SINGAPORE, Dec 12 — It might have been a dreary Wednesday morning for most people, but for two local iPhone photographers, Darren Soh and Aik Beng Chia, it was anything but.
The reason: A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook while he was in town.
Both photographers took to social media to share their experiences hosting Cook, who had flown into Singapore from Japan, where he had visited the tech giant’s Ginza store.
Posting on his Facebook page, Soh — known for his photographs of Singapore’s buildings and architecture — said that he and Chia had the “amazing opportunity” to host Cook at the Tiong Bahru Market.
Soh added that he gave the Apple CEO a quick rundown about the architectural history of the buildings in Tiong Bahru.
“For someone who has been a Mac user for the last 20 years and an iPhone user since the 3GS, this was a real honour and privilege for me,” said Soh.
Posting a second photo of himself and Cook at the Tiong Bahru Market, Soh said that they had to resort to crouching down on the ground for the Apple CEO to have a better view of the newer Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks behind the Tiong Bahru estate built by HDB’s predecessor, the Singapore Improvement Trust.
Chia, a former graphic designer turned photographer, also shared his experience with Cook in his Instagram story.
“It’s an honour to have breakfast with Apple CEO Tim Cook and (Darren Soh) this morning,” he wrote.
On his end, Cook tweeted about his experience in Singapore to his 11.6 million followers.
“Thanks to iPhone photographers Darren Soh and Aik Beng Chia for sharing their love of Tiong Bahru’s rich heritage — and amazing food!” wrote the Apple CEO.
According to his Twitter page, Cook then made his way to the Apple Store on Orchard Road, where he spent time with some children who used the Apple augmented reality platform Arkkit to “visualise a greener future”.
Cook also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Writing on his Facebook page, Lee said that they had a “lively exchange on how the tech scene has changed” since their last meeting at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, in February 2016. — TODAY
