Gate 21, as stated on our tickets. Upon arriving at the gate, we found the entire place packed. The situation was confusing. We were told that if we did not want to collect the fun packs, we could proceed to Gates 14 or 17. In order not to miss the ceremony, we rushed to the two suggested gates.

At Gates 14 and 17, we were also denied entry and were told to go to Gates 5 or 7. After arriving at Gates 5 and 7, again, we were told we couldn't enter, as the venue was at full capacity.

By now, my daughter and I had walked for more than an hour. We were hungry, thirsty, sweaty and really frustrated. We then saw people leaving and realised that the ceremony had ended.

We, too, made our way to the MRT station amid the massive crowd. At this point, my daughter asked me: "Why did we not get to enter the hub to watch the show even though we had tickets?"

Yan Liping (Ms)