The Proposal – Uluwatu, Bali

Prologue

Once upon a time, there were two young persons very much in love.  So much so that they knew they would marry one another since the day they met.  It was love at first sight for the young handsome pair and it wasn’t long till they were living together.  Although they frequently talked about spending the rest of their lives together, the idea of marriage appeared to be in the distant future.  The Girl had always “joked” about being proposed to, but The Boy sensed a hint of reality behind each of them.

In the summer of 2010, the young couple was about to embark on their second journey to Southeast Asia.  Little did The Girl know, what The Boy had been secretly planning.   When the New Year began, The Boy thought it necessary to secure his catch.  There was no way he would let this fine girl go.  In order to do this it required much planning and window-shopping for just the right token of love.  The Girl had always “jokingly” warned him that if a mall-bought diamond was placed on her finger the answer would immediately be no.  Not wanting to test his luck, The Boy avoided the malls and went straight for originality at Rubaiyat.

July 27, 2010

The sun was shining, the palm trees were swaying and the two young lovebirds had just finished a day at the beach on the beautiful island of Bali.  The Boy suggested that they go catch a romantic sunset.  He said that he knew just the right place – a cliff top temple at the sacred Uluwatu, which housed many fantastic views of the sea.  He had spoken of this place many times before, describing the spiritual ceremonies, the peaceful surroundings, and the thieving monkeys.  To The Girl who had never visited such a place, Uluwatu sounded oh so magical.

The Girl and The Boy quickly made up their mind and set out to find a way to get there.  It came in the form of Ketut who was more than happy to drive them up to Uluwatu in time to see the setting sun.  The Girl was a little surprised that The Boy did not bargain hard for a better deal.  Sunsets in Bali come around every evening but The Boy seemed in a hurry to see it that very night.  They made their way up the winding roads to Uluwatu, all the while shrugging off suggestions of marriage from Ketut the driver.  Little did The Girl and Ketut know what The Boy had up his sleeve.  Upon arriving at the temple, The Boy jumped queue, paid the admission fee, and the two were then fastened with the mandatory sarong and sash for the Hindu temple.

As they entered the temple, The Girl’s breath was taken away.  It was everything that The Boy had described and then some!  As the sun was quickly fading, The Boy felt the pressure to confess his everlasting love to the oh so stunning girl.  He led her through the crowd of people who were waiting for a Kecak fire dance to begin.  Many of who were photographing a number of monkeys practicing coitus.  When the pair arrived at The Boy’s planned destination, he took The Girl’s hand and brought her to a rock near the edge of the cliff.  He promised not to throw her down (while thinking, “unless she says no!”), and wiped off the rock for the two of them to sit.  While sitting, and waiting for the perfect moment to arrive, The Boy was as nervous as a 13 year old pre-pubescent trying to ask a girl to a dance.  He hadn’t planned what he would say, as he would let the moment dictate his words.

Unfortunately, the moment wasn’t as romantic as he had hoped.  Within minutes, The Girl stood up and started to complain about her itchy bum, which to this day the cause is still a mystery.  He stood up and knew he had to take charge of the moment.  There was no time to wait around, as the sun was nearing the horizon.  The first words that came out of his mouth were, “Katherine, you know that I love you, right?  And you know that I’ve loved you since the day we met?”  The Girl, paying more attention to her itchy bottom, was quick to respond with, “No you don’t!”

All The Boy could do was roll his eyes and get on with it.  He told her that he fell in love with her the second they laid eyes on one another, and that her smile stole his heart.  He said that there was nobody in the world he’d rather spend his life with, and then asked her to marry him.  As this was an ongoing joke, The Girl was confused.  This time it seemed real, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions only to be disappointed and embarrassed.  That’s when The Boy told her this was very much for real, and pulled out the most beautiful, diamond studded ring The Girl had ever seen in the entire universe.  Immediately, she broke into tears!

After he placed the ring on her finger, the first words that came out of her mouth were, “Did you ask my mom? When did you ask her? What did she say? Where did you get it? Was it very expensive? How much was it? Do you really want to marry me? Are you sure? For real? You want to? How much was it? Who did you tell? When did you decide? When did you buy the ring? When did you start looking for the ring? Where did you get the money? How much was it? Rubaiyat is expensive, right? This is exciting! Engagement is a big deal. Now we can get a joint credit card! I was worried to do it before, but now I’m not, because we’re engaged.  We’re going to be together forever!”

The two newly engaged lovebirds carried on their conversation as the sun fell below the horizon and darkness took over.  They never wanted to leave the place that had instantly become such a significant part of their lives.  However, they feared that Ketut may become worried, and that the monkeys would begin to invade the temple completely.  While Ketut wasn’t worried, the latter was quite true.  On their way out, the pair witnessed a gang of monkeys surround two dogs, hissing, snarling, and taunting them.  They feared that the dogs, and then perhaps them, would become the monkey’s new love toy.  They hurried on out, fleeing for safety.

The Girl didn’t know who to tell first, but thought Ketut would do just fine.  She ran up to him at the car and showed him the ring, telling him “I’m engaged! He proposed!!”  Ketut interpreted this as “monkey stole my ring!!” and had the most worried look on his face.  He was about to get out of the car to chase down the thieving monkey, when he saw the ring on her finger and realized everything was ok.  They explained to Ketut what “engaged” means in Canada, although in the end, he still didn’t seem to quite get it.

As the two snuggled in the back of the Jeep, Ketut must’ve realized after all what had happened, as he put on a Shania Twain music video DVD for them to enjoy all of her old time hits.  Apparently, Ketut was a big fan of music, and knew just the right songs to play to celebrate this special night.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect night, and this little love story concludes with a little something Shania Twain would once sing:

From this moment, as long as I live

I will love you, I promise you this

There is nothing, I wouldn’t give

From this moment on

The End

Love,

Thomas & Katherine