ClientOptions().SetHost("hostname") throws an exception

[DKGH]

I ran the sample program listed on the README.md tutorial. However, it throws a system_error exception at line 409 in client.cpp. This is mitigated by entering the right port. Now the exception comes after a long wait and it says operation successful:
can't recieve string data: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond.

I would like to connect to a database and run some select queries on it. How do I do that? I have database host machine name and port, user name, password and table name.

[DKGH]

This appears to be related to SSL verification within my organization. How do I disable that?