"After I graduated college, I planned a 4 month, solo extravaganza around Europe. We had been dating about a year when I left and he decided what better way to end my trip than to meet me in Asia to venture around for 3 weeks. And that he did. We island hopped like nobody’s business! And the poor guy was a trooper, I had 4 months of luggage with me jumping from boat to boat.. he was the greatest travel companion and I was extremely grateful for his patience. We hiked to the top of a waterfall in the middle of Koh Phangan where we got a 180 view of the island. It was about an hour to the top, we were left drenched in sweat and smiles thanks to the jungle’s humidity, blazing sun, overgrown trail, and adventure. Once we reached the top, there was an old wooden sign marking the destination. We carved “S <3 M” into it and went on our merry way." -the couple
The proposal: Fast forward 2 years, we decided to return to Thailand. It was the BEST experience, most romantic, adventurous, relaxing, welcoming location we had traveled too. At this point in our relationship, I was ready to marry up. I was hoping this trip was going to be it, we were going back to “our” magical place.
The first night in Bangkok made for an interesting one. We were sitting on the patio of a little Thai restaurant when I became overwhelmed with emotion. I cried, admitting that I was hoping this was “the” trip, and I knew it was crazy and I knew it wasn't going to happen, (We shared a bag and backpack. We were in and out of both bags, and he was so calm the whole time! There was no way a ring was in there.) I let him know I was okay with it not happening, I was just hoping for it and my emotions got the best of me. He reassured me to have faith, that he knew what I wanted and that he was working on it. After I got that off my chest and addressed the elephant in the room, we were golden.
We went on to enjoy a week traveling to new islands before making it back to Koh Phangan. On day 3 of being on the island, we decided to try to find the waterfall again. We rented a scooter and off we went. We returned to our favorite look out, this time it took almost 2 hours and we got lost! The path had become so overgrown, we ended up making our own trail. I remember feeling a bit of anxiety creating our own path but as mentioned before, I had my very own survival man with me who was determined to make it to the top. Like light peaking through clouds in a storm, we saw the rock peeking through the trees of the jungle. I remember jumping for joy with a feeling of relief we were no longer lost. We got to the top and I of course started taking video and photos. Shane told me to step down on a rock and get a picture of us with the view in the background. I began snapping away and on the 3rd picture, I turned the camera to make sure we were actually in it. We were not only in it, but he had the ring on his pinky finger, right above my head! I turned around, he popped the question, I blacked out, and of course said YES at some point in between. I cry every time I think of that moment. He had gotten “S <3 M” engraved on the inside of my ring. Needless to say, he nailed the engagement.